News
Despite war, Pact’s Women of Ukraine project achieves strong impact
The full-scale war in Ukraine has caused mass destruction and upheaval across the nation. Girls and women are at the center of the crisis, with women accounting for 56 percent of the approximately 4 million people who are internally displaced. Additionally, women in Ukraine face increased challenges in accessing security, justice, social services, mental, sexual and reproductive health services, employment and other essential services, according to UN Women.
While working to combat many of these ongoing challenges, Pact recently successfully completed the five-year Women of Ukraine: Heard, Capable, Resilient project, funded by Global Affairs Canada. The project aimed to increase the fulfillment of human rights of women and girls and promote gender equality in Ukraine. To achieve this goal, Pact strengthened the management and sustainability of local women’s rights organizations to improve their programming and advocacy performance and increase effectiveness of women’s rights platforms, networks and collective alliances. The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 necessitated that the project adapt to address new, more pressing challenges.
The project quickly responded to emerging needs by providing humanitarian assistance. With support from Pact, the network of women’s rights organizations aided internally displaced women and children and served as coordination centers of volunteer assistance in all regions covered by the project. The women’s rights organization GCS supported more than 1,000 displaced women and children with shelter, food, hygiene items and psychosocial support. Partner We are Equal helped internally displaced Ukrainians in Vyzhnytsia, including people with disabilities, providing transportation services, hygiene supplies and bedding.
“We are very grateful to Global Affairs Canada for their flexibility and prompt response to the humanitarian crisis caused by Russia’s military invasion. This flexibility allowed Pact to pivot from traditional development work to humanitarian aid, which was so needed, while traditional humanitarian actors were not yet fully operational,” says Alyona Gerasimova, country director for Pact in Ukraine. “We also admire our partners, local women’s rights organizations, which took on the role of humanitarian aid organizations not hesitating for a minute. They were there, on the ground, and they responded immediately to those in need.”
Women’s rights organization Centre “Women’s Perspectives” created a shelter for women and children in Lviv, working with local business owners to repurpose office space as temporary housing. Displaced individuals could eat, bathe and recover at the shelter, and access medical services. The shelter also offered mental health support and art therapy for children. With support from Pact, the Centre was also able to provide personal hygiene items, dishes and medicine, and help displaced women gain new economic opportunities.
Overall, despite pivoting the program due to new challenges from the war, the Women of Ukraine project achieved strong results. In total, the project provided services to 5,969 women and girls, and reached 11,648 individuals with humanitarian aid in the war-impacted areas where those services were of immediate and urgent need. The project reached more than 2.8 million people through informational campaigns and supported 41 advocacy campaigns. All of the campaigns focused on women’s empowerment initiatives, though some targeted integration and support programs for internally displaced women, aimed particularly at their economic empowerment.
Over five years, 389 training sessions were held. Local partners learned comprehensive and politically aware monitoring, robust collection, analysis, and use of data for decision-making, underpinned by efficient and effective data management and clear team roles and responsibilities, and some of the tools and trainings helped with the transition to humanitarian work.
In addition to the essential humanitarian needs that women’s rights organizations provided, they also succeeded in diversifying their resources base with capacity strengthening from Pact. This reflects that the organizations participating in the Women of Ukraine project are on their way to becoming leaders in recognized national networks that are relevant to their programs and services, and they can continue to operate successfully without Pact’s continued support.
The project serves as a unique blueprint for navigating changing circumstances with resilience and adaptability and has not only transformed the landscape of women’s rights in Ukraine, but also demonstrates what is possible on a global scale by adapting to local contexts.