Ukrainian rape victims face a big problem in Poland

Created: 05/13/2022 15:36

By: Aleksandra Fedorska

Protest against war crimes - and the German attitude in the Ukraine conflict - on April 21 in Berlin.

© IMAGO/Virginia Garfunkel

Rape is apparently part of Russia's cruel war tactics.

But Ukrainian victims of this practice sometimes have a hard time in Poland.

Warsaw – The Russian army continues to rage in Ukraine – and women in particular are the focus of violence.

The suffering of those affected is often indescribable.

For women who have fled to Poland from the war zone, however, the question of abortion after rape is often problematic.

Conservative Poland is now looking for solutions.

A special exemption for the victims of rape from Ukraine is organized in the capital Warsaw - and in a country that has very high legal hurdles for abortions.

Ukraine conflict: only two reasons for legal abortions in Poland - and a big problem for refugees

Because Polish women can legally have an abortion in only two cases.

An abortion is permitted if the life of the pregnant woman is in danger or if the pregnancy is proven to be the result of sexual violence.

While pregnancy is legal regardless of the stage of pregnancy if the mother's life is in danger, the procedure can only be carried out on rape victims up to the 12th week of pregnancy.

In Ukraine, a pregnancy can be terminated without giving a reason up to the 12th week of pregnancy.

The legal situation of rape victims in Poland is complicated, because formally they, like the Polish citizens, would have to submit proof of the initiation of a corresponding legal procedure.

This is complicated and hardly feasible under the current conditions of the war in Ukraine.

Abortion law in Poland: Media interest has waned recently

In Poland, the tightening of the already conservative abortion law in autumn 2020 triggered a large wave of protests.

And the fronts between abortion opponents and advocates of a liberal abortion law continue to harden.

However, much of the Polish media has since lost interest in this topic.

It has also become surprisingly quiet around the main protagonists of the women's protests, Marta Lempart and Klementyna Suchanow, who were very active in the media at the time.

Some Polish media had even predicted a successful political career for Lempart.

So far, however, this has not happened.

Ukraine flight: Pro-life activists target women from war zone

In April, the left-liberal newspaper

, known as the pro-abortion medium, drew attention to the situation of raped Ukrainian women from Bucha who, when fleeing, had concerns about whether they would be able to have an abortion in Poland.

The paper also reported that the pro-life activist Kaja Godek and her foundation had distributed flyers to those seeking protection in order to discourage those potentially affected from having an abortion with drastic images.

Opponents of abortion are also on the rise in the United States.

Germany recently debated the abolition of paragraph 219a.

Ukraine: Refugees are now finding aid structures in Poland

In Poland, however, those seeking protection from the Ukraine have long had their own communication structures and opportunities to solve problem situations independently.

This is also shown by an initiative that arose during the Maidan protests.

The organization Euromaidan Warszawa is a citizens' movement that has been actively supporting Ukraine's integration into European structures since 2013.

It brings together Polish and Ukrainian aid organizations, activists and authorities to coordinate aid and support for the country.

“We are in direct contact with the Ukrainian Embassy in Poland, officials of the Ukrainian and Polish governments and the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

This allows us to know what help is needed where,” says the Euromaidan Warszawa website.

The main protagonist of this citizens' movement, which is well-known and well-known in the media in Poland, is the prominent Ukrainian activist Natalia Panchenko, who on April 14 addressed one of her posts to victims of rape in Ukraine.

She pointed out that women seeking protection in Poland who want to have an abortion can turn to Polish counseling organizations.

Panchenko also called for psychological help.

At the same time, however, she offered those affected full support from the Euromaidan Warszawa if they only wanted to travel to Ukraine for a short period of time and then return to Poland.

This option should be easier to implement for many victims, both psychologically and legally.

Another possibility is offered by a department of the municipal health care in Warsaw.

The emphatically liberal capital of Poland is ready to legally help the Ukrainians in this situation.

Those responsible would like to provide appropriate areas of the gynecological hospital for this purpose.

Aleksandra Fedorska