February 3, 2021, Tobias Thyberg, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Sweden to Ukraine, met with the representatives of the UNFPA in Ukraine. During the meeting, they had a virtual tour to the crisis room opened in Kyiv in 2020 with the support of the British Embassy. In 2021 the UNFPA in Ukraine with the financial support of Sweden are planning to open 9 crisis rooms all over Ukraine. These crisis rooms for GBV survivors will be established within the three-year “Equality Springboard” Project.
The crisis room is a temporary shelter for GBV survivors, where they can stay with their children up to 10 days, as well as to receive psychological and legal assistance. In order to get access to the crisis rooms, the GBV survivors have to contact the police or other relevant social services. For safety purposes, the address of the crisis room is not disclosed.
While staying at the crisis rooms women are provided with round-the-clock security and assistance and when required they can be resettled to a long-term shelter. Crisis rooms meet all sanitary and hygienic standards, have a kitchen and necessary goods for a temporary stay, and are accessible for people with disabilities.
“Combating gender-based violence and its consequences is one of the key priorities for us. UNFPA in Ukraine has extensive expertise in this area and we are pleased to unite our efforts to address these issues. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of cases of domestic violence has increased and it is especially important to open crisis rooms and ensure that clients are properly informed about the available options to get assistance”, Tobias Thyberg, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Sweden to Ukraine.
“Violence against women is one of the largest human rights violations in the world. It has no social, economic, or national borders. Gender-based violence undermines health, dignity, safety, and autonomy of its survivors. According to the recent UNFPA Ukraine study, 24% of respondents experienced some forms of domestic violence, among them 81% are women. Every fifth woman in Ukraine has experienced at least one form of violence from her partner. To overcome this problem, we need to join the efforts of the relevant national and international actors”, Jaime Nadal, UNFPA Representative to Ukraine, said.
"Equality Springboard: Project on Social Norms Change and Gender Stereotypes Elimination for Better Resilience and Prosperity of Women and Men in Ukraine " is implemented with the financial support of Sweden and aimed at boosting the process of social norms change and withdrawal from gender stereotypes in education, at work, at home and in the community life and create supportive environment and growing public demand for advancing equal rights and opportunities for women and men in Ukraine.
