Outcome UKR_D_4.1

More commitments on Women, Peace and Security are implemented by national and local institutions and more gender equality advocates influence recovery, justice and security processes

The outcome was not achieved in 2021, yet important progress has been seen at all levels in the context of the implementation of the second NAP 1325 in Ukraine. Important steps to protect women who have experienced CRSV The Parliament of Ukraine adopted a draft law updating Ukraine&rsquo;s Criminal Code with a full catalogue of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including sexual violence. UN Women, together with OHCHR, supported the Government with expert policy advice in developing legislation on transitional justice, where CRSV is to be regulated. If signed by the President of Ukraine, the amended law will lead to the establishment of a legal framework on the prevention and protection of women relating to CRSV. Additionally, UN Women provided expert support to the Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights in developing a Matrix of Early Warning Indicators on CRSV (the draft is attached). More than 100 representatives of government institutions, development partners and CSOs, including the Network of Survivors of CRSV, were engaged by UN Women in this process. If the matrix is endorsed and institutionalized, the Government will be able to better prevent and respond to risks facing conflict-affected women. Dedicated initiatives that safeguard the rights of internally displaced women A new strategy to safeguard the rights of internally displaced persons (IDPs) incorporates important gender-responsive provisions. UN Women supported the Ministry for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories with technical expertise to develop the strategy and incorporate key gender concerns. Together with the CSO &ldquo;Myr na Doloni&rdquo; , UN Women also arranged dialogue events where IDP women advocated for their priorities, based on a needs assessment with IDP women from 9 regions. Approximately 1/3 of the recommendations and propositions were incorporated in the final version of the strategy. If the strategy is put into practice, it will lead to important changes in the lives of IDP women, with improved access to housing, employment and small business opportunities. The security and defence sector implementing commitments on WPS Institutions including the Ministry of Internal Affairs, National Police, National Guard, State Border Guard, State Emergency Service, Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Veterans Affairs developed and began implementing their sectoral action plans linked to the second NAP 1325. Key steps already taken to implement the plans include: incorporating GM Guidelines (attached) into the curricula of 28 higher education institutions (HEI) of the security and defence sector; starting to provide gender-responsive services, including gynaecological care, to women veterans; and launching awareness-raising campaigns on the importance of GE. UN Women has been providing long-term capacity development assistance to these institutions and supported the development of the sectoral plans through expert consultants. UN Women has also facilitated gender self-assessments in various ministries and central executive bodies, which have largely influenced the development of sectoral plans. Additionally, UN Women supported the Government with a comprehensive study on masculinity (attached), which has launched important discussions among more than 1,000 students of HEI on the need for institutional and social norms change in the sector. Needs and priorities of conflict-affected women incorporated into local initiatives 3 conflict-affected regions and 27 communities adopted and began implementing localized action plans in line with the second NAP 1325 (3 Regional Action Plans and 27 Local Action Plans on UNSCR 1325). The action plans include measures that strengthen conflict prevention, improve protection and enhance participation of conflict-affected women in the local recovery and peacebuilding. UN Women provided expert support in developing the regional and local WPS policies, as well as facilitated dialogue between duty bearers and conflict-affected women. If these plans are implemented, the meaningful participation of women in local decision-making processes, alongside enhanced security and social cohesion, will increase the chances of localizing sustainable peace in Ukraine. Conflict-affected women formally organized to advocate for their priorities UN Women facilitated the establishment of the &ldquo;Networks of Young Women Peacebuilders &rdquo; and &ldquo;Coalitions Working on Advancing the WPS Agenda&rdquo; in Donetsk and Luhansk regions and engaged them in dialogue with public authorities aimed at developing and implementing local WPS commitments. UN Women also supported the &ldquo;Women&rsquo;s Veterans Movement&rdquo; to advocate for gender-responsive rehabilitation. 155 community groups (1,170 women) were active in 2021 across 3 conflict-affected regions. UN Women, together with partners Ukrainian Women&rsquo;s Fund, Ukrainian Foundation for Public Health, and Unity for the Future, supported women&rsquo;s mobilization by organizing trainings and advocacy opportunities. Based on the progress made and the current country context, the ToC is still applicable.</spa

More commitments on Women, Peace and Security are implemented by national and local institutions and more gender equality advocates influence recovery, justice, security and humanitarian processes

The outcome was not fully achieved but important progress towards the outcome was made in 2022. In the context of the full-fledged war and consequent large-scale humanitarian crisis, this outcome was expanded to include a focus on not only implementing national Women Pease and Security (WPS) commitments but also responding to the emerging humanitarian needs of women and girls. Gender equality advocates&rsquo; influence on recovery, justice, security and humanitarian processes remained paramount. Important progress towards the outcome was made in 2022: More than 37,400 war-affected women and girls had access to humanitarian support. This included receiving basic necessities such as food and hygiene products, psychological support, legal aid, livelihood support and referrals to other services. The support was especially directed at women and girls from vulnerable and marginalized groups such as rural women, Roma women, women with disabilities, internally displaced women and women with HIV. (Read more under narrative questions 1 and 8.) UN Women contributed to this important result by partnering with over 20 local women&rsquo;s organizations, providing them with the resources necessary for a rapid, localized humanitarian response and facilitating the necessary capacity development needed to adjust to the rapidly changing context. This was largely made possible through the partnership with the Women, Peace and Humanitarian Fund (WPHF). One concrete example of important work done towards this result includes the 1,099 women who benefited from access to psychological, humanitarian and social support services, as well as information on available essential services, through UN Women&rsquo;s pilot initiative &lsquo;Safe Spaces&rsquo; (multipurpose centres for women) in partnership with two local women&rsquo;s CSOs. Four physical safe spaces for women in two regions of Ukraine have provided multidimensional forms of support to women and girls affected by the full-scale war and who are at severe risk of GBV. Women and girls (especially from vulnerable groups) and their primary needs and priorities are covered by key WPS and humanitarian action plans. At the national level, this included the revised National Action Plan on UNSCR 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (NAP 1325), Framework of Cooperation Agreement on CRSV , UN Flash Appeal and UN Transitional Framework . (Read more under the WPS impact statement.) UN Women contributed to these results by providing technical input to the documents through international and national experts on WPS and gender in humanitarian action. UN Women also facilitated consultations with the authorities and women&rsquo;s CSOs to provide direct recommendations to the plans and generated relevant research (such as the Rapid Gender Analysis of Ukraine and the Rapid Assessment of Women&rsquo;s CSOs ) to help inform the formulation of regional and local priorities, activities and new target groups based on the latest evidence. At the local and regional levels, several authorities started developing or revising their localized action plans (LAPs) and initiatives in line with the NAP 1325. Despite the daily hardships and workload that local authorities face due to the war and permanent security threats, Nyzhnyo-Teplivska community (Luhansk region) and Lebedyn community (Sumy region) approved their LAPs until 2025, and Romny community (Sumy region) updated their local programme on social protection to include WPS provisions. Five local communities formed working groups on the development and implementation of LAPs, and Zaporizhzhia regional administration formed a working group on revising their regional action plan on UNSCR 1325. These are important steps towards localizing the WPS agenda and ensuring that the needs and priorities of local women are included in local initiatives through crisis response and early recovery. UN Women contributed to these results by providing technical input in drafting documents and support in setting up working groups, as well as conducting a series of trainings on the localization of the NAP 1325 and development of LAPs for 45 representatives of local authorities from Zaporizhzhia, Chernihiv, Kirovograd and Sumy. Women and their organizations have strengthened capacity and opportunity to meaningfully participate in conflict prevention, resolution and recovery. In 2022, important steps were taken to strengthen women&rsquo;s meaningful participation at all levels in Ukraine as they relate to conflict prevention, resolution and recovery. A significant number of dialogues, consultations and advocacy events with women&rsquo;s civil society took place in 2022, where women had the opportunity to advocate for their needs and priorities as well as influence key processes related to the WPS agenda and humanitarian action. (Read more under narrative question 10 and indicator 0.1.5.) UN Women collaborated closely with over 100 civil society partners all across Ukraine and relevant duty bearers from the Government, UN agencies, the private sector and other humanitarian/development partners to facilitate these events and ensure that the voices and experiences of women are heard. Thirteen women from CSOs across Ukraine and seven women from the Ukrainian Government and Parliament strengthened their knowledge and skills on negotiation and mediation. This is particularly important in the context of the crisis to ensure that women&rsquo;s priorities and needs are included in conflict resolution and peacebuilding efforts and that their voices are heard. UN Women in partnership with Clingendael facilitated the trainings, and pre- and post-assessments confirmed the participants&rsquo; enhanced knowledge, skills and attitudes to be able to put what they learned into practice. Over 420 women from war-affected regions (Zaporizhzhia, Chernihiv, Sumy and Kirovohrad) were mobilized into women&rsquo;s community groups and improved their knowledge and skills on human rights, gender equality and the WPS agenda. Many community groups collectively started working to address the urgent needs of women and girls in their communities. By the end of 2022, 16 women from the community groups had already become members of local working groups on LAPs in partnership with the authorities and were seen as active leaders for their communities. UN Women, in partnership with the Ukrainian Women&rsquo;s Fund, has led the mobilization, training and ongoing support to the local women&rsquo;s groups and will continue ensuring that local women are empowered and capacitated to meaningfully participate in local WPS and humanitarian processes. In 2022, the need for the WPS agenda and rapid humanitarian support was essential to ensure that the rights and opportunities of women and girls are protected. The progress made alongside key partners from the Government at all levels, women&rsquo;s CSOs and other development/humanitarian partners includes important steps that contribute to the overall impact goal. The theory of change (ToC) is mostly not valid due to changes in the context, programmes and operations of the Country Office because of the ongoing humanitarian crisis and war in Ukraine. As part of the new Strategic Note to be developed in 2023, a new ToC will be developed to better reflect the rapidly changing context. The new ToC will need to fully capture changes related to the humanitarian-development-peace (HDP) nexus and to conflict prevention, resolution and recovery.