Information about rapes that occurred during the war in Ukraine, distributed on the Internet, is not always reliable, but the response to it distracts attention from real cases. About this to the editor of the social department ZN. UA Alla Kotlyar was told by psychologist, coordinator of work with children and adolescents of the Institute of Health Psychology Natalia Pashko.

According to her, it is important to understand that information should be double-checked.. It also matters who reports it.. Even from the point of view of the organization of the provision of assistance, the coverage of information about such cases, their number and those who can do it.

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The psychology of the military has its own specifics. When a war starts, they should be as mobilized as possible, focused on action and reactivity. After a month of war, the psyche more or less adapts. But the tension associated with such activation and constant contact with death needs to be released.. To this is added the absence of sexual relations for a long time. Therefore, the military can commit this category of crimes in order to gain more power, control, abuse of those who are weaker. Here, a lot depends on the level of development of the person, the ability to control their reactions, on the training of the military. Unpreparedness for military activities, a low level of intellectual development, alcohol consumption are often the cause of excessive manifestations of cruelty, when the military breaks into houses and rapes everyone in a row - adults, small, old people, they can rape parents in front of children. Injuring, killing, brutalizing others. This is what we see in the actions of the occupiers. An increased level of cruelty and the massive nature of such actions in relation to a certain people in order to gain advantage, power and control. Because sexual violence is a violation of bodily, psychological boundaries, an increased sense of helplessness, abuse of another, objectification. This is a manifestation of the genocide of the Ukrainian people.

It is important to understand that the specificity of committing violence in wartime is very often reactive, with injuries, with a very high level of cruelty.. Therefore, any actions in relation to the injured person who has been subjected to such violence must be coordinated, aimed at his return, at an understanding of what will happen.. It is very important not to impose help, but to do the maximum so that the person himself asks for it.. Provide him with information and the opportunity to get involved in the work, and not just “do good”. It is the return to the person of the power and control that the traumatic experience may have taken away from him..

The psychologist should double-check information about the request and consent to work, coordinate their actions with other workers who can provide assistance to the injured person (doctors or investigators who can carry out the process of investigating and recording evidence).

An important aspect is the evidence of the crime and the awareness of the injured person about where he can go and report the rape.. The witness of a person being raped by the military is also a very important aspect in the recovery process.. It removes the label of guilt, allows you to identify what happened as a crime: it’s not my fault that I went out into the street, didn’t close the door, didn’t save myself.

Therapy is possible only in stable conditions, when the person is safe.. For example, he was taken somewhere abroad and it is known that he will stay there for at least three months without changing his place of residence..

For children, the sequence is the same.. Focus - on interaction with parents and the child himself. And in peaceful times, the child is hurt not so much by the experience itself, but by the reaction to the event or its absence.. Again, the child’s testimony about this category of crime is a restoration of his understanding: he is not to blame for what happened to him, this refers to a violation, and there is a reaction to this.. Perhaps the perpetrator will not be punished. But it is important when there is a reaction to it..

If one of the psychologists received information about a war crime, it is important to understand that it should not remain at the level of a small private community.. There is a certain order and algorithm for responding to this.

And again: it is important to double-check the information. What's circulating on social media needs to be questioned. Information about specific cases should not appear there.. Response should be very structured, cross-checked. If this is information about children, then it is necessary to inform the service for children's affairs so that other subjects of the response are connected. If we are talking about adults, this can be statistics from the subjects of the response, the police, those who are involved in this..

For more information on how to properly provide assistance to victims of violence, read the article by Alla Kotlyar “Raped by Russians. How to help, not \?