«Respect. Support. Justice»
Strategic session on CRSV held in Kyiv on 5 May 2023
On 5 May 2023, in Kyiv, the Office of the Prosecutor General, in particular Iryna Didenko, Head of the CRSV Division, initiated a strategic discussion between various stakeholders on improving access to justice and referral pathways for survivors of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV). The event, organised by the EU Project Pravo-Justice and supported by the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine, brought together prosecutors and investigators from Kyiv and different regions of Ukraine, representative of CSOs, as well as Ukrainian and foreign experts on CRSV.
The discussion hosted very practical discussions on how to enhance investigative and prosecutions practices for CRSV and improve coordination and collaboration between various stakeholders to ensure victim-centric approach to investigations and prosecution. The high level audience, divided into 12 working groups, particularly reflected on pathways to build trust of CRSV survivors in the justice chain, avenues to strengthen a survivor centric approach, as well as initiatives to improve services for victims and shift society’s perception of such crimes.
GRC’s team specialising on CRSV was honoured to facilitate the preparations for the discussion. In addition, Anna Mykytenko, CRSV team lead, moderated the discussion on improving the existing investigative practices in line with the victim-centric approach. Then, Wayne Jordash, GRC Director, was invited to highlight the key takeaways of the conference. Initiatives put forward included the importance to invest in communication and outreach on progress made in CRSV investigations, as well as the significance of involving both religious leaders and the youth to tackle the stigmatization surrounding survivors. Finally, mainstreaming informed consent and trauma sensitive approaches, especially during the pre-trial stage of investigations, as well as promoting coordinated and holistic responses were identified as vital.
Wayne Jordash further moderated the valuable contributions of key international criminal justice and experts on sexual violence in conflict, including Ingrid Elliott and Kim Thuy Seelinger.
GRC will continue to assist the OPG and the efforts of the CRSV Division to provide support and deliver justice to survivors of CRSV crimes.