Un women expresses deep concerns over rape, crimes against women & children in ukraine

The United Nations gender agency's Executive Director stated that increasing accusations of sexual abuse and human trafficking in Ukraine, purportedly committed in the context of mass

displacement amid the ongoing war, are raising all the red flags concerning a possible protection crisis. Speaking at UN Security Council (UNSC) on Monday, Sima Bahous, Executive Director of

the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women), claimed that she recently returned from the Republic of Moldova, where she saw buses full of exhausted and scared

women and children travelling from Ukraine. She further stated that UN Women is assisting many groups as part of its coordinating role to ensure that the gender-related issues are addressed

with a gender-sensitive response. Bahous also condemned the Kramatorsk railway station attack on April 8, which killed over 50 Ukrainians including several women and children. She also

stated that this trauma has the potential to destroy a generation. Rape and sexual violence against those fleeing are now being reported, and the enormous number of displaced people raises

red flags, _UN News_ reported. According to the report, women account for about 80% of all health and social care employees in Ukraine, and many have refused to flee. Bahous praised their

bravery and stressed the importance of women participating in all efforts to find a peaceful solution to the ongoing crisis.  “We know from experience that women’s participation makes

response and recovery more effective and sustainable," Bahous remarked, as per the _UN News._ Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has also reported several cases of Russian military

forces violating the laws of war against civilians in Ukraine's occupied regions of Chernihiv, Kharkiv, and Kyiv. Last week, it reported that a 31-year-old woman was raped several times

by a Russian soldier on March 13. The incident reportedly took place while she was sheltering with her family at a school in the Kharkiv region.  Meanwhile, the Office of the Prosecutor

General of Ukraine claimed that as many as 176 children have been killed and more than 324 injured since the onset of Russian aggression on February 24. It further stated that over 500

children have suffered so far in the war-torn country owing to the full-fledged attack by the invaders. According to the data shared by Prosecutor General's Office, children suffered

the most in the Donetsk region with the number as high as 102.