The Duchess of Edinburgh has sent a video message as members of the Royal Family step up in absence of Queen Camilla this week.
In the video, Sophie spoke out about conflict-related sexual violence in Ukraine for a conference.
It comes as Queen Camilla is set for a holiday outside the UK after undertaking a plethora of royal engagements throughout February.
The First Lady of Ukraine, Mrs Olena Zelenska, invited the duchess to speak at the Restoration of the Conflict-Related Sexual Violence Survivors’ Rights Conference, Ukraine.
The Duchess of Edinburgh has released a video message for a conference in Ukraine
The Royal Family
The duchess called for “conflict related sexual violence” to end around the world and to remember survivors of assault.
Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine there have been countless instances of women and children being raped and killed by Russian soldiers.
The Kremlin has been accused of using sexual violence as a form of terror during their invasion of Ukraine.
Sophie said: “The scale of the challenge that conflict related sexual violence presents around the world, from Myanmar to Ethiopia, from Colombia to Sudan, the current crisis in the Middle East to Ukraine, both from past and present conflicts, is enormous.
The Duchess of Edinburgh spoke out against conflict-related sexual violence
Getty"Sadly, the landscape seems to be getting worse. As we gather here today, thousands of women, men, boys and girls are being subjected to sexual violence in order to demean, over-power and destroy.”
The duchess devotes much of her time to supporting women and championing gender equality.
Speaking from her home at Bagshot Park, she added: “The devastation of conflict related sexual violence, we know is not only confined to the survivors and the children born of rape, but is felt by the families as well as whole communities, which is why it is so effective as a tactic of warfare.
“Survivors experience long-lasting stigma which impacts their livelihoods and tears families apart.”
Sophie devotes much of her time to supporting women's charities
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Queen Camilla is taking a short holiday GETTY Sophie works to support the Woman, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda and Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI).
The duchess urged to stop victim-blaming in cases of conflict-related sexual violence and hold perpetrators to account.
She said: “We must use measures such as successful prosecutions - at the national and, where necessary, international level - and implementation of sanctions as deterrents to conflict related sexual violence.”
Prince William also recently waded into the war in Gaza as he released a carefully worded statement about the conflict in the Middle East.
The Prince of Wales spoke out about the cost of human life from wars in Gaza, Israel and the Middle East and called to “see an end to the fighting.”
