One-of-a-kind shelter in Kyiv for victims of domestic violence reflects societal views (10/28/01)

One-of-a-kind shelter in Kyiv for victims of domestic violence reflects societal views

by Yana Sedova
Special to The Ukrainian Weekly

KYIV - Although the first shelter for victims of domestic violence opened in Kyiv about two years ago, it remains the only one of its kind financed by local government, a fact that is symbolic of the way abused women continue to be viewed in Ukraine.

Today Ukrainian society continues to offer those who have suffered domestic violence few social and legal protections, and the little help that is available chiefly comes from non-governmental women's organizations.

The biggest problem goes beyond the lack of adequate services to a belief generally held by women in Ukraine, especially in the villages, that whatever their problems, they should not air their family's dirty linen in public.

Women and children are the first to suffer psychological and physical abuse when bad times exist in the family. The problem of husbands and fathers beating their wives and kids becomes especially acute when economic times are bad, as is the case in Ukraine today. A listless economy often turns the traditional structure of the family on its head, aggravating what many consider a historical problem in the Ukrainian village. When a woman is forced to become the breadwinner for her clan because her partner cannot find work, the now financially dependent husband can become despondent and aggressive.

Official statistics, which cite only the number of complaints of domestic violence, merely reveal the tip of the iceberg because they do not explain the various reasons women are abused. Ukraine doesn't finance this area of social research. Yet, maybe there is no need for it, given that even with guarantees of anonymity, few women express a willingness to discuss domestic abuse with counselors.

According to a survey completed in 1998 by the Ukrainian Institute of Social Research (UISR), called "The Village Family in Ukraine," 25.9 percent of women and 18.7 percent of men responded affirmatively to the question "Have you ever suffered from violence in the family?"

Yevhenia Lutsenko, head of gender research at the UISR, explained that many village women have a weak sense of what constitutes a violent act.

"Only 59 percent of women consider rape to be violence," said Ms. Lutsenko. "And we have another paradox. A woman does not consider divorce when her husband beats and humiliates her. Why? She is afraid of being condemned by society."

However, at least in Kyiv, some of these women are beginning to seek help from professionals. About 40 percent of the women who have contacted the women's shelter in Kyiv through its still little-known crisis hotline were victims of domestic violence. Claudia Taranikov, the director of the facility, said only a small portion of them accepted an offer to live at the shelter's sites. She explained that about 150 women and children have stayed in its various safe houses since it opened.

All a battered woman needs to gain entry to the shelter for herself and her children is an internal passport and a medical card, both of which every Ukrainian adult is required to have. The woman then is able to receive psychological and legal counseling at the associated Center for Women, the municipal organization that organized the shelter. She is supplied with food and clothing, as well, and has access to a doctor's services 24 hours a day, if required.

Battered women stay at one of 15 sites, all of which are guarded. They are free to do as they wish for the most part, but they are not allowed to reveal the location of the shelter at which they are staying.

Halyna Honcharyk, coordinator of the women's center, said women find it very difficult to remain for an extended period of time because they feel that they should be with their family.

"A person should remain apart from the husband for a month in order to decide whether she wants to come back or not," explained Ms. Honcharyk. "It's not easy for women, but they have the possibility to change themselves here."

While non-government women's organizations in Ukraine are ready to help to work out special programs for victims of abuse, a lack of financing at the national and international level does not allow many of these projects to move forward. For that matter, as long as people remain reconciled to living in situations where violence dominates their relationships, few organizations or people will be able to help them significantly improve their lives.

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