Ukraine: Two women help Irpin’s community face their fears

Two women in orange vests that read UNFPA and USAID smile at the camera.

Olena (left) and Nataliia are members of a UNFPA-supported mobile team helping survivors of gender-based violence in Irpin, Kyiv Region, Ukraine. OCHA/Lyudmyla Malyuk

By Lyudmyla Malyuk, OCHA Ukraine

Olena and Natalia are two women from the town of Irpin, Ukraine, who have hit the road to help their community recover from the unseen wounds of the war - especially gender-based violence.

The people of the town had endured weeks of horror when Irpin became a battlefield after the escalation of the war in February 2022. Russia’s invasion left a path of destruction in the town, and the community is still trying to recoup.

They regularly visit schools and community centres with a group of mobile teams to create awareness about the abuse to address its root causes and inform people of their options for support. And they also assist survivors.

The teams are backed by the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), with funding from the Ukraine Humanitarian Fund and other donors.

Five women stand near a rollout banner that read UHF.

Aid workers including employees of the Vilna Hub, Gender-Based Violence (GBV) mobile team members, OCHA and GBV Cluster sub-national coordinator — during a site visit to Vilna Hub, a UNFPA-supported safe space for women and girls in Irpin. OCHA/Lyudmyla Malyuk

Women motivate women

Olena and Natalia told us their community, mostly women, motivates them to keep doing this hard task. “You can be completely exhausted after a long day at work. Then, late at night, you receive a call from someone asking for help,” explains Olena. “And some internal force just kicks in, helping you to find strength and energy to help this person in their hour of need. Understanding that your work helps the person persevere and face the fears plaguing them brings a new dimension to our job.”

“The joy that you experience when you help a person on the brink of despair helps yourself,” echoes her colleague, Natalia.

Olena and Natalia explained that it took them more than a year to build trust and a reputation in the community. But now the community, especially women, has confidence in them.

Over the past eight months of this year, humanitarians have provided support to nearly 770,000 people affected by gender-based violence across Ukraine — over 60 per cent of the target, including some 75,000 people in the Kyiv Region.

UN agencies are working together with local partners and authorities to meet the growing needs and count on donors’ support to be able to continue their work.