Gender-based Violence Rapid Assessment September 2015

Gender-based Violence Rapid Assessment Oblast and Oblast, Eastern September 2015

Overview The ongoing conflict between pro-Russian separatist groups and Ukrainian government forces in 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 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 and .

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 town 6 8 0 14 women and girls and to determine town 6 21 6 33 gaps in the quality and delivery of 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 city 7 16 10 33 provide meaningful information that may inform intervention planning Volodarskyi 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.

Key informants in GCA highlight concern over the lack of state assistance and treatment options available for demobilized men. Former soldiers reportedly struggle to reintegrate into society and re-establish relationships with family, leading to an observed increase in aggressive behavior, family violence, and alcohol abuse.

• Restricted Mobility of Women and Girls Sounds of barrage fire and shelling from the military contact line, a continued community presence of armed battalions, and generalized feelings of tension in the region limit the mobility of women and girls residing within the buffer zone areas. The presence of unexploded ordnances (UXO) deters civilians from returning to private homes and buildings, utilizing common roadways, or repossessing agricultural fields in areas currently or formerly occupied by military installations, activities, or personnel. Respondents from government and non-government controlled territories commonly associated inadequate night-lighting in urban areas as a factor that increased a generalized feeling of insecurity for women and girls, particularly adolescent girls.

Armored fighting vehicles and combatants maintain a permanent presence in central municipal locations and commercial areas of Donetsk city. Mobile checkpoints are established in undisclosed locations since September 2015 that are reported to conduct systematic searches of civilian vehicles. Key informants and focus group participants confirmed night patrols in residential and commercial areas of Donetsk between 22:00 and 6:00 since September 2015. Key informants from the city report that civilians may be subject to screening at mobile checkpoints since September 2015. Fear that armed actors will occupy private land and properties further contributes to an environment characterized by arbitrary threats to the security of civilians in NGCA. Homes and buildings destroyed and abandoned by warfare have reportedly become sites for criminality and generalized insecurity in Donetsk city.

International Medical Corps Ukraine Country Program 3 Gender-based Violence Rapid Assessment September 2015 • Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Sexualized Violence Key informants and focus group respondents shared anecdotal accounts of sexual violence at checkpoints manned by armed actors within government and non-government controlled territories. In NGCA, more than one focus group respondent shared accounts of random, attempted street abductions targeting female personal acquaintances.

Key informants in NGCA described the rapid increase of advertisements for massage and escort services, which are commonly acknowledged as methods used by street traffickers to recruit women and girls into sex trade. The heightened visibility of commercial sex services was directly associated with the proliferation of male combatants. Adult respondents in NGCA and GCA raised attention to the vulnerability of adolescent girls to sexual coercion and exploitation, highlighting the impressionability of youth. Respondents from NGCA and GCA openly acknowledged survival sex as a social manifestation of the conflict and identified inflation, reduced purchasing power, significant price hikes, and loss of income and livelihoods as its drivers.

• Lack of Confidence in Public Services and Systems Respondents from GCA and NGCA overwhelmingly responded that social and kinship networks were the only trustworthy and reliable support structures for protection. Though law enforcement was identified as the principle community safeguard by respondents, mistrust and skepticism regarding the impartiality and support provided by the authorities was highly pronounced in all discussion groups.

The Ukrainian court system is widely regarded as a corrupt entity. Key informants linked deep-rooted, systemic failures including conflicting incentives, lack of transparency, and low pay to a culture of impunity. Discussion group participants noted heavy bureaucratic burdens, ignorance of the law, and victim blaming as further deterrents to accessing justice. Extrajudicial modalities of disposing of criminal cases in NGCA discourages reporting to authorities according to respondents.

Medical doctors do not have the requisite drugs and training to treat survivors of sexual violence. Respondents repeatedly vocalized challenges to receiving timely, comprehensive medical care including high cost of health services and shortages of medical equipment, personnel, and medicines within public hospital facilities in GCA and NGCA.

Key informants in GCA and NGCA noted the severe shortage of professionals holding positions in the social service sector following reforms in 2014 that has led to the overextension of work responsibility for government social workers, repeal of comprehensive case management and psychosocial support activities from core service provision, and high rate of employee turnover. In NGCA, few respondents indicated a preference or inclination to access social services in the event of a GBV incident. Focus group discussion participants were more likely to turn to health providers for psychosocial and urgent care needs.

Recommendations International Medical Corps recommends the following strategic actions to strengthen the protective environment in and establish timely, appropriate, and accessible GBV prevention and response services in GCA and NGCA:

• Secure greater access to social protection through the establishment of safe, accessible spaces for women and girls to gain respite from the realities of displacement and strength from peer networks • Enhance the capacity of community members to carry out localized GBV risk reduction initiatives and outreach, led by women as a priority, to gain consensus needed for positive change between interconnected social groups • Raise community awareness and stimulate dialogue on protection issues increasing the threat of violence against women and girls in the home, school, community, and society • Increase coverage of social protection, including quality GBV case management services, to reach vulnerable and excluded groups of women and girls • Implement age-appropriate and culturally sensitive psychosocial support programs to strengthen peer support networks and promote help-seeking behavior, including group-based emotional support • Develop functional, appropriate referral pathways

International Medical Corps Ukraine Country Program 4 Gender-based Violence Rapid Assessment September 2015 • Assess existing GBV risk factors and warning signs at community-level, map services for adequacy, and identify obstacles and opportunities in implementation, especially in reaching vulnerable or excluded groups. • Strengthen inter-sectoral work among justice, security, and social sectors for support to survivors of GBV in justice processes and reintegration into society • Support the development of appropriate protocols and procedures to improve inter-sectoral and inter- institutional coordination and operational work flows focused on GBV response outcomes by government service providers, and well as non-State actors

International Medical Corps is a global, humanitarian, nonprofit organization dedicated to saving lives and relieving suffering through health care training and relief and development programs. Established in 1984 by volunteer doctors and nurses, International Medical Corps is a private, voluntary, nonpolitical, nonsectarian organization. Its mission is to improve the quality of life through health interventions and related activities that build local capacity in underserved communities worldwide. By offering training and health care to local populations and medical assistance to people at highest risk, and with the flexibility to respond rapidly to emergency situations, International Medical Corps rehabilitates devastated health care systems and helps bring them back to self-reliance. www.internationalmedicalcorps.org

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