Ensuring Gender-competent Responses to Conflict-related Male Sexual Violence in Russia’s Aggression against Ukraine
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Date
2025
Authors
Busol, Kateryna
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Abstract
This article examines how international criminal law and wider redress measures can help Ukraine aptly pursue conflict-related male sexual violence (CRMSV) perpetrated during Russia’s ongoing aggression. The piece explores CRMSV committed during the Russia–Ukraine armed conflict and analyses how Ukraine should address these atrocities in a gendered and intersectional manner, in criminal proceedings as well as in wider transitional justice. The article first traces international law prohibitions of CRMSV, comparing them with the prohibitions of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) against females. It further explores how CRMSV has been addressed in international criminal jurisprudence and concludes that while CRMSV has been increasingly prosecuted globally, attention to its varied sexual dimensions has been uneven. The analysis then traces the dynamics and spectrum of CRMSV since the beginning of Russia’s aggression in 2014 and discusses how CRMSV has transformed since the full-scale invasion in 2022. The article assesses the suitability of Ukraine’s legal framework and expertise to consider CRMSV and examines ways forward for more gender-competent accountability and reparations. The analysis concludes that the way Ukraine addresses CRSV perpetrated against different individuals, including heterosexual and gay men and boys, expands the room for nuanced inclusion and equality transformations within Ukrainian society, which are crucial for the nation’s post-conflict recovery.
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Keywords
international criminal law, conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV), Russia’s aggression, atrocities, post-conflict recovery, article
Citation
Busol K. Ensuring Gender-competent Responses to Conflict-related Male Sexual Violence in Russia’s Aggression against Ukraine / Kateryna Busol // Journal of International Criminal Justice. - 2025. - Art. no. mqaf011. - https://doi.org/10.1093/jicj/mqaf011