Gender-Based Violence in
Ukraine: Empirical Evidence and
Policy Interventions
Ganna Gerasymenko, PhD (Economics)
Institute for Demography and Social Studies,
NAS of Ukraine
Paper Background and Introduction
•
•
•
•
Recent developments in legislative and institutional environment: Law On Prevention of Domestic
Violence (2001) with specification of legal bases of preventing and combating violence in a family,
Law On Ensuring Equal Rights and Opportunities of Women and Men (2005), Law on Combating
Trafficking in Human Beings (2011), Law on Bases of Prevention and Combating Discrimination in
Ukraine (2013), related amendments to legislation, etc.; national machinery on gender equality under
supervision of the Ministry of Social Policy.
However, there is evidence of multiple manifestations of gender discrimination in social and economic
life; numerous cases of GBV revealed in domestic violence, rape, physical assault, sexual
harassment and human trafficking. Based on 2014 survey data, 19.4% of women aged 19-49
suffered from physical violence in Ukraine, while another 7.9% - from sexual violence; moreover,
almost 70% of victims do not apply for any kind of assistance.
There is a lack of empirical evidence on GBV, as it is frequently invisible due to societal, cultural and
religious barriers. Few available data are often unreliable and even misleading, providing no
opportunity for a deep analysis and profiling of victims and perpetrators. A weak governmental
response to the problem requires analysis of policy failings and estimation of the national machinery
efficiency in prevention of GBV and assisting the victims.
Finally, the armed conflict in the Eastern Ukraine has put another particular challenge in terms of
GBV. Though there is still no any reliable statistics on prevalence of violence against women
presented by any side of the conflict, human rights activists and women’s NGOs report about multiple
cases of rape, torture, human trafficking cases.
Gender Violence: Issues of Terminology in Ukraine
Law of Ukraine on Domestic Violence : Article 1. Determination of terms:
•
domestic violence - any intentional actions of physical, sexual, psychological or economic nature
committed by one family member in relation to other family member, if these actions violate constitutional
rights and freedoms of a family member as a person and citizen and inflict moral harm on her/him, harm to
her/his physical or psychical health;
•
physical DV - intentional causing by one family member to other family member of beatings, bodily harms,
that can lead or has led to death of a victim, violation of his/her physical or psychical health, causing of
harm to her/his honour and dignity;
•
sexual DV - illegal encroachment of one family member on sexual inviolability of other family member, and
also action of a sexual nature by one family member in relation to a juvenile family member;
•
psychological DV - violence, related to influence of one family member on the psyche of other family
member by verbal offenses or threats, pursuit, intimidations which intentionally cause emotional uncertainty,
inability to protect her/himself and can cause or causes harm to psychical health;
•
economic DV - intentional deprivation by one family member of other family member of habitation, meal,
clothes and other property or funds, for which a victim has a legal right, that can cause her/his death, harm
to physical or psychical health.
Criminal Code of Ukraine: Section IV “Crimes against sexual freedom and sexual inviolability of a person”:
•
Article 152. Rape, Article 153. Violent unnatural gratification of sexual desire, Article 154. Compulsion to
sexual intercourse, Article 155. Sexual intercourse with a sexually immature person
Law of Ukraine On Combating Trafficking in Human Beings:
trafficking in human beings - settlement of an illegal agreement, the object of which is a human being, as
well as recruitment, transportation, harbouring, transfer or receipt of a human being for purpose of his/her
exploitation, including sexual, by means of deception, fraud, blackmail, abuse of a person’s position of
vulnerability or by use of force or threat of use of force, with abuse of power or economic or other
dependence of the victim on another person, which is considered a crime under the Criminal Code of
Ukraine.
Law on Ensuring Equal Rights and Opportunities of Women and Men:
sexual harassment – verbally expressed sexual actions (threats, intimidation, scurrilities) or physical
actions (touching, patting) which humiliate or offend persons in the state of work, service, material or other
subordination.
Gender-Based Violence in Ukraine: Available Data
Sources
1) Administrative statistics: Ministry of Internal (number of registered
crimes and complains); State Court Administration (number of
convictions and appeals to courts); Ministry of Social Policy (number
of survivors assisted through social service centers and shelters)
2) Data collected by assisting NGOs, international organizations (UN
agencies, IOM, OSCE, HRW, etc.), civil society activists
3) Population-based surveys targeted at prevalence assessment and
expert estimations (special thematic surveys and particular
modules): Demographic and Health Survey – 2007, Violence
Against Women Survey - 2014
Prevalence of GBV in Ukraine: the recent trends
Domestic violence:
Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine: 144,848 appeals about domestic violence
registered in Ukraine in 2013 (increased by 32 % compared with 2012). Most of
the complaints about cases of domestic violence come from women (126,498).
Trafficking in Human Beings:
IOM in Ukraine: the number of applying victims is declining (from 1,085 victims
identified in 2010 to 903 in 2014). Also, proportion of women among VoT has
changed from 86% in 2004 to 42% in 2014. Sexual exploitation has dropped from
65% to 6% among types of exploitation, in contrast forced labour has increased.
Still failings in protection policies: in spite of 10,945 VoT assisted during 20002014, only 81 VoT received the official status and assistance from the
Government.
Study Methodology:
In 2014, a Survey was realized to improve national gender machinery
and efficiency of mechanism of assistance to victims of violence
through interviews with victims and experts:
• Internet-questioning of directors and social workers of centres /
shelters on functioning of 32 institutions.
• Collection of depersonalized data about 135 women who stayed in
centres during 2013-2014 as a result of being subject to violence.
• Personal flexible interviews with 6 women-survivors of violence who
were clients of the centres during 2013-2014.
Profiling victims of domestic violence (based on
interviews with women-clients of specialized centers):
• Availability of children: 70 % of clients stay in centres with children.
• Average age of a woman-client of a center is 35.5. However women of different
age suffer from violence: the youngest was 15, the oldest – 83.
• Different level of education. Obtained data refutes widespread opinion that
uneducated women usually suffer from violence: 31 % of clients have tertiary
education, 55 % – secondary education, 14 % – unfinished secondary education.
• Most of the clients are economically active (79 %), however very few of them
work (27 %) and even less of them receive income that allow to financially
provide for themselves and their children. Many of women are either on maternity
leave or de-facto unemployed. Every fifth woman does not have any occupation.
• Almost one third of women are from rural area. This disproves another myth
that rural women do not turn for help to crisis centres, and despite the fact that
these institutions are usually located in urban areas.
• Absence of their own dwelling. Only 40 % of women-clients had their own
dwelling. And these women were co-owners of apartments and houses with
people who in most cases were perpetrators.
Profiling of perpetrators:
• Most of them are men (91 %)
• In most cases, they are people of middle age (46% aged 31-40), people aged
below 25 were not revealed by the research.
• Level of education of perpetrator is lower than education level of victims,
however one third of perpetrators (26 %) have tertiary education.
• Most of the perpetrators are partners of women (cohabitants – 38 %, husbands
– 27 %). Others are usually relatives (father, mother, brother, son, sister), rarely –
former-husbands, employers, neighbours etc.
• Typical problem is addiction to alcohol and / or drugs abuse.
Factors that limit the access of women-survivors to services of specialized
institutions:
• Low level of awareness among women due to the lack of information about
such institutions, services and conditions that they provide to clients.
• Low level of confidence in any social institutions among women-survivors.
• Lack of available places in institutions. This factor was mentioned by
specialists of 42 % surveyed centres.
• The need to stay in institutions with a child (children). Provisions about some
institutions envisage stay for adults only.
• Lack of funding. Some of the institutions do not have budgets to provide
meals, the issue of maintenance is not solved, heat supply is absent.
• Health condition of women. According to Typical Provisions that constitute
basis for functioning of many crisis centres, women with considerable health
problems can’t become their clients.
• Age of women – to some extent. Every fourth surveyed institution was a center
for mother and child. According to the Provision about such institutions, the age of
their clients may be from 18 to 35 years old.
Proportion of respondents who have faced any type of violence during last 12
months among internally displaced persons in Ukraine, 2014 (%)
Type of
violence
…towards other people
… personally
WHH*
PW*
men
(60+)
women
(60+)
total
W- HH*
PW*
m (60+)
w (60+)
Total
Psychological
18
18
17
14
17
28
28
24
20
26
Physical
17
13
20
11
16
24
19
25
17
22
Economic
18
9
12
12
15
22
28
27
17
22
Sexual
Any type of
violence
0.2
0
0
0
0.1
1
2
0
0
0
29.5
* W-HH – women household heads
* PW pregnant women
12
39.8
The Role of Gender Stereotypes in Public Attitude to
Gender-Based Violence and Discrimination
Survivors of domestic violence suffer from double discrimination, double
violation of their rights, as having suffered from violence, they are then faced
with the lack of response of the government and law enforcement agencies to
complaints and appeals for protection of their rights.
Interviews with victims of GBV:
“Of course, the Law plays a positive role. Law enforcement agencies have to be
aware of the problem of violence. However, a female survivor fearing
condemnation remains in a state of dual violence”.
“Many Ukrainian women suffer from domestic battery and psychological trauma,
often not daring to seek for professional help in order not to “wash dirty linen in
public”. Women often suffer abuse from men to the bitter end, in order not to
destroy the family”.
“We need to include the basics of gender expertise in the education system, at
schools and other educational institutions”.
Failings in policy of gender-based violence and further
recommendations:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Preparing for ratification and ratifying Convention on preventing and
combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul, 2011)
with subsequent large-scope nation-wide campaign on dissemination of its
provisions
Finalizing the Law On preventing domestic violence through offering the
efficient mechanism of assistance and protection of victims and allocation of
sufficient funds
Development of normative documents regulating providing of social
services to victims of violence, adjusting social standards, etc.
Development of the unified statistics system on GBV
Devising methods and training specialists involved into work with families
experiencing domestic violence: with the victims, the perpetrator and
children, when applicable (social workers, police officers, judges, lawyers…)
More active implementation of corrective programs for the perpetrators
Public policy on transformation of social stereotypes and attitude to GBV.