Advancing the Rights of Women with Disabilities in Local Development

UN Women with Ukrainian Women’s Fund have been supporting community mobilization for empowerment (CME) processes in Eastern Ukraine. The CME process has enabled vulnerable women and men in the communities to identify and address their gender-specific needs. The Gender Accessibility Audit was conducted first time in Kramatorsk city with the direct participation of women and men with disabilities and identified the architectural and infrastructure barriers that restrict their access to public services, cause direct and indirect discrimination and lead to their exclusion. In response, the Kramatorsk city council’s Accessibility Committee allocated UAH 6 million ($214 thousand) in the 2018 local programme on accessibility. Mobilized mothers of children with disabilities advocated for inclusive local services with their local authorities and jointly established accessible public spaces for children with disabilities to promote their social integration. The video is produced in the framework of the joint UNDP-UN Women programme, “Restoration of Governance and Reconciliation in crisis-affected Communities of Ukraine” funded by the European Union.