“Bigger and stronger bully weaker”

Back in mid-February, the Ukrainian feminist group Feminist Workshop held an event to consider how to better engage women in the IT sector. Now they are accommodating internally displaced persons in Ukraine in their office in Lviv, regardless of gender.

The group was coincidentally set up in the same year that Russia took over Crimea, in 2014. The group, which volunteered, now employs a dozen activists and receives funding from international women’s organizations.

Yosu is one of the founders of the group, Sasha Chancellor in turn became involved in the operation a couple of years ago.

– Now I work 12-hour days because of the war, Yosu says in English through a video interview.

The editors are only aware of the first names of some of the feminist interviewees. According to Yosu, there had been so many problems with the organization’s funding that before the war he had considered closing down. But when the office was filled with volunteers in the early days of the war, it was clear that something had to be done.

– Everyone wanted to be useful. They have an activist background, it’s hard not to do anything at all, Kantser continues.

In addition to accommodation, Feminist Workshop has organized self-defense and first aid courses.

The situation has caused a housing shortage and a sharp rise in rental prices. The studio may be charged EUR 1000 per month. It also affects the operation of the Feminist Workshop. The organization is currently looking for rental facilities that could be used as emergency accommodation, however prices get out of hand (you switch to another service).

– We think security when we accommodate people. Currently, the hosts belong to our feminist network. They understand how to talk to people who have experienced trauma, and what not to ask, Kantser says.

In addition to accommodation, the organization also provides psychological support and childcare. The feminist idea is involved in relief work.

– We are not a hierarchical organization that sees those in need only as helpless victims. Nor do we want to lose the enlightenment we had focused on before the war, Yosu says.

According to them, feminism in general has to face a lot of prejudice and it is difficult to get funding from Ukrainians.

– Attitudes have hardened with the conflict. Now everything Ukrainian is valued, and feminism is seen as an imported product from the West. It is alienated, Yosu describes.

Ukrainian lawyer specializing in human rights Kateryna Busol in turn, sees the war as also developing the role of women in Ukraine.

– Since the 2014 conquest of Crimea, I have noticed that women have become more active in male-dominated sectors. More and more young women are working in the armed forces and criminal justice. In addition, there are a record number of women parliamentarians in Parliament, Busol says in a video interview from London.

He is currently working at the prestigious Chatham House think tank. Busol has long worked to improve the position of women in Ukraine and has served as an expert on the National Committee of the UN Women, among others.

– For example, the Prosecutor General of Ukraine is a woman who has raised the issue of sexual violence during the conflict. This did not happen until the latest Russian invasion.

But more equality work is needed, he said, to prevent sexual violence and raise women for peace talks, among other things.

– For example, now in the negotiations with Russia we only see men.

Busol refuses to believe that the conflict in Ukraine will take a step backwards in the development of gender equality.

– It is not the nature of the Ukrainian woman, especially modern women.

She recalls that in addition to enlisting in the military, women are very active in volunteering: they organize logistics and make supplies for the military.

– There would be more willing participants than enough supplies. The younger generation does not remain a victim.

According to her, one of the big challenges will be the financial difficulties of women. In the occupied regions of eastern Ukraine, for example, there are few jobs available. Women have resorted to forced prostitution to earn a living.

The conflict is also fueling an increase in all forms of violence. In recent years, the occupied territories of eastern Ukraine has been reported (switching to another service) including increased intimate partner violence.

There are many reasons behind it, such as the trauma of war veterans and the economic hardship caused by both the conflict and the pandemic. Attorney Kateryna Busol has been involved in many in a research group (moving to another service)and heard observations from a psychologist who had worked on war veterans.

– If a person had behaved violently at home even before the war, it would escalate. But if the person had not treated their loved ones violently in the past, it was less likely that he or she resorted to domestic violence even after the service. That surprised.

Busol is also concerned about the mental health problems caused by the conflict now and in the future. Among other things, he teaches law at the Mohyla Academy in Kiev. The courses are organized remotely.

– I can already see in my students how stressed they are. They have not heard of their relatives left in the occupied city for many weeks. Then when this is over, mental health services are needed everywhere.

According to him, compared to 2014, the importance of treating trauma is now better understood in Ukraine. Psychological support, anonymous telephone services and legal assistance are available.

On the spot in Lviv, the activists of the Feminist Workshop feel that their own work contributes to the defense of their country. However, Yosu and Kantser do not believe that the other side will be defeated by peaceful influence alone.

– We believe that our country must fight. Violence cannot be stopped without fighting, Yosu says.

– This is like domestic violence: bigger and stronger bully weaker. We have to defend ourselves, Kantser continues.

They say it is difficult to talk about the future.

– We have no future or long-term plans. Maybe we will all die. That’s a likely option, Yosu says.

You can discuss the subject until 11 pm on Wednesday, 13 April 2022.