Communicating about gender and violence in Ukraine

In situations of conflict, the risk of gender-based violence (GBV) can increase and survivors need to know how and where to find help.

Clear, appropriate and safe communication from service providers is critical to ensure people can find the services they need and talk about what they experienced.

We found that humanitarians often communicate on GBV using words that are not clear or appropriate in Ukrainian. For example, people associate the word ‘gender’ with discussions about sexual orientation, not about how ‘gender’ is understood in English.

This compounds the difficulty people face in discussing experiences of violence. People who are not comfortable using Ukrainian, such as Romani or other minority language speakers, face additional barriers. Campaigns also mostly target heterosexual women, risking the exclusion of other potential survivors of GBV such as men and LGBTQIA+ individuals.

Read our report in English and recommendations to learn how to improve your communication with people experiencing or at risk of GBV in Ukraine.

This report is also available in Ukrainian, and the executive summary is available in Russian.

This research was funded by Oxfam and carried out with support from some Oxfam partner organizations and other organizations in Ukraine.