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On 27 August, Ivano-Frankivsk hosted the opening of the Zero Tolerance to Violence Summer School

September 10, 2024

On 27 August, Ivano-Frankivsk hosted the opening of the Zero Tolerance to Violence Summer School, created by Right to Protection team as part of the Ukraine Protection Consortium project with support from USAID 🇺🇸. The event brought together 23 participants from among the heads of local authorities and executive bodies who coordinate work on preventing and combating domestic and gender-based violence. Representatives of Donetska, Zaporizka, Dnipropetrovska, Kharkivska and Mykolaivska oblasts took part in the event.

The event was aimed at providing information on modern practices and resources for violence prevention, as well as knowledge for establishing interaction and activating hromadas to change social norms at the community level. It also provided an opportunity to share experiences, make new acquaintances and practise skills in coordinating relevant work at the hromada level.

Over the course of four days, 11 experts spoke on important topics, including:

• basic concepts in the field of GBV prevention and response;
  
  
• international and national legislation;
  
  
• causes and consequences of violence;
  
  
• needs of survivors in obtaining psychological, legal and social services;
  
  
• interaction of different actors providing these services;
  
  
• conflict-related sexual violence.

They also reviewed practical cases of protection of survivors of violence, hromada education practices to change social norms and overcome stereotypes, information campaigns, organisation of work with perpetrators, creation of court-based support services and safe spaces for women and children.

During the event, significant attention was paid to compliance with interagency minimum standards for responding to gender-based violence in emergencies. Each participant of the School received a copy of these standards, and all interested parties can read the electronic version here:
The Inter-Agency Minimum Standards for Gender-Based Violence in Emergencies Programming.

To strengthen the institutional capacity of communities to prevent and combat violence, R2P's team has developed a handbook. It contains relevant and helpful information that will be useful in organising a local response system to violence.

The School's programme included both lectures and practical sessions. For example, Iryna Bilous, Iryna Serniak, and Olha Hadzhuk, facilitators of the Icebreakers game developed by the United Nations Population Fund, conducted a three-hour simulation game to train project management skills to combat gender-based violence.

One of the participants, Nataliia Vlasenko, deputy head of the Novopil village council, said she would immediately convene a coordination committee and start working on implementing new ideas.

"Thank you very much for the event! It was really well-organised. The atmosphere, content, and level of the event were top-notch. Such events leave pleasant memories and inspire new achievements." — expressed gratitude Lesia Kubyshkina, representative of the Mykhailo-Lukashivska hromada, Zaporizka oblast

At the end of the School, the participants worked out a strategy for further steps and took part in a performance by the Echo playback theatre. This allowed them to see all the stories from the outside and to feel the importance of the topic raised not only as professionals but also as people.

"Such events and approaches are important because we are all part of society, and counteracting and preventing violence starts with each of us: with our empathy, support, willingness to change stereotypes and outdated social norms that lead to violence, with our readiness to create zero tolerance for violence among our environment." — said Natalia Kozhemiaka, trainer and one of the School's organisers.

"We are grateful to the School participants for their active position, interest in the topic of gender-based violence and willingness to change our society for the better. It is essential to talk about such sensitive topics. We believe that the inspiration and ideas we have developed over the four days of discussions and training will help us build a country where there will be less violence." — shared Yuliia Skorykh, GBV Program Coordinator at R2P at R2P.

The Zero Tolerance to Violence Summer School is made possible by the support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the sole responsibility of Right to Protection and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.