making

Conflict-Related Sexual Violence in Ukraine: An Opportunity for Gender-Sensitive Policymaking?

18 August 2020

Kateryna Busol

Robert Bosch Stiftung Academy Fellow, Russia and Eurasia Programme
Meaningful change is needed in Ukraine’s response to the conflict-related sexual violence, which affects both women and men.

2020-08-18-Ukraine-Intl-Womens-Day.jpg

Ukrainian feminists and human rights activists carry posters at an International Women's Day protest in Kyiv, Ukraine on 8 March 2019. Photo: Getty Images.

The virus of violence

According to the UN (para. 7) and the International Criminal Court (ICC, para. 279), conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) is quite prevalent in hostilities-affected eastern Ukraine. Both sexes are subjected to sexualized torture, rape, forced nudity, prolonged detention in unsanitary conditions with members of the other sex and threats of sexual violence towards detainees or their relatives to force confessions. Men are castrated. Women additionally suffer from sexual slavery, enforced and survival prostitution, and other forms of sexual abuse. Women are more exposed to CRSV: in the hostilities-affected area, every third woman has experienced or witnessed CRSV as opposed to every fourth man.

COVID-19 has redirected funding priorities, affecting the availability of medical and psychological help for CRSV survivors worldwide. In Ukraine, the very reporting of such violence, stigmatized even before the pandemic, has been further undermined by the country-wide quarantine-induced restrictions on movement and the closure of checkpoints between the government-controlled and temporarily uncontrolled areas.

Addressing CRSV in Ukraine

The stigma of CRSV, the patchy domestic legislation, and the unpreparedness of the criminal justice system to deal with such cases prevent the authorities from properly helping those harmed in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine armed conflict.

CRSV is equally traumatizing yet different in nuance for men and women. Female victims often choose not to report the violence. Women avoid protracted proceedings likely to cause re-traumatization and the disclosure of their experience, which could be particularly excruciating in small communities where everybody knows everyone.

Men also struggle to provide their accounts of CRSV. Their suppressed pain and shame of genital mutilation and other CRSV result in sexual and other health disfunctions. Combined with the post-conflict mental health struggles, this has been shown to lead to increased domestic violence and even suicide.

The very investigation of CRSV in Ukraine is challenging. Certain tests and examinations need to be done straight after an assault, which in the context of detention and grey zones of hostilities is often impossible. Specialized medical and psychological support is lacking. Investigators and prosecutors are hardly trained to deal with CRSV to the point that they do not ask questions about it during the interviews. Burdened by trauma and stigma, survivors are inclined to report torture or inhuman treatment, but not the sexualized aspects thereof.

Seven years into the conflict, the state still has not criminalized the full spectrum of CRSV in its domestic law. Ukraine’s Criminal Code contains a brief list of the violations of the rules and customs of warfare in article 438. It prohibits the inhuman treatment of civilians and POWs but does not list any types of CRSV.

The article has an open-ended reference to Ukraine’s ratified international treaties, from which the responsibility for other armed conflict violations may be derived. For the more detailed norms on CRSV, Ukraine should refer at least to Geneva Convention IV protecting civilians and two additional protocols to the Geneva Conventions, to which it is a party.

However, the novelty of the war context for Ukrainian investigators, prosecutors and judges and their overcautiousness about the direct application of international conventions mean that in practice, observing the treaty or jurisprudential instruction on CRSV has been slow.

Use of the Criminal Code’s articles on sexual violence not related to an armed conflict is not viable. Such provisions fail to reflect the horrible variety and complexity of CRSV committed in hostilities. They also envisage lesser punishment than a war crime of sexual violence would entail. Cumulatively, this fails to account for the intention of a perpetrator, the gravity of the crime and the trauma of its victims.

The lack of public debate and state action on CRSV understates its magnitude. Ukraine should break its silence about CRSV in Donbas and make addressing this violence part of its actionable agenda - in law and in implementation.

Ukraine should incorporate all war crimes and crimes against humanity of CRSV in its domestic legislation; ensure a more gendered psychological and medical support for both sexes; establish rehabilitation and compensation programmes for CRSV survivors; create special victims and witness protection schemes; consider the different stigmatizing effects of CRSV on men and women in criminal proceedings and engage the professionals of the same sex as the victim; map CRSV in the bigger picture of other crimes in Donbas to better understand the motives of the perpetrators; submit more information about CRSV to the ICC and educate the public to destigmatize the CRSV survivors.

The drafters of Ukraine’s transitional justice roadmap should ensure that it highlights CRSV, adopts a gendered approach to it and endorses female participation as a crucial component of reconciliation and broader policymaking.

Embracive policymaking

Although ‘the discriminatory line almost inevitably hurts women,’ 'every gender discrimination is a two-edged sword’, Ruth Bader Ginsburg famously argued before the US Supreme Court. This could not be more relevant for Ukraine. The conflict - and lockdown-related violence has reverberated deeper within Ukrainian society, raising fundamental questions about the roles of both sexes and gender equality.

The failure to address CRSV and its different stigmas for both sexes mirrors the general lack of sustainable gender lenses in Ukraine's policymaking. It is no coincidence that a June 2020 proposal for gender parity in political parties coincided with another spike of sexist remarks by top officials. While women get access to more positions in the army, sexual harassment in the military is investigated slowly. Despite all the impressive female professionals, no woman made it to the first four-member consultative civic group in the Minsk process. Such lack of diversity sends an unfortunate message that women are not important for Ukraine’s peace process.

Ginsburg said, ‘women belong in all places where decisions are being made.’ CRSV against either sex won’t be addressed properly until both sexes contribute with their talents and their grievances to all pillars of Ukraine’s state governance and strategy. Ukraine should look to engage professional women - and there are plenty - to join its public service not just in numbers, but as the indispensable equal voices of a powerful choir.




making

What Judgment and Decision Making (JDM) is and what it isn’t

WHAT MAKES JDM DISTINCT By Dan Goldstein As you navigate the academic world, you will inevitably have an exchange in which people ask you what field you are in. You will reply that you do JDM and people will ask you what JDM means. You will say “judgment and decision making” and then they will […]




making

Making a School Reopening Decision and Taking the Heat

School district leaders must make high-stakes decisions with woefully imperfect information.




making

The Art of Making Science Accessible and Relevant to All Students

Building science lessons around phenomena that students know equally and can see in their own lives is making the subject more relevant and interesting.




making

The Art of Making Science Accessible and Relevant to All Students

Building science lessons around phenomena that students know equally and can see in their own lives is making the subject more relevant and interesting.




making

Dual-Language Learning: Making Teacher and Principal Training a Priority

In this seventh installment on the growth in dual-language learning, two experts from Delaware explore how state education leaders can build capacity to support both students and educators.




making

The Effect of Congruent versus Incongruent Distractor Positioning on Electrophysiological Signals during Perceptual Decision-Making

Key event-related potentials (ERPs) of perceptual decision-making such as centroparietal positivity (CPP) elucidate how evidence is accumulated toward a given choice. Furthermore, this accumulation can be impacted by visual target selection signals such as the N2 contralateral (N2c). How these underlying neural mechanisms of perceptual decision-making are influenced by the spatial congruence of distractors relative to target stimuli remains unclear. Here, we used electroencephalography (EEG) in humans of both sexes to investigate the effect of distractor spatial congruency (same vs different hemifield relative to targets) on perceptual decision-making. We confirmed that responses for perceptual decisions were slower for spatially incongruent versus congruent distractors of high salience. Similarly, markers of target selection (N2c peak amplitude) and evidence accumulation (CPP slope) were found to be lower when distractors were spatially incongruent versus congruent. To evaluate the effects of congruency further, we applied drift diffusion modeling to participant responses, which showed that larger amplitudes of both ERPs were correlated with shorter nondecision times when considering the effect of congruency. The modeling also suggested that congruency's effect on behavior occurred prior to and during evidence accumulation when considering the effects of the N2c peak and CPP slope. These findings point to spatially incongruent distractors, relative to congruent distractors, influencing decisions as early as the initial sensory processing phase and then continuing to exert an effect as evidence is accumulated throughout the decision-making process. Overall, our findings highlight how key electrophysiological signals of perceptual decision-making are influenced by the spatial congruence of target and distractor.




making

Rome Based Agencies making an impact in Burkina Faso

FAO, IFAD and WFP/Burkina [...]




making

FAO will support Colombia in making sure the new peace is kept

I am convinced that the only path to lasting peace in Colombia consists of dialogue, negotiation, cooperation, inclusion and fairness – which is also the high road to sustainable development [...]




making

SmartNews: Making Gasoline from Bacteria

Researchers from South Korea have discovered a unconventional way to produce gasoline.




making

The Art of Sausage Making

Stanley Feder, founder of Simply Sausage, walks us through what it takes to make truly outstanding links.




making

How Artificial Intelligence Is Making 2,000-Year-Old Scrolls Readable Again

When Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 C.E., it covered the ancient cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum under tons of ash. Millennia later, in the mid-18th century, archeologists began to unearth the city, including its famed libraries, but the scrolls they found were too fragile to be unrolled and read; their contents were thought to be lost forever. Only now, thanks to the advent of artificial intelligence and machine learning, scholars of the ancient world have partnered with computer programmers to unlock the contents of these priceless documents. In this episode of “There’s More to That,” science journalist and Smithsonian contributor Jo Marchant tells us about the yearslong campaign to read these scrolls. And Youssef Nader—one of the three winners of last year’s “Vesuvius Challenge” to make these clumps of vulcanized ash readable—tells us how he and his teammates achieved their historic breakthrough. Read Smithsonian’s coverage of the Vesuvius Challenge and the Herculaneum scrolls here (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/three-students-decipher-first-passages-2000-year-old-scroll-burned-vesuvius-eruption-180983738/) , here (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/buried-ash-vesuvius-scrolls-are-being-read-new-xray-technique-180969358/) , and here (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/archaeologoists-only-just-beginning-reveal-secrets-hidden-ancient-manuscripts-180967455/) . Find prior episodes of our show here (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/podcast/) . There’s More to That is a production of Smithsonian magazine and PRX Productions. From the magazine, our team is Chris Klimek, Debra Rosenberg and Brian Wolly. From PRX, our team is Jessica Miller, Adriana Rosas Rivera, Genevieve Sponsler, Rye Dorsey, and Edwin Ochoa. The Executive Producer of PRX Productions is Jocelyn Gonzales. Fact-checking by Stephanie Abramson. Episode artwork by Emily Lankiewicz. Music by APM Music.




making

Is Scurvy Making a Comeback? Two Recent Cases Highlight How the Illness Can Appear in the Modern World

Scurvy diagnoses in Australia and Canada suggest doctors should consider testing for vitamin C deficiency in patients experiencing poverty, food insecurity and social isolation




making

Who's sparking joy in your community? Let us know about the people making things better

CBC Newfoundland and Labrador would love to hear your suggestions of folks and organizations who are there when you need them — and all the other times, too.



  • News/Canada/Nfld. & Labrador

making

Montreal says it's making it easier for groups to build off-market housing

The City of Montreal wants to sell more land to community organizations, housing co-ops and other groups to build off-market housing. 



  • News/Canada/Montreal

making

Making disciples and furniture

An OM worker from Latin America uses his carpentry skills to disciple young men in their faith and give them better employment opportunities for the future.




making

P.E.I. man sentenced to nearly 6 years for 'reprehensible' offences including making child pornography

A man from Queens County has been sentenced to five years and nine months in federal prison for charges including making and transmitting child pornography, voyeurism and intercepting private communications.



  • News/Canada/PEI

making

Making Easter a real treat!

OM Europe's Bus4Life assisted the local Baptist Church in the small village of Torda reach out to their local community.




making

Making a difference during war

As war continues in the east of Ukraine, refugees flood Odessa. OM cannot turn a blind eye to its new neighbours.




making

OM making an impact: A personal account of a refugee

A 29 year old recounts how his family fled the war zone and came to stay at OM Odessa centre




making

Making broken pieces beautiful

By offering a creative class for women, an OM worker finds ways to transform broken tiles into art and make relationships where she can share God’s truth.




making

6 Considerations for School Leaders Making a Statement About George Floyd

When making formal statements, school and district leaders should call out racist patterns and commit to dismantling White supremacy, advise Dorinda J. Carter Andrews and Shaun R. Harper.




making

Trump Signs Legislation Promoting Evidence-Based Policymaking

Just before Christmas, federal lawmakers sent President Donald Trump the Foundations for Evidenced-Based Policymaking Act of 2017, which aims to improve how federal data is used, shared, and protected.




making

Making Math About More than Numbers: A Case for Evaluation-Based Grading

A new grading system, developed by math teachers at High Tech High, enables students to look at what they've learned, rather than ranking themselves against one another.




making

A mother-daughter Fulbright experience, 67 years in the making

Alexandra Persiko, interim director of global partnerships in Penn State Global, received a Fulbright IEA award in 2024, notable not only because she was one of 14 university administrators across the U.S. to garner such an award this year, but also because of her unique connection to the program through her mother, Alice Ann, who completed a Fulbright student program in Germany in 1957.




making

Conference to focus on moral decision-making research

Penn State’s Consortium on Moral Decision-Making and Moral Psychology Research Group are co-hosting a conference Nov. 15-17 to highlight interdisciplinary research on moral and ethical decision-making.




making

Learning a language, making a friend

A long-term worker shares how learning Arabic has impacted her life and friendships in the Arabian Peninsula.




making

News24 Business | Elon Musk is making a habit of joining Trump’s calls with leaders

Elon Musk surfaced once more in a round of phone calls US President-elect Donald Trump is making with world leaders, driving home the billionaire's outsized influence in the next administration.




making

A Classroom Strategy: Making Sense of Fractions Through Group Work (Video)

A 5th grade teacher uses fractions to promote both language and math skills in her dual-language classroom.




making

Making Mental Health a Priority for School Staff as Well as Students

Encouraging candid conversations about mental health among students and staff and creating supportive environments are top priorities for Leaders to Learn From honoree Jeff Wellington.




making

Making friends with the least reached

After an onshore Frisbee game, OM Riverboats community members invite a Muslim woman on board and share God's Word with her.




making

2024 Maruti Suzuki Dzire Review: Making Sedans Desirable Again

With more features, handsome mileage, and paramount safety, the new Dzire is a Maruti Suzuki of a modern era.




making

After Watching The Making Of Malai Chaap, Internet Says "Waah"

Malai Chaap Recipe: This viral video of malai chaap will make you scream yummy. Watch it inside.




making

Watch: Unhygienic Process Of Making Soan Papdi Goes Viral, Internet Reacts

Soan Papdi Viral Video: Just after Diwali, an unexpected video of the making process of Soan Papdi surfaced online




making

Viral Video Shows German Woman Making Boondi For Laddoo, Internet Reacts

In the viral video, Jennifer also mentioned that "Cooking outside gives a totally different comfort and feeling. Just took me back to India."




making

The Mezzanine Gallery to Exhibit “Making the Invisible, Visible” by Maia Palmer

The Delaware Division of the Arts’ Mezzanine Gallery presents 2022 DDOA Individual Artist Fellow Maia Palmer’s exhibition, "Making the Invisible, Visible", running November 4-25, 2022.




making

Doc Assistant A-Z: Making the Most of the Cadence Cloud-Based Help Viewer: Pt. 2

At a bustling Cadence event, we met Adrian, an intern at a startup who immerses himself in Cadence tools for his research and work.

Adrian was enthusiastic about the innovative technologies at his disposal but faced a significant challenge: internet access was limited to a single machine for new joiners, forcing interns to wait in line for their turn to use online resources.

Adrian's excitement soared when he discovered a game-changing solution: Doc Assistant. The cloud-based help viewer, Doc Assistant, ships with all Cadence tools, enabling Adrian to access help resources offline from any machine equipped with the software. This meant Adrian could continue his research and work seamlessly, irrespective of internet availability!

Meeting Cadence users and customers at such events has given us the opportunity to showcase how they can benefit from the diverse features that Doc Assistant offers.

With that note, welcome back to our Doc Assistant A-Z blog series! In Part 1, we explored key features and benefits that our innovative viewer brings to the table. Today, in Part 2, we'll dive deeper into the advanced functionalities and customization options that make Doc Assistant indispensable for its users.

Whether you're looking to streamline your workflow or enhance your user experience, this blog will provide the insights you need to fully leverage the capabilities of our documentation viewer. Let’s get started!

What Makes Doc Assistant Stand Out?

Here are a few (more) cool features of Doc Assistant!

History and Bookmarks: Want to refer to the topic you read last week? Of course, you can! Doc Assistant stores your browsing activity as History. You can also bookmark topics and revisit them later.

Indexing Capabilities: Looking for seamless search capabilities? The advanced indexing capabilities of Doc Assistant enhance the accessibility and manageability of documents. Doc Assistant automatically creates a search index if it is missing or broken.

Jump Links: Worried about scrolling through lengthy topics? Fret no more! Use the jump links in each topic to quickly navigate to different sections within the same topic or across topics. Jump links reduce the need for excessive scrolling and let you access relevant content swiftly.

Just-in-Time Notifications: Looking for alerts and messages? That’s supported. Doc Assistant displays notifications about important events, including errors, warnings, information, and success messages.

Keyword-Based Search Suggestions: You somewhat know your search keyword, but not quite sure? No worries. Just start typing what you know. Keyword and page suggestions are displayed dynamically as you type, providing a more sophisticated and intuitive search experience.

Library-Switch Support: Want to view documents from other libraries? Doc Assistant, by default, displays documents for the currently active release in your machine. You can access documents from other releases by configuring the associated documentation libraries.

Multimedia Support: Want to view product demos? Multimedia support in Doc Assistant lets you play videos, listen to audio, and view images without opening any external application.

Navigation Made Easy: Worried that you’ll get lost in an infinite doc loop? Not at all. The intuitive navigation controls in Doc Assistant are designed to provide you with a fluid and efficient experience. The Doc Assistant user interface is clean and logically organized, with easy-to-access documentation links.

That's not all. We have more coming your way. Until next time, take care and stay tuned for our next edition!

Want to Know More?

Here's a video about Doc Assistant
Visit the Doc Assistant web page
Read the Doc Assistant FAQ document

For any questions or general feedback, write to docassistant.support@cadence.com.

Subscribe to receive email notifications about our latest Custom IC Design blog posts.

Happy reading!

-Priya Sriram, on behalf of the Doc Assistant Team




making

Doc Assistant A-Z: Making the Most of the Cadence Cloud-Based Help Viewer Part 3

Welcome back to the Doc Assistant A-Z blog series!

Since the launch of Doc Assistant, we've been gathering feedback and input from our customers regarding their experiences with our latest documentation viewer. My interaction with Ralf was particularly useful and interesting.

Ralf is a design engineer who works on complex schematics and intricate layouts. For each release, he is challenged with the task of verifying the tool and feature changes across multiple releases. He shared with me that he has been using Doc Assistant’s capabilities to help him achieve this.

Ralf explained that he utilizes Doc Assistant to open and compare documents from different releases side-by-side, seamlessly tracking updates across multiple releases and verifying those updates in his Cadence tools. Additionally, in Doc Assistant’s online mode, he compares documents across previous tool versions, ensuring a thorough review of any changes. Finally, he was happy to share with me that Doc Assistant features have helped him significantly reduce the time he spends on identifying such changes.

You, of course, can also achieve such productivity gains using several Doc Assistant features designed to help simplify such tasks!

In previous editions of this blog series, we looked at some key features and benefits of Doc Assistant. If you've missed these editions, I would highly recommend that you read them:

In this third installment, we're diving into some more of Doc Assistant's key capabilities.

Open Multiple Documents

Want to refer to multiple docs at the same time? That’s easy!

Open each doc on a separate tab in Doc Assistant. 

Personalized Content Recommendations

Is it a hassle to navigate through all docs each time? You don’t have to.

You can tailor your Doc Assistant preferences to match your content requirements.

PDF Support

Do you prefer downloading and reading a PDF instead of an HTML?

That’s also supported.

Quick Access to Relevant Search Results

Are you pressed for time, and yet want to run a comprehensive doc search? You’re covered.

In online mode, search runs on all available product documentation, and the results are listed from multiple sources.

Resource Links

Looking for more information about a topic you’ve just read? That’s handy.

Look out for content recommendations!

Share Content

Want to share a useful doc with the rest of your team? That’s easy.

With a single click, Doc Assistant lets you share content with one or more readers.

Submit Feedback

Your feedback is important to us. Use the Submit Feedback feature to share your comments and inputs.

To learn more about how to use the above features, check out the Doc Assistant User Guide.

These are just a few of the productivity gain features in Doc Assistant. We’ll cover more in the next blog in the series.

Want to Know More?

Here's a video about Doc Assistant
Visit the Doc Assistant web page
Read the Doc Assistant FAQ document

If you have any feedback on Doc Assistant or would like to request more information or a demo, please contact docassistant.support@cadence.com.

Subscribe to receive email notifications about our latest Custom IC Design blog posts.

Happy reading!

Priya Sriram, on behalf of the Doc Assistant Team




making

PUBNUB: Making Engaging Realtime Experiences a Reality in India

Realtime Communication is providing enterprises with an innovative way to deliver better, more cost-effective customer service.
Technology companies in India are racing towards a more connected and always-on world, making it easier, faster, safer, and more convenient for everyday people to do the things they need and achieve the things about which they dream. PubNub’s Realtime Communication Platform provides the backbone that any company can rely on to deliver engaging experiences that users love, including fast-growing companies like Swiggy, Apollo Health and others.





making

Making Christ Attractive in a Pagan World (1 Peter 2:4–12)

Check here each week to keep up with the latest from John MacArthur's pulpit at Grace Community Church.




making

Engaging Arctic Indigenous Communities Meaningfully in Decision-making Affecting Their Food Security

Engaging Arctic Indigenous Communities Meaningfully in Decision-making Affecting Their Food Security Engaging Arctic Indigenous Communities Meaningfully in Decision-making Affecting Their Food Security

stanfords

Web Article

Recent online articles and analysis that have been published on the East-West Center website.

Explore

Web Article

Recent online articles and analysis that have been published on the East-West Center website.

Explore




making

Two Durban women accused of drugging and robbing a pensioner, after making him tea




making

Making Sense of Grace and Election

Grace is not merely poured out in the moment of salvation; it is evident throughout His eternal plan of redemption. After all, He chose those whom He would save before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4). Theologians refer to this precious truth as the doctrine of election, and it has been a major point of debate and division in the church.

READ MORE




making

Food Security Is Key To Making ‘Peace with Nature’

Susana Muhamad is Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development of Colombia and President of the 2024 UN Biodiversity Conference, and Kaveh Zahedi is Director of FAO Office of Climate Change, Biodiversity and Environment




making

COP29: Making Space Applications Work for Women in Agriculture

When the first woman in space, Valentina Tereshkova, orbited the Earth in 1963, there were only three active Earth observation satellites. Today, the number is 114 times greater. With more and better satellites, the impacts of advances in the space sector are particularly evident in agriculture, where space data improves insights into the individual components […]




making

Australia’s Indigenous people were making pottery over 2000 years ago

An excavation on an island in the Coral Sea shows that Indigenous Australians were producing ceramics long before the arrival of Europeans




making

Shared Decision-Making Is Better Than Solo

Title: Shared Decision-Making Is Better Than Solo
Category: Health News
Created: 8/27/2010 10:03:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 8/27/2010 10:03:26 AM




making

Making Parental Peace With Kids' Homework

Title: Making Parental Peace With Kids' Homework
Category: Health News
Created: 8/25/2012 10:05:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 8/27/2012 12:00:00 AM




making

Parents Deliberately Making Child Ill Can Be Deadly

Title: Parents Deliberately Making Child Ill Can Be Deadly
Category: Health News
Created: 8/26/2013 9:35:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 8/26/2013 12:00:00 AM




making

Making a COVID-19 Vaccine Is Tough, Distributing It Might Be Tougher

Title: Making a COVID-19 Vaccine Is Tough, Distributing It Might Be Tougher
Category: Health News
Created: 8/25/2020 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 8/25/2020 12:00:00 AM