Gender-based Violence Rapid Assessment September 2015 Gender-based Violence Rapid Assessment Kharkiv Oblast and Donetsk Oblast, Eastern Ukraine September 2015 Overview The ongoing conflict between pro-Russian separatist groups and Ukrainian government forces in eastern Ukraine has resulted in insecurity, rising displacement, and limited humanitarian access. Over five million are living in conflict- affected areas, including 1,414,798 internally displaced persons, and 925,000 refugees who fled to neighboring countries.1 Non-combatants have faced injury and death with more than 6,829 people killed and over 17,064 injured since mid-April 2014.2 Since January 15th, hostilities have increased and the situation has drastically deteriorated. On January 23rd, after days of heavy fighting between the Ukrainian Government forces and separatist forces, resulting in dozens of civilian casualties, the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) leader rejected calls for a truce, resulting in both sides publicly stated they are preparing for further conflict. As a result, Figure 1.1 Conflict-Affected Area of Eastern Ukraine, 2015 civilians in conflict-affected areas of the Donbas region have faced ongoing threats to security. Between January 31 and February 5, fighting resulted in at least 263 civilian casualties and 674 injured people.5 Following a breach in the temporary ceasefire announced on February 6, accounts of sexual violence committed by armed actors have magnified to include forms of sexual exploitation, harassment and humiliation, and rape at checkpoints.3 Access to life-saving services continues to be restricted, a problem that appears exacerbated by the cut off of pensions and other social benefits to those residing in non-government controlled areas (NGCA). Compared to December 2014, real income has dropped 23.5 percent while process for basic commodities have increased 40.7 percent.4 Persisting circumstances of economic destitution raise risks and concern that women at heightened vulnerability may to resort to transactional sex as a means of survival on both sides of the contact line. Since February 2015, International Medical Corps (IMC) has responded to the humanitarian crisis in Eastern Ukraine through targeted initiatives to raise awareness regarding existing emergency services for survivors of gender-based violence (GBV) and strengthen the capacity of government law enforcement, health, and social services personnel to respond to reported incidents in Kharkiv Oblast and Donetsk Oblast. 1 UN OCHA, Ukraine: Situation Report. 30 January 2015.http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Ukraine%20Sitrep%2025%20- %20Final.pdf 2 UN OCHA, Ukraine: Humanitarian Snapshot. 2 September 2015. http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/humanitariansnapshot20150902-en-v7.compressed.pdf 3 OHCHR, Report of the Human Rights Situation in Ukraine, 16 May to 15 August 2015. http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/UA/11thOHCHRreportUkraine.pdf 4 Ibid. International Medical Corps Ukraine Country Program 1 Gender-based Violence Rapid Assessment September 2015 Areas controlled by armed separatist groups, however, face significant gaps in public services following actions by the Government of Ukraine to relocate state institutions outside these zones. Access to the conflict-affected areas is also increasingly challenging for non-governmental organizations (NGOs), due to new bureaucratic procedures put in place by the Ukrainian Government and the de-facto authorities. Table 1.1 Number of Focus Group Discussion Participants, by Age and Location AGE TOTAL Adolescent Adult Elderly Methods LOCATION Girls Women Women IMC undertook a field assessment (ages 15-17) (ages 18-59) (ages 60+) between July and September 2015 Donetsk Non-government Controlled Areas with the objective to to identify Oblast Donetsk city 7 12 14 33 safety and security threats to Shakhtarsk town 6 8 0 14 women and girls and to determine Torez town 6 21 6 33 gaps in the quality and delivery of Snizhne town 6 12 6 24 essential services for GBV in Kharkiv Subtotal NGCA 25 53 26 104 Oblast and Donetsk Oblast. The Government Controlled Areas purpose of the assessment is to Mariupol city 7 16 10 33 provide meaningful information that may inform intervention planning Volodarskyi raion 4 5 7 16 and improve GBV prevention and Pershotravnevyi raion 7 11 0 18 response outcomes, as well as Kharkiv Barvinkivskyi raion 0 6 5 11 outline the scope of existing services Oblast Iziumsky raion 2 7 0 9 meeting the needs of GBV survivors. Subtotal GCA 20 45 22 87 Assessment findings draw from the TOTAL 45 98 48 191 following: • Thirty-five focus group discussions (FGD) conducted with women and girls totaling 104 persons in non-government controlled areas (NGCA) and 87 displaced persons in government-controlled areas (GCA), including a total of 45 girls between 15-18 years and 48 elderly women over 59 years. • Structured key informant interviews with thirteen public and third sector service providers in GCA offering legal, medical, and social support to IDPs and six non-government organizations (NGO) offering specialized health and psychosocial support to marginalized women and girls in NGCA • Service mapping conclusions drawn from two GBV Response Services and Referral Pathway workshops conducted by IMC specialists involving a total of nineteen municipal teachers, psychologists, and educators in Mariupol and a total of four psychologists and social workers employed by IMC local partner Bridge International Medical Corps collected data with the support of its current programming partners in Donetsk Oblast: Mariupol Youth Union Donetsk Oblast Civic Organization (MYU) and Most Center for Social Development Donetsk Oblast Charitable Foundation (Bridge). Two assessment teams comprised of six MYU and six Bridge staff social workers and psychologists were established following a one-day training conducted by IMC specialists on qualitative data collection approaches. Remote support for FGDs and service mapping was provided by IMC in coordination with a focal point designated from each assessment team. Observational audits of collective shelters and distribution points, analysis of gray literature publications, and key informant interviews with regional and municipal officials, public and third sector service providers, and coordination actors were conducted by IMC specialists in GCA to verify primary data. Assessment respondents were sourced from MYU and Bridge beneficiary populations in Donetsk Oblast and four UNHCR-sponsored aid centers for the internally displaced in Kharkiv Oblast, using a purposive convenience sampling approach. The assessment targeted all women (ages 18+) and girls (ages 15-17) affected by the displacement crisis including registered and non-registered IDPs and members of the host community throughout geographical areas maintaining longstanding and new IDP populations, resource constraints in public sector service delivery, and locations in which IDPs are likely to temporarily settle or relocate with the advent of winter months (see Table 1.1). International Medical Corps Ukraine Country Program 2 Gender-based Violence Rapid Assessment September 2015 Limitations and Challenges • Access restrictions to NGCA limited the ability of IMC to ensure the quality of data collected or offer the requisite ground support to reduce observational errors, including both the accurate presentation of key assessment questions and accurate recording of responses. • Direct translation during training instruction and limited focused training hours on proper administration of assessment tools, assessment methodology, and guided practice may impact the reliability of collected data • IMC relied upon the networks of Bridge to perform service mapping in NGCA in an effort to reduce the level of indirect risk to the assessment team as a result of gathering information in a high security environment. Resultantly, data offers a summary of service providers that are safe to include in GBV referral pathways but may omit some entry points across sectors. • Findings are not necessarily representative of the entirety of the affected population due to the purposeful convenience sampling approach used. • Vast inconsistencies between reported observations in NGCA from the few secondary sources available further complicates the ability of IMC to draw reliable population estimates or determine the settlement locations of IDPs, returnees, and most-affected groups Findings Data analysis revealed four themes that address the destabilization of community safety, risk factors linked to freedom of movement, incidence of sexualized violence and exploitation, and help-seeking preferences and attitudes among respondents: • Presence of Active and Former Combatants Respondents from Donetsk linked drunkenness of combatants in public places and collective gatherings to incidents of sexual harassment. Cafes, restaurants, and other public gathering spaces have been taken over by combatants and are no longer considered safe environments for women, families, or youth. Respondents from Chuguiv and Volodarsky (GCA) consistently linked collective fear of sexual violence with the oversaturation of militarized groups in the area. Bus stops, public parks, pubs/restaurants, and other recreational spaces for public use were generalized as places that unarmed combatants are commonly visible. Respondents in GCA and NGCA commonly voiced that there are no exclusive, communal spaces for women and girls to gather.