MEDYKA, POLAND - MARCH 04: Women and children from war-torn Ukraine, including a mother carrying an ... [+]
Human rights organizations have been watching the impact of the war in Ukraine on the nation's women and children since the start of the conflict in late February. A new report is shedding light on just how bad things have gotten as women and children continue to face immense hardship under the grim reality of war.
The Rapid Gender Analysis, put together by UN Women, the United Nations entity dedicated to global gender equality, and CARE International, a humanitarian agency focused on ending global poverty for women and girls, was released today. The report draws on surveys and interviews conducted last month in 19 regions in Ukraine.
While difficult to measure in the midst of a situation that remains highly volatile, the report draws on the best available metrics in order to illustrate the magnitude of the growing crisis. The latest estimates out of the UN put the number of Ukrainian refugees at 5.6 million and the number of displaced people at 7.7 million—figures that continue to climb. Due to the fact that most men aged 18–60 are required to stay behind under martial law, it's estimated that 90% of those fleeing the country and 60% of those displaced are women.
Along with that displacement comes increased safety risks, according to the report. Incidents of gender-based violence are on the rise, and one in five women surveyed indicated finding safe shelter as a top priority. Women and children who've been forced to flee often rely on hastily opened and unvetted sources of shelter—many of which are overcrowded and under-resourced. Members of the UN's Civil Society Unit (CSOs) have reported poor hygiene, a lack of basic supplies, and safety concerns in many of the shelters.
“In particular, women’s CSOs reported the unsafe conditions that displaced women and girls in western Ukraine face with the lack of sex-segregated and well-lit toilets, creating conditions that can increase the risk of sexual harassment and other forms of sexual violence against women and girls in public spaces,” the report reads.
For some, the existence of shelter doesn't guarantee access. The report cites that Roma people and members of the LGTBQ community disproportionally experience housing discrimination.
"Upon arrival, we turned to the volunteers at the station and asked where the shelter was. They told us and we went, but we were refused everywhere," says one Roma woman quoted in the report. "We called various organizations providing city services, and they told us at first that they would settle us, but when we said that we were Roma or when we arrived, they told us there were no places anymore."
Accessibility to gender-specific health care services is another key area of concern in the report. The findings call out issues such as inconsistent access to adequate menstrual products and restricted availability of food that meets pregnant and breastfeeding women's dietary needs. Scarcity of providers and barriers to receiving reproductive, maternal and newborn health care are also cited as widespread problems. Those with physical disabilities and restricted mobility remain especially vulnerable.
"We're not going to the shelter because of my mother's [injured] leg," says a woman cited in the report as living in a city under immediate attack. "Each time you wake up, you say, 'Okay, thank you, I survived.' Each day you go to bed, you prepare yourself to die."
As the ongoing crisis continues to unfold across the country, the economic fallout is coming down along gendered lines. A survey cited in the report that was carried out between March 24th and April 1st found that 18% of displaced women reported a monthly household income of less than UAH 5,000 (equivalent to US$165) prior to the start of the war and 65% after. For male respondents, this was 6% and 57%, respectively.
For many women, the work they did prior to the war is no longer an option. Several of those surveyed for the report highlighted the disproportionate burden that has been placed on women over the last two months to perform volunteer and unpaid work in the interim. With more and more hospitals, schools, childcare and eldercare centers closed or collapsed, women are filling in the gaps.
"When it comes to humanitarian needs of displaced people, locals, and households, women do most of the work: they drive, provide hospitals and locals with medication and food, they care about their disabled relatives and children," says a woman quoted in the report.
Yet despite women playing a crucial role in their communities during this crisis, their voices are going largely unheard at the national level, according to the report's findings.
"At the formal decision-making level, the centralization of power and increased role of the military has made it more difficult for women to exert influence in formal political and administrative decision-making processes, thus decreasing women's overall participation," the report reads. "Decisions are often made quickly and do not adequately reflect the needs and priorities of different groups of women and men, including those most vulnerable and marginalized."
