Attachments
Understanding Response Effectiveness, Support Gaps, and Recommendations for Comprehensive Solutions
1. Executive Summary
Ukraine is going through one of the most difficult periods in its history due to the war with Russia that has been going on since 2014 and the large-scale invasion in 2022. This has significantly increased the risks of various forms of violence for women, especially those in the war zones or those who were displaced. Economic instability exacerbates their vulnerability to domestic violence, and limited access to necessary services and support complicates the situation. In addition, the war has led to a redefinition of gender roles and demonstrated the need for society to adapt to new realities. However, there is a serious problem with the lack of up-to-date data on gender-based violence (GBV), which makes it difficult to respond effectively and provide support to victims. There is also scant data on the level of awareness and prevalence of various forms of GBV among adults and adolescents in Ukraine. Therefore, observations of the social changes caused by the war emphasize the need for a national study on gender-based violence among women, men, girls and boys. In FebruaryMay 2024, World Vision and the NGO “Girls” jointly conducted a nationwide study of the understanding and prevalence of various forms of GBV and the effectiveness of the response. The following methodology was used to achieve the objectives of the study:
Key findings
Participants in focus group interviews (FGI) clearly associate GBV with physical acts such as hitting and beating, due to the commonly accepted perception of it in society and personal experiences. There has been an increase in attention to gender-based psychological violence, which is now being discussed more at the interpersonal level and in the media. This is attributed to the difficult psychological state of people in the third year of the war and to greater awareness of this problem.
Perceptions of GBV vary by age, region and experience of participants. Adolescents have a broader understanding of GBV than adults, while adults are more likely to associate it with physical acts. Women from different regions have different perceptions of GBV, with women from the south and east more likely to associate it with physical acts, while women from the west have a more comprehensive view. Women who have experienced abusive relationships have a deeper understanding of different forms of GBV and tend to view it in a holistic way. Men understand GBV as a violation of human rights and as physical, psychological or social aggression directed at a person because of their gender. Some men see gender-based violence as a form of limiting freedom of choice or imposing stereotypical gender roles on men.
Participants in the FGIs pointed to the significant impact of the full-scale war on their values and views and has prompted them to rethink gender roles and the nature of violence. Women become more sensitive to signs of violence and sexism, and more critical of gender norms and stereotypes. Participants in the focus group interviews are becoming more cautious and attentive to signs of violence in their environment and more likely to respond to suspicious behaviour. They are also becoming more courageous and ready to confront the perpetrator, despite social gender norms. Some men are also becoming more empathetic to victims of gender-based violence, especially after war crimes have been made public. However, other changes in men’s traditional gender roles are not reflected.
The study of the impact of GBV reveals that most participants do not have sufficient information about the problem. One third of respondents (36%) are unaware of measures to prevent GBV in their communities, while 24% said that nothing has been done in their communities. Adolescents have better access to information through school lessons and other educational activities. Women, especially those who have experienced GBV, are more active in understanding and discussing the topic with their children. However, even in such discussions, the focus is usually on basic safety concepts and rules, rather than a deeper understanding of gender roles and rights. Participants in focus group interviews point to challenges in discussing GBV in families. Barriers include lack of awareness of the problem, cultural and religious restrictions, and lack of communication skills on such topics. Educational activities in schools are an important source of information about GBV for adolescents, but adolescents report that these activities do not cover all aspects of the topic of violence. It was found that the recognition of gender-based violence depends on its form and situation. Sexual violence is most often recognised by survivors (27% of those who have experienced it), while psychological and economic violence is often not recognised (12% each). Raising empathy and awareness contributes to the spread of awareness of violence. Women and men recognise violence differently.
The majority of survivors of GBV do not seek help for all forms of violence. Survivors are more likely to seek help in situations of physical violence (24 per cent of those who have experienced it) and sexual violence (24 per cent of those who have experienced it), but less likely in other cases. Men are less likely to seek help, except in situations of sexual violence, and residents of the Western and North-Central regions are less likely to seek help, especially in small towns.