Women This Week: Reparations for Survivors of Sexual Violence in Ukraine

Ukraine Taking Steps to Secure Justice for Survivors  

For the first time, survivors of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) will be awarded reparation payments during an active conflict. Ukraine plans to identify up to five hundred survivors of CRSV to receive compensation to help cover financial, physical, and psychological support. The Global Survivors Fund, which is working with Ukraine to administer the reparations, estimates that thousands of Ukrainians have survived wartime rape by Russian soldiers; however, figures are hard to confirm due to low reporting. Olena Zelenska—the First Lady of Ukraine—has been an advocate for breaking down the stigma that dissuades survivors from speaking up, citing these payments as “an important step towards restoring justice.” She continued, “Justice for Ukrainian victims of violence is now a mirror for the world itself.” 

Australia Commits to Address Violence Against Women 

The Australian government has committed to strengthening initiatives to address gender-based violence after tens of thousands of protestors took to the streets. At least twenty-eight women have been killed this year by men, more than double the number from this time last year, and one in four women report violence by an intimate partner or family member. In response, the Australian government convened a meeting of the National Cabinet to discuss concrete initiatives. The government now plans to invest millions in the Leaving Violence Program, which provides up to $5,000 to assist women who leave violent relationships. The government will also review the Online Safety Act and increase support for measures that target online harm, including those that ban inappropriate content for children. The cabinet will meet again in the next quarter to review progress to date. “Violence against women is not a women’s problem to solve, it is a whole of society problem to solve; and men in particular have to take responsibility,” said Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.  

Girls at Risk as Millions of HPV Vaccines Delayed in Production 

In mid-April,  Merck—the pharmaceutical company—announced it would be unable to deliver millions of doses of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine due to a production malfunction. Merck is on contract with Gavit, The Vaccine Alliance, to provide eligible countries with 29.6 million doses of the life-saving vaccine. However, this error will result in the delivery of only 18.8 million doses—leaving more than ten million girls without access. Furthermore, approximately 1.5 million of these girls will likely no longer qualify when the delayed vaccines are delivered in 2025. “HPV is the highest impact vaccine Gavi has: If you vaccinate 1,000 girls, you prevent 17.4 future deaths,” said Dr. Aurélia Nguyen, Gavi’s chief program officer to the New York Times. “If there is one vaccine that you want to get out and do well on, this is it.”