Experience of “Green Rooms” in the Rivne Oblast: How Best Practices Are Adopted in Other Regions

Sharing experiences, networking and exchanging best practices is one of the strategic focus areas supported by the Ukrainian Women’s Fund. It is important for us that activists and CSOs from different parts of Ukraine not only work in their communities, but also learn about others’ experiences and adopt them at home.

In July, members of coalitions 1325 from Khmelnytskyi, Zaporizhzhia oblasts and Kyiv visited their colleagues from the Rivne oblast to see how they succeeded in setting up “green rooms” and adopt their experience to set up such rooms in their own regions.

Following the full-scale invasion, the rates of domestic violence against women increased significantly. This is often witnessed by children, which negatively impacts both their mental health and how their mother feels. With the introduction of “green rooms,” interviewing children as witnesses becomes less traumatic. The interviews are conducted in a curated child-friendly environment, mitigating and preventing repeated trauma.

Although the rooms are set up under the National Police, a child is accompanied by an entire team of experts, including a professional psychologist who has undergone special training and is certified to work with the “green room” methodology. At the request of the National Police, a psychologist conducts an interview with the child using special methods to find out the necessary facts and avoid reinforcing the trauma.

Currently, there are 10 “green rooms” operating in the Rivne oblast, 9 more are set to be opened in the near future. Overall, the method of “green rooms” is still underrepresented across Ukraine. There are 14 of them in Kyiv, and only 3 in the Zaporizhzhia oblast.

None are available in Khmelnytskyi oblast, which is why members of coalition 1325 initiated the study trip. Afterward, they quickly developed the concept of the project, received a grant and already have the funds to equip the first “green room” in the Khmelnytskyi oblast.

During the visit, the participants exchanged practices introduced in the pilot areas, discussed shortcomings and jointly considered possible solutions. Sometimes these were rather heated but friendly discussions.

“Expectations from the study trip were exceeded; it was thorough and useful. The most interesting part was the knowledge about the technical content and specific work guidelines,” shares Tetiana Huranska, UNFPA municipal consultant from Khmelnytskyi.

A green room interview is the first interview with a child immediately after a crime or incident. What is important in such situations is to establish an atmosphere of trust, which is why interviews are held in a special room with toys and other game artifacts to make a child feel safe and relaxed. In another room, the police and lawyers are observing a video of the conversation that contains the child’s testimony and serves as proof in court.

The study trip was attended by juvenile prosecutors, a representative of juvenile prevention department of the National Police, the head of the specialized primary social-psychological counseling service for survivors of domestic violence in Kyiv, a supervising psychologist of the Register, who certifies psychologists to work in the “green room” method, representatives of the prosecutor’s office, a representative of the Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights in Khmelnytskyi oblast, social workers and representatives of services for violence survivors, CSO leaders.

“It was a valuable chance to meet my colleagues, learn what equipment (software, headphones, radio transmitters, surveillance cameras) they use. What is most effective is tight cooperation of different structures: the police, social institutions and services,” says Oleksandra Skoromna, deputy director and leader of a specialized service for primary socio-psychological consulting of survivors of domestic or gender-based violence of the Family Center of Darnytskyi district in Kyiv.

 

 

 

 

The trip took place within the project: “Her Power: Supporting Ukraine’s Women during the War and Recovery” implemented by the Ukrainian Women’s Fund in the partnership with La Strada Ukraine CSO supported by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) of the US State Department.