Commissioned by DCAF, this report was written and published by the Women’s Lawyer Association JurFem in Ukraine. With growing numbers of conflict related sexual violence (CRSV) since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, the study analyses the impact of previous gender-based violence (GBV) capacity building activities for the judiciary on the prevention and response to CRSV today. 

The study focuses on the justice sector, namely the National School of Judges of Ukraine, the Prosecutors’ Training Centre of Ukraine and the Office of the Prosecutor General, as key actors in developing national-level policies for responding to gender-based violence and conflict related sexual violence.  

The research finds that there has been substantial progress in conflict related sexual violence response, particularly through the Office of the Prosecutor General and judicial training centres. International support has improved survivor-centred practices and highlighted the need to connect conflict related sexual violence and gender-based violence approaches. However, gaps in gender-based violence services and barriers to justice remain present, with a stronger emphasis on CRSV overshadowing broader gender-based violence efforts.

The report is part of the DCAF’s “Enhancing SSG/R Policy & Practice Initiative” funded by the Netherlands’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The project seeks to determine the factors that facilitate or limit the impact of gender-based violence capacity building delivered in peacetime on security sector response in times of conflict or war, with the goal of developing recommendations for improving the efficiency and sustainability of SSR interventions.

The project features case studies from Mali and Ukraine and a main summary report: SSR and Conflict-Related Sexual Violence: Understanding the impacts of peacetime GBV capacity-building. 

 Watch Khrystina Kit, head of the Ukrainian Women Lawyers Association “JurFem”, shares what the most important takeaways of the report “Understanding how GBV capacity-building in peacetime has an impact during war” are.