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Yuliia Chystiakova: "What is needed is to promote the use of Russia’s frozen assets to finance reparations"

For the second year in a row, Dialogbüro Vienna is announcing its Residence Fellowship, which enables researchers, scholars, journalists, artists, and other professionals to work uninterruptedly on developing their projects in Vienna for one month. This year, one of the fellows is Yuliia Chystiakova from Kyiv.

Yuliia is a lawyer and researcher with a PhD in Law from the National University “Odesa Law Academy”. She is the author of more than 50 scholarly publications and has over a decade of teaching, research, and practical experience in European and international law. Yuliia’s work focuses on the protection of human rights during armed conflicts, particularly illegal detention sites and conflict-related sexual violence.

In addition to the public event (Yuliia gave a lecture together with Irina Dovgan, SEMA; the full recording is available on YouTube), Dialogbüro Vienna and the project “She is an Expert” conducted an interview with Yuliia to explore her research and activism in greater depth.

Sexualized violence – as a tool of war in general, and of the war against Ukraine in particular – along with the possibility of reparations for survivors, occupies a significant place in gender studies of war. It is crucial to recognize sexualized violence not as a consequence or an echo of war, but as one of its inherent elements.

This became an important and meaningful conversation.

Interviewer: Marika Semenenko, “She is an Expert”
Marika Semenenko, “She is an Expert”: Could you please briefly describe your field of research?
Yuliia Chystiakova, Dialogbüro Vienna Fellow: My research focuses on reparations for survivors of conflict-related sexual violence. Since 2020, I have been working with an East-Ukrainian Center for Civic Initiatives that documents violations committed in the context of Russia’s aggression. At that time, our work concentrated primarily on Donetsk and Luhansk regions; we did not work in Crimea. Our main focus was on civilian hostages unlawfully imprisoned by the occupying authorities. Through this work, we identified a significant pattern: nearly everyone who passed through these illegal detention facilities had, in one form or another, been subjected to sexual violence. This realization led us to engage more deeply with the issue.

After 2022, the relevance of this topic increased dramatically. The number of cases of sexual violence committed by the Russian military is extremely high. Yet despite knowing how widespread the problem is, we face another challenge: a very small number of survivors are willing or able to speak about their experiences. That is why I see our work not only as documentation but also as part of a broader effort to raise awareness – communicating that there are mechanisms and organizations prepared to support survivors.

Despite the fact that since 2022 this issue has been widely discussed both in Ukraine and internationally, it still requires far greater visibility, depth of understanding, and outreach – especially among potential survivors in occupied territories. Many of them are either not ready or do not know how to begin speaking about what they experienced.
Marika: Could you please explain why survivors may be afraid to talk about what happened to them?
Yuliia: There are several reasons. First, the psychological stigma is immense. Sexual violence is a profound violation of bodily integrity and the most intimate boundaries, which makes it extremely difficult for survivors to disclose. Second, many are reluctant to engage with Ukrainian law enforcement. Even with the significant progress made in trauma-informed and empathetic practices, the process still involves bureaucracy and questioning. Not all survivors realize that the procedure is intended to be as safe and supportive as possible, so many simply do not feel ready to share. Third, people living in regions close to the frontline continue to live under constant shelling. The threat of renewed occupation is ever-present, and the fear of “what happens if the Russian Army comes back” remains very real. For those in recently de-occupied areas near the frontline, logistics pose another barrier. Travelling anywhere can take half a day, and the same is true for anyone trying to reach them. Conditions are dangerous, and mobile communication is often unreliable.

In other words, the reasons are numerous and differ from case to case.

Additionally, not everyone recognizes the many forms sexual violence can take. Most people associate it exclusively with rape, but it can manifest in other ways. As a result, many survivors do not even realize that what they experienced constitutes sexual violence.
Marika: How do you work in such conditions, when people are afraid to talk about what happened to them?
Yuliia: My work is somewhat specific because I am an analytical lawyer so most of my work involves legal research rather than direct fieldwork. For example, in the context of reparations, I analyze relevant legislation and compare it with reparation programs implemented in other countries.

As for direct work with survivors, our organization currently does not run field missions in active conflict zones. However, many internally displaced people now live in relatively safe regions of Ukraine, including Kyiv. Through word of mouth – because survivors actively look for support and often connect with one another – they may choose to reach out to us and give informed consent for documentation or interviews.

Since 2020, we have also had a close partnership with the SEMA group, an association of Ukrainian survivors formed in 2020, working within the broader SEMA International network that unites survivors from many countries. So much of our documentation happens through social connections: people come through these networks, through communities where they know support is available and where they feel they can share their stories. If they are ready, they consent to engage with us and to share their testimonies.
Marika: Is it difficult for you to work on the issue of sexual violence? I mean in terms of how society and international organizations perceive it. What are the main obstacles?
Yuliia: If we compare the situation before and after 2022, the progress is clear. Before the full-scale invasion, this issue was barely acknowledged. The work was carried out almost exclusively by NGOs and survivors themselves, while the state mainly avoided it. After 2022, ignoring it became impossible. Law enforcement, in particular, has made significant strides. I wouldn’t say this happened in every case, but still, before many survivors encountered responses like: “Why are you coming to us if it’s impossible to collect forensic evidence?” For example, when the violence occurred years ago while in captivity. This no longer happens. There are now mobile teams in the prosecutor’s office and police who have worked directly in de-occupied areas.
Ukraine was the first country to introduce interim wartime reparations for survivors of conflict-related sexual violence. The payments were modest – 3,000 euros – but meaningful. More than 634 approved applicants received them. Another 266 survivors have been recognized as eligible but have not received anything because the program is now frozen due to a lack of donor funding. It is difficult to speak of justice in such conditions.
Internationally, the topic is being discussed more actively, but attention alone is not enough, particularly given the severe physical and psychological trauma that survivors have endured. Many lost their homes or property and had to relocate within Ukraine or abroad. They are rebuilding their lives from scratch, often with nothing but their trauma. They need immediate support, yet the available mechanisms are still very limited. We need to think about accountability and preventing the use of sexual violence as a tool of systematic terror against civilians during the war. Around 20% of Ukraine’s territory remains occupied, which means these crimes continue. The stories we know are only a fraction of what is happening now. Yet international organizations have no access to these areas and no leverage over the aggressor state.
At the same time, the bigger problem is that international mechanisms meant to prevent and respond to aggressive wars don’t work in the case of Ukraine. Russia is a permanent UN Security Council member and a nuclear power, so many safeguards are ineffective. Even at the UN level, reports from Ukraine document sexual violence, its systematic use, unlawful detention of civilians, and the very existence of civilian hostages, a category that should not exist under the Geneva Conventions. These reports exist, but the question remains: how to act on them?
This is why we need to consider what additional mechanisms could be used more proactively to hold perpetrators accountable. The International Criminal Court exists, but its effectiveness in this context is still an open question. At the moment, accountability mechanisms are largely ineffective. But that does not mean we should abandon them. They may not be functioning now, but circumstances can change – and when they do, these mechanisms may finally begin to work.
There is also a general “normalization” of the war: after almost four years, another hospital or kindergarten being shelled no longer shocks the world. Unfortunately, the same is happening with sexual violence. This is why storytelling is so important. Also, “SEMA Ukraine” is very active in raising awareness both inside the country and internationally. They are currently promoting a petition calling on the UN to add Russia to the “list of shame” for the systematic use of sexual violence.
The priority now is to continue raising awareness and not to pause this work, so that no one falls into the illusion that sexual violence has stopped or that the problem has somehow disappeared. It remains a reality not only for individual survivors but for society as a whole – especially for the small communities where such violence occurs. In de-occupied areas, these are typically small towns and villages with very different social dynamics, and the simple fact that someone was tortured, killed, or raped on the next street leaves a profound mark on the entire community.
Marika: Do you encounter particular challenges when communicating the issue of reparations for sexual violence to a broader, non-specialist audience?

Yuliia: There is no need to persuade anyone that reparations are important. It’s quite simple: if we want an international community that actually reflects the principles written into the UN Charter and other international frameworks, then justice has to be the foundation. And justice is impossible without compensating harm, both harm done to Ukraine as a state and harm done to individual survivors.
What is needed – and what both the Ukrainian government and civil society are actively doing – is promoting the idea of using Russia’s frozen assets to finance these reparations.
Another problem is that even those frozen assets are no longer enough to cover the enormous physical destruction. They barely cover the direct material losses caused by the war, and those losses grow every day. Expecting the aggressor state to pay directly is unrealistic right now; Russia is not even close to acknowledging the damage and trauma it has caused. The alternative mechanisms involve international funds or Ukrainian state funds, but Ukraine’s budget simply cannot carry that burden. That is why using Russia’s frozen assets remains the main viable option. This issue has been on the table for three years – nearly four – and progress has been slow because of procedures and bureaucracy. But even so, there is now clear movement forward.
Marika: Do you engage with society on how to address and discuss the issue of sexual violence?

Yuliia: At the level of our NGO, our resources are limited. But even before 2022, we published a guide for survivors of sexual violence. It outlined the basic steps for survivors – who to contact, where to go – and also discussed approaches for working with survivors in a human-centered, survivor-oriented way, avoiding retraumatization and repeated questioning. Before 2022, such initiatives were relatively rare – not only ours, but others as well – so the voices were scattered. After 2022, the situation changed: training for law enforcement and courts improved. It’s not perfect, but significant progress has been made.
We also published a small collection of personal stories by women who had experienced different forms of violence. The authors themselves bring this book to small communities – not even regional centers, but very local ones – and give presentations. These events help raise awareness in those communities.

There is also a broader issue regarding journalism and ethics. Many survivors report that after speaking with journalists, they felt used for breaking news and clickable headings. So there are questions about journalistic ethics – whether they are followed and whether journalists understand the specific needs of survivors and trauma-informed reporting. There have even been cases where names or faces were published without consent.
In small towns and rural areas, the problem is compounded by stigma and more patriarchal social norms than in cities. Victim-blaming is, unfortunately, a natural psychological reaction to stress – it’s easier for people to think, “this couldn’t happen to me because I behave differently.” Even outside the context of war, victim-blaming is common in Ukraine, especially in tight-knit communities where everyone knows each other. Community support and public awareness can help counteract this. Education in schools about bodily integrity is also essential.
Overall, this is a complex issue. Even among professionals, patterns of victim-blaming and stigmatization around sexual violence are difficult to overcome. Sociological and anthropological analysis can explain these patterns, but it doesn’t make the survivor’s experience any easier. Ultimately, the key solutions are awareness-raising and providing support to survivors.

How to donate

You can support SEMA Ukraine and the survivors of the sexual violence in the war against Ukraine via donations on the official website SEMA Ukraine or directly on SEMA Ukraine's bank account below:

Company Name: SEMA UKRAINE
IBAN Code: UA703052990000026007036241204
Name of the bank: JSC CB "PRIVATBANK", 1D HRUSHEVSKOHO STR., KYIV, 01001, UKRAINE
Bank SWIFT Code: PBANUA2X
Company address: 01024, Evgena Chikalenka str. 39 / 43 KYIV, 01001, UKRAINE
Account in the correspondent bank: 400886700401
SWIFT Code of the correspondent bank: COBADEFF
Correspondent bank: Commerzbank AG, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
2025-12-09 13:30