The USAID Economic Resilience Activity (ERA) supported a training in Truskavets, for 34 representatives of free legal aid centers (FLAC), as well as lawyers and social service specialists from Lviv Oblast, who provide services to gender-based violence survivors.

The idea to hold this training is a response to the request of the participants of the interregional roundtable “Challenges in providing assistance to survivors of gender-based violence in the conditions of war”, which was held in Lviv on April 5. It was then that the participants discussed how difficult it is to build effective interactions between representatives of the various institutions responding to gender-based violence following the reorganization of many structures and agencies, and how important it is to conduct training to improve interagency cooperation. For example, currently,  there are only eight social service centers and centers for the provision of social services across 72 local communities in Lviv Oblast. This was perceived as inadequate, hence the need for the training to enhance interaction between them to improve the delivery of services.

The trainers of the event – Marta Chumalo and Halyna Fedkovich, experts from the “Women’s Perspectives” Center and ERA consultants, covered the legal aspects of protecting survivors of various forms of violence, discussed how to protect women and bring perpetrators to justice for their crimes, the difference between violence and conflict, how best to communicate with survivors so as not to cause harm, and how to fully collect evidence in each specific case, using opportunities available in small communities.

During the interactive training session, the participants spoke about theoretical models, developed practical strategies, and identified the advantages and disadvantages of Ukrainian and international legislation. There were also practical exercises on expectations of how social services representatives should act, and the participants also worked in small groups to analyze case studies on how to improve the provision of assistance to survivors of violence.

Further, the lawyers and representatives of social services developed joint strategies to help survivors, analyzed who else needs to be involved for better support, and what evidence is needed further  to protect the rights of survivors.

During the training session, the participants identified the following problems.

For example, children’s services are formally established in all communities because there is a direct legal requirement, but in most cases, they are staffed by a single social work specialist and do not have a psychologist. Accordingly, after receiving information from the police about domestic violence against a child or in the presence of a child, there is no appropriate specialist to assess the condition, possible harm and necessary services that need to be provided for the child. Information about children is not always transferred to the social services center (SSC), or vice versa – all children are referred to the SSC, regardless of whether the child has suffered harm or needs services.

Also, dealing with cases of survivors of gender-based and domestic violence requires the appropriate specialization and experience of lawyers, otherwise, additional barriers to access to justice may arise. For example, if divorce lawsuits are filed without specifying domestic violence as a reason for divorce, and alimony is collected in an action rather than in a writ proceeding, and the survivor  has to wait for a long time and may receive a smaller amount of alimony.

Often, the cases of one survivor of domestic violence are transferred to different lawyers. For example, a restraining order and divorce to one lawyer, alimony and property division to another. This complicates and reduces the effectiveness of the survivor’s defense.

“Clients come to me in different states – aggressive, angry, offended –  and sometimes I don’t know how to respond to them, so I wanted to hear some advice on how to behave in such a situation,” says Uliana Fys, a lawyer from Lviv who participated in the training session. “And during the training, I heard some tips that I can implement in my practice.”

The participants further observed that  the abuser does not have a separate social status, and domestic violence occurs in different families, not only in dysfunctional ones. To prevent violence therefore, people need to be better informed through the media about different types of violence, where to go if a person has been affected, and how to provide legal aid to survivors.

“The issue of identifying violence is very difficult because each of us have our own prejudices. There are many cases when women do not seek help or do not want the police to initiate a case or prosecute their husband, the offender. This happens for various reasons – people are afraid, and they don’t want to be judged or shamed in their community. This needs to change,” says Maria Hembara, a psychologist at the Peremyshliany Territorial Center for Social Services.

Trainer Fedkovich also observed, “according to the law, since 2018, social services have been required to cooperate, but it turns out that this is far from the case. While reviewing practical cases at the training session, we found out that the participants do not have a full understanding of what additional assistance their colleagues from other services can provide to survivors, so such trainings improve communication, and make it possible to understand how we can improve assistance to victims of violence together and develop an evidence base.”

While co-trainer Chumalo noted:

“When specialists from different fields come to the training, it improves communication and helps to establish horizontal links.To improve the quality of care, we need to communicate not at the level of ‘person – system’, but at the level of ‘person – person’, then a business platform is created that can improve the provision of assistance and make it comprehensive. That is why we conduct such trainings, teaching various services to communicate professionally in order to help at the right time.”

They also spoke about the need to further involve judges and priests in the training. Such trainings help to establish high-quality communication between different services that provide assistance to survivors of gender-based and domestic violence.

On May 26, with the assistance of the USAID Economic Resilience Activity (ERA), the premiere of the film series of six documentaries “Cities and their Heroes” took place in Ivankiv, Kyiv Oblast. The goal of the project is to show the whole truth about the heroism of the Ukrainian people and the transformation of an ordinary person into a real hero. As part of the project, documentary films about Ukrainian cities and their residents, as well as a thematic photo exhibition with the works of leading Ukrainian photographers, will be shown throughout Ukraine.

In the project “Cities and their Heroes” in each of the 6 cities of  Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, Chernihiv, Okhtyrka, Bashtanka and Ivankiv, a hero was chosen for a documentary film about the city. Each film reveals its own page of volunteering, efficiency, and love for one’s countryby Ukrainians.

The film about Ivankiv was shot in autumn last year. The hero of the film was Hennadii Popenko, who was an actor and TV presenter until 2022. And after he and his family survived the occupation of Ivankiv, he became a member of the territorial defense and an active participant in the life of the community.

“None of the heroes of our films considered themselves heroes. But we were not interested in the heroism of the Marvel movies, not in superhuman abilities. What we say about the heroism of Ukrainians is an extraordinary attribute of a person to remain human in any circumstances. In our project, we talk about such heroes,” Denys Bloshchynskyi, the initiator of the “Cities and Their Heroes” project, said at the premiere in Ivankiv.

“In the film, we tried to convey the feeling that none of us is alone – we are a nation, we are Ukrainians, each of us is doing our own thing. I am grateful to the residents of Ivankiv for enduring everything and remaining human,” added the director of the film, Olha Hibelinda. And Anastasiia Verheles, the producer of the “Cities and Their Heroes” project, noted: “There is still a lot of work ahead. And I believe that we will come to shoot a film about how Ivankiv is rebuilding after our great victory.”

The premiere in Ivankiv was also attended by the townspeople whose stories were included in the “Cities and Their Heroes” project. In particular, these are the workers of the volunteer headquarters, who are engaged in weaving camouflage nets for the frontlines. It is worth noting that on the very day they celebrated their anniversary, they made the 700th net.

“This film reveals what happened to us here, what we experienced here. I want to thank the Ivankiv community for always responding to our requests. As soon as we turn to people for help with clothes, dishes, household appliances for the military and everyone who needs it, we always get a response. And we wouldn’t have our camouflage nets if we weren’t helped with donations,” Iryna Alieksieienko, organizer of the volunteer’s headquarters said after the show.

During the week leading up to the premiere, there was also a photo exhibition in Ivankiv, which showed photos taken in various cities of Ukraine that were affected by the Russia’s invasion – city landscapes and photos of individual objects, as well as photos of city residents who played an important role in the defense of their land from Russia’s invading forces.

The heroes of the photo exhibition from Ivankiv were in particular:

– Vira Holubenko, nurse of the intensive care unit of the local hospital, who continued to provide medical aid to the injured during the occupation;

– Nataliia Polyvach, head of the preventive work organization department of the Vyshhorod Raion Department of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Kyiv Oblast, a lieutenant colonel who survived captivity, psychological torture, but did not betray her fellow villagers;

– Mykola Rudenko, a private entrepreneur, who during the occupation helped fellow villagers with food, water, and medicine;

– Iryna Chernenko, director of the Ivankivskyi KhlibZavod (Ivankiv Bread Factory) enterprise, who continued to bake bread together with her employees during the occupation;

– Iryna Alekseenko, housewife, who after liberation started volunteering, having completely changed her life;

– Dmytro Handzha, director of the “Khutir na Okolytsi” (Farmstead on the Outskirt) fishery, who during the occupation found a way to feed the residents of Ivankiv; and

– Svitlana Yakovenko, pensioner, who devoted herself to volunteering.

On June 3, the project “Cities and Their Heroes” was presented in Kharkiv. Then, it will be shown in Mykolaiv, Chernihiv, Kyiv and Lviv. Learn more about “Cities and Their Heroes” on the project’s website and social media.