Ukrainians Iryna Dovgan, beautician, and Alisa Kovalenko, director, in Paris, December 2, 2022. LAURENCE GEAI / MYOP FOR THE WORLD
She said almost nothing about that for years. Iryna Dovgan, 60, was captured by pro-Russian separatists in Donbass in August 2014 and has long revealed only part of the five days of abuse and humiliation she endured at the hands of a dozen men. Beaten, tortured and threatened for bringing food and clothing to the Ukrainian army, this Donetsk beautician was then tied to a pole in a public square, with a Ukrainian flag on her shoulders and a sign around her neck that read: ” She kills our children. A New York Times photographer, Mauricio Lima, immortalized her in the situation where she was being beaten by a resident.
Released a few days later thanks to the scandal provoked by the photo, Iryna Dovgan told about her ordeal, but kept to herself the most difficult moments, those that touched the most intimate. In the Liberation newspaper at the time, she said she had “threatened [la] take turns raping. “They ripped off my bra and made fun of my small breasts. I told them I was a grandmother. They made me kneel down, pretended to take off their pants, approached their genitals. I shouted. Today she says she gave “only 5%”. what she went through. “I only had one dream: to die as soon as possible. »
Since 2019, Iryna Dovgan has headed the SEMA Ukraine Network, an international aid organization for survivors of sex crimes in armed conflict. After the US, UK and Belgium, she embarked on a tour of France on December 1 with another survivor and member of the network, documentary filmmaker Alisa Kovalenko, 35.
thousands of cases
Eight years later, speaking out about the sexual violence his executioners inflicted on him is still a test. But since the Russian invasion on February 24 and the rise in these crimes, Iryna Dovgan has tried to speak more “openly” about what she’s been going through to encourage new victims to come out of the silence. The Russian offensive was a “trigger,” she told Le Monde. “There are already thousands of victims, but they are so traumatized that they cannot speak. That’s why we’re here, to speak for them. »
So far, only around 100 cases have been officially reported to the public prosecutor’s office. “A drop in the bucket,” says Iryna Dovgan, who assures that “in reality the numbers are much higher”. She herself has been missing the liberated areas for months in order to persuade the victims to testify.
You have 65.08% of this article left to read. The following is for subscribers only.