Strengthening Humanitarian Response to Violence against Women in Conflict-Affected Areas

Implementation period:

Regions:

5 pilot regions - Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts, including the occupied territories

Target audience:

About the project:

Ukrainian Women’s Fund in partnership with the charitable foundation “Women’s Health and Family Planning” and International Charity Fund “Ukrainian Foundation for Public Health” supported by UNFPA launches a project aimed at strengthening women and girls in conflict areas in the east of Ukraine. The initiative will work through prevention and overcoming gender-based violence that flourishes in conditions of armed aggression

Project objectives:

• The project will develop, adapt, publicize and distribute various information materials for vulnerable population groups.
• nformational and educational activities with the participation of national and regional media will encourage gender sensitive coverage of cases of gender violence.
• The campaign in social media will be used as a channel of communication with the public areas not controlled by the government, including simple messages about how to avoid / prevent the risk of violence in areas of the armed conflict.

In the situation of armed conflict, when the risk of gender-based and domestic violence drastically increases, raising awareness about GBV issues obtains specific importance. Researches show that there is still a lack of understanding among general population of Ukraine about what violence is and what manifestations it takes in a society. This situation is also supported by general culture of acceptance of violence and treating is as something of internal family business. In addition to these facts, there is also a gap in awareness about available services to survivors of violence.