From being publicly humiliated in a square in the Donetsk region to leading an organization for CRSV survivors

“Ready to fight stigma,” she said in Traces, a compelling documentary directed by Alisa Kovalenko that follows and amplifies the voices of six female survivors of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) in Ukraine.

Iryna Dovhan is a survivor of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) and a representative of SEMA Ukraine, a network of women who have endured captivity, torture, and sexual violence during Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.

Before Russia’s aggression against Ukraine began in 2014, Iryna lived in Donbas for more than five decades. She worked as a cosmetologist and ran a small beauty salon, building a quiet life around her profession and family. 

Captivity and violence

Everything changed in 2014.

“I was unlawfully imprisoned and endured torture, abuse, and sexual violence at the hands of mercenaries of the Russian Federation,” she recalls.

In August 2014, armed men arrived at her home. She was handcuffed, blindfolded, and taken away. Her house was searched and looted before she was transported to Donetsk, where she endured prolonged abuse and violence.

“They were constantly asking: ‘Where are the Ukrainians hiding?’” she said, describing the dehumanization and hostility she experienced in captivity.

Iryna was eventually released, an outcome she attributes in part to international attention. Photographs taken by journalist Mauricio Lima and published in The New York Times brought global awareness to her case. 

“After my fortunate release… the international attention generated by those photos helped save my life,” she said.

Following her release, she relocated to Kyiv with her family and began rebuilding her life from scratch. Without her former business, she returned to work as a massage therapist to support herself and her loved ones. 

From survivor to advocate  

Iryna’s experience did not end with survival. It became the foundation of her advocacy.

She began working with human rights organizations and later testified about her experience at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, where she encountered the Mukwege Foundation.

Together with other survivors, she helped establish a collective of women who had experienced similar crimes.

In 2019, this initiative became SEMA Ukraine, meaning “Do not be silent, speak out” in Swahili. SEMA was initiated in 2017 in Geneva (Switzerland) during a global retreat of survivors of conflict-related sexual violence. That first meeting brought together survivors from several countries who aimed to create a common network to organize themselves and advocate at the international level. It was initiated and facilitated by the Mukwege Foundation, hence the use of the word in Swahili.

As SEMA Ukraine expanded its work, UN Women supported the leadership of survivor-led networks, including SEMA Ukraine, helping amplify survivors’ voices in advocacy activities and policy-making processes at both national and global levels. UN Women also strengthened the organization’s institutional capacities through support for strategic planning, technical assistance in the development of key organizational policies, and capacity-building on gender-responsive results-based management, fundraising, and grant writing. 

For Iryna, speaking out is central to justice.

“The primary goal of our organization is to encourage women to speak about the sexual violence they experienced… so that those responsible can be held accountable,” she explains.

She also highlights the deep stigma that surrounds conflict-related sexual violence, particularly in small communities where silence is often imposed on survivors.

“Silence means impunity for criminals,” she says.

Supporting survivors  

Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the scale of CRSV increased dramatically. In response, Iryna dedicated herself fully to supporting survivors, documenting crimes, and helping women rebuild their lives.

SEMA Ukraine has grown significantly, bringing together dozens of survivors who support one another in recovery and reintegration.

She emphasizes the importance of international cooperation in this work, including sustained engagement from global partners and institutions.

Justice, recognition and hope

Since 2022, SEMA Ukraine has received support from the UN in amplifying the voices of survivors of conflict-related sexual violence and strengthening survivor-led responses in Ukraine.

Iryna Dovhan highlights the importance of this engagement and the role of UN representatives in listening directly to survivors and their testimonies.

She specifically recalls the visit of Pramila Patten, who met with members of SEMA Ukraine and spent time listening to their experiences in depth:

“Since 2022, we have received significant support from Pramila Patten, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, who traveled to Ukraine, spoke with the women of SEMA Ukraine, and listened for hours to their terrible stories.”

Survivor networks have played an important role in ensuring that the experiences of survivors of conflict-related sexual violence are documented, recognized, and reflected in international accountability efforts. Through their advocacy and willingness to speak out, survivors have helped bring violations committed in Ukraine to international attention, contributing to greater recognition of these crimes and the need for accountability, including through the United Nations Secretary-General’s annual reports on conflict-related sexual violence.

The UN in Ukraine partners closely with SEMA Ukraine and other CRSV survivor networks to ensure survivor-informed and survivor-led prevention and response to CRSV. For example, UN Women supports SEMA Ukraine in strengthening their organizational capacities and advocacy efforts. As an impact partner of the documentary Traces, UN Women has also supported initiatives that amplify the voices of survivors and showcase their transformation from victims of violence to survivors and human rights defenders. 

A call for justice and a better future

“Justice is the best treatment for the trauma these women and men have endured,” she says.

For Iryna, international recognition is important not only for accountability, but also for ensuring that survivors are no longer forced into silence.

“I dream that women will be happy, that they will overcome their trauma, and that they will finally live in a peaceful and prosperous country,” she says.

Her story reflects survival, resilience, solidarity, and an ongoing demand for justice.

Sustained international support, survivor-centered approaches, and continued engagement with organizations like SEMA Ukraine are essential to ensure accountability for conflict-related sexual violence and to support survivors in rebuilding their lives with dignity and justice.