“When the war started, people started to get closer. My ex-husband began to visit our child. He was very nice at first, but that didn't last long. Violence returned to our lives". In order to break the cycle of violence, 33-year-old Kateryna and her three children had to leave Kherson, which was then under the temporary military control of the Russia.

The full-scale war not only caused thousands of civilian casualties across the country, but also affected the level of domestic violence. It didn’t disappear; in some places it intensified. Because of the military impasse, some survivors have been forced to return to a cycle of violence.

Kateryna told UNFPA how she was able to get out of it.

This conversation took place before the Ukraine government regained control over the city of Kherson. Kateryna was able to leave the city in September 2022 and started life in Kyiv thanks to the support of UNFPA. Before the full-scale war Kherson was building a system of response to and prevention of gender-based violence, creating services for support to survivors. Since 2020, Kherson has been a participant in the UNFPA project, Cities and Communities Free from Domestic Violence, which is being implemented thanks to the support of the governments of the United Kingdom and Canada.