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Ukraine

Joint Gender Statement: Fifth Senior Officials Meeting on Ukraine, January 2025

Attachments

Overview

The ongoing war in Ukraine has exacerbated existing Gender-Based Violence (GBV) risks, while also creating new risks including conflict-related sexual violence and risks regarding sexual exploitation and abuse related to humanitarian assistance. Even prior to February 2022, there was significant social stigma around GBV and a high prevalence of violence against women and girls in Ukraine – since then, case numbers have been rising rapidly. In analysis conducted last year, 26% of women and 17% of men reported concerns about violence in the home, while 21% of women and 11% of men had concerns about sexual violence and abuse

GBV risks are compounded by the lack of specialised services, including safe shelters, for survivors in Ukraine. GBV-specialised services provided by the Government of Ukraine (GoU) are overstretched, under-funded and quality varies widely. While humanitarian and civil society actors, including many women-led and women’s rights organisations, have scaled up GBV services to meet growing needs, key gaps remain. Collectively this results in insufficient human and financial resources for GBV response at a time when needs are expected to continually rise.

Main Issues Identified

  1. Lack of Inclusive GBV Service Provision Points:
    o There is an urgent need for more specialized shelters for GBV survivors – all of whom are faced with scarce options when seeking support.
    o The few shelters that exist often lack policies that ensure the safety and inclusivity of LGBTIQ+ individuals, making these survivors hesitant to seek help due to fears of discrimination or stigmatization.
    o Existing GBV services are predominantly focused on women and girls, leaving men from same-sex couples and transgender people with inadequate access to crucial support.
  2. Inadequate Mental Health Services:
    o War-affected groups face intersecting vulnerabilities that exacerbate mental health challenges, including anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Nearly 10 million people in Ukraine are at risk of or living with mental health conditions, with substantial numbers already reporting mental health challenges. Psychosocial support for vulnerable and traumatized individuals is a fundamental need for effective GBV prevention.
    o Current support for specialized mental healthcare for GBV survivors is insufficient. Mental health services often overlook the unique experiences of LGBTIQ+ individuals, creating additional barriers to accessing sensitive care.
  3. Need for Sustainable Funding for GBV Actors, including women’s rights organisations (WROs):
    o The humanitarian funding landscape is shrinking, compromising the ability to deliver crucial services. For example, in the Zaporizhzhia region with a population of 1.2 million people, there is currently only one specialized crisis room and one shelter available for GBV survivors. Both are located in the city of Zaporizhzhia, leaving rural women without necessary support. Other regions’ situations are similar, with both the state and the humanitarian community lacking specialised funding to provide more short- and medium- term housing for GBV survivors.
    o Multi-year funding for GBV prevention and response programs is essential, to prevent and respond to need, as well as to change entrenched social and gender norms, which requires sustained efforts. These should target the root causes of GBV and promote a better understanding of GBV across different groups. Funding Ukrainian WROs is the most effective way to ensure community-driven responses and services for survivors.
  4. Lack of Disaggregated Data Collection:
    o Current reporting frameworks are limited to binary classifications of 'male' and 'female,' excluding transgender and non-binary individuals and making it difficult to understand the scale of the challenges they face and whether our activities effectively reach them. This lack of recognition not only undermines their fundamental rights but also highlights a critical gap in our commitment to inclusion. Ukraine represents a unique opportunity to improve humanitarian sector practices and set higher standards for inclusivity in humanitarian responses.

Recommendations

To International Donors:

  • Prioritize funding for GBV and Conflict-Related Sexual Violence (CRSV) response mechanisms, including specialized shelters for GBV survivors and mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) programs for vulnerable conflict-affected groups, including non-binary and male survivors.
  • Establish dedicated funding streams for WROs and to enhance the inclusion of LGBTIQ+, Roma, and other minority groups within GBV programs.
  • Work with LGBTQIA+ partners and experts to set up inclusive categories in data collection systems, allowing for the accurate representation of diverse gender identities.

To the Humanitarian Community:

  • Provide training for service providers on the specific challenges faced by LGBTIQ+ individuals to enhance access to services.
  • Address the intersectional vulnerabilities of LGBTIQ+ individuals, Roma people, and those living with disabilities or in older age groups in program design and implementation.
  • Revise data collection and reporting systems to include diverse sexual orientations, gender identities, gender expressions, and sexual characteristics (SOGIESC), facilitating a more comprehensive understanding of needs. To the Government of Ukraine:
  • Develop, improve and enforce legislation that protects LGBTIQ+ individuals, Roma people, and other minority groups from discrimination across all sectors, ensuring equal access to services, housing, employment, and healthcare.
  • Work with WROs to focus on long-term GBV prevention and response programs designed to target the root causes of GBV and to promote a better understanding of GBV as well as increasing access to mental health resources as a core aspect of the state social protection system, fostering collaboration among humanitarian and development actors through initiatives such as the PeReHID Initiative.

Signatories

Action Aid

CARE

Danish Refugee Council

HIAS

International Rescue Committee

Oxfam