Over the past 12 months the people of Ukraine have lived through a full-blown Russian invasion, with all the horrors you might expect. Those who lived in conflict zones, have had to flee or witness death and destruction on a massive scale. Many have either witnessed or experienced war crimes – including sexual violence. Millions have lost their homes and possessions, while thousands are mourning lost loved ones.
Academic researchers in Ukraine have looked into the prevalence of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which suggests the scale of this problem – particularly the case for young women. Worryingly sexual assault and associated trauma may be playing a role.
At the beginning of October 2022, a paper was published by an international research group suggesting that that 25.9% of those that completed the survey had “probable PTSD”. The researchers also showed that of this broadly representative sample the respondents had witnessed an average of nine stressors associated with conflict – including air raids, fire fights, seeing people killed and dead bodies, among other horrific experiences associated with modern conflict. Compare this with the UK, where a general adult population sample found that 3.7% of men and 5.1% of women screened positive for PTSD.
