Report of activities of the Women`s Consortium of Ukraine 2013-2014

All-Ukrainian Non-Goverment Organization

«Women’s Consortium of Ukraine» 01004, Ukraine, Kyiv 8 Darvin Str. , office 55 tel: (380 44) 592 68 54 tel/fax: (380 44) 234 64 05

REPORT OF ACTIVITIESR OF THE ORGANIZATION 2013 – 2014

e-mail: info@wcu-network.org.ua web site: www.wcu-network.org.ua http://legal.wcu-network.org.ua/ http://vybory2012.wcu-network.org.ua/

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WHO WE ARE? Women's Consortium of Ukraine (WCU) is a civil society organization playing a coordinating role in advocacy, training and education initiatives aimed at strengthening the principles of equal rights and opportunities in the Ukrainian society, such as gender equality and better addressing the interests of a child.

STRATEGIS GOALS FOR 2013 – 2014 SUPPORT OF CSO NETWORKS ON GENDER EQUALITY STRENGTHENING:  Strengthening institutional capacity of women’s civil society organizations and increasing their role in their regions PROMOTION OF GENDER EQUALITY:  Respecting the rights of women and combating gender discrimination  Political and economic empowerment of women PROTECTION OF THE RIGHTS OF A CHILD AND PROMOTION OF THE BEST ADDRESSING OF THE INTERESTS OF A CHILD:  Respecting the rights of a child  Prevention / elimination of violation toward children OUR TOOLS: • • • •

Creating and maintaining network of CSOs’ promoting gender equality Establishing a permanent coalition of CSOs promoting and protecting the rights of a child Involving local communities and institutions to the addressing the rights of women and children Building cooperation with government and non-government organizations on addressing acute social challenges

KEY EXPERTISE OF THE WCU SUPPORT OF CSO NETWORKS ON GENDER EQUALITY STRENGTHENING::  Informational support / exchange of experience  Professional development of the WCU team and member organizations of the Network  Design and implementation of institutional development programs for the member organizations of the Network PROMOTION OF GENDER EQUALITY AND PROTECTION OF THE RIGHTS OF A CHILD:  Change and project management  Policy monitoring  Design of methodologies and training programs  Training for adults  Expert evaluation  Lobbying  Development and increase of expert environment OUR VALUES: • Equal opportunities; • Respect of human rights; • Non-discrimination and tolerance; • Consolidation and responsible partnership; • Competency and professionalism; • Active participation and result-oriented activity.

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BOARD MARIA ALEKSEYENKO, Chair of the Board TETYANA BAEVA, Head of the Board of Khmelnytsky Region CSO “Podilsk Centre “Gender Council” TETYANA IVANINA, Head of the organization «Poltava Office of the Social Workers League of Ukraine” LARYSA GUNKO, Head of the Board of “Centre for the Support of Civil Society Initiatives “CHAIKA” YULIA SAVELEVA, Manager of projects of the CSO «Civil Society Initiatives Centre “Intelligence of Sumy Region” TETYANA MIKHNOVETS, Head of Vinnytsia CSO “Miss Universe” OKSANA YAROSH, Director of the Volyn Region CSO “Gender Centre”

TEAM OKSANA MOSKALENKO, Programme Coordinator – Children's Rights and Advocacy MARICHKA DENDEBERA, Programme Coordinator – Prevention of Violation against Children OLGA HORUNNKO, Programme Coordinator – Humanitarian Programmes VIRA POROVSKA, Programme Coordinator – Organization Development VIRA KARAICHEVA, Media-expert, Journalist OLENA SUETOVA, Communication Manager VIOLETA TOCHILENKOVA, Accountant

EXTERNAL EXPERTS NATALIA VASILEVA, External Audit EUGENIA DUBROVSKA, Child Psychology, Psychologists VOLODYMYR KOVALCHUK, Legal Issues LARYSA MAGDYUK, Gender Issues, Consultant, Trainer TETYANA MELNYK, Legal Issues IOSYP MOLDAVANU, Children’s Rights IRYNA SERGIENKO, Legal Issues OLENA SYBIRSEVA, Legal Issues MYKHAILYNA SKORYK, New Media OLENA SOLOVIOVA, Psychology SVITLANA TROFIMCHUK, Legal Issues KOSTANTYN SHENDEROVSKY, Social Policy MARIA YASENOVSKA, Children’s Rights

VOLUNTEERS TETYANA PETRENKO VALENTYNA IVANOVA HANNA SHEVCHENKO DARYNA SHYMANOVSKA MARTA EREMENKO

DONORS IN 2013 – 2014 THE US AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (USAID) THE INTERNATIONAL RENAISSANCE FOUNDATION SCO INITIAL CENTRE OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ISAR “EDNANNIA” THE CANADA FUND FOR LOCAL INITIATIVES INTERNATIONAL CATHOLIC CHILD BUREAU (BІСЕ) EMBASSY OF THE NETHERLANDS TO UKRAINE SAVE THE CHILDREN INTERNATIONAL

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STRATEGIC GOAL: GENDER EQUALITY PROMOTION RESPECT OF THE RIGHTS OF WOMEN AND COMBATING GENDER DISCRIMINATION POSITION. Our team believes that gender equality means equal opportunities for women and men to realize their human rights and contribute to the political, economic, social and cultural development of the country, and, respectively, equal rights and opportunities to have the access to the benefits of this development!

To promote gender equality in Ukraine, the WCU supports cooperation of women and gender-oriented CSOs; monitors the implementation of international and national commitments by Ukraine; empowers women (with the help of training) to participate in decision-making; raise awareness by producing videos, publications, articles in mass media and social networks.

CREATION OF THE ONLINE LEGAL SERVICE TO PROTECT THE RIGHTS OF WOMEN AND COMBAT GENDER DISCRIMINATION Legal advice service for women started its work as a legal service on gender discrimination at the labour market. Nowadays the service has enlarged its expertise and provides the advice on the following issues: activities of civil society organizations; labour rights, labour relations, and entrepreneurship; family rights and family relations; combating gender discrimination; and relationship with government authorities (http://legal.wcu-network.org.ua/).

ACTIVITIES OF NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS Ukrainian women have always held an active social position, but do not always know how to exercise their rights in this area. Our lawyers provide consultations and advise to the civil society activists on how to register a civil society organization, and how to implement their objectives and plans through civil society associations.

LABOUR RIGHTS, LABOUR RELATIONS AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP Any woman can get a professional advice in the legal service on the following: how to run a business; what are the labour rights and labour relations; how to prevent violations of labour rights; and how to counteract labour rights violation.

FAMILY RIGHTS AND FAMILY RELATIONS Family Law Unit can be used to resolve conflicts in family relationships. A qualified lawyer helps to understand how the conflict can be solved and propose the ways out.

COMBATING GENDER DISCRIMINATION Equal rights for women and men in all spheres are set in all international commitments, the Constitution and laws of Ukraine. However, a stereotypical attitude towards women and their role in society is changing much slower than legal norms. Therefore, every woman can contact our service and get professional support, advice, and if necessary, legal advice.

RELATIONSHIP WITH GOVERNMENT AUTHORITIES Lawyers provide advice to the women how to exercise their rights, freedoms and interests in legal relations with the authorities; how to appeal the inaction of authorities; how to reverse certain decisions; how to oblige the authorities to take certain actions or refrain from certain actions.

POLITICAL EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN MAINTENANCE OF THE WEB SITE «WOMEN IN POLITICS» Starting from 2012, the WCU has been maintaining the web site “Women in Politics” (http://vybory2012.wcunetwork.org.ua/) launched as a platform, which covered women's participation in the election process and informed about the results of gender monitoring of the parliamentary elections in 2012. Today, it is a platform to provide with information about women's participation in decision-making at international, national and local levels, as well as about their positions on socially important events.

The information is posted on the web site irrespectively of political affiliation of women with balancing presentation of different points of view.

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DEVELOPMENT OF THE STRATEGY ON PARTICIPATION OF WOMEN IN LOCAL ELECTIONS 2014 Tasks: contribute increasing in number of women in elective bodies.

One of the strategic goals of the Women's Consortium of Ukraine is to increasing the impact of women in decision-making.

In 2014 we realized a second project on this topic in the regions of Ukraine with the support of the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives. That year was more favourable, despite the difficult and dangerous political situation in the country. The highly charged political situation influenced the context of the events organization in the regions. Not all regions managed to gather participants from various political forces. The situation varied from city to city, and only Zaporizhia region could invite representatives of both the ruling and opposition parties. It proved the need to strengthen capacity of civil society to cooperate with political parties in heterogeneous and contradictory political environment.

The project on the development of strategies to encourage women to participate in local elections and politics was aimed at establishing coordination and strengthening cooperation between women's NGOs / community leaders, active women of the community, including political parties. The following information, educational, methodical and communication activities were carried out to coordinate efforts of civil society representatives interested in increasing women's participation in local elections: •

Six focus groups with women deputies and the candidates for deputies of region, municipal and rayon councils were held, an analytical study “Women in politics at the local level of Ukraine: ways forward, challenges and participation” was conducted;

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Round tables in 7 regions of Ukraine were organized to review and discuss with the communities the survey results (the cities of Sevastopol, Kherson, Zaporizhzhya, Pereyaslav-Khmelnytsky, Mukachevo, Khmelnytsky and Rivne). A presentation of the analytical study “Women in politics at the local level of Ukraine: ways forward, challenges and participation was made and strategies for women's participation in local politics were discussed (January – February 2014);

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The discussions “Women in Politics: Perspectives of participation in local elections” were held in 7 regions of Ukraine involving women potential candidates in local elections, members of councils at different levels, members of political parties, civil society activists, community leaders and experts. The participants watched the educational films “Women in Politics” for women who are planning to start a political career or for those who are involved in political activities and wish to enhance their knowledge and skills. Political strategies were elaborated during the discussions and workshops in the “World Café” format. The following issues were raised during the discussions: 1) how to identify and motivate women to participate in politics; 2) what skills and knowledge do women require planning her political career; 3) how develop a mentoring program.

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Seven presentations of the video series “Women in Politics” were held including such films as: “Where to start?”, “The image of female politician”, “Rhetoric and negotiations”, “Self-advertisement and media”, “The main challenges of women in politics”, “Time Management”. The video followed by the interactive discussion. Ukrainian women who are planning to start a political career or who are involved in political activities and wish to enhance their knowledge and skills, received an access to 6 educational films “Women in Politics”.

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500 copies of the analytical study “Women in politics at the local level of Ukraine: ways forward, challenges and participation” were made and 750 CDs with the movie “Women in Politics” were copied for the above events.

A final national conference was held on February 28, 2014 in Kyiv involving regional partners. The project was regularly covered by the media, social networks and web site http://vybory2012.wcu-network.org.ua/.

Deputies of councils of different levels, heads / members of regional offices of political parties, civil society activists, experts, journalists, academics participated in the regional events.

Regional communities of women were established during reimplementation of the project that is willing to go into politics themselves or support others. A non-partisan initiative to create a coalition “Women in Politics” was declared at the conference on February 28. Round tables with films and analytical study led to the extension of this initiative, in particular, a similar discussion was organized in Uzhgorod as a follow-up of the Mukachevo event. Kherson University students launched a series of discussions on women in politics.

There was a good media support of the project involving the local mass media as one of the unexpected achievements.

The experts and participants from the majority of the events took part in one or two TV programmes that significantly increased the impact of the project on the regional level by expanding the audiences that received the information in most cities where the events were held.

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GENDER MONITORING OF THE PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS 2014 Analytical report “Gender monitoring of the parliamentary elections 2014” covers gender component of the early elections to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine in 2014, namely the gender component of pre-election programmes of the parties and gender analysis of their lists, media component of the election campaign of 2014, gender monitoring of the women candidates from majority constituencies.

It was the survey “Gender monitoring of the parliamentary elections in 2014” that involved a direct group of respondents – 33 political parties which were registered for the elections, and indirect group of respondents could be the rest of the 225 political parties, officially registered in Ukraine.

Intermediate results were regularly posted on the web site, presented in the info-graphics (3 editions), and reflected in analytical articles (prepared by experts). The collection contains conclusions and recommendations to strengthen the role and participation of women in political life.

Presentation of the project and interim results of gender analysis campaign was held at the National Press Club: On the 7 and 29 October, 2014, two national press conferences (clubs) were organised. Four regional press clubs in Rivne, Zaporozhye, Kherson, Khmelnytsky presented the results to the community.

A comparative analysis of the results of the elections of 2014 and 2012 was published as one integrated document / report (info graphics in the form of multi-functional presentation).

A National Conference to present the results and publication of the study “Gender monitoring of the elections in 2014” was held on January 14, 2015. Twice more participants were interested to attend the Conference as it was planned.

The impact of these two projects will be monitored for a certain period. There are the following, among others, immediate outcomes: •

The awareness of civil society and recognition of gender equality as an important aspect of democratic political development (primarily of the elections) increased. It is proved by the increase of interest from the side of another civil society organizations to conduct monitoring of elections: if in 2012 there were opponents who stated that gender monitoring is not needed in Ukraine, while in 2014 the same organizations conducted their own monitoring of gender equality principles in the parliamentary elections (e.g. NGO“Opora”), and/or participated in project activities of the Women's Consortium of Ukraine;

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Gender awareness of the central authorities responsible for elections increased under the influence of the project activity of the Women's Consortium of Ukraine. This is confirmed by the following: Central Election Commission (CEC) believes that gender sensitivity aspect should be developed to make elections more democratic and bring progressive results. The CEC also offered recommendations on how it can be realized. The impact of the project is the following: at first, the CEC has ignored this component and after an appeal of the Women's Consortium of Ukraine, the Deputy Head of the CEC (Mr. Magera) gave public interview in which he presented the position of the CEC on gender equality in the elections;

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Public awareness on gender equality and its benefits to the society increased through national and local press events, regular presentation of monitoring results; presentation of the final results of the monitoring with the participation of political parties and other interested stakeholders. The impact is observed in the following: increase in number of participants in project activities; support of the project's initiatives; and sustained interest to the gained experience from the side of local and international organizations (OSCE, USAID, SIDA, Canadian organizations and representatives);

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Increasing of positive description of female candidates in the media (national and regional media, facebook, web sites) is observed thanks to the special efforts undertaken by the project: media and information campaign, everyday posts to the website, regular articles, four regional press events, two national press conferences, a national final conference (with 60 % increase in participants compared with the planned number);

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Confidence of interested stakeholders was strengthened as related to the capacity of civil society to positively affect the mechanisms for gender monitoring of elections, to make a comparative analysis and develop practical recommendations.

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WOMEN ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT Objective: Strengthening women’s capacity in the economic development The WCU has been cooperating with the Kyiv city centre “Family House” starting from 2009. Annually, the “Family House” forms groups of vulnerable women to train the basics of the own business. In 2013 – 2014, the WCU’s trainers held 32 training sessions for the “Family House” on organizing and running the own business. The training was organised for 4 groups of women, including young mothers, women with disabilities, and the unemployed. About 30 % of them successfully defended business plans for their own small business.

STRATEGIC GOAL: SUPPORT AND DEVELOPMENT OF NETWORKS The WCU’s Network is an association of 26 NGOs that implement the idea of gender equality. Each of the organizations is independent and implements activities on the level of the region according to priorities and needs.

We unite together to influence the state policy, to draw attention to human rights violation and discrimination of women and men, to monitor the state gender policy, to conduct large-scale information campaigns and to lobby for legislative changes.

Participation in the Network allows us not only to be effective in implementing gender equality, but also to raise our professional level. We regularly exchange information and experience, organize training for representatives of member organizations of the Network.

NETWORKS DEVELOPMENT • A set of documents to support the Network was elaborated; • The secretariat of the Network was created; • A General Meeting was held where we defined a new strategic goals of the Network; • A system of professional potential development of the Network members was introduced; • An information support of the Network through the site, social networks and Google Group was provided.

General Meeting, summing-up the activities of 2014

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STRATEGIC GOAL: PROTECTION OF THE RIGHTS OF A CHILD AND PROMOTION OF THE BEST ADDRESSING OF THE INTERESTS OF A CHILD REALIZATION IN UKRAINE OF THE UN CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF A CHILD Objective: To contribute to the implementation of the Convention in Ukraine by strengthening the prevention of violence among children and building capacity of the WCU to protect the children's rights in Ukraine.

Key partners / interested stakeholders: Members of the “Children's rights in Ukraine” Coalition, Ministry of Education and Science, Ministry of Internal Affairs, schools, institutions of postgraduate education for teachers, and others.

Jointly achieved results: - A group of trained trainers and experts from the pilot schools are ready to disseminate their best practices in Ukraine; - Models of Actions of a school in the case of violence were developed and tested in four schools; - The draft strategic plans to prevent violence in schools were designed for 4 pilot schools.

The partners mastered their skills and acquired new skills and knowledge on how to improve the school environment for children to feel more secure and protected.

The Coalition monitors whether the children's rights are respected on the occupied and neighbouring territories and among internally displaced children.

The Coalition participated in the development of proposals to the National Strategy on Human Rights. The main focus was made on updating the general concept of protection of the rights, in particular, on changing perception of a child as an “object” of protection, to consider a child as a “subject” with specific rights and interests. This concept was reflected in the overall situation review on the children's rights, when the interests and views of a child are not adequately take into account.

Three press conferences took place during 2014 (dedicated to the International Children's Day on June 1, the World Children's Day on 20 November, and a round table “Respect of the rights of unaccompanied children”), which strengthened the information policy of the Coalition. The year of 2014 was a year of armed conflict, economic crisis and staff cuts in the civil service in Ukraine (in particular among professionals working with and for children), and a number of press events for children organized by the state authorities decreased significantly. Therefore informational activities of the Coalition were particularly important.

The Coalition implements initiatives of different organizations. Organizations get information about the activities of the Ukrainian Parliament and the latest news in the mass media. More than 200 users regularly read news online at the WCU’s web site.

A joint meeting of the round table on the children’s’ rights was held in the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine together with the International Network and was devoted to protecting the rights of unsupervised children. The meeting focused on the need to reform the mechanism of the return of and assistance for the children from the CIS countries. All proposals were supported ombudsman institutions.

Women's Consortium of Ukraine and lawyers are now considering the case, which was discovered during monitoring the visits on the claim on the European Convention on Human Rights. It is a potential impulse for the WCU team, as it is the first case when the organization directly collects evidence of violations of the rights of a child.

The monitoring data was included in the annual report on the monitoring of the children's rights, which was developed by the Coalition.

A platform was established for synergy of cooperation between different interested stakeholders.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs became aware of the international standards for protection of the rights of the unsupervised children. The Ministry supports the proposal to reform the mechanism of movement of the unsupervised children from the CIS countries.

A review of the child access to justice was summarized and completed.

A comparative analysis of the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse and the national legislation became available.

Round tables to discuss the respect of the rights of unsupervised children and children affected by the armed conflict were held.

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REDUCING VIOLENCE AGAINST CHILDREN IN INSTITUTIONS AND BEYOND. POSITION OF THE WCU. The Women's Consortium of Ukraine is considering a child abuse in any form as unwarranted and identifies the following priority tasks: a preventive work, promotion of the non-violent values and information work to prevent violence. However, we are trying to improve the quality of services to children who are victims of violence.

STRATEGIC GOAL: implementation of the global interference system, which mobilizes children, families and community members, civil society, government institutions and media in the process of prevention and responses to cases of illtreatment and sexual abuse of children.

OBJECTIVES: • Strengthening the capacity and resources of children in cases of abuse and sexual violence.

• Creation of an effective response mechanism in case of violence and violence prevention methods in pilot schools.

• Training of teachers to carry out preventive activities with children through the study of social and life skills.

The WCU recognizes the critical importance of education in ensuring the rights of children and cruelty-free schools as catalysts for non-violence in the communities. The WCU in partnership with different interested stakeholders, including the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine and its regional departments, implemented the initiative to create safe environment at school. This cooperation is mutually beneficial for all participating parties, and it helps consolidate international (e.g., Swedish, Moldovan, etc.) and national strategies, methodologies and best practices in this field.

Furthermore, a safe, healthy and inclusive learning environment promotes the welfare of children and the development of a culture of democracy and human rights respect.

The program enhances the role of civil society in the state policy to protect children and promote better coordination of civil sector efforts aimed at protecting the rights and interests of children. This is done by creating and maintaining a coalition of NGOs on protection of children's rights in Ukraine; by monitoring the media and legislative work of the Ukrainian Parliament; through continuous monitoring of children's rights in Ukraine and ensuring adequate communication through the media.

Based on the fact that a child may suffer violence anywhere, at home, at school, on the street, the Women's Consortium of Ukraine involves different specialists to its work. A special focus is made on teachers and professionals working in children's institutions and social services. We work with a group of trainers – employees of upgrading institutions for education system staff. An agreement was signed with the Ministry of Education, which committed itself to support the inclusion of this programme into the school curriculum.

MAJOR ACHIEVEMENTS: 1) Training of the specialists on application of the participatory and child-friendly practices of violence prevention: 61 trainings were held to train teachers, social workers and psychologists in schools, which will use this method of teaching children on life skills. Students of pedagogical college, future teachers, participated in the training. Totally, 294 specialists were trained.

Eight trainings were held on a voluntary basis for teachers, psychologists, methodologists and representatives of local administrations Ministry of Education.

2) 108 training sessions held for children of two different age groups: 10-12 years and 12-14 years.

This work is carried out with students in 9 regions of Ukraine: Kyiv, Vinnitsa, Volyn, Kirovohrad, Cherkasy, Luhansk, Sumy, Myikolaiv regions and in Kyiv City. 30 schools took part in the project, pupils and teachers are taught life skills programme.

2,722 child received training under the program “Life skills”, thus increasing their resistance to violence (1,480 children in the age group of 10- 12 years and 1,242 children of 12-14 years).

According to one of the trainers: “Children were asking to discuss certain topics, to conduct classes and to help solve certain problems.” The supervising teachers noted positive changes. Children have got interested in some questions when it is very difficult to motivate teenagers. Relations in the schools have been improved. According to teachers, the children have become more communicative, sociable, kind, and the number of conflicts among children has reduced (in those

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classes where lessons were held under the programme). The behaviour has become more meaningful and thoughtful, children began not just to listen one another, but also to “hear.”

“Stop Cruel Words” Campaign On October 12, 2013, an art action “Stop Cruel Words” was organized within a Kyiv citywide celebration of “Kyiv Youth Invites”. This was the beginning of the campaign “Stop Cruel Words” (from 12 October to 20 November). The Campaign initiative came from the International Catholic Child Bureau.

This Art Campaign “Stop Cruel Words” within a Kyiv citywide celebration of “Kyiv Youth Invites” has enabled children and adults – the participants of citywide festival in Mariinsky Park – to get information about the children’s rights, to receive the guide with the recommendations for Ukraine of the UN Committee on the Convention on the Rights of a Child, and to create a poster. This poster was produced together by the children and adults and became a visual appeal to children: “I do not offend! I do not mock at anybody! I accept others such as they are.” Photos of the posters are given on the WCU site and sent to France (http://www.prierpourlesenfants.com/galerie-stop-a-la-violence-des-mots/ http://bice.org/fr/actualites-du-bice/actualites-bice/dernieres-actualites/1572-le-reseau-bice-se-mobilise-pour-dire-stop-a-laviolence-contre-les-enfants.html) Google Group “Safe School” was created and is being maintained. Starting from May to December 2013 brought together specialists from different regions of Ukraine, who are engaged in prevention of violence against children, are interested in this topic and were trained in workshops and seminars of the WCU. Nowadays, the group consists of 60 people.

On December 13-14, 2013, the project achievements to prevent violence against children were presented at a seminar with the participation of members of the NGO “Women's Consortium of Ukraine”. About 1,000 booklets for children about the types of violence and how to avoid it were distributed. On December 18, 2013, a training “Prevention of professional and emotional burnout” was organized within the meeting of active participants of the “Safe School” Google Group.

RESULTS Number of partner schools (where they worked directly with children) Number of schools (where training were conducted for teachers and other professionals working with children) Number of trained professionals in the WCU and partner organizations Number of trained technicians for further work with children in schools The number of specialists who participated in the volunteer training sessions dedicated to the method of life skills Number of children trained with the life skills based methodology Number of young people whose attention was drawn to this issue (trained children + children, whose teachers and psychologists were trained) Active Members of the “Safe School” Google Group

13 30 13 294 194 2722 11542 60

“Society without Violence” Blog http://beznasylstva.blogspot.com/ ; “Stop Cruel Words” Campaign https://www.facebook.com/groups/stop.violence.of.words/ http://vk.com/stop_violence_of_words ; http://vk.com/event59811829 Some participants feed-back: “Thank you very much for teaching the specialist of our psychological services how to address the violence at school, how to cooperate with the teaching staff, parents and children themselves. The trainers use a very interesting approach, so the whole day was spent “in a one breath”. Special thanks for the guide developers, as it can be used in an everyday practice. It is an important for us, because methodological support in schools is very poor, unfortunately.

I hope for further cooperation.

Sincerely, Natalia Tovstyk, Brovary Rayon Psychiatrical Services “

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HUMANITARIAN AID IN UKRAINE Women's Consortium of Ukraine as well as many other civil society organizations is involved in different programmes that were not covered before the armed conflict in the East of Ukraine. We have widen field of our activities understanding new humanitarian challenges faced by internally displaced persons and necessity to join the activities that will at least partially improve the situation of families with children who moved from the occupied territories. In June 2014, the NGO “Women's Consortium of Ukraine” with the support of the international organization “Save the Children” in cooperation with partner organizations launched a 6-month project to provide humanitarian support to about 650 families, including internally displaced persons (IDPs) in 4 regions of Ukraine: Kyiv, Zaporizhia, Zakarpattia and Odesa.

Project partners of the NGO “Women's Consortium of Ukraine”: • Vostok-SOS (East-SOS); • Zakarpattia Region Charitable Association “Karpaty” (“Carpathians”) (Zakarpattia Region); • Zaporizhia Fund “Unity for the Future” (Zaporizhia Region); • Public Movement “Vira, Nadia, Lubov” (“Faith, Hope, Love”) (Odesa Region).

In addition to the financial aid, the following assistance was provided: 1) Psychological support, including consultations and trainings on psychological first aid; the information and educational materials; and maintenance of the “hot line” to support families and children in need; 2) Social support and other social services for internally displaced persons; 3) Distribution of non-food goods among internally displaced persons (kitchen supplies, sanitation and personal hygiene for children and adults, bedding and other essential items, etc.); 4) Legal support for internally displaced persons, including advice on current legislation, protection of rights and interests of persons who are in difficult circumstances, assistance with legal documents, registration authorities, employment services, refer of the IDPs to direct service providers, etc.

ACHIEVEMENTS: 1. Based on the results of the needs assessment, the most vulnerable IDPs families were selected for further support.

2. 28 training sessions were conducted for 629 social workers, local government officials, NGOs, professionals of preschool institutions, schools and after-school institutions, young professionals, which began to provide psycho-social support for families of internally displaced persons. Topics of the training: the first psychological assistance to children in emergency situations and stress management for practitioners. Similar trainings (14) were also conducted under the project of the WCU on implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of a Child in Ukraine (Vinnitsa, Poltava, Sumy, Khmelnytsky regions).

3. 22 trainers were trained to provide trainings on the first psychological assistance in April 2014 as part of the project of the WCU on implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of a Child in Ukraine.

4. Based on the SC PFA Guidance partners in Odessa prepared leaflets and booklets for teachers and parents (28,000 copies each).

5. Guide to Psycho-social first aid for children in conflict was translated, published (500 copies) and distributed throughout Ukraine among the interested parties.

6. Individual consultations, group, training, information material and psychological support, legal assistance was provided to IDPs including children.

7. In August, two-day training seminar on the humanitarian assistance standards was organized for all local partners and other stakeholders. The key speakers were representatives of international organizations (OCHA, SC, UNICEF, Red Cross, etc.)

8. Project staff of all the pilot regions upgraded their skills on working with the IDPs, as well as communication, negotiation, problem solving, team building, stress management, and other skills.

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STRATEGIC GOAL INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT OF THE ORGANIZATION AND ITS UNITS PRECONDITION From 18 to 25 March 2013, an external evaluation of the WCU activities was conducted by Jonas Lövkrona, expert from Sweden (Swedish Development Advisers), commissioned by SIDA. As a result, the audit identified some areas need to be changed and elaborated appropriate recommendations which formed the basis for further work of the WCU team for organizational development in 2013 - 2014.

PROJECTS Thus an idea of the following new project was developed: “Improvement of organizational development - 1, 2” (with the financial support of ISAR “Ednannia” (Initial Centre of Community Development) on increasing institutional capacity of the organization to fulfil its tasks, strategic and operational plans. The projects were aimed at:  Systematization of the approaches to the activity planning of the organization.  Improvement of the WCU management through documents and internal procedures development.  Procedure of interoperability between headquarters and its units.  Professional development of the Kyiv office staff to achieve organizational goals and project objectives.

Results of the institutional development projects in 2013 - 2014: 1. The WCU strategic plans were developed (Strategic Plan for 2014-2018, draft fundraising plan and communication plan) 2. The package of the documents to formalize workflows in organizations and Network was developed.

3. The members identified needs in training were evaluated and a series of training events for staff members of the units and member organizations of the Network was conducted.

TRAINING FOR WORKERS OF THE KYIV OFFICE AND REGIONAL UNITS On October 1-2, 2013, a 2-day session on strategic planning of the organization was held, where the Kyiv office staff together with the heads of regional units elaborated the main ideas for the strategic plan for 2014-2018.

On October 21-22, 2013, 2-day moderation was held, where the Kyiv office staff worked out a structure of its own fundraising strategy for 2014 – 2018.

On September 11-12, 2014, training “Expanding the WCU Network” was held. Its materials will form the Manual “Tools for attracting and retaining members” On March 12-13, 2014, a 2-day training on “Evaluation of public organization” and “Project evaluation” was held. The main objective of the training was to provide the participants with the information on monitoring and evaluation of NGO and development quantitative and qualitative indicators and performance results of the organization's strategic plan.

The development of the institutional capacity of the organization and its units.

Professional development of the staff and documentary processes arrangement.

Involved

9 external experts

4 trainers 5 consultants

Held

10 training events for the women members of the WCU

2 moderations 2 trainings 6 consultations

Developed

29 document regulating 14 provisions work of the organization 6 posts description and its network 9 blanks

Elaborated

3 strategies

Communication, fundraising, general strategies

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Women’s Consortium of Ukraine Financial Report *

2010** UAH

2011** UAH

2012** UAH

2013** UAH.

2014** UAH

Received grants UN Agencies EU Agencies US Agencies International and charity funds Ukrainian organizations

48150 237654 427238

1272286

109044 808274

1586029

64760 268196 3284810

713042

1272286

917318

1586029

3617766

670870 229200

794043 264683

929190 301200

891698 142999

3821495 226428

900070

1058726

1230390

1034697

4047923

Interim balance

-187028

99391

-313072

551446

-426431

Balance at the beginning of the year Balance at the end of the year

306898 119870

119870 333430

333430 20358

20358 571690

571690 141533

Totally

Expenditures Programme expenses *** Administrative expenses In Sum

Notes: * The above financial information corresponds to the Tax Report about funds delivery of the non-profitable organizations ** As of 31 December (corresponding audit was conducted in 2013 and 2014) *** Programme expenses also include payments to the members of the Network to implement joint programmes The Report does not include financial aid provided for the organizations

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OUR PUBLICATIONS IN 2013І 1. GENERAL CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE CHILDREN'S RIGHTS IN RECEPTION CENTERS MONITORING (2013).

General conclusions and recommendations on the results of monitoring the children's rights in reception centers for children of the internal affairs bodies (2012-2013). Monitoring was carried out by the “Children's Rights in Ukraine” Coalition of NGOs by the initiative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and supported by the Rule of Law Programme of the International Fund “Renaissance” and the International Organization “Save the Children”.

2. CHILDREN'S RIGHTS IN THE RECEPTION CENTERS OF THE INTERNAL AFFAIRS BODIES. MONITORING REPORT. The book contains international standards to be met by penitentiary institutions for children and compares them with the law and practice of the reception centers of internal affairs bodies.

It will be useful for the staff of the reception centers, social rehabilitation schools, penal institutions for children, prosecution services for children and other state and public organizations that carry out inspections and monitoring in order to respect the rights of children deprived of liberty.

3. TEXTBOOK “ORGANIZATION WORK ON PREVENTION OF VIOLENCE IN SCHOOLS.” The Manual is designed to promote a systematic training for children, parents and teachers to combat violence in school. The manual is designed for teachers, social workers, psychologists and other specialists who work directly with children. The system of training, presented in the manual, was tested in 20 pilot schools through working with teaching staff.

IN 2014 1. GENDER MONITORING OF PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS - 2014. COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS Brochure “Gender monitoring of parliamentary elections 2014.Comparative analysis” provides brief conclusions of gender monitoring of the parliamentary elections in 2014 and the corresponding info graphic information. Issued within the project of the NGO "Women's Consortium of Ukraine" and the International Women's Network (WDN) “Gender monitoring of the parliamentary elections in 2014” with the support of the Ukrainian National Initiatives to Enhance Reforms (UNITER), funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the programme PACT in Ukraine.

2. GENDER MONITORING OF PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS 2014. ANALYTICAL REPORT. The «Gender Monitoring of Parliamentary Elections 2014» Report examines the gender aspect of early parliamentary elections to the Verkhovna Rada (the Parliament) of Ukraine in 2014. The Report specifically focuses on the gender component of election programmes and platforms of various political parties, gender analysis of electoral party lists, media component of the election campaign, and gender monitoring of female candidates in the majoritarian electoral system. The report also offers conclusions and recommendations for strengthening the role and participation of women in political life of Ukraine.

3. ANALYSIS REPORT “PECULIARITIES OF PROMOTION OF WOMEN IN POLITICS OF UKRAINE”.

Analytical report “Women in politics at the local level of Ukraine: ways forward, challenges and participation” was prepared by the Kyiv Institute of Gender Studies as part of the project of the NGO "Women's Consortium of Ukraine" “Development of strategy of women's participation in local elections” with the support of the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives in December-March 2013. The study was conducted between January and February of 2013 in Sevastopol, Rivne, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhya, Pereyaslav-Khmelnytsky and Mukachevo. The survey involved 87 women. The initiative studied the causes of low political participation of women, motivation of women for political activities, and their vision of how to improve the situation.

4. REPORT ON AVAILABILITY OF JUSTICE FOR CHILDREN. Report on access to justice for children was prepared with the training and education purpose by the specialists of White & Case LLP in February 2014, with amendments and comments of the CRIN experts (International Network for Children's Rights). The information provided should be used only as a guide.

Translation into Ukrainian was made by the Women's Consortium of Ukraine within the framework of the protection of children's rights, supported by Save the Children International.

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5. REPORT ON CHILD ACCESS TO JUSTICE. The report was prepared by White & Case LLP in February 2014, with amendments and comments of the CRIN experts (International Network for Children's Rights). It should be used in training and educational purposes, and the information provided should be used only as a guide. The CRIN takes full responsibility for any inaccurate or incorrect data provided in the report.

6. HOW TO HELP CHILDREN TO OUTWEAR SORROW: TIPS FOR PARENTS. The material provides information for parents on how to help children of all ages who are in situations of conflict. The brochure was prepared by the NGO “Vira, Nadia, Lubov” (“Faith, Hope and Love”) within the project of the NGO “Women's Consortium of Ukraine” “Implementation of the Convention on the Rights of a Child in Ukraine” with the financial support of the international NGO “Save the Children International” and the Swedish Agency for International Development (SIDA).

6. HOW TO HELP CHILDREN TO OUTWEAR SORROW: TIPS FOR TEACHERS. The material gives advice to teachers about what they can do to reassure their pupils and help them to deal with their thoughts and feelings about the disaster and its impact on families and community. The brochure was prepared by the NGO “Vira, Nadia, Lubov” (“Faith, Hope and Love”) within the project of the NGO “Women's Consortium of Ukraine” “Implementation of the Convention on the Rights of a Child in Ukraine” with the financial support of the international NGO “Save the Children International” and the Swedish Agency for International Development (SIDA).

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OUR PARTNERS 27 REGIONAL INSTITUTES OF POSTGRADUATE EDUCATION FOR TEACHERS YOUNG PROFESSIONALS ASSOCIATION "CLASS" (KHARKIV) BILA TSERKVA HIGH SCHOOL NO 15 CHARITABLE FUND “ROKADA” VOLYN REGIONAL SCO "GENDER CENTER" VOLYN NGO "MISS UNIVERSE" SCO "OPEN SOCIETY" UKRAINIAN FOUNDATION "CHILDREN'S RIGHTS" PUBLIC MOVEMENT “VIRA, NADIA, LUBOV” ("FAITH, HOPE, LOVE") (ODESA) THE CRIMINAL POLICE DEPARTMENT ON JUVENILE SERVICE OF THE MINISTRY OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS OF UKRAINE CHILDREN ENVIRONMENTAL NGO "FLORA" ZHYTOMYR HIGH SCHOOL NO 21 KYIV CITY CENTER "FAMILY HOUSE" KYIV HIGH SCHOOL NOR 158 SCO "YOUTH OF THE CHERKASSY REGION" MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND SCIENCE OF UKRAINE; CITY OF YOUTH NGO "M'ART" (CHERNIGOV) NGO "KALINOVE GRONO" (SUMY) NGO COALITION "CHILDREN'S RIGHTS IN UKRAINE" (15 NGOS) INTERNATIONAL NETWORK FOR CHILDREN'S RIGHTS NGO "PROGRESS" (EAST SOS) REGION UPGRADING INSTITUTES FOR THE PEDAGOGICAL STAFF PARTNERSHIP "FOR EVERY CHILD" IN UKRAINE SCO WOMEN'S INFORMATION RESOURCE CENTER “OLVIA” HUMAN RIGHTS CENTRE "PROGRESS" (“POSTUP”) RULE OF LAW PROGRAM, INTERNATIONAL FUND "RENAISSANCE" SUMY STATE UNIVERSITY SUMY REGION YOUTH ORGANIZATION "GENDER AGENCY FOR CONSULTATION AND INFORMATION" DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND SCIENCE OF LOCAL COUNCILS KHARKIV REGION FOUNDATION "CIVIL SOCIETY ALTERNATIVE" KHARKIV INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL STUDIES HUMAN RIGHTS CENTRE "PROGRESS" (“POSTUP”) (LUGANSK) SHEVCHENKO SECONDARY SCHOOL BROVARY RAYON OF KYIV REGION CRIN - INTERNATIONAL NETWORK FOR CHILDREN'S RIGHTS CRIC (CHILD RIGHTS CENTER INFORMATION, MOLDOVA)

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MEMBER ORGANIZATION OF THE NETWORKS • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

AGENCY FOR ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT FOR WOMEN AND YOUTH, LVIV ALL-UKRAINIAN NGO "WOMEN'S CONSORTIUM OF UKRAINE" VINNITSA NGO "MIS UNIVERSE" VINNYTSIA CITY NGO "WOMEN ASSOCIATION"PROTECTION" VOLYN REGION NGO "GENDER CENTRE", LUTSK NGO "ASSOCIATION FOR DEMOCRATIC DEVELOPMENT" NGO "VOLYN PROSPECTS" NGO "KYIV SCHOOL OF EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES", KYIV NGO "CENTER FOR CIVIC INITIATIVES "SUMY INTELLIGENCE” KHERSON REGION NGO CENTER "SUCCESSFUL WOMAN" GORODOTSK RAYON NGO "PEARL" VOLUNTARY WOMEN'S ORGANIZATION "HOPE" (“NADIA”) PUBLIC MOVEMENT "FAITH, HOPE, LOVE" (“VIRA, NADIA, LUBOV”) COMMUNITY CENTER "BUSINESS INITIATIVE" NGO "PROMIN" DONETSK LEAGUE OF BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL WOMEN ZAPORIZHIA FUND "UNITY FOR THE FUTURE" WESTERN UKRAINIAN CENTER "WOMEN'S PERSPECTIVES" KIROVOGRAD REGIONAL GENDER CENTER "KOLO" COALITION OF YOUTH NGOS OF CHERKASSY REGION «YOUNG CHERKASSY REGION» MAKARIV RAYON WOMEN'S ORGANIZATION "BEREHYNYA" MYKOLAIV REGION CHARITABLE FOUNDATION "NEW CENTURY" MYKOLAIV FOUNDATION "LUBYSTOK" YOUTH ORGANIZATION "STEP" NGO "OLVIA" ASSOCIATION OF NGOS "OPEN SOCIETY" POLTAVA BRANCH OF THE SOCIAL SERVICE OF UKRAINE POLTAVA REGIONAL BRANCH OF THE LEAGUE OF SOCIAL WORKERS OF UKRAINE SLAVUTYCH CITY NGO "CENTER FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT" KHMELNYTSKY REGION NGO PODOLSKY CENTER "GENDER COUNCIL" THE PACIFIC "KHARKIV REGIONAL GENDER RESOURCE CENTER", "GENDER MUSEUM" CENTER FOR PUBLIC INITIATIVES "CHAIKA" CHERNIHIV LEAGUE OF BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL WOMEN CHERNIHIV REGION ORGANIZATION OF WOMEN OF UKRAINE NEEKA CARPATHIANS REGION

REGIONAL CENTRES OF THE WCU IN REGIONS: • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Vinnytsya Volyn Donetsk Zakarpattya Zaporizhia Kyiv Mykolaiv Poltava Rivne Sumy Kherson Khmelnitsky Cherkasy Chernihiv

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