How to support Ukrainian women this IWD
For many taking part in International Women’s Day this year, it is a moment to celebrate the incredible women around us and to reflect on how far we’ve come in the fight for gender equality. This year however, the world is looking at the crisis that continues to unfold in Ukraine and it can be hard to feel celebratory. Instead, the team at Bold Voices want to mark IWD by thinking about the women, trans and non-binary people of Ukraine, and offer you some suggestions for how we can support them and bring a gendered lens to the conversation and learning.
As news pours in of human rights atrocities and an exodus of refugees, it’s important to recognise that the trauma, suffering and violence facing the Ukrainian people will be experienced differently by individuals depending on their gender, sexuality, race, class and ability. We are already hearing stories of black and brown Ukrainians being met with horrific racism at the Polish border as they flee the conflict.
For years feminist thinkers have urged us to see that women’s bodies become a battleground in conflict; and in 2008, the UN Security Council voted unanimously that rape and sexual violence be recognised as a Weapon of War. Whilst reports of sexual violence in Ukraine are yet to reach us, looking back at the Ukrainian war in the Donbas region less than a decade ago, we can see the way sexual violence was weaponised, and can presume the same will happen again.
There are other ways in which women will experience this conflict differently; women do not stop giving birth in a war. The UN estimates that 80,000 women will give birth in the next 3 months, without access to proper maternal health care. We are already seeing reports of women giving birth in bomb shelters and metro shelters, and of course, in these conditions they are much more likely to die or experience health complications.
So what can we do to help? Here are 3 ways in which we can continue to shine a light on the women, trans and non-binary folk who will be subjected to violence and exacerbated inequality in this war.
1. Donate thoughtfully
Donate to the NGOs and charities that can respond to the specific needs of marginalised groups: The UN Women’s Campaign supporting women on the ground in Ukraine; a campaign supporting black women in finding safe routes out of Ukraine; Insight, a charity supporting LGBTQI people with their needs during the conflict; and the Mukwege Foundation, supporting survivors of sexual violence during war.
You can also find an extensive list of organisations to support more widely here.
2. Raise up different voices:
Consider where you get your news, and whose voices you platform when you share their tweets, articles and videos. Follow female journalists who are on the ground in Ukraine and who are covering the stories of other women. Female journalists and bloggers are using their platforms to share guides on how to give birth at home, how to manage menstruation in wartime - even how to use a gun with acrylic nails.
3. Petition your MPs
Lobby your local MP in this campaign to waive visa requirements for Ukrainian refugees. Find your MPs details to send them a letter here.
For more in-depth information read these amazing newsletters by activist Gina Martin, and author and activist Caroline Criado-Perez, both of which informed this blogpost.
Author: Anna Lincoln, Education Lead at BOLD VOICES