Ukrainian Women’s Movement and Transnational Activism

Merits of Shelters for Human Trafficking?

In Kherson “Successful Women” remodeled an old apartment with funding from IOM and OSCE to create a transitory center for victims of trafficking. The “fixing-up” which only took one month was nothing short of a herculean task (see before and after pictures) and it is now a very nice facility with one bedroom for women with children, one for transit (very short stays of a few days), one room with two beds, a kitchen, living room and area for private consultations. When I arrived the shelter was empty and I slept in one of the rooms while Anzhela Lytumenko, a psychologist by training and the trafficking specialist for Successful Women, stayed at the center as well. Anzhela is seven months pregnant and rotates shifts with another psychologist at the shelter. Since they opened in 2006, 40 people have stayed there, the majority returning from Turkey. Women can stay at the shelter in Kherson for up to three months and they will refer them to IOM in Kyiv if it is a situation they are unable to deal with or if the person is not from Kherson. Anzhela said the women are expected to cook for themselves but that she helps them if they are unable; she explained that some of the women were young and had only lived with their parents before. There is also a 9 pm lock out time and no alcohol allowed.

Volunteers of Successful Women also ran a domestic violence shelter last year which provided services to 30 women but funding ran out and they had to close the doors. Lydmila Kympan, the specialist on domestic violence, said the government runs  a shelter in Kherson but they allow women to stay for up to a year and just provide for all of their needs instead of offering any real program for reintegration.

In addition to trafficking, another problem they see frequently result from Ukrainian women marrying Arabic men in Ukraine and then return to the Arab country with their husband. Many of women find themselves in difficult situations there but once they get a divorce or leave, it is almost impossible for them to get their children or gain access to them. An organization working on trafficking in Vinnytsia, Springs of Hope (Dzherelo Nadii) also brought this up as a major concern and said that since there are no Ukrainian government posts in many of the Arabic countries, there is no one to help mitigate the situation. Springs of Hope , a new, husband and wife team organization, has seen 40 people since they started providing services.

IOM’s Return and Reintegration

The International Organization for Migration provides return and reintegration assistance to victims of trafficking in Ukraine. NGOs such as the ones in Kherson and Vinnytsia typically refer victims to IOM but sometimes they receive referrals through law enforcement or IOM missions in other countries. IOM also has a new project underway to educate religious leaders about trafficking and available services. Many people, particularly in western Ukraine, go to priests for a blessing before going abroad or making a major life decision so IOM has worked to educate priests about resources available and warning signs of trafficking. Priests can also help identify victims. In Ternopil, one of the main anti-trafficking NGOs reported that 30 percent of identified victims come from priests.

When a person is identified as having been trafficked, they are sent to Kyiv where IOM staff picks the person up at the airport and counsels them on available services such as medical treatment, legal advice, employment counseling and training. Everything is at the discretion of the returned person, however, and some people decide to leave immediately and return home. A woman at IOM who works on return and reintegration told me that many of the people they see are still unaware that what has been done to them is a criminal offense. In the other cases, the person escapes and returns to Ukraine. They are then recommended to IOM through a local NGO or law enforcement and screened by IOM to determine if they are eligible for services.Since 2000, IOM has assisted 4,000 victims.

Phasing-out Shelters

IOM supports five shelters in Ukraine and has a comprehensive transit center in Kyiv at the hospital. I was told that they recently found out that there are also some state shelters but IOM does work with them at present.

The IOM Chief of Mission said they are currently working to phase out shelters for trafficked persons because they realize they are not an appropriate solution. Presently, IOM is working to phase out their shelters; the chief of mission told me that they realize they are not an appropriate solution for most victims of trafficking. People who have come back to Ukraine typically want to return to their home and not stay in a shelter and those who are in Ukraine from abroad are typically trying to return to their own country. Additionally, trafficked persons are usually well-educated, entrepreneurial individuals who do not want to stay in the shelter for any more than the transitory period. In those cases where a person cannot return home, subsidizing the person’s apartment until they can get back on their feet is the best solution and given the expense of maintaining shelters this would also be more cost effective. For those shelters IOM is currently supporting they said they would give the NGO discretion on how to use the facility. In some cases this could become an information center or a shelter for women to escape situations of domestic violence and receive counseling.

Gender in Ukraine: What about the Men?

On a surface, day-to-day level, the gender dynamic appears straight forward in Ukraine: the women are doing all of the work. They sweep the streets, run the shops, staff the kiosks, guard the art in museums, wait tables in the restaurants and sell their vegetables and wares on the streets. Men are generally seen driving taxis and mashruktas, working construction, in police uniform, and then doing a lot of drinking (at all times of the day and in all locations). In the non-governmental sector regarding issues of family, violence, and health, the gender balance also appears clearly defined: women run most NGOs and the information they produce is geared towards women.

Increasingly, there is recognition that men have to be brought into discussions of family, reproductive health, and domestic violence but the changes are only beginning. Elza Volodymyrivna Leschenko, former head of the National Department of Family and Gender Policy and Demographical Development and present Deputy Head of the Department of Youth Policy, told me that she thought men’s reproductive health was the biggest problem related to gender in Ukraine. Interesting that she cited the fact that there is no Father’s Day in Ukraine as one example of society underemphasizing the role of fathers.

    Some of the numbers:

    * Life expectancy of men is eleven years less than the average life expectancy of women;

     * In the age of 28-44 years, mortality of men is four times higher than that of women and 40% of boys aged 16 do not have the chance to live until they reach their pension age

    * Male unemployment in the paid section increases faster than that of females;

     * 90 percent of the prisoners are males;

     * Suicide is mainly among men;

     * A majority of men (57%) after divorce take no responsibility for their children. (Source: UNDP)

Men and Reproductive Health

Dr. Galina Maistruck, director of the Kyiv-based NGO Woman Health and Family Planning said that when a Canadian organization first approached her about working with men in the area of reproductive health, she thought there were few avenues for their involvement. Then the organization did a survey with 1,200 men age 20-35 to find out what they knew about reproductive health, STIs and related topics. The results showed a great deal of ignorance and misinformation and now the organization is re-targeting information to both men and women in schools, doctors’ offices and in public campaigns. Dr. Maistruck said she also gave a seminar for members of the Verhovna Rada about the importance of including men in reproductive health campaigns, creating manuals for family doctors on men’s reproductive health, and creating centers where men can go for counseling and treatment. At present there is one gynecologist or obstetrician for every 3,000 women and 1 doctor for men’s reproductive health for every 50,000 men.

Men Against Violence

In Vinnytsia (three hours southwest of Kyiv) and Kherson (8 hours north of Kyiv) are two branches of Men Against Violence in Ukraine. Vladimir Kozlova, director of Vinnytsia Men Against Violence spoke about the stereotypes facing men as well as women and the lack of outlets for men to openly discuss their problems. It is impossible to say the transition from the Soviet system was more difficult for men or for women, but the lack of socially acceptable “male” jobs has been particularly difficult and led to frustration, alcoholism and aggression. The problem of domestic violence against men has been brought up by several people I have spoken with in Ukraine but there are no services for them to access. Vladimir said that they held seminars and small group discussions for men but had not found a way to engage large groups of men...and he (surprisingly I thought) did not seem to think men would be interested in getting together outside of meeting at bars.

In Kherson, Men Against Violence offers free psychological services for men and women and is starting a ‘young fathers school’ but they said it was hard to tell if there would be much interest. My overall impression of both groups was that they were able to find very little funding for projects working with or targeting men and the majority of their work was working with organizations geared toward women.

Lady Chatterley’s Lover

Solomea Pavlychko, born in L’viv in 1958, is considered the beginning of the Ukrainian women’s movement and the first contemporary Ukrainian feminist and she continues to be an important inspiration to Ukrainian academics, politicians, activists and citizens. Tamara Hundorova said, "Ukraine was so fortunate to have Solomea. Her impact was such that we began to think differently. In 10 years' time - and the 1990s were hers - she made a breakthrough in our consciousness” and Ukrainian writer Oksana Zabuzhko, in her reflections on Solomea added, "If someone could be called noble, it was Solomea - not by virtue of her name or position, but by virtue of her dignity and decency, respect for the individual and incredible hard work - she was truly noble in the heart and spirit."

Before she passed away at the young age of 41, Ms. Pavlychko asked Valentyna Kyrylova to be director of Osnovy Publishers, which she started in 1992 to translate scientific books and foreign literature into Ukrainian. Valentyna, recommended as a “walking example of how feminism works in this country,” met with me over coffee in downtown Kyiv yesterday afternoon.

I ask Valentyna why Solomea was considered the first feminist in Ukraine. Her response was that Solomea brought and promoted new ideas and knowledge in Ukraine – and for Ukraine - which became a catalyst for many women to realize ways to better their lives. Previously, she said many women wanted to change their situation but without access to sources of new information, it was extremely difficult to develop a new way of thinking. The publishing house continues this work, translating a wide-range of subjects into Ukrainian to promote both the new ideas and the national language.

Solomea’s father, Dmytro Pavlychko, a famous poet from the Soviet period, served as deputy of the Supreme Soviet and as Ambassador to Poland and Slovakia. From one of his trips abroad he brought Solomea Lady Chatterley’s Lover and she was 24 when she translated the book into Ukrainian. Taras Koznarsky, in a tribute to Solomea says, “her own translations from English, especially of the D. H. Lawrence novel Lady Chatterley's Lover, lifted taboos of what could be expressed with taste and grace in Ukrainian literary language.” Valentya said there remains a misconception that the Ukrainian language is not rich enough for some translations and the majority of books for sale and in universities are still in Russian language.

Pavlychko received her Ph.D. in American literature at the Taras Shevchenko Kyiv State University and in 1985 began working at the Institute of Literature of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences as a leading specialist in literary theory. From that position she traveled to the U.S., Canada and England and when she returned to Ukraine she wrote an article for the newspaper that received a great amount of attention entitled The New Position of Ukrainian Women in Ukrainian Society. In the article she urged women to take a new role in all areas of society including the political sphere (she said her own love of literature stopped her from pursuing a political career).

Ms. Kyrylova also spoke about her opinions on the women’s movement today in Ukraine...and she said she thought the discussion of feminism was enough for now. Many women who are successful and wealthy do not like the idea of ‘feminism’ - and do not realize they are feminists - but she thinks the issues will reemerge as society and democracy develops in Ukraine.

Opening Doors in Ukrainian Politics

Yulia Timoshenko has been an impressive and inspiring female political leader and is the oft cited example of women’s growing participation in government.  She remains, however, an exception to the rule in Ukraine, where women make-up around 8 percent of the 450-member parliament (5 percent in 2002), hold no positions in the Cabinet of Ministers and are poorly represented in other central bodies of executive power.  According to polls, research and individual accounts, Ukrainians are not opposed to having women in leadership positions but the current party nominating practices create the main barrier for women in entering political life.  Stereotypes of women and men’s roles have also precluded many women from pursuing a political career.

     During the 2006 Parliamentary elections all leading party blocks and parties included at least one woman in the first five spots on their party lists. The party in power "Our Ukraine" included even two women.  It is notable thought that many of these women are well-known actresses, singers and TV commentators and their ‘star-power’ is a clear motivation for promoting their name in the party.  Overall, women make up a small percentage in party lists: in the Block "Our Ukraine" among the first 100 candidates - 8 percent women; Yulia Timoshenko's Block - 5 percent women; "Party of Regions" - 5 percent women; and, Socialist Party of Ukraine - 4 percent women. 

     The 2007 EU Gender Watch Report contrasts the current situation with the process of visible gender change that was seen in the second half of the 1990s. At that time Ukraine had two women ministers and three women had the position of state committee heads. There were also five political women’s parties.  NGOs and other individuals in Kyiv and Kharkiv have spoken with me about the surge in the women’s movement in the early 1990’s and then the subsequent decline once the overall situation and opportunities for women improved which is likely reflected in these national trends.

     At the local and oblast level, nearly all the heads of villages, rayons (districts) and oblasts are male.  No oblast council has a female head and there are only five women among 159 city mayors. There are about six per cent female regional council heads in rural areas and nine per cent female local district heads in the cities.

Parliamentary Development Project

Without a parliament, development projects are clearly at a standstill, but by early October a new parliament should be in place and the Parliamentary Development Project (PDP) began in 1994 so it has seen its share of changes in government.

    The PDP is a partnership between Indiana University and USAID, and the most recent phase (2003-2005) is a Democratic Parliamentary Strengthening Program with the goals of improving the quality of the legislative process, improving the relationship between the legislative and executive bodies and improving the access of citizens to the legislative process.  Included as a cross-cutting theme is the “Gender Focus” to facilitate participation of parliamentarians on gender issues and to introduce an institutionalized mechanism into the Verhovna Rada to develop and implement gender sensitive legislation. 

     PDP gender expert Olena Suslova said that one of the major successes in the last year has been a mandate that each committee (before the parliament dissolved there were 26) has to have at least one person within the secretariat responsible for gender.  A booklet on the new equality law was published for MPs as well as a manual on gender analysis but the problem remains that while the mandate calls for ‘gender experts’ there are few trained professionals to fill the positions.  PDP and the UNDP Equality Program also now support regular gender ‘focal points’ where experts on different gender issues come in to speak with MPs.  Suslova said parliament has become much more receptive to the terms ‘equal opportunities’ and ‘gender’ but there is still often the perception that this refers to protecting (versus including) women.  Compared with similar countries not in the EU, Suslova believes that Ukraine is a leader in its progress toward sustainable gender equality.

     Olena Suslova is also founder and director of Empowering Education which began 12 years ago.  She said one of the biggest changes she has seen is the improving relationship between government and NGOs.  Ten years ago it was impossible for NGOs to work with parliament and now the government calls on NGOs for some information and assistance.

 

Advocacy and Practicalities

It was interesting to get more of an insider’s perspective on the recent gender legislation in Ukraine.  Suslova discussed the disconnect between NGO’s complaints and the legislative process in Ukraine.  Two of the major issues raised by NGOs regarding the equality law are: 1) there are no sanctions or punishment for discrimination, and 2) there are no quotas for women’s participation in government.  However, very few laws are passed with sanctions.  Instead there is a line at the bottom directing the Ministry of Justice to institute the punishment if needed.  In terms of the quotas, the law on Equal Opportunity passed one year before elections were scheduled and no one in parliament wanted to create room for more competition.  The amendment was denied on the first hearing and it is impossible to re-instate it after that unless an entirely new bill was to be brought forward. 

     Other sections of the law are positive steps forward and ‘victories’ for advocates but hard to implement.  For example, the law states that there should be gender advisors for each committee and recommends having a gender advisor responsible for each branch of the executive.  However, there is no official program for ‘gender studies’ in Ukraine and there are not enough qualified persons to fulfill these positions.  (UNDP’s Equal Opportunities Program is currently pushing for expansion of a basic introduction to gender course in the school system and has received support from the Ministry of Education).

    Additionally, the Equal Opportunities law requires that the Ministry of Justice to review each draft law to analyze whether it is gender sensitive.  This requires looking through an incredible amount of legislation and furthermore, there is no structure in place for how this analysis would be conducted.

    Needed laws on equal participation and rhetoric on gender equality and analysis are important steps towards women’s political participation, and leaders such as Yulia Timoshenko, MPs Olena Bondarinko, Katerina Levchenko and Ludmilla Saprun provide important role models and examples for the country.  Hopefully - in time - more women will join their ranks. 

Women’s Coffees: Political Participation at the Local Level

In Ukrainian village councils, the lowest level of administration, women make up the majority within the local government system and Brian Mefford, International Republican Institute (IRI) Program Director, said they also found that the majority of leaders in small villages to be women.  Typically this is a function of men moving to cities and women playing important community roles such as school teachers. 

The International Republican Institute (IRI) supported programs targeting women’s political participation from 1996 – 2006 including training and consultations for around 4,000 women in deputy positions.  One of IRI’s programs Mefford highlighted sprang from the concept of ‘Kennedy’s Coffees’ which were used to raise support for JFK’s presidential candidacy.  They found it was difficult to interest local women in politics and to get information to them on their rights as voters.  This was particularly important during the Kuchma regime when the government threatened individuals with confiscating assets and land if votes were not cast a certain way. 

IRI found the Ukrainian women to be most comfortable talking openly in their kitchens or a private place so they began holding “Women’s Coffees” where a lawyer would come and offer free advice and then they would talk about voting, rights, elections, etc.  The lawyer drew many people in to ask advice on property, loans, school for their children, and a wide range of issues and then there was the opportunity to speak afterwards about politics and upcoming elections.  Mefford said this was among their most successful efforts because one of the biggest challenges in the villages is simply educating people on their right to political participation. 

Quilting for Disabled Children

The majority of ‘women’s organizations’ in Ukraine  formed as groups of concerned mothers surrounding issues related to their children. In the U.S., Mothers Against Drunk Driving and in Russia, Committee of Soldiers’ Mothers, received international attention for their successes as civil society organizations but support groups and NGOs exist in many small communities around the world and work on a wide range of social issues.

This evening I visited one such group with a friend to bring quilting fabric and patterns sent from the U.S. to Varvara Konin in Boyarka, a town in Kyiv Oblast. Varvara taught English in school system but 22 years ago she left her job to stay home when her daughter was born with autism. Since founding the Philanthropic Society of Assistance to Disabled People and People with Insufficiency of Intellect, or "ARK," Varvara has worked with women in similar situations to provide for families who have children with Autism, Cerebral Palsy and other mental disabilities.

One part of ARK’s work is a quilting association with mothers and supporters from around Ukraine who make patchwork quilts to sell at bazaars and exhibitions to raise money for the families of children with disabilities (Varvara is on the left, followed by a friend, Varvara’s niece and me). ARK has plans to host an exhibition to sell their quilts from September 1-11 in Kyiv. However, the gallery has recently informed Varvara and her niece that they will charge five times the price for renting the exhibition hall as they agreed to - and signed - in the official contract and it is unclear if this will be resolved.

Government's 'Response'

There are 284,000 Ukrainians registered as disabled and 150,000 are children under the age 18. In Boyarka town oblast 258 out of 40,000 families are disabled but an informal survey of one building with 100 families there were 5 with disabled children suggesting the figures might be much higher. For each registered disabled citizen, the Ukrainian government gives less than $70 US per month and an additional $2 US per month for mothers to look after the child, which clearly does not even begin to cover related expenses. ARK hopes to open a retail shop for the quilts in Ukraine and eventually open a retail center for the quilts and a rehabilitation center where disabled persons can be engaged in some kind-of productive work and activities. There was even talk of the first Ukrainian quilting magazine!

For more information see: www.ark.org.ua or email kovchegorg@inbox.ru

Kyiv City Center for Women

Kyiv City Center for Women

The differences between domestic violence services in the capitol and in Kharkiv, the second largest city in Kiev, are striking. The Kiev City Center for Women (pictured left) is funded entirely by the city and offers free psychological and legal services to women and there are centers in each of the ten regions of Kiev which offer similar services. Around 20 people are paid employees of these centers and the center I visited in the city center sees on average 10 women ever day for legal questions and 5-6 for psychological counseling. The majority of women come in with problems related to their businesses, employment or concerns about their children or family life. The center also supports a 15-bed shelter for women experiencing violence where women can stay with their children for up to 2 months or longer in special circumstances.

Tetiana, a psychologist I spoke with at the Center, said that the shelter is typically full and that there are partner organizations on the outside of the city where they can send women when they are not able to help them as well as affiliated centers that provide counseling to entire families, men and children. In addition to providing direct services and consultations for women, all of the regional centers provide space to NGOs and activists to hold roundtables and classes. For example, the director of the Women’s Empowerment Consultation Center recently held a four month class on gender analysis and gender mainstreaming which resulted in each participant producing research on their particular topic of interest in Ukraine.

These centers were made possible by the previous major of Kyiv who gave around 400,000 grivnas for their foundation and supplies. This past year, the city administration attempted to take the building back and put the center farther from the center of town, but after an active campaign to save the center, including letter writing and vocal support from several members of parliament, the plan was dismissed.

Putting the Domestic Violence Law into Action

Tetyana, a young woman I spoke with at 'Volunteer' NGO said that one of the major challenges is providing sustainable options for victims of violence and their families, particularly outside of Kyiv. Shelters are a good, but temporary, solution and in most cases it is the woman who has to leave her home and start her live again while the husband is able to stay and rarely sees any type of prosecution.

‘Volunteer’, an all-Ukrainian organization founded in 1997 to encourage volunteerism among young Ukrainians and to provide support to non-governmental organizations, has been working the last four years to move the 2001 Domestic Violence Law from paper to practice. The law went into effect in 2002 but there are still few mechanisms in place for coordination of prevention and prosecution activities. For example, the government officials responsible for domestic violence and those working on child abuse are not in regular communication and many police officers are still unaware of the law on domestic violence (although this is changing due to heavy activities on the part of NGOs).

Another major problem is the lack of statistics on domestic violence. The Ministry of Interior records crimes within the home and reports of domestic violence but they only refer to physical abuse and are only the cases reported to the police. The Domestic Violence Law encourages oblasts to create centers for medical and psychological rehabilitation if there is a need. But without any numbers it is impossible to prove the need and Kyiv and Sevastopol are at present the only regions with centers for survivors of domestic violence. Another gap is regarding public information campaigns in Ukraine. Public campaigns on billboards and television in Poland have been very effective in raising awareness about the problem and circulating information on where women or men can go for help if they are suffering from abuse.

Preventing vs. Treating Violence

Tetyana said that there is also a great need in Ukraine for a system and methodology for early detection of violence in the home. Currently, cases are only investigated once the violence has escalated or once it is too late. Volunteer is working with around 350 practitioners including doctors, social service providers, psychologists, teacher, judges and policemen to develop a system of indicators for detecting family violence. After these indicators are reviewed by specialists around the country, they will be given to relevant ministries in Ukraine along with the related training materials for their approval.

Like many of the other NGOs working on domestic violence, Volunteer was supporting the recently proposed amendments to the domestic violence law. In particular, Tetyana stressed the need for a system of working with aggressors as well as victims. First-level prevention in the school system, psychiatric assistance and treatment for drug and alcohol abuse are all critical components of preventing violence. In the next few months, Volunteer will publish a database of organizations working on domestic violence in Ukraine with the help of UNICEF and will continue working with the government to create a structure for prevention and prosecution – in all areas of the country.

Policy of Exchange

Time and again I have been impressed by the benefits of exchange programs between the U.S. and Ukraine and the tremendous return on investment.

Last night I joined a few former Peace Corp Volunteers and some of their Ukrainian friends for drinks in Kiev before they each go their separate ways. The majority of the group had worked together for an organization called Youth CAN which hosts a camp for youth to encourage them to develop projects in their town on an issue they feel passionately about. Some of the frequent topics are HIV/AIDS, environmental protection, trafficking in persons, and healthy lifestyles. Youth CAN started as a Peace Corp Volunteer (PCV) project 12 years ago and continues to have a close relationship with PCVs. Around 100 students age 16 – 26 go through the program every year and Iryna Mazar said that PCVs bring students in from small villages who otherwise would never know about Youth CAN’s activities. This is a particularly dynamic organization but there are several others I have come across with similar roots. Ukraine was (and might still be) the largest country for Peace Corp Volunteers and I have heard repeatedly about the impact of having a foreigner in some of the small villages where youth do not have access to the internet or many other windows to the outside world.

Student Exchange

FLEX is another program sponsored by American Councils which sends high school students to the U.S. for one year. FLEX alumni are required to do community service projects when they return and a few of the projects I have come across include working with orphans and setting up an organization for young professionals in Ukraine. A recent project by Youth CAN to bring together students from different regions of Ukraine to talk about tolerance and diversity was sponsored by a few FLEX alumni. My roommate in Kiev is a graduate of the Muskie Program, now administered by IREX, which sends Ukrainians to the U.S. for master’s programs. In Ukraine there are no educational programs on human rights, public policy or civil society so this program makes these areas of study possible. These are anecdotal stories, but throughout Ukraine, students who have returned from studying abroad and volunteers from other countries are making a tremendous impact on civil society development.

Open World

Last Tuesday I attended the pre-departure orientation for 21 participants of the Open World “Women Leaders” Program which sends groups to the U.S. for 10 days to speak with colleagues working on similar issues (a few of the participants are featured to the left). Before leaving, participants expressed interest in non-governmental organizations, treatment of gender issues in the U.S., how women in the U.S. balance work and family, and many other questions they hoped to have answered through the program.

Ukraine and European Civil Society Collaboration

Exchanges between Ukraine and other countries are also shaping the country’s economic development and civil society. On my last day in Kharkiv, I attended a roundtable on “Perspectives on the Gender Problem in Ukraine and Germany,” sponsored by the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung German Foundation and the Kharkiv women’s organization Krona. Dr. Barbel Kofler (SDP) Chairman of the German Bundestag Germany-Ukraine Parliamentary Group, spoke about t he situation for women in Germany and how the countries could build on each other’s experience. There was also comparison of sexist advertisements in Germany and Ukraine and discussion of how journalists treat the issue of gender in both countries. A woman finishing her PhD on comparative women’s movements in Ukraine and Switzerland also gave a presentation on international perceptions of the gender problem in Ukraine which was based on reports from international organizations and foreign women’s organizations.

The Ukrainian Women’s Consortium in Kiev also recently worked with the Dutch and Swiss Embassies to do comparative projects of women in Ukraine and Finland, and Ukraine and Switzerland which included reports as well as roundtables and individual exchanges.

Not all of these “exchanges” need to take place across borders. In Kharkiv, the leaders of the NGO Krona originally took empowerment classes offered in Ukraine and now offer similar courses to women in other areas of Ukraine. These classes have resulted in many women starting non-governmental organizations or becoming more involved in existing organizations.

One woman in Kharkiv told me the only challenge she sees remaining for women in Ukraine is for those women who do not feel free inside or believe that they have the potential to break down traditional stereotypes and become a voice for change. These exchanges seem to be incredibly empowering on both sides, and in my opinion, have made an impressive impact on individuals and communities in Ukraine.

Domestic Violence in Ukraine

In Kharkiv Oblast there is one crisis center for domestic violence, Надія (“Hope”), staffed by 6 unpaid volunteers – two lawyers, 2 psychologists, an accountant and the director – and two women who work at the shelter. Kharkiv city hall votes every year to provide the rooms at the shelter free of charge (Надія only pays for the utilities) and they accept up to 16 women ages 18 – 55 at one time with their children. Their yearly budget is 61715 grv. ($12,343 USD) which covers all office and shelter supplies, staff expenses, utilities, informational campaigns (etc.) and they typically have 7-10 women at the shelter per month. I met with Надія’s director, Galina Vasilina, and Olga Sin, one of the volunteer lawyers, and they said some of the major changes they have seen over the past 5 years are that they are able to work more effectively with the police after reaching out to them with training and information on domestic violence. Also, the average age of women coming to the center has decreased; more frequently young women who have just had a baby are calling Надія about problems. In addition to the shelter, Надія also runs a hotline to assist women with legal questions regarding divorce, separation and domestic, economic and psychological violence. They receive around 1800 calls per year. Psychologists also provide counseling to women over the phone if they are not willing or able to come to the office. The majority of women who come to the shelter are brought by friends or family because they are unable to leave on their own and are typically not aware of the facility.

Scope of the Problem Statistics are not available on the number of women experiencing violence at the hands of their intimate partners, but there are many indications that the problem is widespread. Several people I spoke with in Kharkiv said that they believe almost all women experienced some form of violence (although there were few reasons given for why they were under the impression that it was so widespread). The Department of Public Safety within the Ministry of Internal Affairs keeps reported 83,150 incidence of violence in the family in the first nine months of 2005. These statistics are not disaggregated by gender, but according to the Department of Public Safety, 90 percent of the victims of domestic crime are women. According to figures provided by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, in the first nine months of 2006 there were 1,008 murders and 402 cases of manslaughter in the home and most of the victims were women. Members of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and police officers interviewed by Amnesty International in September 2006 thought that between 50 and 70 percent of Ukrainian women were victims of domestic violence. (Source: Amnesty International 2006 report Ukraine: Domestic Violence – Blaming the Victim). Winrock International surveyed over 6,000 women nation-wide between the ages of 12 and 30 in 2001 and found that 33 per cent of women in Ukraine suffered from moral or verbal assault, usually perpetrated by their husbands, friends, or neighbors. Eleven-twelve percent of the women interviewed were sexual abused and five percent suffered from physical abuse, usually by their husbands.

Legal Framework on Domestic Violence in Ukraine Ukraine was the first country in the former Soviet Union to pass a comprehensive law on domestic violence. The parliament adopted the law "On the Prevention of Violence in Family" on November 15, 2001 and the Ministry of Internal Affairs in cooperation with Ministry of Family, Children and Youth issued a decree in 2004 establishing a procedure of cooperation between governmental institutions in the field of prevention violence in family. Many problems remain with the current law and recently draft amendments were discussed in the parliament. Specifically, the law contains the concept of “victim behavior” which is the “the behavior of a victim of domestic violence that provokes domestic violence.” Any warnings for “victim behavior” will be included in the victim’s character reference if the case goes to court. Additionally, the law created an amendment to the Ukrainian Administrative Code to make it possible to impose a fine for offenders. However, these fines are typically paid out of the family budget (and frequently by the victim) and are a deterrent to reporting incidents of violence. On March 15, 2007 NGOs, practitioners and government officials took part in a roundtable, organized by a Parliamentarian Committee and La Strada entitled “Improving legislation of Ukraine concerning violence in family” to discuss these changes. Attention was also given to issues of alcoholism treatment for perpetrators; human rights standards; financial aspects of implementation of the proposed changes and shelters in particular; and changes concerning issuing protection orders. (see also: http://www.kyivweekly.com/?art=1166608223) It is unclear what will happen when the new parliament takes office in October, although it appears unlikely now that the amendments will be made law.

Social Barriers to Combating Domestic Violence In addition to legal shortcomings, other inhibitors to effective prosecution of offenders and protection of those suffering from violence which were highlighted by the recent EU Gender Watch report include: stereotypes in perception of domestic violence among law enforcement and other professionals; insufficient services for victims of gender violence, especially in rural areas; absence of training on domestic violence for civil servants, lawyers, law enforcement, teachers, doctors, social workers, etc; and the absence of gender indicators in statistical data and state reports concerning implementation of the current law. At Надія, Galina and Helen said that people’s mentality remained a significant barrier to the law’s effectiveness and that violence was still considered a commonplace ‘family problem’ especially for women who grew up in families with violence. Another major problem they cited is that women are not aware of their rights regarding property and divorce, protection from domestic violence, and laws that apply to them if they are living with someone but not legally married.

Equal Participation of Men and Women in the Decision-Making Processes Initiative: First Meeting in Kyiv

The U.S. Embassy Public Affairs Section's Democracy Commission has chosen 18 Ukrainian NGOs to fund over the coming year to advance the issue of gender in the media, increase women’s political participation, and monitor the implementation of Ukraine’s new legislation for equal rights for men and women. On June 21st the network of NGOs, lead by the Women’s Consortium of Ukraine, held its first meeting. (Photo Center: Michelle Logsdon, Counselor for Public Affairs and the staff of the Public Affairs Democracy Commission)

Background For the first time in Ukrainian history there is a legislative definition of “sex-based discrimination” and a right to legal protection from it. On September 8, 2005 the Ukrainian Parliament, Verkhovna Rada, adopted the law “On Ensuring the Equal Rights and Opportunities of Women and Men” which went into force on January 1, 2006. There remain, however, many short comings of the law...such as funding and political will for implementation. The law mandates formation of gender councils and advisors in each of the oblasts and at local, regional and national levels but these oversight bodies have either not been created, or have been formed and then refused budgets. Also, a provision to mandate political quotas for women, which was strongly supported by many NGOs, was removed by Parliament before the law passed. Currently, there are no women in the Cabinet of Ministers and in the 2006 parliamentary elections the share of women made a weak climb from 5 to 8 percent. Developments and Future Plans There are a number of recent “hooks” to draw gender equality into the government’s line of action. With European integration as a long-term strategic goal in Ukraine, gender mainstreaming has been incorporated as a priority into EU – Ukraine Action Plan and is a cross-cutting issue for the current Ukraine Country Strategy Paper. An important part of the meeting on the 21st was to clarify monitoring tools and statistics collection needed so that the information is uniform across regions. The person over seeing data collection and who outlined the methods of collection with those present, is a representative of the Standing Committee of the Verkhovna Rada on European Integration.

The main thrust of the conference was to introduce the monitoring and evaluation tools to all of the NGOs and distribute information on statistics that should be collected from each oblast. Data is expected on the number of women in all branches of government, their salaries, the presence of women’s councils in each oblast, information on the media’s portrayal of women (quantity and quality), number of victims of domestic violence and trafficking, monitoring of NGO activities, and the actions of local, regional and national government. While the tools and expections were somewhat daunting, none of the NGOs received grant money for the statistical collection but took on the task voluntarily.  Everyone seemed to think it would be feasible. The results should be collected by fall and published by 2008. It could be argued that it should be the government's responsibility to collect the data they need, or at least to fund outside organizations to do it, but this is not bucking trends anywhere. In addition to all of the information gathering, each organization involved in this grant is required to host journalist trainings on gender, information campaigns, and trainings for active citizens and other NGOs on gender and decision-making. Media training was another component of the conference including how to capture the attention of the press, hold press conferences, run media campaigns, etc. Peope spoke very highly of this section of conference and it was exciting to be in the group and remember that a lot of the media work has only recently been made possible.

For more information see the just-released report EU Gender Watch: Gender Analysis of EU Development Instruments and Policies in Ukraine: www.neww.org.pl/en.php/conference/raport/0.html