Ukrainian Rape Survivors Who Took Refuge In Poland Struggle Due To Abortion Ban In The Country

Pregnant women and rape survivors who have escaped to Poland due to the ongoing Ukraine-Russia war are struggling with abortion due to strict laws in Poland.

Poland¡¯s near-total ban on abortion added to a lack of key sexual and reproductive health medicines and products that obstruct humanitarian efforts to provide medical assistance to rape survivors and refugees who wish to terminate an unwanted pregnancy.

More than 60 organisations, including Amnesty International and local NGOs, have recently urged European governments to address the issue of women and girls¡¯ sexual health and reproductive rights as a humanitarian priority, and a vital step in tackling the consequences of gender-based violence in times of conflict.

¡°Systemic rape¡± of women in Ukraine by Russian forces

Doctors and volunteers are struggling to reach out to rape survivors and could face imprisonment to provide distressed refugees with safe abortifacients and contraceptive pills.

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More than 4.6 million Ukrainian refugees ¨C 90 per cent of whom are women and children ¨C have fled their homes to seek sanctuary in neighbouring countries.

Poland has received the highest number of displaced Ukrainians, as nearly 3 million refugees have entered the country since February.

Evidence of rape has been uncovered in towns including Bucha and Kharkiv, and Ukraine¡¯s human rights ombudswoman has said some women and girls may have been ¡°systematically raped¡±.

New restrictions were brought in last year in Poland banning abortion except in cases of rape, incest, and when the pregnancy threatens the life of the mother.

In reality, however, women are unable to receive an abortion even in these cases.

Abortion pills, HIV drugs sent to Ukraine

Aid groups and activist networks are having to send abortion pills, emergency contraception, and HIV medicine to recently occupied regions of Ukraine amid reports that Russian soldiers are raping civilians.

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As Russian troops have been pushed back by the Ukrainian army, cases have emerged of alleged sexual violence by soldiers against women and children.

International abortion providers have said that, since the Russians left, they have received requests from hospitals, volunteer organisations and other medical facilities in Ukraine for emergency contraceptives and abortion services.

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