Odesa and Vinnytsia became the first cities in Ukraine to open their fathers’ clubs, “TatoHub.Vinnytsia” and “TatoHub.Odesa”, to help maximise men’s involvement in childcare and promote harmonious family relationships. The two clubs were opened in the framework of the “EU 4 Gender Equality: Together against gender stereotypes and gender-based violence” programme, funded by the European Union, implemented jointly by UN Women and UNFPA. Opening similar fathers’ clubs is expected in other Ukrainian cities as well.
“Ukraine is part of the first regional programme covering gender equality in the Eastern Partnership region,” said Martin Schroeder, Head of Operations Section "Local and Human Development" at the European Union Delegation to Ukraine. “The programme relies on strategies designed to challenge structural gender barriers and norms, with particular emphasis on transforming gender-stereotyped behaviour, strengthening men’s involvement in parenting and domestic responsibilities, and reducing the number of people affected by gender-based violence through prevention interventions with potential perpetrators.”
The established fathers’ clubs have an important educational component which consists of classes on child psychology, stress management, non-violent communication, sexuality education, overcoming gender and other harmful stereotypes. Moreover, they offer classes for new and future parents.
“The latest researches in Ukraine illustrate the prevalence of traditional attitudes with roughly 70% of men believing that the most important role for women is to ‘take care of the house’ and more than 60% agree that mother is the main caretaker of children in families,” – said Jaime Nadal, UNFPA Ukraine Representative to Ukraine. “These attitudes and misconceptions represent a barrier for women to enjoy equal opportunities in life, especially when it comes to career development and economic resilience.”
Fathers’ clubs help men to build stronger relationships with their children and be more engaged in the caretaking process. Around 5% of male workers in Ukraine took paternity leave annually, which means that the biggest load of caretaking and household chores falls on women.
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Background information:
This initiative is implemented in the framework of the “EU 4 Gender Equality: Together against gender stereotypes and gender-based violence” programme, funded by the European Union, implemented jointly by UN Women and UNFPA. The local implementing partner for Vinnytia is NGO “Bureau of Institutional Development” with support from the Department of Social Policy of Vinnytsia City Council and public initiative "Mothers of Vinnytsia". In Odesa the Programme is implemented by the NGO "Faith. Hope. Love".
UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, works globally to achieve three transformative
results, ambitions that promise to change the world for every man, woman and young person:
ending unmet need for family planning, ending preventable maternal death, and ending gender-based violence and harmful practices. UNFPA’s work in Eastern Europe and Central Asia is coordinated by a Regional Office based in Istanbul.
UN Women is the UN organization dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women. A global champion for women and girls, UN Women was established to accelerate progress on meeting their needs worldwide. The UN Women Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia was established in Istanbul in 2014.
For more information, please contact Alona Zubchenko, zubchenko@unfpa.org.
