“OBSTACLES FACED BY VICTIMS OF
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN WHEN THEY
SEEK SUPPORT AND REHABILITATION IN
UKRAINE”
RESULTS OF RESEARCH
The study was conducted within the framework of “Preventing
and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence in
Ukraine” project of Council of Europe.
Researcher - Valentyna Bondarovska, Ph.D., NGO “ROZRADA”
president
Pilot regions: Lviv and Kirоvоgrad regions that were defined by
Ministry of Social politics of Ukraine and Coordinator of Council of
Europe Project
The objective of the research was to identify
obstacles faced by women-victims of gender-based
violence when they request assistance from the
state institutions responsible for preventing
domestic violence and other types of violence
against women in Ukraine. In the process of analysis
such obstacles it was necessary to study the
differences between obstacles that meet urban and
rural women in Ukraine.
The obstacles that met violence victims in different state
institutions, such as:
•Police
•Medical facilities
•Social services
•Courts
Results
15 women-urban residents and 10 women-rural residents were
interviewed in total. The 15 urban residents encountered 168 actual
obstacles while accessing different organizations. The 10 rural residents
encountered 177 actual obstacles while accessing different organizations.
Therefore, on average a woman-victim of violence seeking help
encounters obstacles ca. 11 times if she resides in an urban area and ca.
17 times if she resides in a rural area. We also have to consider that rural
residents do not always apply for help to the Social Service Centers for
Families, Children and Youth due to the lack of information about the
Centers or in fear of the confidentiality not being ensured and their
situation becoming exposed to their neighbours (standard of
confidentiality).
Never the less, the women-urban residents noted that they experienced obstacles
when applying to:
•Social services: 49 cases of obstacles;
•Medical services: 48 cases of obstacles;
•Police: 55 cases of obstacles;
•Courts: 23 cases of obstacles.
Diagram 1. Standard 1. COMPREHENSIVE SERVICE PROVISION
Obstacles that met women when they seeked services
60
53.3
53.3
50
53.3
50
50
Axis Title
40
30
Urban
Rural
20
20
10
0
Social
Services
Medecine
Police
Courts
According to respondents’ statements, the main
types of obstacles for Comprehensive service
provision are:
•Absence of social model of complexity of victims’
requirements in Ukrainian society.
•Services that are responsible for supporting
victims of violence don’t have precise requirements
for their responsibilities in providing assistance and
collaboration with other relevant services.
•Victim of violence doesn’t take herself
“comprehensively” - considering problem in
narrowed context. Spectrum of her assistance
requirements is narrowed.
Diagram 2. Standard 2. CONFIDENTIALITY
This diagram shows the percentage of cases when the services did not
ensure confidentiality
40
40
35
Axis Title
30
25
20
20
Urban
Rural
15
10
6.6
6.6
6.6
Police
Courts
5
0
Social
Services
Medecine
As the diagram 2 clearly shows, 6,6% of the
urban
respondents
could
not
obtain
confidentiality when they asked for help in the
social services centers, 40% of rural
respondents did not obtain confidentiality
when they asked for help in medical
establishments,
6,6%
of
the
urban
respondents
and
20%
of
the
rural
respondents were met with the absence of
confidentiality when asked for the police help,
and 6,6% of the urban respondents did not
obtain confidentiality in the judicial system.
Responses of the urban and country residents allow for the
determination of the following types of obstacles
in ensuring of the confidentiality when receiving help from
the support services:
1.The services’ employees do not consider the victims’
information as being confidential. Personal information of
the victims becomes known to strangers, especially in the
country.
2.The information about the victims’ plans becomes known
to the perpetrator because they collude with the employees
of the help services.
3.The private information of the victim becomes known to
the surrounding people (professionals and clients) due to
lack of the appropriate conditions for working with and
consulting victims (private offices, special equipment).
Diagram 3. Standard 3. AVAILABILITY – CRISIS, MEDIUM-TERM AND LONGTERM PROVISIONS ARE ALL NEEDED, WITH ACCESS 24/7.
60
60
50
Axis Title
40
33.3
30
30
26.6
Urban
Rural
20
13.3
10
6.6
0
Social Services
Medecine
Police
Courts
It is clear from the diagram 3 that in relation to
round-the-clock access to services and access to
services that are open every day without
exceptions, 33,3% of the urban respondents and
30% of the rural respondents claimed that they do
not have such access. They claim to not even have
an unlimited access to the police help which must
be on duty round-the-clock and respond to calls in
person and by telephone. And 26,6% of the urban
residents and 60% of the rural ones do not have a
round-the-clock access to assistance of social
services.
The same concern applies to the medical system
where the emergency and trauma units are open
round-the-clock, however 13,3% of the urban
respondents complained about inaccessibility of
round-the-clock medical services. And 6,6% of the
rural respondents did not consider the courts to be
accessible round-the-clock.
Absence of the financial backing for the round-theclock services even when it is envisioned by the
Ukrainian law is one of the typical obstacles the
victims face when they require round-the-clock
services.
Diagram 4. Standard 4. Acceptance of children as service users
20
20 20
20
18
16
Axis Title
14
12
10
10
8
6.6
6.6
6.6
6
4
2
0
Social Services
Medecine
Police
Courts
Urban
Rural
The limited number of children as users of services
also occurs (see a diagram 4). 6,6% of the urban
respondents and 20% of the rural respondents do
not consider that social services acknowledge the
children as services users, but 6,6% urban women
and 10% rural women do not envision the children
as users of the services either. Both 20% of the
urban women and 20% of the rural women do not
imagine children as possible users of the police
services, and 6,6% of the urban women do not
imagine children as possible users of the judicial
system.
Analysis of the results of the interviews allowed
determining the following types of obstacles in
realization of the standard “Children as Users of
Help Services”:
1. Children-witnesses of violence are not considered
as users of help services
2.Teenagers do not receive help from the
appropriate institutions when they find themselves
in the situations typical for adults.
3.When a woman-victim of violence is helped by
the help services, her children or grandchildren are
not considered as separate victims in need of
separate help.
Diagram 5. Standard 5. ACCESS TO SERVICES ACROSS THE COUNTRY
80
80
70
60
Axis Title
50
40
30
30
20
20
10
20
13.3
6.6
6.6
0
Social Services
Medecine
Police
Courts
Urban
Rural
Types of Obstacles in Receiving Help Across the
Country:
•Absence of shelters for women-victims of violence
away from their place of living.
•Absence of protection of property rights of womenvictims of violence against the attempts of
expropriation by the perpetrator while the victim is in
the shelter.
•Necessity of obtaining help services in another
village/town frightens women-victims of violence and
makes such services unattainable in their minds.
•Absence of access of women-victims of violence to
professional help in cases where the professional help
is absent in their living area/village/town.
Diagram 6. Standard 6. SAFETY AND PROTECTION
90
90
80
70
Axis Title
60
50
40
Urban
Rural
33.3
26.6
30
20
20
13.3
6.6
10
10
0
Social Services
Medecine
Police
Courts
Types of obstacles:
•Absence of early intervention of the
appropriate organs in cases with threats,
intimidation and stalking of the woman.
•Inactive reaction to cases of violence
which did not result in death or
invalidity of a woman.
•In cases of holding the perpetrator in
the police station for three hours the
danger for the woman and her children
only increases.
Diagram 7. Standard 7. PROFESSIONALISM
80
80
80
70
70
60
60
60
46.6
Axis Title
50
40
30
30
20
6.6
10
0
Social Services
Medecine
Police
Courts
Urban
Rural
Types of obstacles:
1.Disregard of witnesses’ testimony
2.Disregard for psychological help
3.Unprofessional attitude towards
violence, in particular towards
protection of children’s rights.
Forcing the children to meet with the
father-perpetrator
of
violence
towards their mother and them.
Diagram 8. Standard 8. CREATION OF CULTURE OF TRUST AND RESPECT
40
40
FOR VICTIMS
40
35
30
30
26
30
26.6
26.6
Axis Title
25
20
Urban
Rural
20
15
10
5
0
Social Services
Medecine
Police
Courts
Types of obstacles:
1.Stigmatization of the victim.
2.Absence of attention to the
victim and providing
necessary help.
Diagram 9. Standard 9. A CULTURE OF EMPOWERMENT
70
70
60
60
60
50
50
46.6
Axis Title
40
40
33.3
Urban
Rural
30
20
20
10
0
Social Services
Medecine
Police
Courts
Types of obstacles:
1.Not giving to the victim full
information about possible support and
possible difficulties on the way of
liberating herself of violence.
2.Unpreparedness to be respectful
towards the victim making her own
decisions
3.Concealing information and
manipulating the victim.
Diagram 10. Standard 10. FREE OF CHARGE SERVICES FOR VICTIMS OF
40
VIOLENCE
40
33.3
35
30
Axis Title
25
20
Urban
Rural
20
13.3
15
10
10
5
0
Social Services
Medecine
Police
Courts
Types of obstacles:
1.Victims do not have information
about obtaining services free of
charge.
2.Appropriate organs provoke
victims and insist on payments for
services.
Diagram 11. Standard 11. RECOGNIZING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AS
100
GENDER BASED VIOLENCE
100
90
80
70
Axis Title
70
60
53.3
50
40
40
50
Urban
Rural
40
33.3
30
20
13.3
10
0
Social Services
Medecine
Police
Courts
Types of obstacles:
1.Gender insensitivity
2.Accusing of behaving as a
victim.
3. Myth of saving the family.
Diagram 12. Standard 12. LACK OF COMPREHENSIVE LEGISLATION
13.3
14
12
10
10
Axis Title
10
8
6.6
6.6
6
4
2
0
Social Services
Medecine
Police
Courts
Urban
Rural
Types of obstacles:
•Legislation does not provide for the
unconditional removal of the perpetrator and
his punishment for the act of violence.
•Imperfect mechanism of the implementation
of corrective programs for perpetrators.
•Absence of shelters for victims of violence.
Property rights are above the rights of the
victims of violence to live.
CHALLENGES
1. The system of a round-the-clock free of charge system
of assistance to the victims of domestic and sexual
violence is not created(the standards of comprehensive,
round-the-clock, free of charge, professional support
are not realized).
2. The minimal standards of providing support services to
the women-victims of violence are absent. The absence
of such standards brings certain chaos to the
implementation of the Ukrainian legislation as to the
gender violence. It also brings uncertainty as to the
support services for women-victims. It was especially
apparent during the data analysis obtained during the
interviews with women-rural residents.
3.Financing of the support services and state organizations
responsible for the providing support to the women-victims of
violence and their children is based on the residual principle.
4.The state policy of Ukraine envisions that providing support
services to women-victims of violence is only the government’s
prerogative. At the same time the active system of state
institutions where all of the institutions are aware of their
responsibilities and are fulfilling them is absent. The functions
of medical services and judicial services are not clearly
determined and established. Moreover, even the identified
institutions do not have clearly defined functions, are
constantly re-organized, do not have professional employees
and financial backing to realize such minimal standards
as confidentiality, respectful attitude, professionalism, round-theclock service, safety, and protection.
5.A weak link in the obtaining services by
the women-victims is the absence of a
comprehensive hot line. Respondents
practically are unaware of “Trust
phone”, some even said “I think I heard
something but I don’t trust this
information”.
6. The situation with the shelters for
women-victims
in
the
Ukrainian
legislation.
7.In Ukraine the civil service organizations which
are described in the Istanbul Convention not only as
important but often as the main service providers for
the women-victims of violence work on their own and
with support of the international organizations
but without any government support.
8.Protection of women-victims of violence by the
courts remains problematic. A round-the-clock
access to removal of the perpetrator by the competent
authority is absent. This survey shows that victims
cannot afford to hire a solicitor. Employees,
management and judges of the courts are not part of
the comprehensive system of the support services to
women-victims of violence.
Recommendations
Since the ratification of the Istanbul
Convention by Ukraine, it will
become possible to greatly advance in
improving services to women-victims
of violence. The following can serve
as the basis for such improvement:
1. Legislative recognition of the system of
providing comprehensive support services to
victims including police, social services, medical
institutions, courts, and NGOs. All of the
responsibilities of such organizations must be
determined in accordance to the mentioned
minimal standards.
2. Creation of round-the-clock centers of
assistance to the victims of sexual violence and
domestic violence, removing the responsibility of
referring to the medical/forensic examination
from the police.
3. Creation of a universally accessible
telephone hot line for the victims and persons
informing of an occurrence of an act of
violence.
4. Creation of permanent centers for the
continuous education of the employees of the
comprehensive system of support services to
the victims of violence.
5. Full legitimizing, legalizing and support of
the NGOs which are able to provide real and
tangible support services.
6. Creation of an information platform on the
internet on the municipal, regional and allUkrainian level for the employees of the
comprehensive system of support services. This
platform should serve for the information exchange
about services which each organization provides,
professional on-line consultations, suggestions and
discussions regarding changes to legislation and
mechanisms for their implementation, showcasing
best practices in the protection of women's rights,
including in the courts, from around.
7. Ensuring minimal standards for access to
the support services throughout Ukraine as to
the women's shelters, making the shelters
accessible and safe, and to ensure that the
number of shelters and their locations are
sufficient and convenient for the victims'
needs.
8. Providing educational and practical
materials on the subject of minimal service
standards to all of the organizations and
points of providing support services.
9. Ensuring continuous education of all of
the participants/members/stakeholders of the
system of services to women-victims of
violence.