The Verkhovna Rada (the Ukrainian Parliament) approved in the first reading draft law No. 13037 — it is aimed at preventing and combating manifestations of discrimination and sexual harassment in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
This was reported by an MP from “Voice” Yaroslav Zheleznyak.
The document was supported by 274 MPs.
He proposes to make a number of changes to the Disciplinary Statute of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Statute of the Internal Service of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Among the proposals is to expand the definition of "military discipline". The document clarifies that compliance with military discipline is ensured not only by performing official duties, but also by guaranteeing equal rights and opportunities for women and men, preventing discrimination, and combating gender-based violence, sexual harassment, and crimes against sexual freedom and integrity.
The document also proposes:
- to establish the obligation of every serviceman to prevent unworthy actions (verbal or non-verbal) related to discrimination;
- to establish the commanderʼs obligation to immediately respond to violations of sexual freedom and sexual integrity;
- to introduce a new basis for removing a serviceman from performing his official duties — if his failure to perform his official duties resulted in an offense against sexual freedom and sexual integrity.
The draft stipulates that in order to clarify the reasons and circumstances that contributed to the commission of the relevant offenses, the commander is obliged to order an internal investigation. This may be the initiative of the commander himself or the result of a submission from a representative of an authorized unit or an official responsible for ensuring equal rights and opportunities for women and men.
A serviceman who reports a case of discrimination cannot be held disciplinary accountable or subjected to other punishments for doing so.
It also provides for the possibility for a serviceman to send applications 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 violations.
For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine please follow us on X.