OSCE Project Co-ordinator promotes anti-domestic violence efforts in Ukraine via new online education tool

A new web-based course on combating domestic violence, created by the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine and the online education platform EdEra, is open for users starting from 18 July 2019. The course for the general public aims at promoting awareness among Ukrainians of what domestic violence is and how it can be dealt with.

Those who complete this educational tool will gain an understanding of the different forms of domestic violence, including physical, sexual, psychological and economic abuse. Texts, lectures and illustrations explain the causes and consequences. Completing the course can be useful for those who already work to combat this crime, but also for domestic violence survivors or people who witness incidents. The course provides a detailed outline of measures that can be taken with available state instruments and non-governmental resources, providing useful tips and advice.

“Even a single experience of violence at home can have long-lasting implications affecting the life of a person. But wider society in the end also pays a lot for not doing enough to prevent abuse, as it then needs to deal with the social, economic and even security costs of the consequences,” said Henrik Villadsen, the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine. “In dealing with such complex social issues it is never enough to build an efficient law enforcement response; you have to think about creating a culture where such behaviour is considered inacceptable, and reach out to the widest audience possible.”

The course will be also used for training courses organized by the OSCE Project Co-ordinator for specific audiences that work in this domain – law enforcers, social workers and psychologists, as well as educators in schools and universities. 

The production of the course was supported by several prominent Ukrainian public opinion leaders, who contributed on a pro bono basis as lecturers and performers: Kateryna Babkyna, writer; Vita Chygryna, blogger and volunteer for the Family Counsellors project led by the Ministry of Justice; Andrii Kulykov, journalist and head of the Commission on Journalism Ethics; Roman Vintoniv also known as Michael Shchur, political satire journalist and ambassador of the ‘HeForShe’ UN Women Solidarity Movement for Gender Equality.

According to the OSCE-led Survey on Violence Against Women conducted in 2018, 7.6% of Ukrainian women interviewed indicated they experienced physical or sexual violence from their intimate partners in the 12 months prior to the survey. Learn more about the survey at: www.osce.org/secretariat/413237