On April 22, family members bid their final farewell to Lyudmyla Hudyma in a church in the small village of Bridok in Ukraine’s western Chernivtsi Oblast.
But the 41-year-old mother of three did not die from COVID-19, which has hit western Ukraine particularly hard. She was only an indirect victim of the pandemic.
Hudyma was murdered by her husband in front of their 7-year-old son. The man later told police that he had stabbed her during a quarrel and then tried to kill himself.
A day earlier, another woman was buried on the opposite side of the country. The 20-year-old woman from Avdiivka in Donetsk Oblast had been beaten to death by her drunk partner, Hromadske Radio reported.
Domestic violence has long run rampant in Ukraine. Now, women’s rights groups and help hotlines say it has surged over the seven weeks since March 12, when Ukraine first imposed quarantine measures to slow the spread of the COVID-19. Social distancing, closed schools and businesses and limited public transport have left many women and children trapped at home with their abusers.
Ukraine’s National Police say that the number of reports of domestic violence has not increased during the lockdown. But rights activists say that only proves that it has become harder for victims to access help.
“Domestic violence will keep rising,” said Marta Chumalo, deputy head of the Lviv-based Women’s Perspectives center. “Because the economic situation is deteriorating for families. Because there’s no ‘I have to go to work tomorrow’ that could keep one from drinking too much. Because levels of anxiety and depression are soaring amid the general stress that everyone is experiencing now.”
Helplines
In the first month of quarantine, Ukraine’s domestic violence hotline saw a 38% increase in calls compared to previous months. They went from 1,200 calls a month on average to over 2,000 calls between March 12 to April 12.
Five centers run by the United Nations’ Population Fund that provide support to victims of domestic violence in eastern and southern Ukraine also reported a 37% increase in calls by April 10.
The counseling teams of the Ukrainian Foundation for Public Health working in the Donbas have given twice as many consultations via phone and Skype since the quarantine started.
Those support services say that many women are also seeking mental health counseling.
Not only has lockdown confined families to their homes for long periods of time, it has also increased the burden of child care and housework on women. Unemployment and dwindling savings add to the pressure.
The isolation and financial difficulties lead to heightened tensions in families and, often, violence.
Support services say they are also seeing an increased volume of messages to their websites and social media accounts, as not all women can call when their abuser is constant at home.
To help combat domestic violence, the National Police have released guidelines for its victims during quarantine.
They advise victims to make a plan of escape in advance and make copies of important documents and keys. When their abusers attack, they should try to leave the kitchen, bathroom or any other enclosed space that could contain sharp objects. If physically harmed, they should see a doctor and take photos of their bruises and injuries. If possible, victims of domestic violence should speak to neighbors and relatives to get help. Of course, they should also call the police.
The police have also launched a chat bot in the popular Telegram messenger app that sends automated messages with information about domestic violence and the contact information of support services.
But it has one major flaw: It cannot send a distress signal to the police through a click or a text message. The bot still connects to an operator by voice call.
Police response
During an online discussion on April 23, Deputy Interior Minister Kateryna Pavlichenko said that the quarantine has not affected the police response to domestic violence reports. There are 44 special units for responding to such cases across the country. In places without these units, local police stations are stepping up. Officers continue to issue temporary restraining orders when needed, she said.
That sounds reassuring, but it’s far from reality, say women’s rights groups. In practice, police sometimes take hours to arrive — if they even show up.
In early April, Kyiv resident Yulia Dontsova called the police at an acquaintance’s request. A woman had been locked in her apartment by her husband, who took away her phone and money.
But the police didn’t come. Tired of waiting, the woman managed to flee with the help of a support worker. And Dontsova got a call back from a police officer an hour and a half later asking if he was still needed.
Kateryna Khaneva, a coordinator at the Slavic Hearts charity fund in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, says the police response has worsened during the quarantine.
“The police are not fond of being called on domestic violence cases. They think it’s a family matter, so why waste their time and effort on it,” she told the Kyiv Post.
“During quarantine, all forces are sent to patrol the streets and catch violators, and domestic violence falls even lower on the list of priorities.”
In January 2019, Ukraine finally criminalized domestic violence. But long-established views that frame it as a private matter appear to persist even among law enforcement.
Alyona Kryvuliak manages the national hotline operated by La Strada, a Kyiv-based human rights organization. She says many women complain of police inaction.
“We had reports that police officers did not issue an immediate restraining order, saying that an abuser can’t be banished from their home during the quarantine,” she said.
“We had a call from a woman whose husband recently returned from Poland, was drinking and was beating her. But the police told her he had to self-isolate at home.”
To flag down such incidents, hotline counselors now instruct women to take an officer’s name and badge number and report back to La Strada should they feel the officer is not on their side. La Strada, in turn, passes this information on to the National Police.
“It’s not the best option. We wish the police responded to all cases adequately, but, during quarantine, we found this solution,” said Kryvuliak.
Shelters
Two months before Hudyma from Chernivtsi Oblast was murdered, she was looking for an apartment to move out from her husband.
They would fight and he would force her out of the house. She went back to her native village, but there was no work there. Eventually, she had no choice but to return to her husband, according to Yulia Dzhus, the director of a local public organization Kroky do Maibutnogo (Steps for Future), to whom Hudyma turned for help.
Dzhus’ organization focuses on politics and local governance. But since the COVID-19 pandemic, more women have reached out to her for help with domestic violence.
Four days after Hudyma was murdered, a 60-year-old woman in the neighboring village of Stavchany was stabbed to death by her partner, who fled the scene and was later arrested.
Dzhus believes the quarantine is causing a surge of domestic violence in her region. Despite being home to just about 2.5% of Ukraine’s population, Chernivtsi Oblast accounts for 15% of all COVID-19 cases.
“It’s no coincidence,” Dzhus told the Kyiv Post. “We have a very high disease rate here. The restrictions were imposed here earlier than in the rest of the country. This affects the economic situation. Many people here depended on informal or seasonal work.”
Сhumalo from the Lviv-based Women’s Perspectives center said dire financial circumstances have forced some of her clients to return to abusive partners during the quarantine.
“They lost jobs and are running out of money to pay rent,” she told the Kyiv Post.
The organization has two apartments it uses as shelters. They are always full. Two days ago, the shelter admitted a woman from a village in Lviv Oblast who had been violently assaulted by her husband. She was brought by the village head.
Beyond the limited capacity of shelters, the lockdown has also complicated victims’ ability to access them.
“Shelters are located in cities and bigger towns. Without public transport or money to pay for a cab, a woman simply can’t get to one,” said Kryvuliak.
Eight out of nine shelters run by the United Nations’ Population Fund and supported by the Ministry of Social Policy are still open. But besides a reference from the police or a social worker, they now require a medical certificate that a woman doesn’t have any symptoms of respiratory illness.
This story was created with support from the Renewable Freedom Foundation.
