Mariupol is the city that Iryna Hadar and her son were forced to leave due to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. She survived shelling, a dangerous escape, and life in uncertainty. Eventually, Iryna found a new home and rediscovered herself. Her story is not only about loss, strength, and courage—it is also about how support from UN Women in Ukraine and The United Nations Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund (WPHF) helped her recognize the violence she had experienced before the war.

The beekeeping family of Olga and Oleksandr Krysiuchenko continues to work and build their future in Pryozerne, a village in the frontline region of Kherson. The couple has been engaged in beekeeping for 7 years, and since the Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, they have not only managed to stay afloat but have also turned their passion into a business.

The war shattered Oksana Posternak’s life into a thousand pieces—her hometown of Veletenske in Kherson was occupied, she endured a difficult evacuation, constant relocations, the destruction of her home by enemy shelling, and the inability to return. Having lost everything, she was left with pain and emptiness. But one thing remained unchanged—her talent for creativity. She never imagined that her hobby could become her profession.

Olga Klushanova knows what it means to start over from scratch. She lost her home for the first time in 2014 when the war forced her to leave her native Donetsk and relocate to Kostiantynivka. In 2022, Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine once again tore her away from her everyday life. Together with her family, Olga moved to Dnipro, leaving behind everything that had once seemed permanent. She lost a lot but refused to let circumstances break her. Read below about how support from UN Women Ukraine and The United Nations Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund (WPHF) gave her the strength to move forward.

Women-led and women’s rights organizations (WROs) in Ukraine have been severely impacted by funding suspensions by the United States (U.S.), a new survey by UN Women, the Apparatus of the Government Commissioner for Gender Equality Policy of Ukraine, and the Gender in Humanitarian Action Working Group, reveals. UN Women calls for more direct, flexible, and long-term funding to women’s rights organizations to ensure life-saving programs for women and girls to meet sudden funding gaps.

The Gender in Humanitarian Action (GiHA) Working Group convened for an overview meeting to review the 2024 results of its activities with partners and to plan its 2025 work.

Khrystyna Kit is the Head and Chairwoman of the Board of JurFem, one of the first associations of women lawyers in Ukraine, which, since the beginning of the Russia’s full-scale war, has become a place of support for survivors of sexual violence and all types of gender discrimination. The organization has around 60 lawyers who provide legal assistance to survivors of sexual violence across Ukraine.

A new report on femicide reveals that 60% of all gender-based killings of women are committed by intimate partners or family members. On November 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, UN Women and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) released a new report titled "Femicide in 2023: A Global Assessment of Femicide Committed by Intimate Partners/Family Members".

Kyiv, November 25, 2024 – Today marks the launch of an awareness campaign aimed at raising public awareness about gender-based violence against women and girls, promoting its prevention and response, and informing about support services available for survivors.

Every day the team of the partner organization 'Volonter-68' listen to many life stories from women and girls who are provided with humanitarian aid and evacuation. The team shared the story of Lyudmila Lisnikova from the city of Druzhkivka, Donetsk region.

In the turbulent Zaporizhzhia region, a mere 40 kilometers from the front line, daily raid sirens last up to 5 hours. Despite these harrowing conditions, over 200 thousand internally displaced persons (IDPs) have sought refuge here, fleeing the temporarily occupied territories of the region and rebuilding their lives amidst war. Among them is 26-year-old Olga Prykhodko.

Kseniia Mishyna is a community leader from Ukraine. Throughout the war, Kseniia has exemplified selfless dedication and unwavering resilience as the village headwoman of the Dniprovks district in Bilozershchina, Kherson region, where she manages four villages, inspiring change and providing crucial support to her community.

The UN Women Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia and the UNFPA Regional Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, together with the European Union (EU), started the Phase II of the regional programme “EU 4 Gender Equality: Together against gender stereotypes and gender-based violence”. The programme aims to reduce gender discriminatory attitudes and practices between women and men in institutional and community spheres, including unpaid domestic and care work in six Eastern Partnership countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova, and Ukraine.

New York, 22 February - Two years of Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine has taken thousands of lives, caused untold destruction, displaced millions, traumatized a generation, torn families and communities, and devastated the economy. The total cost of reconstruction and recovery in Ukraine is estimated by the World Bank, European Commission, United Nations and the Government of Ukraine at USD 486 billion over the next decade. This war, like all wars, takes a bigger toll on women and girls, who disproportionally carry its burden.

The Women’s Peace & Humanitarian Fund (WPHF) has launched a Call for Proposals in Ukraine to support civil society organizations working to increase women’s participation in humanitarian and crisis response and enhance the protection of women and girls displaced by the war in the Ukraine.

Ukrainian women-led civil society organizations were among the first to respond to the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. In partnership with UN Women, they continue to play a leading role, which is key for the post-war recovery.

Since the launch of the Russian Federation full-scale invasion on 24 February, 2022, over 2,000 women have been confirmed dead in attacks that have wrecked homes and civilian structures across Ukraine. Total numbers are likely to be much higher: according to the UN Commissioner for Human Rights, women account for nearly 40 per cent of the over 21,000 civilian casualties recorded in 2022. And of the estimated 7.9 million internally displaced peoples in Ukraine, women now constitute at least 90 per cent.

Oleksandra Matviychuk is a human rights activist from Ukraine. Following the “Maidan” demonstrations in November 2013, which led to the ousting of the Government and left many casualties among activists, she created the Euromaidan SOS Facebook page. As head of the Centre for Civil Liberties, she also provided legal assistance to protesters victimized during the crackdown. Together with her team, Matviychuk has documented over 18,000 reported war crimes against the Ukrainian people since 2014. The Centre for Civil Liberties won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022.

The Women’s Peace & Humanitarian Fund (WPHF) has launched a Call for Proposals in Ukraine to support civil society organizations working to increase women’s participation in humanitarian and crisis response, enhance the protection of women and girls, and improve the socio-economic recovery and political participation of women and girls displaced by the war in Ukraine.

Anastasia Perepylytsia, 44, is no stranger to displacement. In 2014, she had a stable job in finance and lived a normal life together with her husband and two children in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine. But when the Russian army invaded her hometown, she had to flee with her family to Zaporizhzhia, a city situated on the banks of the Dnieper River in the south-east.