More than 600 women die from violence in Ukraine every year. Often a woman finding herself in a situation of domestic violence has nowhere to go and no place to live. Only a small part of the victims turn to the police for help. The incidence of gender-based and domestic violence has increased significantly recently due to the lockdown.
In 2019, the Way Home Foundation established a Women's Protection Center to address the problems of violence and poverty that women and families face in the Odessa region. The project is financially supported by Ursula Zindel-Hilti Foundation.
The Center has created a safe space for emergency protection of life and health, for professional legal and psychological assistance to women and their children who have been subjected to physical, sexual and psychological violence. Here they find temporary shelter, undergo therapy and rehabilitation, receive professional and life skills, including in the peer-to-peer format, which gives them a chance to change their lives. In year 2020more than 200 women turn to the Women's Protection Center for support.
There is a day care group for children of the women living in the Center. These children also need rehabilitation due to their trauma. In addition to developmental classes, children are provided with a psychologist and speech therapist services, as well as the medical assistance in the context of individual support programs.
The project has made a significant contribution to the prevention of violence in the community by informing women about their rights, possibilities for their protection and receiving specialized assistance.
Due to the outbreak of war, we have been supporting our long-standing project partner with financial resources for the purchase of urgently needed relief supplies (e.g. generators) since March 2022.
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