After protesting against sexual assault against women in Ukraine, a female protestor had to be escorted away from the Cannes Film Festival red carpet on Friday.

The incident occurred during the opening of George Miller’s ‘Three Thousand Years Of Longing’, which stars Idris Elba and Tilda Swinton. 

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Reuters tweeted a video of the incident with the following caption: 

“The Ukraine crisis grabbed attention at the 75th Cannes Film Festival when a woman ripped off her gown revealing the Ukrainian flag colours painted on her body, with the words ‘STOP RAPING US’ emblazoned on her abdomen.”

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The woman was seen on video approaching the red carpet in a semi-naked state with paint over the bottom half of her body before being carried off by security officials.

The woman had painted the words “stop raping us” across her chest and abdomen in the colours of the Ukrainian flag. She had blood-red paint on her lower back and legs, as well as the word ‘scum’ scrawled on her back.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, eyewitnesses claimed that the protestor pulled off all of her clothes and screamed in front of the photographers. Security personnel rushed over to her and draped a coat around her.

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As more reports and evidence of sexual violence emerge from places captured by Russian forces, women across Ukraine are grappling with the possibility of rape as a weapon of war.

Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky delivered a live satellite video message at the festival’s opening ceremony. He encouraged filmmakers to “confront dictators” in a heartfelt speech.

According to The Guardian, organizations such as La Strada Ukraine and the Feminist Workshop, a countrywide network, have been working remotely and with local governments to disseminate information about medical, legal, and psychological support available for sexual assault victims, as well as to find safe shelters for women and girls fleeing both the war and domestic violence.

They are concerned, however, that the trauma induced by the use of rape as a military tactic may inflict long-term trauma in Ukrainian society.

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The Cannes Film Festival is one of the world’s most respected film festivals, held every year in the city of Cannes, France. The festival includes world premieres and screenings of some of the year’s most critically acclaimed films.   

At Cannes, the top prizes in the competition division are determined by an eight-member jury from the various films. Deepika Padukone is a member of the Cannes Film Festival jury this year for the 75th edition.

The 75th Cannes Film Festival kicked off on May 17 and will end on May 28, 2022.