this post was submitted on 26 Sep 2023
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[–] robocall@lemmy.world 51 points 1 year ago (6 children)

businessinsider dot com and dot nl suck so hard. can someone copy and paste the article here?

[–] CosmicTurtle@lemmy.world 59 points 1 year ago (1 children)
  • A new UN report found that women in Ukraine experience systematic sexual violence by Russian troops.
  • Women as old as 83 have been raped while their families were forced to listen to the brutal attacks.
  • International criminal law considers rape and sexual violence war crimes and crimes against humanity.

As the Russian invasion of Ukraine drags into its 19th month, international watchdogs say they have found continued evidence of systemic sexual violence against women in regions occupied by invading troops.

The United Nations' Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine released a report Monday detailing the findings of investigators who verified reports of war crimes after multiple evidence-gathering trips to occupied Ukraine.

"The Commission has found that in the Kherson region, Russian soldiers raped and committed sexual violence against women of ages ranging from 19 to 83 years, often together with threats or commission of other violations," the latest UN report reads. "Frequently, family members were kept in an adjacent room, thereby forced to hear the violations taking place."

Representatives for Ukraine's Ministry of Defense, the Government of the Russian Federation, and the UN Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Insider.

Insider previously reported on the case of a woman who recounted being raped by Russian soldiers who killed her husband. The woman ushered her crying 4-year-old son to the next room before the attack, but his cries so angered her attackers that they threatened, with a gun to her head, to "show him his mother's brains spread around the house," she said in an interview with The Times of London.

"We have reports of women being gang-raped. These women are usually the ones who are unable to get out. We are talking about senior citizens," Lesia Vasylenko, a member of Ukraine's parliament, said early last year, not long after the invasion began. "Most of these women have either been executed after the crime of rape or they have taken their own lives."

BEKIJK OOK: Hoe realistisch is ‘Oppenheimer’? een kernwapenexpert legt uit Ukrainian and Polish women attend 'Rape Is a War Crime' protest in front of the Consulate General of Russia in Krakow, Poland. Foto: Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Since Vasylenko's comments last March, reports of widespread sexual violence perpetrated by Russian troops, at times encouraged by commanding officers, have increased, prompting international investigations into the incidents. Major protests have occurred in England and Poland against the atrocities, which have targeted civilians in occupied regions, including Kherson and Bucha.

Though women of all ages are the most frequent targets of sexual violence, Russians use rape as a "deliberate tactic" to dehumanize victims regardless of sex, Insider previously reported.

"When women are held for days and raped, when you start to rape little boys and men, when you see a series of genital mutilations, when you hear women testify about Russian soldiers equipped with Viagra, it's clearly a military strategy," Pramila Patten, the UN's special representative on sexual violence in conflict, told AFP, per France 24.

Rape as a weapon of war While the reports of the rapes are no doubt troubling, sexual violence is frequently documented during wartime. The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court classifies rape and sexual violence, including sexual slavery, forced prostitution, and sterilization, as a type of war crime and a crime against humanity, depending on the context under which the crimes are committed.

"Rape committed during war is often intended to terrorize the population, break up families, destroy communities, and, in some instances, change the ethnic make-up of the next generation," reads a 2014 UN report on sexual violence during war, which highlighted sexual violence during the Rwandan genocide.

Between 100,000 and 250,000 women were raped over three months in 1994, according to the report. At least 200,000 women were raped in the Democratic Republic of the Congo since 1998, and hundreds of thousands more during wars in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and the former Yugoslavia, it said.

"Sometimes it is also used to deliberately infect women with HIV or render women from the targeted community incapable of bearing children," the 2014 report adds.

Although international law provides protections against rape and sexual violence, enforcement of the provisions is weak, according to a report by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonpartisan think tank. The International Crime Court has launched an investigation into alleged war crimes in Ukraine, though legal action is unlikely to come for many years — if it comes at all.

"International law is largely ineffective at preventing rape and sexual violence in conflict," according to the Council on Foreign Relations, which advocates for a pragmatic approach to helping survivors, rather than focusing on the near-impossible task of ending sexual violence during wartime. "Survivor-centered training and aid is the best way to support victims of sexual violence and to help them cope with the trauma, stigma, and the health consequences stemming from conflict-related sexual violence."

[–] robocall@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago
[–] mojo@lemm.ee 9 points 1 year ago (1 children)

You should go into uBlock Origin settings, then filters, and enabled all of the annoyance filters. I didn't even notice anything because all that crap is blocked by default for me

[–] robocall@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Thanks. Lemmy convinced me to switch from Chrome to Firefox, and explained the benefits. I've seen other lemmards mention ublock origin, so I guess I have to take your advice.

[–] mojo@lemm.ee 8 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I'm glad you showed interest! Would you like us to send a missionary to your home to preach the good word of Linux?

[–] robocall@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I like Ubuntu more than Windows but so many videogames are Windows only.

[–] mojo@lemm.ee 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Which games do you play that don't work on Linux?

[–] robocall@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

fallout 3, new vegas, 4, and shelter. battlefield 4. frostpunk. GTA V. state of decay 2 juggernaut addition. other games.

[–] mojo@lemm.ee 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

Not sure how long it's been since you've tried Linux, those all actually work perfectly out of the box. Even the online works on Bf4 and Gta5. If you have Steam, you just download and run them like you would on Windows. Though I'd say go to the properties and change to "proton experimental" for a bit of a better experience imo, but not needed.

If you want to check without downloading and testing yourself, you can check this site for how well it runs, vs if it needs tweaks or flat out doesn't work. https://www.protondb.com/

[–] robocall@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I just got ublock origin and that is enough change for one day. thank you.

[–] mojo@lemm.ee 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Woah don't go too crazy now

[–] robocall@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I just clicked on this business inside website! It's much easier to use with ublock origin! Thanks lemmy!

[–] mojo@lemm.ee 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

You should go slightly more crazy. Go into the uBlock settings, then go to filters, and check everything under "annoyance" tab. It'll get rid of all those annoying cookie pop ups, email signups, and all that general annoying stuff that blocks the actual website.

[–] robocall@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

oh, ok! I did it.

[–] robocall@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

I will need to think about this. thank you for the information.

[–] vox@sopuli.xyz 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

use "bypass paywalls clean"

Holy shit

That is immense

Thank you

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[–] some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org 47 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Though women of all ages are the most frequent targets of sexual violence, Russians use rape as a "deliberate tactic" to dehumanize victims regardless of sex, Insider previously reported.

"When women are held for days and raped, when you start to rape little boys and men, when you see a series of genital mutilations, when you hear women testify about Russian soldiers equipped with Viagra, it's clearly a military strategy," Pramila Patten, the UN's special representative on sexual violence in conflict, told AFP, per France 24.

Fucking hell…

[–] Teppichbrand@feddit.de 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Information Warfare 101: Tell your citizens about the unspeakable atrocities comitted by your enemy to dehumanise them. Repeat, on both sides. "Nuke these bastards" is exactly what those stories lead to.

I'm not defending russia in any way, this war is a horrible crime and every person killed, injured or raped is one too many. Noone deserves this.

[–] dangblingus@lemmy.world 27 points 1 year ago

Just de-Nazifying! /s

[–] WindowsEnjoyer@sh.itjust.works 21 points 1 year ago (1 children)

That's not a surprise. That's a russian way of doing things. Everywhere, everytime and any time.

[–] biofaust@lemmy.world 10 points 1 year ago (1 children)

That's not a surprise. That's a ~~russian~~ soldier way of doing things. Everywhere, everytime and any time.

FTFY. Italy doesn't forget the allies raping in 1944 and Mahmoudiya happened in 2006.

[–] canuckkat@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Or the Japanese army during WWII.

[–] creamed_eels@toast.ooo 5 points 1 year ago

Rape isn’t unique to any specific country, cuture, or military. It’s been used as a weapon of war since time immemorial. Absolutely disgusting.

[–] Gradually_Adjusting@lemmy.world 21 points 1 year ago (10 children)

Where are they getting these IRL GWAR characters?

[–] Rakonat@lemmy.world 45 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Russian culture is pretty much the embodiment of might makes right. If you inflict harm on someone weaker than you to prove a point, you're manly. If you had the opportunity to inflict harm on someone and get away with it, but chose not to, you're a coward. The military recruitment and hazing process only servers to turn this up to 11.

This has been the basis of Russia for the last 3 centuries if not longer, and its how they think the world should work, but can't figure out why everyone hates them, especially those both geographically and culturally close to them.

[–] Gradually_Adjusting@lemmy.world 11 points 1 year ago (2 children)

When in Russia, rule as the Russians do, right? Crazy how much influence someone like Ivan the Terrible can have on culture and broader world events from such a distance.

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[–] Bbbbbbbbbbb@lemmy.world 28 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Theyve always been there. Every military in the world is an attractive spot for these people. They want to get the chance to reach a foreign zone where their superiors will let them do whatever they please, unless they are the commanding officer, in that case bets are off.

[–] Gradually_Adjusting@lemmy.world 25 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Every army has its share of Ed Gallaghers, sure. But it seems like the Russians have like... a lot of sociopaths. Something to do with recruiting from prisons, or just the disquieting power of hateful state media?

[–] loutr@sh.itjust.works 30 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Hazing in the Russian military (dedovshchina) is horrifying, straight up torture, mutilation and even murder. Families often use their entire savings to bribe officials so their sons aren't conscripted. So the Russian military is made up of the dregs of society, people so destitute they can't pay their way out of military service. Mental health issues are prevalent, either from their past life or from the hazing itself.

[–] Gradually_Adjusting@lemmy.world 16 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Great. More normal and cool behavior, classic Russia.

[–] surewhynotlem@lemmy.world 10 points 1 year ago

Their system is buggy, it's time for a reboot.

[–] TranscendentalEmpire@lemm.ee 9 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Theyve always been there. Every military in the world is an attractive spot for these people.

I think this is a pretty commonly held misconception about the nature of genocide or crimes against humanity. We all have the potential to partake in such actions, the vast majority of people who partake in these crimes are just every day normal people.

The Russian military creates misery wherever they go because being in the Russian military has been a miserable state of existence for the last three hundred years.

No matter what government or time and place in history, being enlisted or conscripted in the Russian military has meant that you will be hazed, raped, stolen from, and then made to rape, steal, and haze new recruits. It's an actual part of how they maintain institutional discipline.

[–] Carighan@lemmy.world 13 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] Gradually_Adjusting@lemmy.world 12 points 1 year ago

GWAR is a thrash metal band known for elaborate and inventive depictions of violence and sexual depravity, often leavened with wickedly humorous commentary on politics, religion, and the human condition.

That's my off the cuff guess at what their Wikipedia page looks like, anyway. Go listen for yourself if you like over the top metal that doesn't take its image too seriously.

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Yeah but like, heroically, right? Where's that in your cannon fodder recruiting commercial, Putin?

[–] blazeknave@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago

Can we nuke these fucks already?

[–] jcit878@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

the one consolation these poor victims have is that statistically their rapist is likely to be killed if not already, hell they might even see the peice of shit get blown up in a drone video. fuck these animals

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