When perpetrator is commander: why it is difficult for servicewoman to obtain justice
Kateryna Pryimak joined the Ukrainian Volunteer Corps back in 2014 and, as part of an evacuation brigade, rescued the wounded in the hottest battle zones: Pisky, the Butivka mine, and the Kherson region. And during the full-scale invasion, the co-founder of the Women’s Veterans Movement (VETERANKA) repeatedly put forward initiatives aimed at defending women’s rights in the military.
In particular, she was directly involved in drafting legislative amendments to the Disciplinary Regulations of the Armed Forces, which are intended to tackle issues of discrimination and harassment within the military. We are therefore speaking to her about the challenges women currently face and why these issues remain difficult to resolve.
— The VETERANKA movement is a community of women with combat experience, established back in 2018. Over the years of full-scale war, has the attitude towards women in the army changed? Are they more frequently assigned to combat roles?
— If a woman serves in a combat role within a unit, for us this speaks volumes about the unit’s professionalism as a whole. After all, in contrast to the sexism that, unfortunately, still exists in the army, here service personnel are assessed first and foremost on the basis of their professional and personal qualities, experience and ability to carry out tasks, rather than their gender.
When I hear that a commander is sexist, to me personally it means that, because of his prejudices, he might overlook a professional.
— How does this bias manifest itself?
— In various ways. Some units at recruitment centres state that they do not consider women for combat roles, even though this is prohibited by law.
I once read a post by a soldier on Facebook. A woman came to him wanting to serve in the infantry, to which he replied: ‘Darling, where do you think you’re going? We’ll be heading to the front line, and I’ll have to carry my own rucksack and yours as well.’ How can such a conclusion be drawn so hastily? After all, a person can be assessed during BGMT and then a decision made as to whether she is ready for service in the infantry. There are women who train hard to develop the strength and stamina required in the army.
In my opinion, the army lacks an HR component focused on working with female service personnel. A commander’s constant doubts and prejudiced remarks do nothing to boost the motivation, confidence or inner strength of someone who has voluntarily come to serve. For example, there was a case where the commander addressed all the men in the unit by their surnames, but referred to one of the women as: ‘And you – young lady…’. In other words, he constantly emphasised his negative attitude and did not regard her as an individual.
Another female soldier recounted that she was on duty and sneezed. She then heard one of her male comrades say to another: ‘Move away, or you’ll turn into a woman’.
Or there are situations where someone at the recruitment centre, at their own discretion, assigns a woman to a non-combat role rather than offering her available combat posts. Of course, not all women want to take up combat roles. But some do. And in order to achieve any kind of success in the army, they have to face prejudice, obstacles and barriers. Only the most resilient make it through this path.
Another manifestation of sexism is when a unit decides who to promote to a new post and, more often than not, chooses a man rather than a woman. A woman has to constantly prove that she’s top-notch, whilst a man simply needs to avoid getting drunk — and he’ll already be the most sought-after person in the army.
Unfortunately, there’s still a prejudiced view in our society that women aren’t serious warriors. For example, when I first joined the Ukrainian Volunteer Corps, my friends told me: ‘What war? You’re all giggles and laughter—you’re so frivolous.’ And when I was already a crew commander, a new lad joined us who provided fire support and was generally responsible for safety. And he says to me: ‘Why don’t you stay at the first-aid post, because it’s dangerous out there.’ I had the opportunity not only to respond, but even to leave him at the first-aid post if I’d wanted to. Of course, I didn’t do that. It’s just one example of when you immediately see someone being belittled.
Or take another situation. When I received my combatant’s certificate, I thought: ‘Oh, I’ll get a free ride on the minibus’ (smiles – ed.). I got on, and the first thing the driver asked me was: ‘Do you even know how to shoot?’
— Sitting in a minibus behind the front lines, he obviously thinks he knows better who should be doing what at the front.
— That’s certainly true. Nevertheless, it’s also a form of belittlement and prejudice. Just like the attitude towards women who enlisted to serve for the sake of their children. They face terrible things. Every other person will call her a bad mother. The children might be bullied by a teacher, a neighbour or someone else.
— When a woman chooses a combat role, she might overestimate her own capabilities. We can see what happens on the front line: soldiers sitting in their positions for months on end, and how far they have to walk to reach those positions. How do you make the right choice and assess what you’re actually capable of? Who can help with that?
— I, for example, am a combat medic. I went out with the 46th Brigade. There, combat medics are effectively like infantry. They spend many weeks on rotation in the trenches. It’s dangerous and tough. But as for the women who make it there, I have no doubt they’ll pull through.
When I went for the first time, I was so scared… I was worried I’d panic if I saw blood, guts or brains. Everyone has their doubts, but you just get on with it.
If there’s a motivated woman who wants to fight, and some bloke like Vasia who was rounded up off the street and doesn’t really want to be there, then I’d definitely go to a position with the woman. There have been plenty of times when blokes like Vasia have run off, broken ranks – and people have died because of it.
Of course, there are tasks that are easier for a man to carry out, and there are various combat roles, so a lot depends on the commander, the atmosphere within the unit, and how people treat one another.
— This year, a law was passed on preventing discrimination and sexual harassment in the armed forces. Your experts were directly involved in drafting it. How do you assess the final document overall?
— It has taken us many, many years to bring about even the slightest change in the protection of women in the army. As far back as 2021, we began discussing guidelines on combating sexual harassment and violence in the army with the General Staff. I simply hated those processes. Because you know about women’s service from your own experience and from what reaches us from the front line, yet people who are completely out of touch with reality are telling you how things will be better for women. I just can’t get my head round it.
Then the full-scale war began – and the process ground to a halt. Many gender issues were sidelined because they weren’t a priority for the military.
For us, this isn’t an end in itself, but it’s an important indicator of how the army respects human rights and creates opportunities for people’s development. In March 2024, we drafted a petition to raise this issue again. The petition gathered 25,000 signatures, the President responded to it, and I, as an expert with the VETERANKA movement, received a call asking: ‘So what exactly is the problem?’
And when we began working with the Ministry of Defence, I viewed everything very naively, yet optimistically, and thought that this collaboration would be constructive. In the end, they didn’t let us do anything at all. So we decided to take the matter to the Verkhovna Rada.
— Why didn’t it work out to do this together with the Ministry of Defence?
— First, the head of gender affairs changed; then they set up a department for the protection of military personnel’s rights, which turned out to be ineffective. They proposed their own guidelines, but in reality there is a much deeper problem within the army: both in matters of sexual harassment and in any other cases, the mechanism for holding the guilty parties to account is ‘broken’. In other words, there’s always someone to take the fall, and it won’t be the person who’s actually responsible. This is evident from some very high-profile cases, where instead of facing the consequences they deserve, the person changes posts and sometimes even gets promoted.
In all my years of work, I have seen time and again that this is a major problem in Ukraine as a whole. That is precisely why we so desperately need judicial reform and changes to the military justice system. But such reform is a massive undertaking, and it takes time. That is why we have come up with a solution such as amending the Disciplinary Statute of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, so that those who are truly at fault can be held to account for discrimination and sexual harassment.
— This law stipulates that a commander must conduct an internal investigation. In what circumstances can a woman approach her commander to request that he order such an investigation, and what is the correct procedure for doing so?
— What are harassment and sexual harassment, and how can one distinguish between them? The key question here is whether a person recognises the word ‘no’.
Generally speaking, it is sufficient to lodge a complaint. We also want a user-friendly reporting form to be available on ‘Army+’; we will be working on this. This is necessary to ensure an electronic record is kept.
— But what if what the woman is saying is simply slander?
— An internal investigation will be carried out, and the matter will be dealt with accordingly.
— In cases of rape, there is evidence that lawyers can work with. But what about sexual harassment? How can such incidents be documented to prove that they actually took place? Perhaps it’s worth recording them discreetly on a mobile phone?
— It’s difficult to prove harassment, and we do indeed advise young women to record on their phones what their abusers say to them, and then to provide these recordings, name witnesses in their complaints, and so on. But if the commander doesn’t respond, it’s best to contact the military ombudsman. Or you can contact us — we’ll help.
In addition, there are gender advisers in military units whom you can also contact. They should also provide the necessary assistance.
— Whilst the circumstances are being investigated, can the woman be transferred to another unit? Or does she remain with her abuser?
— They must be separated. But there is a major problem with transfers to another unit. Because at present, issues relating to complaints of harassment are often resolved in this way: the woman is transferred, whilst the perpetrator is allowed to continue serving. And another woman takes her place, whom he may treat in the same way.
This is yet another example of the devaluation of women’s roles in the military. She may not want to leave her unit, but she is forcibly transferred, whilst nothing is done about the perpetrator.
Generally, in such situations, the responsibility lies with the commander. If the commander is reasonable and responds appropriately to such cases, he can be approached to complain about the harassment, and he can resolve the issue within the unit. The situation is considerably more complicated if the perpetrator is the commander himself.
When we talk about rape, which you also mentioned, this falls within the realm of criminal offences and criminal proceedings. And here there is a separate problem: at present, we do not have a military prosecutor’s office. Crimes committed by military personnel fall under the jurisdiction of the State Bureau of Investigations. At the same time, SBI investigators are subject to an order restricting their travel to the combat zone. Yet a crime may occur precisely there. This creates a serious problem for the prompt response to and investigation of such cases.
— If SBI representatives are unwilling to travel to the combat zone, what is a woman who is there to do? Go there herself to undergo an examination?
— She went for the examination, and in the meantime she is being charged with an AWOL. Therefore, amending the Disciplinary Statute, unfortunately, does not in itself guarantee any significant changes. But these are important steps, and we will continue to work to ensure that women in the army are protected.
In fact, the possibility of harassment is one of the fears that can worry women and make them doubt whether they want to join the army.
— Do these amendments to the law make it possible to hold a perpetrator accountable for harassment? What exactly might that entail?
— There are penalties, a reprimand and further measures – depending on exactly what the person has done and how serious the offence is.
— You mentioned that a woman could be accused of desertion. Where should she turn to avoid such accusations?
— To the police – they operate even in frontline areas. There is also the Military Law Enforcement Service.
— Who should she inform first: her commander or the police?
— In my opinion, the police. After all, it’s impossible to know how the commander will react to what has happened. He might not want to ‘air the family’s dirty laundry’. It’s important that the report to the police is recorded straight away.
— I’d like to return to your point that women must be protected. Do we need to work on further legislative changes or measures within the army itself to achieve this?
— Firstly, we need well-established procedures for managing personnel. We should invest significant effort in staff education and the training of commanders: explaining how they should conduct themselves, and fostering zero tolerance towards discrimination, harassment and other such behaviour.
Secondly, we need to work on building an effective system of justice within the armed forces. Any effective system begins with reflecting on mistakes: mistakes entail accountability and the need to address them. In the army, however, the person held accountable is usually the one with the least power – the rank-and-file soldier – whilst mistakes come at a very high cost; at the same time, the cause-and-effect links between misconduct, crime, rights violations and accountability are arguably the weakest link in the army.
Thirdly, the system of career progression in the army must be reformed so that those who become commanders are truly worthy of the role. Consequently, there must be clear and transparent requirements for commanders. For example, in the armed forces of NATO countries, the prevention of conflict-related sexual violence is part of commanders’ responsibilities and is set out in their job descriptions. This applies both within the army and beyond its borders.
In general, international humanitarian law prohibits sexual violence against women during war, including against the civilian population. And it is the commander’s duty to do everything necessary to prevent such incidents.
— You said that a commander could also be a perpetrator. Is there an independent mechanism through which a complaint against a commander can be properly investigated?
— I believe in the potential of the Office of the Military Ombudsman. Unfortunately, it also matters who the ombudsman is. And this is a problem for all of us. Because in our country, so much depends on individual personalities. That is why the issue of institutional rules is so important. In other words, the way the work and processes are structured must have certain safeguards in place. We cannot expect every commander to be a ‘sweetheart’ who cares for people. But there must be clear boundaries and a ‘sword of Damocles’ hanging over them, so that those who have caused harm receive their just deserts. This does not exist in the army. And we need precedents establishing this accountability and the inevitability of consequences for abuse of power or negligence. If a commander knows that any violation of subordinates’ rights will be recorded by an independent inspectorate or an ombudsman, and that this will inevitably lead to legal consequences — behaviour changes. The army needs clear criteria for evaluating the performance of the command, which take into account not only the completion of combat missions, but also the preservation of the lives, health and dignity of soldiers and female soldiers.
— What should a soldier do if the perpetrator is someone with authority and connections within the army?
— Do everything possible: contact the Office of the Military Ombudsman, the law enforcement agencies, or us – we will help. People do not always want such matters to be made public, and that is understandable. But sometimes, only publicity can help draw attention to the situation and prompt a response. It all depends on the specific case. For our part, we are doing everything we can to help, and women should know that they will not be left on their own in such a situation.
The law amending the Disciplinary Statute does not mean that all the necessary changes have already been made and that the system is now functioning properly. We are continuing to work on this.
In early September, we are taking part in an expert group at the Office of the Commissioner for Gender Policy. The work is ongoing, but, unfortunately, it is a long and complex process.
Without changes to the military justice system, the situation will not change fundamentally, as the key perpetrators – particularly when it comes to commanders – still often do not face the appropriate consequences. At present, such situations, unfortunately, often have to be resolved on a case-by-case basis.
Tetiana Bodnia, "Censor.NET"
