How the war affected women activists in Ukraine: ZMINA presented the results of the research

On 7 March 2025, the Human Rights Centre ZMINA, together with the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation, presented the results of sociological research on the risks faced by women activists in Ukraine and the impact of the full-scale invasion on their activities.

The event was held with the technical support of UN Women in Ukraine and funded by the UN Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund (WPHF).

The expert research was conducted in late 2024 and early 2025 and included in-depth interviews and an online survey of women activists from 20 regions of Ukraine, aged 18 to 60+. A total of 122 activists took part in the survey, and 31 in-depth interviews were conducted.

The majority of respondents believe that persecution of women activists is a widespread phenomenon: 57.4% said they are often persecuted, and 44.3% believe that women activists face this more often than men. The most common forms of pressure are online intimidation (80.3%), defamation (75.4%) and gender discrimination (72.9%). Over a third of women activists (37.7%) have personally experienced persecution, with the risks increasing in small towns and villages.

The research also revealed a critical lack of trust in state protection: 77.1% of respondents believe that state efforts are insufficient or non-existent. The most urgent measures to protect female activists were effective investigation of persecution (86.9%), countering online attacks (81.1%) and ensuring digital security (66.4%).

“The research shows that women’s civic engagement is growing even in the midst of a full-scale war, but more than half of the activists surveyed have already been threatened or persecuted, and only a third feel safe. If we want real change, we need to strengthen legal mechanisms to support women activists and eradicate the beliefs that limit their potential,” explained Alla Bieloshenko, Analyst of the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation.

Alla Bieloshenko

In addition, more than half of the respondents believe that due to the mobilisation of men for war, women activists have more opportunities to participate in public processes, especially in the areas of women’s rights and support for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to the research, gender stereotypes and the lack of effective state protection mechanisms remain the main obstacles to professional development.

“The full-scale invasion has changed the focus of activists’ efforts. We have a noticeable shift in civic engagement towards helping to defend the country, but at the same time, there is no dramatic reduction in ‘peaceful’ areas of activity. For example, none of our respondents said that women’s activity in peaceful spheres has decreased, and that the current military situation hinders this. “According to the respondents, most of the areas of activism common among women with an active position are related to women’s rights and the full-scale war and its consequences. As for the measures that the state should focus on, the respondents most often point to the need to effectively investigate threats and attacks, identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice, as well as the need to prevent and respond to online persecution and bullying,” said Iryna Yuzyk, Project Manager of the Human Rights Centre ZMINA.

Iryna Yuzyk and Alla Bieloshenko

During the event, Journalist Taisiia Kutuzova spoke about an attack on her in 2020 by three law enforcement officers. The incident occurred during a meeting of the village territorial election commission, which was considering the withdrawal of a candidate from the election. The police officers used force — twisting the journalist’s arms, seizing her camera, and damaging her microphone—constituting a gross violation of her professional rights. This story is just one example of the systemic pressure on women engaged in activism and journalism in Ukraine.

During the discussion, Lawyer Olha Veretilnyk, who is representing Taisiia Kutuzova’s case in court, spoke about the difficulties of legal protection for women activists. She stressed that the state still does not ensure proper investigation of cases of attacks and intimidation.

Taisiia Kutuzova, Olha Veretilnyk

The event was organised by the Human Rights Centre ZMINA with the technical support of UN Women in Ukraine and funded by the UN Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund (WPHF), a flexible and responsive funding mechanism that supports high-quality initiatives to increase the capacity of local women to prevent conflict, respond to crises and emergencies, and seize key peacebuilding opportunities.

This event is organised by the WPHF. However, the views expressed and the content presented during the event do not necessarily reflect the official endorsement or recognition of the United Nations.

The WPHF is the only global mechanism dedicated entirely to supporting women’s participation in peace and security processes and humanitarian response. Managed by a range of civil society, government and UN actors, the WPHF is a multi-partner trust fund that mobilises urgently needed funding for local women-led organisations and works with women on the frontlines to build sustainable peace. Since 2016, the WPHF has provided funding and capacity building to more than 1,000 local women’s civil society organisations working on the “Women, peace, and security” agenda and implementing humanitarian action in 41 crisis-affected countries.

You can find the presentation of the results of the sociological research by following this link.

The broadcast recording is available here.