Social Activism of Internally Displaced Women in Ukraine

The armed conflict in the Eastern Ukraine has led to the large-scale internal displacement, driven by enormous flows of people trying to escape from fighting or risk of persecutions. The total number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) exceeded 1.6 mln, most of them being vulnerable in terms of safety, housing, access to social services, employment and income.The problem of disintegration of families and social ties has become prevalent for displaced people, as well as biased attitude in host communities. Women prevail among internally displaced persons, having additional burden of care responsibilities for children and elderly family members. In displacement, they also face particular risks of multiple discrimination, stigma and violence.

As public authorities turned out to be non-prepared to the challenges of displacement, social activism emerged to respond the humanitarian needs of IDPs. The civil society reacted with expansion of volunteer movements through social nets, fundraising and community networking.

Women prevail among IDPs, having additional responsibilities for children and elderly family members. As a result, they may face particular risks of discrimination and violence, stigma and social exclusion. The paper deals with analysis of social activism of displaced women in terms of their coping strategies and integration. The study is based on the results of special surveys conducted in 2014-2016, in-depth interviews with experts and results of focus group discussions. The issues of displaced women’s deprivations and stigmatizing public attitudes in local communities are explored, as well as women’s trust to various public institutions and their potential of social activism.