Attachments
CONTEXT
It is impossible to express the impact of the war on Ukraine in words and numbers. More than one year on since the Russian Federation illegally invaded Ukraine on 24th February 2022, civilians continue to be affected by continuous fighting. This invasion follows eight years of ongoing conflict in the eastern parts of Ukraine, a conflict which has been escalated by the war. Thousands have died or been injured as whole cities are left with no basic services or infrastructure for energy, housing, healthcare, employment or education. From 24/02/2022 to 23/04/2023, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) recorded 23,015 civilian casualties in the country: 8,574 killed and 14,441 injured. In that period, Russian attacks have damaged at least 50% of Ukraine’s energy facilities and millions of refugees have fled to neighbouring countries, the largest displacement in Europe since World War II.
As in all armed conflicts, women and girls are the worst impacted – most of the over 8,2 million refugees generated by the conflict and the majority of 5,9 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), located in its majority in Eastern and Central Ukraine, are women and girls. Even before the 2014 war in Eastern Ukraine, Gender-Based Violence (GBV) was already highly prevalent in Ukraine in the form of sexual harassment, domestic violence and human trafficking. Conflict-Related Sexual Violence (CRSV) has also increased. And this violence intersects with the discrimination based on people’s ethnic backgrounds, religion, identity, age, disability and socio-economic status. Before the war, women were already struggling to access adequate housing, employment and education. Now, they face even greater barriers in accessing GBV services, reproductive healthcare and psychosocial support services from national authorities and civil society organisations.
And yet, ‘now is not the time for women’s rights’ is what many Women Right’s Organisations (WRO) and Women-Led Organisations (WLO) including from marginalised groups have been told since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Despite these challenges, women are at the frontline, with 56.000 women serving in the army, and WROs and WLOs at the forefront of caring responsibilities in households as well as leading national and local civil society organisations, emergency protection and assistance services. Their work aims to advance and defend gender equality (GE) and women’s human rights (WHRs). Their long-term mandates include addressing discrimination, providing sustainable and dignified livelihoods, and protecting girls and women’s rights. This work is essential to upholding women’s rights while military priorities dominate Ukraine and the region. Their role is essential for the reconstruction and recovery of Ukraine.
Many women leaders and their organisations in the region face harassment, legal prosecution, and other threats. These organisations are also not receiving adequate funding and partnerships from international donors and intermediaries to accomplish their double mandate mission. Without enough external financial support and political recognition, WRO and WLO are struggling to keep their long-term mandate of advocating against discrimination including racism and gender inequalities. Their activism and service has been disregarded in the response to urgent humanitarian needs, and staff and volunteers feel overwhelmed by competing demands.