Translated from Ukrainian by Natalia Volynets.

“Being asked “What kind of a feminist am I now?” I say I am a practical one.

A situationally-practical one.”

Svitlana Dubina, Vis

The escalation of the war and the beginning of the Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has changed the daily lives of every one of us. From Kharkiv to Lviv, from Kyiv to Mariupol, from Zaporizhzhia to Vinnytsia — we are forced to quickly change our plans, daily activities, and usual worldview.

NGOs, feminist organizations, and communities dealing with LGBT+ issues involve people who constantly counteract violence, inequality, and discrimination.

The war has intensified these issues while revealing new obstacles and creating new challenges.

We talked with Ukrainian feminist and LGBT+ organizations to hear about what they are doing now and how they can be supported.

Feminist Workshop

Western Ukraine has become a refuge for many people. Evacuation trains carried the most vulnerable population groups, covering thousands of kilometers to get them from constant explosions and rocket attacks to relative safety.

Hospitable Lviv, which is usually associated with old buildings and the Rynok Square impregnated with the aroma of coffee, seems to have been centered around the train station during the war. People came here from the east of the country, from here they went to Poland, and here volunteers met people with hot food.

The Feminist Workshop has been operating in Lviv since 2014. This non-governmental organization (NGO), which enhanced the formation of the feminist community in Lviv, is now widely known. In peacetime, its employees were involved in educational activities among teenagers, filmed a video blog, and organized fem schools.

Back in 2019, the Feminist Workshop started a dialogue on the complexity of the militarization perception through a feminist lens. The “(ir)relevant” project analyzed and criticized various forms of violence and its counteraction options under total militarization. Today, this position remains relevant, and the activists focus on direct assistance to women with children and elderly women, and joined the information war.

First of all, this means providing housing for women facing difficulties, as well as for feminist activists who were forced to evacuate to Lviv. Finding housing for a long time period is very difficult as the city is crowded, but the women working at the Feminist Workshop created a fem-apartment, where one can live for free for up to six months.

Ivanka, one of the volunteers who recently joined the team, helps take care of children. It is psychologically difficult for women to pay enough attention to their children and, at the same time, not to be in constant stress. In addition, they need to address numerous issues that arise during resettlement — finding housing and work, paperwork, and humanitarian assistance, all of which is much easier to do when there is someone to leave your children with so that they are played with and taken care of.

The Feminist Workshop also pays attention to older women, which is another vulnerable group with more disabilities. Age gradually affects them and they may have limited work options (if any) or face health issues, and, hence, they need medications and care. The elderly are physically unable to stand in long queues for humanitarian aid or similar things; therefore, through cooperation, the women organized to provide elderly women with necessary items. In addition to food, this includes daily support, if needed, networking, and emotional support.

These busy activities require constant support. If you want to join as a volunteer, you can write to the team. You can also donate to support the projects and humanitarian aid by following the link.

Women’s Perspectives

Another team that has always operated in Lviv is Women’s Perspectives. Registered in 1998, this was one of the first feminist organizations in Ukraine. During the entire period of its work, it has implemented over 30 projects and assisted more than 5,000 people.

The organization’s priorities include gender equality, combating domestic violence and human trafficking, and supporting women’s and human rights organizations. The priorities have not changed since the beginning of the full-scale war, unlike the forms of their manifestation and organization.

Almost immediately at the beginning of the war, the team found a large room, provided by business owners. The typical office center has turned into a shelter for women and children. They can spend the night here before going further, or stay longer, if needed. They can get medicines and food or psychological counseling (for both adults and children). Importantly, children have one more option: non-formal education classes. The team realizes that a large number of people staying in one place are difficult not only for the hosts, but also for the displaced people themselves. Therefore, the team redirects them to safe regions in Ukraine that are not as densely populated as Lviv, and transfers them to a shelter for internally displaced persons.

As the war progresses, the number of shelters seems to decrease. It is becoming increasingly difficult to find humanitarian aid or housing. Although some cities (such as Kyiv) have become safer compared to February, a large part of the country is still a dangerous combat zone. Dnipro, Kharkiv, Kherson, and Mykolayiv are frequently shelled, and it is unsuitable to return there, especially for those with children, and many people have no home to return to. Aware of these new war challenges, which will not simply disappear, Women’s Perspectives wants to create two more shelters. They will differ from the existing one in that they will function not as temporary shelters, but as long-term and comfortable shelters for women with children who cannot return home.

The organization requires facilities, appliances, and medicines for displaced people. To donate, please follow the link.

Lviv is now crowded and busy. Organizations, associations, and entire cultural projects are being relocated here; humanitarian goods pass through Lviv; and people rest here before crossing the border and try to plan their further lives.

Insight and “Marsh Zhinok”

The NGO Insight and the Marsh Zhinok (Women’s March) initiative are also active during the war. Insight has always supported the LGBT+ community, which is its major task that is still relevant today. However, before the war this was mostly with an informational support blog; now there is a whole set of issues on the organization’s Facebook page, including searching for shelter, medical and psychological assistance, and so on. There was established cooperation prior to the war, like support with trans-transition, but now all these processes face new challenges.

 Marsh Zhinok has never positioned itself as a volunteer organization, but exclusively as a feminist initiative about women and for women. Its work relies on this principle and now, though many consider assistance a volunteer activity, the representatives themselves talk about it as something that they simply must provide.

From their first days, the organizations have been working at a crazy tempo. Two lines were set up to provide help and psychological support: one for the LGBT+ community and the other for women. They offer crisis psychological assistance and psychological consultations, for which they created simple application forms, as well as consultations on legal issues, including regarding lost housing, paperwork, going abroad, etc.

“From the first days of the war, we started looking for a place for shelters in the west of Ukraine, where people could spend a night or stay longer, get necessary things and medicines. Currently, there are three such spaces, two in Lviv and one in Chernivtsi,” Taisiya Gerasimova says.

There are seven people on the team now and, in addition, 12 volunteers who constantly help with organization, finding housing, coordinating people, and providing humanitarian assistance.

Photo of a shelter in Lviv

“Organizing humanitarian aid is a serious challenge. There are a lot of requests, especially from women with children, elderly women, and those who are not able to buy essentials.

These are people who were evacuated from dangerous areas and who lost their jobs and homes. Every day, a team of volunteers sends 100–130 shipments to different parts of Ukraine, where delivery service is available.

We tried different approaches to collecting applications for help. For some time, the application form was constantly open, and we could receive 3,000 applications a day. We could not handle such an amount, neither financially nor physically. So now we have come to the point when we open the form for a limited time. In the 40 minutes that the form is open, we receive about 150 applications.

I would also like to talk about the humanitarian hub volunteer team — almost 60 people! Almost all of them moved to Lviv because of the war. Most found the organization via our social media pages or our shared posts about searching for female volunteers, while some came with a friend, and several people live in our shelters.”

Organizing humanitarian aid is a small world, where everyone has their own tasks: find people to help with procurement, packaging, or delivery; people who process and distribute applications; and people who take care of others. Some people do this in Ukraine and some work from abroad. Everyone has faced new challenges.

Taisiya Gerasimova notes that their focus on supporting transgender people still has a clear mechanism, despite becoming more difficult due to the war. This includes providing medicines that cannot be bought in pharmacies, advice on crossing the border, and assistance with other medical and legal issues that arise in the process. Gradually, in all spheres, things are getting back to normal in Ukraine, but this was not the case in the first weeks of the war, since there were many questions and applications that needed to be urgently addressed.

Despite a higher level of European tolerance, LGBT+ people face numerous challenges. These are both general, such as finding housing and work or paperwork, and more localized issues, such as registration (living together may be not allowed if people are not officially registered as a couple), receiving specific medical care (for example, for trans people), and psychological support. The Insight team helps with all these issues in cooperation with European organizations that joined during the war and are using their own resources.

Insight and Marsh Zhinok operate at their own expense. Finding funding for rental housing and to purchase items is a separate challenge. In the first month, private donations from Ukraine and around the world helped a lot. However, as time passes, the global community’s interest is also gradually declining — they do not realize the scale of the humanitarian crisis, which is now pervasive in Ukrainian society. If you would like to join and help, you can donate to Insight and Marsh Zhinok here and here.

Sphere and Kharkiv Pride

Sphere and KharkivPride operate similarly to Insight and Marsh Zhinok. They also have two activities: women and feminist optics, and the LGBT+ community.

Currently, the team consists of 11 employees scattered not only throughout Ukraine but also around the world. There are those who remained in Kharkiv despite daily shelling, and there are also those who were forced to leave; hence, most of the projects are organized remotely.

Many projects that started before the full-scale invasion were reformatted as the war escalated. Some of the ideas seem less relevant now, while others require significant funding. The budget has been redistributed considering urgent needs, and funds have been allocated for humanitarian aid. The humanitarian assistance provided by these project teams includes essentials and remittances that cover the cost of basic goods for women and LGBT+ community members.

During the war, LGBT+ chats were created and eventually identical groups appeared for women. All this is realized in the “equal-to-equal” format as the main trigger that is being worked out is war. Prior to the full-scale invasion, psychological assistance was one of the work areas and did not actually stand out among others, but now it is the main task. The only thing that support groups and professional psychological counseling do not work with is rape in war.

One of the humanitarian aid areas that has already been provided is support for women at the front: contraception, menstrual cups, personal hygiene products (including pads, tampons), pregnancy tests, medications, etc. The police and volunteers made it possible to transfer this assistance to female combatants and civilian women in the combat zone.

Currently, Sphere and KharkivPride are gradually resuming their typical activities. They support their own project-hub, conversation clubs in Ukrainian, speaking clubs in English, psychological support groups, and educational broadcasts on current topics. You can support them by following the link.

La Strada

Ukrainian communities work in all areas. Not only physical support (babysitting, bringing some food, provide transportation) is important. Psychological, legal, and informational support are also crucial. That is what La Strada is about.

Its major activities include informing and counteracting violence, discrimination, and human trafficking. It declares feminist values and works relentlessly. It did not stop working during the COVID-19 pandemic and continued helping in the most difficult times.

“The war has radically changed our work,” Alyona Krivulyak, director of the Hotlines Department, says. There are two lines: the National Hotline for the Prevention of Domestic Violence, Human Trafficking, and Gender Discrimination and the National Hotline for Children and Youth.

The war has created new obstacles. Before, the team worked in an office in Kyiv, but now its members are scattered all over the world. It was important to keep the same phone numbers available and make sure that everyone is safe, has a stable Internet connection, and is psychologically able to work. The team could not return to the office since it is dangerous. For the first three weeks of the war, they provided consultations only through La Strada webpages, responding to inquiries and messages. For instance, they created a whole series of publications , providing information on how to evacuate to different EU countries.

Since March 11, the hotlines have resumed their work and now work 24/7 while involving all possible resources.

The key issues have not changed: violence, both domestic and gender-based, and protection of children’s interests and rights. However, there is one “but.” During the war, the number of appeals has significantly increased. This is due to the general tension, increase in the number of those having access to weapons, and increase in the number of cases of violence (psychological and sexual). The result is that the hotlines, social networks, and e-mail operate literally day and night.

Prior to the full-scale war, the National Hotline for Children and Youth operated from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Now it operates day and night since the huge challenges for society and children in need of psychological help should be properly addressed.

The number of appeals to the Hotline for the Prevention of Domestic Violence, Human Trafficking, and Gender Discrimination has also increased. Women began to experience more violence and more fear due to the increased accessibility of weapons, and if previously a quarrel could end in beatings, now there are even more dangerous threats with weapons.

Most often, appeals come from war victims. La Strada has had experience with internally displaced persons since 2014, so this is not a new category of people for them; the only change is that the number of their appeals has significantly increased. To date, there are many inquiries about how to evacuate from combat zones, leave the temporarily occupied territories for the territory controlled by Ukraine, register as an IDP, obtain IDP status, get social benefits from the state, safely get abroad and not face possible human trafficking, take children abroad, adapt to living abroad, what status to obtain, and so on — all these issues currently constitute the largest category of appeals.

However, the issue of domestic violence has by no means become less relevant as the number of respective appeals is still large. There are many concomitant factors that are directly related to the war and negatively affect domestic violence victims. In particular, considering active combat zones, a woman facing domestic violence in her family has almost no one to turn to. She also has no possibility to undergo a forensic medical examination to be able to prove anything later since hospitals are destroyed or used by the occupiers for their own purposes.

The constant availability of telephone consultations is crucial. This helps to accompany victims at each stage. La Strada strives to organize everything so that a victim of violence does not communicate with the occupying authorities, with the exception of emergency medical care.

Of course, the war shifts the focus in the country. In particular, military support and protection of territories have become crucial. Other issues seem to be much less relevant, and focus on the external enemy prevents solving internal challenges. Even prior the war, the police did not do their job very well and sometimes ignored women’s complaints about domestic violence, but now the number of such complaints has statistically increased. Female victims themselves also believe that their own security is not so relevant and, during the full-scale war, are ashamed to seek help, appealing to the fact that Ukraine is at war and, hence, all structures should focus on saving the country, supporting the military, and defending from the enemy.

Another issue is the rape of Ukrainian women by Russian Federation occupiers. So far, there have not been so many such appeals, but there are some. Representatives of organization themselves consider their sample of such cases unrepresentative as not all women survive the rape, not all of them have an opportunity to leave the occupied territories, and not all of them dare to seek help.

If you want to support La Strada, you can do so by following the link.

JurFem

Legal consultations, which are one of La Strada’s activities, are the focus of the JurFem Ukrainian Women Lawyers Association. JurFem was founded as a space for women lawyers, which later turned into a systematic network of female judges, lawyers, and other professionals in this field. The association has its own membership terms, goals and objectives, and charter.

During the period of the Russian Federation’s full-scale military invasion of Ukraine, JurFem has become one of the largest information spaces. It provides legal advice on a number of the most pressing issues that have arisen during martial law and that everyone has faced in one way or another, including the status and rights of internally displaced persons, border crossing issues (women with children, orphans, and husbands), the difference between refugee status and temporary protection status, and the work of courts, notaries, and law practices.

The organization covers issues such as violence, sexual harassment, etc. Its website provides articles on what to do if one has experienced sexual violence or witnessed it, how to properly record it, and who to turn to for help. There is also a rape hotline. If a victim of sexual violence can receive legal advice, a professional female lawyer is assigned in the required region, and, if necessary, an individual security plan is drawn up and information on shelters, NGOs, and psychologists in the region is provided.

There are several ways to help JurFem: share their articles and contacts, join if you are a female legal expert, and donate to support the project.

Vis

Another city that has hosted many people is Vinnytsia. It has also been attacked by the enemy, but so far it is relatively calm and one can walk the cozy streets to the playgrounds or along the Southern Bug River, or admire the light and music fountain. Vinnytsia welcomes and gives comfort and peace, but all this is created by female public figures, organizations, and volunteers. One of these public organizations is Vis (Axis).

Vis has operated since 2010. Its initial primary purpose was to ensure equal rights and opportunities for people to be active and exist in all spheres of life. Gradually, the tasks were formulated more clearly: support for girls and women and their leadership; informational and educational activities in the field of human rights; raising awareness of the problems in combating various types of violence; and developing volunteering and employment assistance for people in difficult life circumstances. The latter task has become one of the priorities during the war.

Prior to the war, Vis and Women’s Perspectives held a femencamp for girls aged 18 to 23. With support from the Ukrainian Women’s Fund, Vis implemented information projects, such as information and support bots for girls, an anti-violence advocacy campaign, participation in women’s marches, forums, etc. Long and effective cooperation over many years with various NGOs, foundations, and organizations has contributed to the widespread popularity of and support for Vis.

From the first days of the war, Vis and other local NGOs organized a humanitarian center. One week after the start of the war, donor organizations, which were also previously known for feminist activities, began to offer their help and resources. The humanitarian center, which emerged almost spontaneously, was later systematized. First and foremost, people needed food, medicines, and hygiene products. Vis managed to organize a more individualized approach so people can get what they really need. This possibility to choose also contributes to psychological well-being: instead of constantly standing in queues for a standard set of basic products (which are decreasingly available during the war and, hence, the number of items in a social set is also decreasing), a person can choose what they need.

Vinnytsia is a big city, hosting many organizations, both governmental and private, non-governmental ones. Almost from the first days of the war, all of them reorganized their activities to provide more substantial assistance to people in accordance with the new needs. However, there are still gaps, some of which have become the focus of Vis.

For example, humanitarian aid is often provided only to registered IDPs, and until they are registered, they cannot claim help. However, the need for food, medicines, hygiene products, and baby food cannot wait. In addition, many foundations provide one-time assistance. This helps if a person can find a job and arrange a new life for the future, but there are currently few job vacancies and basic needs remain unmet. The problem of housing is also relevant in Vinnytsia. There are few shelters; most people are forced to rent an apartment, and most of their money is spent on this, which makes it impossible to provide for other needs.

There is a problem of women and children staying not only in cities, but also in various small villages. If cities are already more or less organized in terms of assistance and providing better food and psychological support, such opportunities are simply non-existent in rural areas. Vis wants to focus specifically on this issue as, according to its data, about 170,000 internally displaced persons live in Vinnytsia Oblast now (as of May 16, when Vis representative Svitlana Dubina was interviewed – Ed.). It can also a safe assumption that many of them have not registered. Even with humanitarian aid, the situation is difficult in rural areas: most resources are available directly in cities, and few reach villages. Another problem is psychological support. The only thing left for people in villages is online counseling and psychological support hotlines, but not everyone is aware of such lines or sure if they work. Access to information is extremely important nowadays; therefore, it is currently a highly relevant issue to provide information and psychological support to all possible vulnerable groups regardless of their location. Svitlana and her team plan to go to the villages of Vinnytsia region with this mission.

As for general informational and educational work, this one of Vis’ major activities prior to the war has slightly decreased now. All the campaigns planned for March 8 (International Women’s Day) were canceled due to the war. However, for example, the team created a feminist calendar, and now copies are distributed to those who care.

Currently, two issues are particularly relevant. First is organizing specific psychological assistance. Volunteers and team members always communicate with people who coming to them, but this is not enough, as people often need not only support, but also expert help. The second issue is traveling to villages to provide humanitarian, informational, and security assistance.

“There are resources — we need forces to fulfill them,” Svitlana says. As the war develops, unfortunately global attention decreases, while the number of issues increases. To follow Vis activities and to support the organization, please use the link.

Ukrainian Women’s Fund

Among those who helped Vis at the beginning of the war was the Ukrainian Women’s Fund, which supports women’s and feminist organizations. Fund representatives implement both their own ideas (in Ukraine and abroad) and support similar projects. This usually includes funding socially important projects that are somehow related to women: training courses, educational or informational flash mobs and events, and sociological and socio-cultural research. The war has slightly shifted the focus, but did not change the nature of the team’s activities.

In the first month of the war alone, the Ukrainian Women’s Fund awarded 37 rapid response grants to various Ukrainian women’s and feminist NGOs. This support enabled organizations to provide humanitarian assistance, including food, medicines, personal hygiene products, household items, and children’s items.

Recipient organizations of the Ukrainian Women’s Fund are scattered across Ukraine. Segmentally, they support women with disabilities, adolescents, women with children, and the elderly. Despite the possibility to leave the country, all the above categories of citizens are vulnerable. A separate group is those female activists who have stayed in their cities and continued working, even despite shelling. For security reasons, the fund does not publish the full list of assisted associations. Representatives of these associations do their job every day. The fund strives to structure its support and provide funds for real needs.

If you want to support the Ukrainian Women’s Fund, and with it many Ukrainian feminist organizations, you can do so by following the link.

NGO Girls

The NGO Girls operates with support from the Ukrainian Women’s Fund, UNICEF Ukraine, and the Heinrich Boell Foundation’s Office in Ukraine. This is a small team running a social and educational project for teenage girls. Currently, it is mainly focused on local assistance to women with children in Kyiv and Kyiv Oblast, in particular, targeted financial support to victims from Irpin district.

NGO Girls also provides traditional humanitarian assistance while focusing on small children: diapers, wet wipes, and baby food, along with a standard list of food and medicines. All this is provided to children, women, and the elderly. The organization does not purchase or supply military items.

Prior the full-scale invasion, thanks to Girls, many educational activities were organized and educational lectures were held in open areas, schools, hubs, etc., because the NGO’s main goal is to encourage girls to consciously build their lives, know themselves, their bodies, and their physiology, and be psychologically mature. Currently, the priority is information warfare on social networks and support for those in need.

You can donate to NGO Girls by following the link or ordering a lecture.

GenderZed

There is a significant increase in the number of various organizations located in the west of Ukraine. In addition to those that have always worked there, there are now those that have evacuated and relocated to western regions. However, life is also busy in other parts of the country. For example, unconquered Zaporizhzhia continues living and working, despite the fact that most of oblast is occupied.

This is where GenderZed is based. It is a human rights organization working on a wide range of issues related to sexual orientation and gender identity, gender inequality, overcoming stigma regarding the LGBT+ community, and overcoming gender inequality and gender-based violence. Special attention has always been paid to women’s rights and feminist values. A separate area of work is in preventing HIV and sexually transmitted infections. The GenderZed space always provides HIV testing and a free health safe box for men, which includes an oral HIV test, condoms, lubricants, and an information booklet.

In peacetime, GenderZed was an active participant in all events related to the LGBT+ community, including informational support, gradual overcoming of stigma through educational activities, participation in prides, etc. With the escalation of the war, its activities did not decrease but their focus slightly shifted. Since February 24, the whole team has switched to remote work. In the first days, it disseminated information about the invasion and, when possible, provided psychological support to its audience.

Later, the organization started providing humanitarian aid to LGBT+ people in need. This was enabled by the overwhelming support of the international community, which disseminates information and donates money for the needs of LGBT+ people.

The whole team now processes applications for assistance in their free time. Hence, the work is almost round the clock, which is quite difficult, both emotionally and in terms of resources. There are a lot of appeals coming from the temporarily occupied territories and regions affected by rocket attacks. The scale of the tragedy is very large, and even if it sometimes seems that it is getting calmer, people’s need for psychological support is only growing, because the war is still ongoing.

However, the organization has not stopped doing its main work. It continues educating and informing, as well as testing for HIV, syphilis, and hepatitis C. The front line is very close, but the challenges that were relevant before the full-scale war have not disappeared with its escalation.

Prior the full-scale invasion, the organization had been planning a new project for lesbians and bisexuals called “Girls for Girls.” February 24 put these plans on hold, but now the project has finally been launched, promoting hygiene and understanding the female body, safe sex between women, and the importance of safety. In addition, a Telegram bot has been created specifically for lesbians and bisexuals that provides an opportunity to follow a quest on women’s health, raise awareness, and get a fem-box similar to the one that has existed for some time in the men’s organization.

On its social media pages, GenderZed publishes information that can be useful during the war, such as seeking shelter, humanitarian assistance, opportunities to help the army, etc. All this is systematized and summarized to ensure quick and easy access at any time.

If you would like to support GenderZed activities in Zaporizhzhia, you can do so by following the link.

KyivPride

At one time, GenderZed joined the organization of the first Pride in Zaporizhzhia. Zaporizhzhia Pride did not manage to become a completely independent and well-known project; however, KyivPride and KharkivPride are currently active in Ukraine.

Since the beginning of the full-scale war, KyivPride has continued its activities, but has almost completely changed the way it helps LGBT+ people in Ukraine. Of course, information work has remained the most relevant, including through social networks, but now it also involves cooperation with well-known publications and news agencies from more than 15 countries, including BBC News, TIME Magazine, New York Times, GAY Times, and Pink News. Europeans have a lot of stereotypes and even terrible notions about the state of the LGBT+ community in Ukraine, because the issue has never been widely covered. The war and, as a result, the dissemination of information have helped to reduce stereotypes and organize assistance to the community.

During the war, about 400,000 hryvnias have been spent on targeted assistance, including for food, medicines, hygiene items, other essentials items, and household goods. More than 650 queer people have received assistance and continue receiving it; the application form is still available.

In Kyiv, together with GAU, KyivPride opened a shelter for LGBT+ people and their families. This is important not only in terms of how many people could have lost their homes, but also in terms of psychological condition. After all, unfortunately, not everyone and not everywhere is ready to rent an apartment to a homosexual couple or settle such people. Besides, not all of them want to stay in the city, especially as it was dangerous in Kyiv for a long time since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. Hence, KyivPride began to organize its own evacuation trips to the west of Ukraine and abroad.

Another activity is psychological assistance. There are support groups three times a week, involving trained psychologists who have experience working directly with the LGBT+ community.

KyivPride not only helps in terms of resources, but also focuses on its primary goal. For instance, a joint KyivPride and WarsawPride is planned for June 25. The Prides will unite and hold a joint march for peace and freedom in Ukraine and against Russian aggression. It is not possible to hold Kyiv Pride in the usual format, because this is dangerous, but the Warsaw community is supporting the march against the war and for freedom and human rights.

“We provide space to the voices that need to sound louder.”

Support KyivPride by following the link.

From Kharkiv to Lviv, from Kyiv to Mariupol, from Zaporizhzhia to Vinnytsia — we have all changed our plans and daily activities and abandoned the usual for the sake of the needed. Everyone works tirelessly, providing shelter and basic needs. Anyone in need can apply.

Support feminist and LGBT organizations in Ukraine

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Historically, military structures have been predominantly male institutions, and thus not free from sexism. The Ukrainian army is no exception, but by defending against Russia’s armed aggression, it plays an extremely important role not only in the defense of its own territory, but also in global military, food, and environmental security.

This requires the army to be as efficient as possible, which includes overcoming prejudices and obstacles that may prevent women in the military from fulfilling their functional duties. In addition, Ukraine is building a tolerant, human-centered society, and gender equality is one aspect. That is why overcoming sexism in the Armed Forces of Ukraine is so important.

This text is a brief overview of the main manifestations of sexism in the army over a certain period and a presentation of the most egregious cases. The article concludes with recommendations for change that civil society should advocate for.

The period before Ukraine’s independence

The specialized website Gender in Detail has already written in detail^[1] about the inherited problems of the Ukrainian army, which continue from the Soviet army as its immediate predecessor. Soviet gender policy was only initially aimed at the emancipation of women; it quickly changed to viewing both men and women as a mere resource for an undemocratic state, with few specific differences. In World War II, the USSR actively recruited women as a conscription resource for the war effort, but their contribution is very incompletely reflected in commemorative practices. In general, the visibility of women soldiers and veterans was extremely low.

Later, in order to stimulate the birth rate and having disguised it as “protection of mothers and children,” women were excluded from any harmful and difficult physical work, including combat positions in the army. This finally cemented the division into “female” and “male” positions and military professions. The Soviet army evolved into the post-Soviet Ukrainian army and existed without significant changes until 2014.

The historical situation in non-Soviet Ukrainian military formations was not much better. The history of women’s participation in the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen units shows that men’s attitudes toward women who served with them were not fundamentally equal: women were subject to “punishment” and “all sorts of irritating remarks and interference from some male comrades.”

Olena Stepaniv, the first female officer of the time, admitted that women’s participation in military formations was chaotic, and the role that could be assigned to women consciously remained unclear, given the practical realities of the struggle. By 1919, she herself gradually became opposed to the mass participation of women in combat.^[2]

Later, in the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), women served as liaisons, nurses, typists, scouts, and housekeepers, which were mostly auxiliary, albeit dangerous, roles, and did not directly take part in hostilities.^[3] Gender inequality also existed here not only in the distribution of functions: women occasionally became mistresses of their immediate superiors. According to historian Marta Havryshko, this clearly hints that men abused their status.^[4]

In contrast to the Soviet army, where internal policies were largely dictated from above, members of grassroots armed groups were more likely to reproduce behavioral norms and attitudes that they had learned from civilian life. However, in both cases, there was no real gender equality.

Sexism before 2014

Until Russia’s military invasion in 2014 and a little later, the Ukrainian army inherited a predominantly Soviet army with all its problems, including the lack of women’s right to hold most combat and leadership positions.

The military positions that women soldiers could hold as privates, sergeants, and officers were defined by Ministry of Defense Order #337 of 27 May 2014. Women could only hold positions primarily related to the care and maintenance of positions related to combat, such as nurses, canteen managers, telephone operators, or seamstresses, but could not be grenade launchers, machine gunners, service dog trainers, or even interpreters.

Changes in this area were achieved only in 2016 thanks to the Invisible Battalion advocacy campaign, which showed the strong participation of women in the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) [the name for the Ukrainian army’s military activities in the east after Russia’s 2014 invasion –Translator) since 2014 without proper visibility, legal and infrastructural recognition, and reward.

Until 2014, the army had a phenomenon typical of low status jobs: the feminization of poverty. The percentage of women gradually increased, but only because men avoided these jobs. Between 2001 and 2006, the total number of military personnel decreased, while the number of female service members increased in all categories. Most of them were wives, daughters, and relatives of military personnel.^[5]

In 2008, the Ministry of Defense introduced the position of “officer in charge of gender policy,” which was filled by a servicewoman, Natalia Dubchak. In 2010, the position was abolished, and Natalia Dubchak became a pro bono advisor to the Minister of Defense on gender policy.^[6]

Ms. Dubchak talks about the attitude of some of her male colleagues to women’s access to military professions: “We drafted two new Minister of Defense orders (developed by my colleagues in the personnel policy department) approving the list of military professions that can be held by servicewomen. Why are there two of them? Because one concerns women officers, and the other concerns women in contract service… I remember these debates, where some representatives of the General Staff Department were sitting and saying, ‘There is nothing for these women to do there, where they are going, they will not want to serve, they will not want to serve. What, they will go to the front line if necessary?’”^[7]

There is a curious story about how really unprepared the army was to incorporate women. The tie, which is mandatory in women’s military uniforms, was attached to the shirt with a special clasp in the shape of a trident, but the uniform designers did not take into account that women’s shirts are fastened on the left, not the right side, so women soldiers had to wear the state symbol upside down.^[8]

There was also gender discrimination in the Ministry of Defense. For example, a woman who worked as a chief specialist in the military policy department, had eight years of experience in the ministry and the “best specialist” award, was fired along with other female employees by the newly appointed director of the department without any legal grounds. Later, she was offered a new position with half the seniority and wage. The department head explained that the woman could not hold the chief specialist position because she had no military service experience. After that, the woman received a position in the ministry, but in a different department. An internal investigation was initiated against her without any grounds. After the investigation was closed, the department head personally threatened that if the woman refused to resign, he would initiate a new investigation and create impossible working conditions for her.^[9]

The guidebook “Actual Problems of Gender Policy in the Armed Forces of Ukraine” (2011), edited by Borys Andresiuk, notes “the ability of women present in the military environment to culturally enrich, ennoble relations in the military team, and stimulate the social and service activity of men.”^[10] The word “ability” here points to an allegedly natural trait that women possess, rather than to socialization in the female gender, acquired over the years. The reference to such “abilities” itself is a classic example of benevolent sexism: the positive qualities of women, which serve the male part of the team, are listed. In the same text, there is a reference to Otto Weininger’s Gender and Character, a classic sexist work that influenced traditionalist thought, including Julius Evola.

It would be unfair to only criticize without noting the positive aspects. The guidebook simultaneously refers to the need to counteract gender discrimination, particularly such aspects as sexual harassment and vertical and horizontal segregation. It is a positive development that the problem was voiced, albeit no steps were taken to address it.

Natalia Dubchak also pointed out the need to ensure proper medical care for women in the military by introducing mandatory accounting and analysis of the morbidity of women in the military in order to determine the impact of the service conditions in certain positions on their morbidity and reproductive functions; to study the issue and, if possible, increase the number of women’s wards in hospitals.^[11]

This problem has not yet been resolved. On August 22, 2022, Special Operations Forces soldier Andriana Arekhta spoke at the VI International Veterans Forum “Ukraine. Defenders. The Future”, where she described her rehabilitation experience after a mine explosion. In the military hospital where Andriana was treated after her injury, there was no separate female ward in the polytrauma department, and she could only be placed separately in gastroenterology, which caused additional pain when moving from the ward to the operating room.

Sexism after 2014

At the end of 2015, with the support of the Ukrainian Women’s Fund and with the assistance of UN Women, the Invisible Battalion study was conducted, which started the advocacy campaign of the same name for gender equality in the security sector. Since 2015, the campaign has achieved the following:

• Legislative attention to ensuring gender equality in the military (the Ministry of Defense lifted restrictions on combat positions for women, including officers; amendments were made to the Law “On Military Duty and Military Service” to strengthen gender equality; a mechanism for responding to sexual harassment was developed with the participation of the General Staff);
• Partially overcoming vertical gender segregation in the Armed Forces (the number of female officers has tripled and several women have been promoted to generals);
• A gradual shift away from paternalistic state policy towards women (the list of 450 prohibited professions for civilian women was abolished, although the maximum cargo lifting limits for women are still in place);
• The Armed Forces infrastructure is being adapted to the needs of women (female summer uniform and underwear were approved);
• A partial departure from sexist rhetoric expressed by public figures regarding women in military (the word “defenders” [of female gender, tr.] was added to the name of the state holiday, Defenders’ Day);
• A noticeable increase in the media visibility of women in the security sector and coverage of the issues they currently face;
• Including women in the security sector as target groups in the National Action Plan for the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 “Women, Peace and Security”;
• Increased subjectivity of servicewomen and female veterans in civil society (in particular, forming the Women’s Veterans Movement).

However, there were rollbacks and scandals both during the campaign and in the work of civil society and government agencies to develop and affirm new values, despite the general trend toward overcoming sexism and achieving gender equality. In early January 2016, servicewomen and activists had to picket the Ministry of Defense after the commander of military unit A1314, Major General Serhiy Nayev, commanded on December 5, 2015, to temporarily suspend the recruitment of women for military service on a contract basis.^[12] The order was canceled as a result of the campaign, but work on the problem of discrimination against women has only just begun.

In 2017, an all-army competition was initiated with the benevolently sexist name “Berehynia v pogonakh” [“Goddess in epaulettes” – Editor]. The authors of this ill-timed idea were the Main Military Medical Directorate, the Main Directorate for Moral and Psychological Support of the Armed Forces, the Ministry of Defense Communications and Press Directorate, its central print organ, the Narodna Armiya newspaper, and the Ukrainian Military Medical Academy. The competition was held among military medics and included a file in evening dresses, a demonstration of creative talents, and an assessment of professional medical skills and athletic performance.^[13] The competition ran until 2020.

Not only representatives of rear units, but also ATO participants took part in the contest. Zaxid.net commented on it: “All participants have gone through selection in their units and institutions. The combat girls wrote tests, swam, and sing for two days. Marine Olena did 32 push-ups in a minute. After the trenches of Shyrokyne [actual combat zone – Translator], it’s a cakewalk for her.”^[14]

In 2021, Ukrainian social media were outraged by the official announcement of the Independence Day parade, where cadets of the Military Institute of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv were preparing to march in the Prussian step wearing high-heeled shoes, which are part of the women’s ceremonial military uniform. After a lengthy scandal that even reached the rostrum of the Verkhovna Rada, the shoes were replaced with more comfortable ones.^[16]

The problem of sexist attitudes toward women in the Armed Forces persists. The media cite examples such as when soldier Lesia Hanzha, transferring from one unit to another, learned that her future company commander was “totally against women,” and reconnaissance platoon commander Yulia Mykytenko testified that after her appointment to this position, male soldiers refused to serve under a woman. She also experienced unethical comments about her after her husband’s death.^[17]

The issue of sexual harassment in the Armed Forces of Ukraine is worth a separate remark. This phenomenon occurs in all countries around the world in completely different spheres of life, including the military. As elsewhere, victims are reluctant to speak publicly about this issue, and in Ukraine they are also afraid of being accused of discrediting the army in a country at war.

Currently, servicewomen who have been sexually harassed can only get help from human rights organizations. As of the beginning of 2023, it is known that the JurFem association of women lawyers is handling four such cases, and the hotlines of the non-governmental organizations (NGOs) La Strada and Legal Hundred have received two and one appeal, respectively.^[18] In reality, there may be many more incidents, but the real numbers are unknown. Human rights organizations can only provide legal support, and the quality of the case remains on the conscience of the judiciary, so there is no guarantee that cases will be resolved in favor of the victims, which also demotivates women to seek help.

Nevertheless, in recent years, two servicewomen decided to speak publicly about this issue. In 2018, Lieutenant Valeriia Sikal reported long-term systematic harassment by Colonel Viktor Ivaniv. In 2021, Lieutenant Colonel Olha Derkach stated that she had long endured systematic harassment by Colonel Oleksandr Kryvoruchko. In both cases, the women claimed that there were other victims. Criminal cases were opened, but due to the full-scale invasion, both cases were suspended.^[19] This is not a promising example for anyone.

There was some progress in combating sexual harassment in the military in 2021. The Gender Advisor to the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the NGOs Legal Hundred, Institute of Gender Programs, and Women’s Veterans’ Movement developed a detailed system for identifying sexual harassment cases, responding, investigating, and officially inspecting. The system provided for creating institutional mechanisms for proper response and assistance. At that time, the only specialized response mechanism was a formal hotline, which did not have established systems for processing and storing the data received and responding to reported cases, or qualified employees to handle complaints from victims of sexual harassment. The developments were presented at the “Army Built on Trust” forum organized by the Armed Forces of Ukraine in October 2021, but the mechanism has not been implemented.^[20]

Since the Armed Forces of Ukraine do not have an effective policy on sexual harassment, there is no policy on sexism as such. As a result, military personnel are free to express sexist prejudices against women privately and publicly, without any warnings or consequences.

In 2023, the sexism of Third Assault Brigade soldiers on the YouTube channel DVIZH gained public attention. A comedian in civilian life, Vitktor Rozovyi compared women who are fighting to children and dogs. The episode also featured jokes about how women can be useful in the army, with a lot of innuendo. Read more about it here.

After public outcry from women soldiers, no one from the brigade’s office apologized. Viktor Rozovyi continued to joke on his social media, and the soldiers decided to cement their sexist status in the New Year’s issue of DVIZH. A soldier with the call sign “Bot” advised a girl who expressed a desire to serve in the brigade to cook borscht. He then launched into an angry tirade about the war being “a man’s world” and about women who “have intruded everywhere” and want “quotas” and “equal rights.”

Shortly after the Third Assault Brigade scandal, Anton Chicha, commander of the Kraken assault company, stated his position. “I am against [girls in the army]. I will not take a girl to my company,” Anton said in the YouTube show Viddushivdushu.^[21] The fighter noted that there are females in the army who perform many functions. However, Chicha himself is against females in combat positions, allegedly because of their “unstable psyche.”

Currently, the only resistance to soldiers’ public sexism is society’s reaction, as the command ignores such cases. This aggravates the situation, because civilians’ critique of the military, even if it is for sexism and misogyny, is rejected altogether by the military itself and by parts of society.

The issue of gender mainstreaming of veterans’ policy remains problematic due to the almost complete absence of such a policy. On the one hand, the register of female and male veterans, which was at the disposal of the Ministry of Veterans Affairs until 2022, has expired, NGOs that provided services to female and male veterans have largely re-profiled to provide volunteer assistance to the army, and a full return to peaceful life is impossible because Ukraine is at war. On the other hand, the Ministry has not yet proposed even an approximate version of a concept of veteran’s policy that could be used to work on gender sensitivity. In the face of such profound ambiguity, the efficiency of further work in this area is questionable, at least until the situation is clarified.

Gender consulting. Recommendations

To summarize, the most pressing problems for servicewomen are unequal treatment in combat positions and promotions, lack of an effective mechanism to combat sexual harassment and sexism, insufficient provision of uniforms, armor protection elements according to anthropometric data, medical services and hygiene products, and the lack of a veterans’ policy as such. However, there are other suggestions for gender policy in the security sector.

Civil society organizations recommend adopting two draft laws that strengthen gender equality in the Armed Forces. Draft law #5713 aims to regulate issues related to parental leave in connection with the birth of a child; compensation for unused leave for persons with children; providing sanatorium treatment, material and other support; equal access to officer positions; and mandatory official investigations in case of signs of discrimination based on beliefs and grounds defined in Article 24 of the Constitution of Ukraine. Draft law #5714 proposes equalizing the rights of men and women in the military in terms of prosecution for military offenses and crimes by lifting restrictions on penalties and punishments for women, such as detention in the brig and detention in a disciplinary battalion.

It is also recommended to increase the number of staff positions for gender advisors (currently there are 142 in the Armed Forces, but almost all of them are not staffed), and to train and certify female candidates for this position.

Conclusions

The problem of sexism in the world’s armies has always existed. The army of independent Ukraine, and the military structures that preceded it, has not been an exception to this rule. This article only briefly outlines the most egregious cases and the most common problems.

Only systematic work on solving specific problems can improve the situation, and this article outlines proposals for them. The Invisible Battalion advocacy project and other civil society organizations have been working in this area for a long time.

However, servicewomen themselves are the main stakeholders in reducing sexism in the security sector, as well as the main drivers of positive change. They are fighting for gender equality and a safe and tolerant state by giving a positive example to women who serve after them and by their daily struggle for equal treatment. And they should be supported as much as possible in this endeavor.

Illustrations: Wikipedia; Vasyl Havryshchuk’s personal archive / Local History; Natalia Dubchak’s personal Facebook page; Alla Kornienko / Zhyttia Obriyii. Khmilnyk News; X Press Officer; Army Inform; Yulia Mykytenko’s personal Facebook page

This project is implemented with the support of the Swedish Institute.

^[1] Hrytsenko, Anna. How women have changed the Ukrainian army // Gender in detail. – 2019. – October 10: https://genderindetail.org.ua/season-topic/gender-after-euromaidan/yak-zhinki-zminili-ukrainsku-armiyu-1341190.html.

^[2] Baidak, Mariana. Olena Stepaniv: one of the first Ukrainian women soldiers // Gender in detail. – 2021. – March 30: https://genderindetail.org.ua/spetsialni-rubriki/zhinky-yaki-toruyit-novi-shliachy/olena-stepaniv.html.

^[3] Popeliuk, Roksolana. Support Front: Women in the Ukrainian Resistance Movement // Local History. – 2022. – February 1: https://localhistory.org.ua/texts/statti/front-pidtrimki-zhinki-v-ukrayinskomu-rusi-oporu/.

^[4] Havryshko, Marta. Gender Aspects of Sexual Morality in the OUN and UPA in the 1940s and 1950s // Ukrainian Liberation Movement. 2015 – No. 20 – P. 199-213.

^[5] Dubchak, Natalia. Women in the Armed Forces of Ukraine: Problems of Gender Policy // Strategic Priorities. – 2008. – No. 4 (9).

^[6] “Invisible Battalion”: Women’s Participation in Military Operations in the ATO: (Sociological Research) / Edited by Tamara Martsenyuk – Kyiv, 2015. – P. 19-20.

^[7] Ibid. – P. 17.

^[8] Women in a Time of Change, 1989-2009: Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, East Germany and Ukraine. – G. Böll Foundation in Ukraine, 2012. – P. 114.

^[9] On the brink: addressing discrimination and inequality in Ukraine // The Equal Rights Trust Country Report Series: 5. – London, 2015. – P. 58-59.

^[10] Actual problems of gender policy in the Armed Forces of Ukraine: Educational and methodological manual edited by B. P. Andresiuk – K.: Research and Development Center of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, 2011.

^[11] Dubchak, Natalia. Women in the Armed Forces of Ukraine: Problems of Gender Policy // Strategic Priorities. – 2008. – No. 4 (9).

^[12] Plokhotnyuk, Natalia. We are not cooks, but full-fledged fighters: does not war have a female face?” // Kyiv Vechirniy. – 2016. – January 24: https://vechirniy.kyiv.ua/news/3205/.

^[13] Kornienko, Alla. “Berehynia in uniform” // Zhyttevi obriyii. News of Khmilnyk. – 2018. – June 15: https://gazetahm.org/posts/berehynia-v-pohonakh.

^[14] Herun, Yuriy. In Truskavets, military nurses competed in a beauty contest // Zaxid.net. – 2017. – March 10: https://zaxid.net/u_truskavtsi_viyskovi_medsestri_zmagalis_u_konkursi_krasi_n1420215.

^[15] https://www.facebook.com/Xprofficer/posts/pfbid035K2ZjAt8wRWtikFT4Xffe88eRZ7nFo7BpGBRisfZ3VEAAGLQeyKLXQLrsDXBugjBl?__tn__=%2CO*F

^[16] Vyacheslav Masnyi, Anna Pogrebna. Parade in heels. Servicewomen have their shoes replaced with lower-heeled boots // Suspilne. News. – 2021. – July 2: https://suspilne.media/144081-parad-na-pidborah-nardepi-vimagaut-vid-minoboroni-provesti-rozsliduvanna-gendernogo-skandalu/.

^[17] Sokolova-Stekh, Anna. Women in the Armed Forces of Ukraine: “The desire to serve is perceived as a whim” // Deutsche Welle. – October 9, 2023: https://www.dw.com/uk/zinki-v-zsu-bazanna-sluziti-sprijmaut-za-primhu/a-66995226.

^[18] NB 5.0. Monitoring of Recommendations and Research Results from the Invisible Battalion cycle / Edited by Tamara Martsenyuk. – Kyiv, 2023. – P. 54-55.

^[19] Ibid. – P. 58.

^[20] Ibid. pp. 61-62.

^[21] YouTube channel VIDDUSHIVDUSHU. Chicha / KRAKEN’s reaction to the Farion scandal / How were collaborators caught and Kupyansk liberated?

The problem of sexual harassment and sexual violence in the military exists in armies around the world. It affects not only women, although women suffer from it more often. American researchers Valerie Stander and Cynthia Thomsen believe that sexual harassment is facilitated by inherent factors of the military structure, such as the acceptance of violence in general, deindividualization, complete subordination to leadership, and the still widespread male dominance in this leadership.^[1]

Other researchers, such as Carl Castro, argue that well-developed stress resilience results in less reports of violence, and that team spirit puts pressure on victims and makes them think that by reporting violence they are “betraying” their team.^[2]

The institutional pre-condition that makes harassment or violence against others possible is a position of power. The army in general is a hierarchical structure, and the higher the person in this hierarchy is, the more opportunities they have to commit violence without consequences. The “glass ceiling” still exists in this area, so top positions in the army are occupied mainly by men.

Sexual harassment is also part of broader issues such as misogyny, toxic masculinity, gender discrimination, lack of professionalism, and, in the case of the Ukrainian army, the Soviet legacy in professional culture.

“It was a lieutenant colonel. At a long lecture that had absolutely nothing to do with gender, he talked about every possible thing and made a remark that ‘when you are in the army, do not bring women in any case… Never bring women to the training grounds or to the ATO [Anti-Terrorist Operation – Editor] because everyone will fuck them except you. Mark my words, I’m telling you, you’re young, inexperienced – never take them to the training grounds, because everyone will fuck them except you.”^[3]

The problem of sexual harassment is accompanied by related negative phenomena, such as homophobia and transphobia, with the use of bullying and violent behavior by men against men.

The existence of sexual harassment cannot be a reason to discourage women from serving in the military, on the grounds of “protection.” Just as sexual harassment in a civilian job is not a reason to discourage women from earning their own money. However, harassment in the military differs from harassment in the office or at work, primarily because it is not as easy to resign from military service on the grounds of harassment as it is from a civilian job. In addition, the lack of resolving this problem can demotivate women who would like to serve in the first place, and the Ukrainian army needs volunteers.

The appropriate way to solve the problem is to create effective mechanisms to combat harassment, gender-based violence, bullying, sexism, and discrimination in general. A proper, friendly, trusting atmosphere is the key to effective service for both women and men.

Exposing the issue of sexual harassment and sexual violence to the public cannot delegitimize the entire Ukrainian army, nor can it delegitimize other armies in the world. This is not only my opinion, but also that of Ukrainian society. In 2020, the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology commissioned the Invisible Battalion project to conduct a national representative survey, implemented by the non-governmental organization (NGO) Institute of Gender Programs. According to the survey, 23% of respondents believed that exposing sexual harassment in the army was worthwhile because it was a problem often ignored by the leadership of the Armed Forces; 24% said it was worthwhile because it was perhaps the only way for victims to achieve justice; another 8% said it was worthwhile because discrimination in the Armed Forces exists. Only 17% of respondents believed that publicity can harm the victims, and only 8% explained that publicizing such problems harms the image of the Armed Forces.^[4]

The problem of sexual harassment has also been recognized at the level of the General Staff of Ukraine. Viktoriia Arnautova, Gender Advisor to the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, publicly stated, “The Armed Forces need to recognize as a civilized institution that this phenomenon exists and respond adequately.”^[5]

Sexual Harassment in the Armed Forces in Ukraine and Worldwide

5 грудня 2024

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 562

Hanna Hrytsenko

sociologist

Researcher of gender issues and right-wing radicalism, feminist, translator, editor of “Tovaryshka” website.

The problem of sexual harassment and sexual violence in the military exists in armies around the world. It affects not only women, although women suffer from it more often. American researchers Valerie Stander and Cynthia Thomsen believe that sexual harassment is facilitated by inherent factors of the military structure, such as the acceptance of violence in general, deindividualization, complete subordination to leadership, and the still widespread male dominance in this leadership.^[1]

Other researchers, such as Carl Castro, argue that well-developed stress resilience results in less reports of violence, and that team spirit puts pressure on victims and makes them think that by reporting violence they are “betraying” their team.^[2]

The institutional pre-condition that makes harassment or violence against others possible is a position of power. The army in general is a hierarchical structure, and the higher the person in this hierarchy is, the more opportunities they have to commit violence without consequences. The “glass ceiling” still exists in this area, so top positions in the army are occupied mainly by men.

Sexual harassment is also part of broader issues such as misogyny, toxic masculinity, gender discrimination, lack of professionalism, and, in the case of the Ukrainian army, the Soviet legacy in professional culture.

“It was a lieutenant colonel. At a long lecture that had absolutely nothing to do with gender, he talked about every possible thing and made a remark that ‘when you are in the army, do not bring women in any case… Never bring women to the training grounds or to the ATO [Anti-Terrorist Operation – Editor] because everyone will fuck them except you. Mark my words, I’m telling you, you’re young, inexperienced – never take them to the training grounds, because everyone will fuck them except you.”^[3]

The problem of sexual harassment is accompanied by related negative phenomena, such as homophobia and transphobia, with the use of bullying and violent behavior by men against men.

The existence of sexual harassment cannot be a reason to discourage women from serving in the military, on the grounds of “protection.” Just as sexual harassment in a civilian job is not a reason to discourage women from earning their own money. However, harassment in the military differs from harassment in the office or at work, primarily because it is not as easy to resign from military service on the grounds of harassment as it is from a civilian job. In addition, the lack of resolving this problem can demotivate women who would like to serve in the first place, and the Ukrainian army needs volunteers.

The appropriate way to solve the problem is to create effective mechanisms to combat harassment, gender-based violence, bullying, sexism, and discrimination in general. A proper, friendly, trusting atmosphere is the key to effective service for both women and men.

Exposing the issue of sexual harassment and sexual violence to the public cannot delegitimize the entire Ukrainian army, nor can it delegitimize other armies in the world. This is not only my opinion, but also that of Ukrainian society. In 2020, the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology commissioned the Invisible Battalion project to conduct a national representative survey, implemented by the non-governmental organization (NGO) Institute of Gender Programs. According to the survey, 23% of respondents believed that exposing sexual harassment in the army was worthwhile because it was a problem often ignored by the leadership of the Armed Forces; 24% said it was worthwhile because it was perhaps the only way for victims to achieve justice; another 8% said it was worthwhile because discrimination in the Armed Forces exists. Only 17% of respondents believed that publicity can harm the victims, and only 8% explained that publicizing such problems harms the image of the Armed Forces.^[4]

The problem of sexual harassment has also been recognized at the level of the General Staff of Ukraine. Viktoriia Arnautova, Gender Advisor to the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, publicly stated, “The Armed Forces need to recognize as a civilized institution that this phenomenon exists and respond adequately.”^[5]

International experience

A 2015 study of NATO member states’ armies found that 80% conducted regular training to prevent sexual harassment and violence in the military, and more than 60% had policies formal procedures in place and trained personnel to prevent and record complaints of sexual harassment of women or men.^[6]

Let’s take the U.S. Army as an example. The problem of sexual harassment is monitored by keeping statistics on complaints received and through an annual anonymous survey of gender and workplace relations. The first number is much smaller than the number of those who report harassment anonymously: according to 2012 data, 6% of American female soldiers filed complaints about harassment, and about a quarter of them were harassed. Among men, 1% reported harassment through a complaint, and 10% reported it anonymously. The 2018 data showed similar proportions; however, because the problem had been exposed, the number of complaints increased significantly.

The American experience emphasizes the importance of preventive work and the important role of the unit commander, who should lead this work, facilitate complaints, and, in general, be responsible for a healthy working atmosphere in the unit. Where the commander is insensitive to the issue of sexual harassment, the risks increase.^[7]

In 2020, the case of Vanessa Guillen, a 20-year-old servicewoman who disappeared while on duty, gained publicity in the United States. She had previously told her family that she was being sexually harassed by a sergeant, that complaints against him by other female victims had been rejected, but that she would solve her problems herself. Two months later, the remains of her body were found. The killer was U.S. Army Specialist Aaron David Robinson; his girlfriend, Cecily Ann Aguilar, helped dismember the body and hide the remains. Robinson shot himself during his arrest, and Aguilar was sentenced to 30 years in prison.^[8] The investigation concluded that the murder was a direct result of leadership failure and a climate of indulgence in sexual violence and harassment at the military unit. Fourteen other soldiers were disciplined.^[9][10] As a result of the Vanessa Guillen case, sexual harassment was included as an offence in the Uniform Code of Military Justice in 2022.

In Canada, about a quarter of female service members experience harassment or violence during their careers, while the figure for men is about 4%. About three cases of sexual harassment or violence occur every day. After an independent study published a report on “a culture hostile to women and LGBT+ people in the military,” Canadian servicewomen and veterans filed lawsuits against the Ministry of Defense for two years (2016-2017). Many of them received financial compensation after a court decision. The problem of sexual harassment in the Canadian Armed Forces was declared a threat to national security. The Standing Committee on National Security and Defense of the Senate of Canada believes that a culture of conformity, hierarchy, unquestioning obedience to orders, and placing group interests above individual ones created an atmosphere conducive to sexual harassment and violence. To remedy this situation, it is necessary to influence this culture, not just increase the number of women in the army.^[11] Between 2015 and 2021, Operation Honor was conducted to comprehensively study the problem and look for ways to solve it.

In 2021, 13 high-ranking officers in Canada were simultaneously suspended, investigated, or forced to retire due to inappropriate sexual behavior. The military police did not disclose the cases on its own initiative, but answered questions from journalists.^[12]

Stories from Ukraine

According to a study by the Research Center for Humanitarian Problems of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (2011), 10% of women and 5% of men (mostly cadets of higher military educational institutions) experienced sexual harassment in the army.^[13]

In 2020, the authors of the study “Invisible Battalion 3.0. Sexual Harassment in the Military in Ukraine” talked to women who had experienced sexual harassment, sexual violence, sexual violence combined with physical violence, etc. There were cases of offenders damaging personal belongings and even using firearms in retaliation for refusing [intimacy – Editor].

Sometimes, in cases of sexist jokes or other minor conflicts, the perpetrator might not understand why their actions were wrong, even if they had to apologize to the victim at the request of their superiors. Sometimes the victims themselves did not immediately recognize the unpleasant incidents as harassment or sexism, rather than just interpersonal conflicts.

This brings us to the need for education on gender equality and anti-harassment. The Invisible Battalion project team developed a training course on Gender Equality and Combating Sexual Harassment in the Military, which is publicly available on the Prometheus online education platform.^[14] By the beginning of 2023, more than 23,000 people had registered for the course (90% of them received certificates), and the Department of Military Education and Science of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine recommended that higher military educational institutions and military structural units of higher education institutions include the course in their training plans for cadets.

However, it is obvious that systematic harassment of subordinates, sexual violence, physical abuse, threats, and harassment cannot be interpreted only as a lack of gender education, but also must be punished accordingly. The researches also documented cases, as well as the fact that it is rather futile for victims to expect fair punishment for the offender. As a structure that was not ready before the war in Ukraine to recruit women into combat positions and provide them with uniforms, the army was also not ready to respond to sexual harassment. Such problems were sometimes not resolved, sometimes ended in physical conflict with the offender, and sometimes led to the dismissal of women from the ranks of the Armed Forces, thus reducing the combat capability of the army by one qualified specialist. The mechanism of resolving conflicts by appealing to the commander does not work when the offender is the commander himself. Victims usually did not consider the option of calling the general “hotline” of the Armed Forces of Ukraine because of the non-anonymity of such appeals and, accordingly, the risk of worsening their situation.

At the time of the study, only one case of sexual harassment was known when the victim decided to speak publicly and name the offender. In 2018, Lieutenant Valeriia Sikal reported long-term systematic harassment by Colonel Viktor Ivaniv. She stated that when she was serving in military unit A1358, the head of the unit, using his official position, repeatedly tried to force her to have sex. The Main Department of the National Police in Vinnytsia Oblast opened a case of coercion to sexual intercourse. As of early 2024, a verdict had not been reached in the case, and Colonel Ivanov was temporarily promoted and transferred to the Ministry of Defense.^[15]

Among the cases that came to the research team’s attention, sexual harassment was most often perpetrated by higher-ranking individuals and without witnesses; most often, men harassed women, although this was not the only possible scenario. Most of the victims did not tell anyone about the sexual harassment and did not seek help; the project researchers were often the first people to whom the victims confided. If any witnesses were present during the harassment, they usually supported the offender or remained neutral, either by not intervening or by declaring that they could not influence the situation. Women, usually, were not offenders themselves, but they did not always support the offended.

After the study was published and the topic was brought to the public’s attention, servicewomen began to talk more about this problem. In 2021, Lieutenant Colonel Olha Derkach, an employee of the Chernihiv Regional Conscription and Social Support Center, stated that she had been harassed by her supervisor, Colonel Oleksandr Kryvoruchko, the regional military commissar. As in the case of Valeriia Sikal, a verdict in the criminal case has not yet been delivered.^[16]

There have also been public statements in which victims did not name their perpetrators but shared their stories. Servicewoman Iryna Bazykina reported to the media that she had suffered sexual and physical violence. After a year of investigation, no criminal offense was found in the behavior of the perpetrator, and the perpetrator absolved himself by saying that “she likes hard sex.”^[17]

In a podcast by the Women Veterans Movement published in early 2024, Svitlana, an aerial reconnaissance officer, shared her story, “I literally got into a fight or a struggle with an officer, a commander, but those people whom I considered friends in that unit, they just left, they came out to let the commander have a good time.”^[18]

Communications officer and simultaneous interpreter Nadiya Haran went further and spoke about sexual harassment in the Armed Forces to the British newspaper The Guardian.^[19] According to her, she left her unit because of a commander who harassed female subordinates and told them that if they refused to have sex with him, he would send their husbands, who were also his subordinates, to their deaths. The problem was brought into the international spotlight by Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar, who promised to personally respond to the statements.^[20] It was not possible to verify her promise because she was dismissed from her post a month later.

Commenting on sexist jokes by a soldier in the 3^rd Separate Assault Brigade, the Women Veterans Movement claims that “every harassment case goes unpunished.”^[21]

Mechanism for responding to sexual harassment and gender-based violence

In cooperation with the Institute of Gender Programs, the Women Veterans Movement, and the General Staff of Ukraine, the NGO Yurydychna Sotnia worked to develop a mechanism for responding to sexual harassment and gender-based violence in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

On October 28, 2021, at the Army Built on Trust forum organized by the Land Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Victoria Arnautova, Gender Adviser to the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, presented a draft mechanism for responding to sexual harassment and gender-based violence. 

The mechanism envisages that the victim (or survivor) or a person who has observed inappropriate behavior reports it in person, in writing, or by phone to the hotline. A designated body (department of the Office of the Assistant Commander-in-Chief for Gender Integration), a designated person (gender adviser), or a commander receives the report, which is registered immediately. The next day, the affected person is referred for legal, psychological, and medical assistance (in compliance with personal data protection requirements). Following the report’s registration, an internal inspection commission is appointed, chaired by a representative of the designated body, and the same person also ensures the victim is protected from the influence of the offender. Based on the inspection or investigation findings, a decision is made to bring the offender to justice.

As of the beginning of the full-scale war, the all the commands had agreed to the mechanism, but it was not adopted and no people were appointed to the gender integration unit positions in the Office of the Commander-in-Chief, who were supposed to perform the relevant duties. As of the beginning of 2024, the situation had not changed.

Current process of actions

What should a servicewoman or serviceman do if she or he is suffering sexual harassment right now? The YurFem Ukrainian Women Lawyers Association developed memo with general recommendations that does not replace individual legal advice in each case but gives an overall understanding of the next steps in the event of a threatening situation.^[22]

The first step is to ensure one’s own safety (leave the room, involve witnesses, etc.).

The second step is to record the date, time, and place of the incident; record the position and name of the offender; and collect other information about the situation and evidence.

The next steps are to get psychological, medical, and legal assistance, after which you can agree on your next steps with a lawyer.

According to Article 110 of the Disciplinary Statute of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in case of your rights being violated, you can file a complaint with both the command and law enforcement agencies.

Sexual violence against servicewomen and servicemen is a military crime and is qualified, depending on the position of the offender, under the following articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine: Article 426-1 “Excess of power or official authority by a military official”, Article 406 “Violation of statutory rules of relations between military personnel in the absence of a relationship of subordination”, or Article 405 “Threat or violence against a superior.” You should consult with a lawyer to determine the crime’s exact qualification, correctly prepare an appeal, and decide on the correct addressee of the appeal.

NGOs such as YurFem, Charity Foundation Sylni, and Yurydychna Sotnia provide assistance to victims, although, based on the experience of Valeria Sikal, Olga Derkach, and Iryna Bazykina, they cannot theoretically nor practically ensure justice, which is the responsibility of the judiciary and law enforcement bodies.