Russia Ukraine war: Amid rape crisis, emergency contraception sent to Ukraine

People shout toward Russian army soldiers during a rally against the Russian occupation in Svobody (Freedom) Square in Kherson, Ukraine, on March 7, 2022. Photo / AP

Tens of thousands of packets of emergency contraception are being sent to Ukraine amid fears of a rape crisis.

About 25,000 doses of the contraceptive, commonly known as the morning-after pill, have been sent to the country by the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) to assist women reportedly raped by Russian soldiers.

Julie Taft, the humanitarian director at the IPPF, said the organisation had also sent medical abortion pills, which can be used by women who are up to 24 weeks pregnant, to offer wider options to women in the war-torn country.

"The timeframe for treating victims of sexual violence is really essential. If a woman is seen within five days of an event, then that medication should automatically be given to her," Taft told the Guardian newspaper.

Before Russia's invasion, emergency contraception was widely available and easily accessible in Ukraine, but the war has disrupted medical supply chains and caused an upshot in patients who have been sexually assaulted by troops.

Humanitarian aid organisation Paracrew has suggested demand for emergency contraception in Ukraine is highest in its eastern regions, where large swathes continue to be occupied by Russian forces.

Joel Mitchell, a spokesman for the organisation, said: "There is a demand for emergency contraception, but very rarely from hospitals in the West. It is mostly hospitals to the east, in Kharkiv, Mariupol, those regions.

"As soon as we made contact with hospitals in those regions, we had standing orders for that medication."

Lyudmila Denisova, the country's human rights commissioner, said earlier in April there had been nine official cases of women who had become pregnant after being raped by Russian soldiers.

A further 25 women had been held in a basement and repeatedly raped in Bucha, she said.

The true number of victims across Ukraine is unknown.

Ukrainian women who have fled to neighbouring Poland have also faced difficulty in accessing reproductive healthcare because of the country's strict abortion laws.