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Sara Cincurova

Sara Cincurova

Freelance journalist
Website  (external link) 
Instagram  (external link) 

Visiting the Global Migration Institute

Spring 2026

Sara Cincurova is a Slovak-born, Ukraine-based journalist whose reporting on global issues, conflict, human rights and rape as a weapon of war has been featured in The New York Times, The Guardian, BBC News, Al Jazeera English, Der Spiegel, Foreign Policy, New York Magazine, and Newsweek, among other outlets. A former Agence France-Presse correspondent, she has reported from more than 20 countries, bringing to light some of the world’s most urgent and overlooked crises: documenting the use of rape as a weapon of war in Ukraine; reporting on rape in Libya and refugee women trafficked across Europe; covering the plight of refugees from inside Belarus; and investigating Venezuela’s deepening political and humanitarian collapse between 2019 and 2025.

Fluent in Slovak, English, French, Ukrainian, Russian, and Spanish, Cincurova brings a rare cross-cultural perspective to frontline reporting. Educated at the Sorbonne, her work has earned international recognition, with honors including nominations for the One World Media New Voice Award (2022, 2023), the Hans Verploeg Award (2023), and selection as runner-up for the prestigious Elizabeth Neuffer Fellowship with the International Women’s Media Foundation (2023).

Research focus while a Bridging Divides Fellow

Her current academic interest centers on finding the most ethical ways of interviewing traumatized subjects — war refugees, internally displaced persons, or frontline communities in search of immediate safety — in conflict zones and humanitarian settings. For Sara, journalism and academic research converge in their need to interview survivors of displacement, including individuals and communities who have fled traumatizing realities and often experienced perilous journeys, while navigating the unbalanced power dynamics and cultural differences. Throughout this fellowship, she aims to explore how researchers approach sensitive interviews, and explore ways in which journalists can learn from migration scholars (or vice-versa).

Publications and Reports

(2026) “Ukrainian Women Tell Their Stories of Sexual Violence by Russian Soldiers (external link) ". The New York Times.

(2025) “Fleeing Domestic Violence, and the Russian Advance (external link) ". The New York Times.

(2021) "Parents risk children’s lives – the alternative is worse’: on board a migrant rescue ship (external link) ". The Guardian.

(2021) "Fears grow for child refugees stranded on Belarus-Poland border (external link) ". Al Jazeera.