Shattering the Darkness

MOKO digital agency: Partners: Hlib Pronenko and Tetiana Mokrenko Creative Director: Olha Livik Strategist: Illia Nikolaiev Art Director: Oleksandra Raskosova Creative Copywriter: Alina Ratnykova Designer: Mariia Servetnyk Animation: Mariia Servetnyk, Andriy Cherkasov Client Service Director: Tetiana Malshakova Project Manager: Marharyta Makhankova, Rina Volosiuk Production: Syndicate Production Sound Producer: Oleksandr Chuprynskyi JurFem Team: Head of Communications at JurFem: Yaryna Voloshyn

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2014, they have been using conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) to terrorise civilians. In February 2024, 274 cases of CRSV were recorded. However, these are only the official figures — cases in which survivors had the courage to initiate criminal proceedings. Ten years into the war, Ukraine still had not developed a mechanism for supporting survivors. They remained invisible to the state and society — left alone with their trauma. On 9 October 2023, the draft law on the status of CRSV survivors and the provision of reparations was submitted to the Verkhovna Rada, but its consideration was repeatedly postponed, being viewed as a lower priority by the state. To address this issue, an international conference was held on restoring the rights of CRSV survivors and providing interim reparations. The event brought together high-level government officials from all continents. First Lady of Ukraine Ms. Olena Zelenska; Vice Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine Ms. Olha Stefanishyna; Government Commissioner for Gender Policy in Ukraine Ms. Kateryna Levchenko; Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Edinburgh, Sophie from the UK; as well as representatives of the United Nations, the International Criminal Court, the Delegation of the European Union, and the Council of Europe. The loudest voices at the event were those of the survivors. We created a two-part performance called ‘Shattering the Darkness’. The first is the real voices of the survivors from media reports and videos of the National Police. Every day, they live in the darkness of their trauma, surrounded by the voices of the occupiers (real recordings from intercepted conversations by the Main Intelligence Directorate), and by disturbing sounds etched into their memory. Inaction makes the darkness thicker. The switching off of the hall lights emphasised this. For a few minutes, conference guests felt what the survivors experience every day. The second part of the performance is made up of key quotes from the conference participants' speeches. It shows that we need to take action now to restore light and faith in justice to the survivors. And everyone present can join in. We filmed and edited this part of the performance in real time, on the day of the conference. We launched the process of adopting the Law on the Status of Survivors of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence (CRSV) and on Interim Reparations. It will come into force on 18.06.2025. However, a pilot project for the payment of interim reparations is already in place: over 500 survivors have submitted applications, and more than 300 have already received funds. More than 2.5 million people learned about CRSV and the performance through coverage in media outlets and publications. The voices of survivors were heard in 35 countries. The performance is an important lever of influence, so it is still being broadcast at international conferences and meetings. The project started in March 2024 and is ongoing.