My latest piece on security and women, for PassBlue looked at whether or not sexual violence was being used as a systemic weapon of war in Eastern Ukraine, as the conflict rages on, one year after the first protests in Kiev. The findings are inconclusive, but both the OSCE and UNHRC have positioned the situation as catastrophic for women and children. What is known is that the country, through cultural mores and basically corrupt leadership, is woefully unprepared to deal with massive violence directed against women.
A weapon does not decide whether or not to kill. A weapon is a manifestation of a decision that has already been made. Stephen Galloway, The Cellist of Sarajevo
azimuths compass 