The Verkhovna Rada adopted as a basis bill 13037 on amendments to the Disciplinary Statute of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Statute of the Internal Service of the Armed Forces of Ukraine regarding the improvement of mechanisms for ensuring military discipline, preventing and combating manifestations of discrimination and sexual harassment.
As the initiators of the law point out, "Today, women in the Armed Forces of Ukraine can hold positions as commanders of infantry units, snipers, machine gunners, grenade launchers, reconnaissance officers, etc." This became possible thanks to the Law "On Ensuring Equal Rights and Opportunities for Women and Men During Military Service" adopted in September 2018.
According to the Ministry of Defense, in recent years the number of women in the Armed Forces of Ukraine has increased to 68 thousand people, of which 48 thousand are servicemen, and more than 5 thousand are on the contact line.
The number of women who wish to voluntarily join the Defense Forces through the Ukrainian Army's recruiting centers is increasing. As of January 3, 2025, 20% of all candidates are women.
The Ministry of Defense has created an interdepartmental working group on ensuring equal rights and opportunities for women, combating violence and discrimination based on gender, which includes representatives of the Ministry of Defense, the General Staff, and leading public organizations in the field of ensuring gender equality.
In particular, one of the main tasks of the Working Group is to develop instructions on reporting and responding to cases related to gender discrimination, sexual harassment, and other offenses.
"Within the framework of the Working Group's activities, during the discussion of the draft Instruction, special attention was paid to the need to prepare a separate draft law, namely, amendments to the Disciplinary Statute of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Statute of the Internal Service of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in terms of improving the mechanism for preventing, promptly responding to, and countering sexual harassment, manifestations of gender-based discrimination among military personnel, gender-based violence, and offenses against sexual freedom and sexual integrity," — the deputies note.
Therefore, it is proposed to make changes to the Disciplinary Statute of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, namely:
- changes to the concept of military discipline, noting that its implementation includes compliance by each serviceman with legislation on ensuring equal rights and opportunities for women and men, and on preventing and combating discrimination;
- establishes the obligation of every serviceman to prevent unworthy actions (verbal or non-verbal) related to discrimination on the basis of gender, religious or other beliefs, sexual harassment, gender-based violence, and offenses against sexual freedom and sexual integrity;
- establishes the obligation of commanders to immediately respond to offenses against sexual freedom and sexual integrity. In particular, it obliges the commander to take measures to detain a subordinate when committing or attempting to commit a criminal offense or immediately after committing a criminal offense against sexual freedom and sexual integrity;
- introduces a new ground for removing a serviceman from performing official duties - if the serviceman's failure to perform (improper performance of) official duties led to the commission of an offense against sexual freedom and sexual integrity;
- introduces changes to the mechanism for appointing a commander of an internal investigation in a case related to gender discrimination, sexual harassment, gender-based violence, and offenses against sexual freedom and sexual integrity.
- An official investigation to establish the causes and conditions that contributed to the commission of the aforementioned offenses may be ordered by the commander himself or by the commander upon the proposal of a representative of an authorized unit or official responsible for ensuring equal rights and opportunities for women and men, preventing and combating discrimination and violence based on gender, sexual harassment, and offenses against sexual freedom and sexual integrity.
- introduces changes to the composition of the commission that conducts an internal investigation into cases related to gender discrimination, sexual harassment, gender-based violence, and offenses against sexual freedom and sexual integrity. In addition to the psychologist of the military administration body, such a commission must also include a representative of the authorized unit or an official responsible for ensuring equal rights and opportunities for women and men, preventing and combating gender discrimination and violence, sexual harassment, and offenses against sexual freedom and sexual integrity;
- introduces additional guarantees for servicemen who report possible facts related to gender discrimination, sexual harassment, gender-based violence, offenses against sexual freedom and sexual integrity. A serviceman who reports such offenses may not be held disciplinary liable in connection with such a report or be subjected to other negative measures of influence or the threat of such measures of influence, and may not be dismissed or forced to be dismissed from service;
- provides for the possibility of a serviceman to send statements or complaints or personally contact officials, military management bodies, management bodies of the Law Enforcement Service, bodies conducting pre-trial investigations, and other state bodies in the event of detection of facts of violation of the requirements of the legislation on ensuring equal rights and opportunities for women and men, preventing and combating discrimination on the basis of gender, religious and other beliefs, and sexual harassment.
The draft law also provides for amendments to the Law "On the Statute of the Internal Service of the Armed Forces of Ukraine", namely:
- establishes the obligation of a serviceman who becomes aware of facts related to gender discrimination, sexual harassment, gender-based violence, offenses against sexual freedom and sexual integrity to report such circumstances to a representative of the authorized unit or an official responsible for ensuring equal rights and opportunities for women and men, preventing and combating gender discrimination and violence, sexual harassment, offenses against sexual freedom and sexual integrity.
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