Ukrainians experiencing violence – help in their native language

An educational website on gender-based violence launched by the Office of the Equal Opportunities Ombudsman visureikalas.lt was translated into several languages, including Ukrainian, Polish and Russian.

According to the latest data of the State Data Agency, 83.8 thousand people currently live in Lithuania. war refugees from Ukraine, it is the largest foreign community in the country. The absolute majority of them are women and children.

According to Mintautė Jurkutė, an expert at the Office of the Equal Opportunities Controller, it is violence against women in the intimate environment that is one of the most common violations of human rights, causing enormous and long-lasting damage to a person.

“I have no doubt that this is also the case in the Ukrainian community. Until now, women of this nationality living in Lithuania have lacked comprehensive information in their native language on how to behave after experiencing one or another form of abuse in the close environment, how to recognize various forms of manipulation and control, and where to find legal and emotional help,” said M. Jurkutė. .

According to the expert, each person can understand violence differently and evaluate it from the perspective of past experiences, this is especially relevant after fleeing from a war-torn country.

“Physical abuse is probably the most recognized for Ukrainian women, but often no less damage can be caused by, for example, constant humiliation, intimidation by a loved one, forced to have sex against one’s will, control of expenses or prohibition to work – all of these are already psychological, sexual and economic violence manifestations”, said M. Jurkutė.

The service’s expert pointed out that domestic violence should be stopped before physical violence breaks out, so it is important to recognize and recognize other forms of control and respond to them immediately.

According to the World Health Organization, 1 in 3 women on the planet have experienced physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner or sexual violence by another person during their lifetime. For many years, 8 out of 10 victims of domestic violence in Lithuania are women.

Memo when experiencing or noticing violence in a close environment:

• Call the general emergency number 112
• Contact the specialized complex assistance center at tel. [phone] (emotional support, legal advice)
• All information about violence and help in one place visureikalas.lt.