GiHA Working Group: women's organizations need adequate and timely funding to ensure safety and care for their staff
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Last week, two staff members of the women’s organization Culture of Democracy, which delivers essential support to women and girls in Kherson, were injured in yet another attack on the city. The incident occurred as they were returning from responding to a domestic violence case. Their condition is currently stable.
Humanitarian workers continue delivering assistance in frontline regions amid Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. According to OCHA, incidents affecting humanitarian personnel, assets and facilities increased by 38 per cent in the first quarter of 2026.
Iraida Herashchenko, Head of the Kherson-based women's organization Successful Woman, says:
"A colleague died because of the artillery shelling that took place on 24 May. She fought for her life for more than a month. Women volunteers, activists and humanitarian professionals are increasingly becoming targets of drone attacks. Unfortunately, no international recommendations on the protection of humanitarian workers are effective on the frontline."
Women's organizations play a critical role in humanitarian response, providing protection services, psychosocial support, legal assistance, and services for survivors of violence. At the same time, these organizations face shrinking international funding. According to UN Women, aid cuts in 2025 significantly affected the operations of 108 women's organizations.
The Gender in Humanitarian Action (GiHA) Working Group calls on international partners to ensure adequate and timely funding for women's organizations, including for:
- staff and volunteer safety and security;
- mental health and psychosocial support;
- legal assistance;
- insurance for staff, volunteers and organizational assets;
- repair and replacement of damaged property;
- rapid crisis and contingency funding.
About
The Gender in Humanitarian Action Working Group (GiHA) operates under a tri-chair system and is coordinated, among others, by UN Women Ukraine.
The Working Group promotes gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls in Ukraine's humanitarian response and provides technical support and strengthens coordination among actors delivering humanitarian assistance, early recovery interventions and development projects across the country.