Very effective, because it does not only affect the victim, it affects whole families, the communities.

She continued to say the world has allowed sexual violence to be used as a 'cheap' weapon of war for too long. She urged all survivors of rape to come forward and report any such crimes at the hands of Russian soldiers, while acknowledging how challenging it is to do so amid fears of reprisals or of Moscow's forces returning. 'I have received reports, not yet verified… about sexual violence cases against men and boys in Ukraine,' she said during a press conference in Kyiv, The Guardian reported. Speaking on Tuesday, UN special representative on sexual violence in war Pramila Patten warned cases already under investigation were just 'the tip of the iceberg.'

Russian soldiers allegedly raped Ukrainian men and boys as well as women, UN and Kyiv officials said on Tuesday, amid an on-going investigation into dozens of cases.