Women, Peace and Security

01 July 2024

Better Organisations Through Gender Mainstreaming: Civilian Security Sector Reform in Ukraine

EUAM Ukraine Reports, articles, briefs Public 2024 Civilian CSDP Mission

This internal report from EUAM Ukraine examines the gender mainstreaming processes in the mission, looking specifically at a case study of a training programme enacted by EUAM Ukraine staff to combat discrimination and sexual harassment in law enforcement agencies.

Ukraine has a strong commitment to human rights and gender equality, which is embedded in national legislation and a variety of official strategies and action plans. As an advisory mission, EUAM Ukraine has linked up with ongoing gender mainstreaming processes in the State Border Guard Service, the National Guard of Ukraine and the State Customs Services. In addition, the mission supports trainings based on Ministry of Internal Affairs guidelines against gender-based discrimination and sexual harassment.

As a result of trainings provided by the mission, the report finds that participants’ level of knowledge on discrimination and sexual harassment increased. Nearly all participants saw the need to organise more and similar trainings for all categories of staff, including senior and middle management. According to the participants, it is crucial that everyone in the organisations understands their responsibilities. It should be noted that despite all the positive feedback, the topic of discrimination and sexual harassment remains sensitive and partly controversial in law enforcement agencies in Ukraine. 

In addition to EUAM Ukraine staff and management, this report may serve ongoing discussions on gender mainstreaming in law enforcement in other EU CSDP Missions and CSDP staff in Brussels.

Reference: Duetting, G., Mäki-Rahkola, A. (2024). Better Organisations Through Gender Mainstreaming: Civilian Security Sector Reform in Ukraine. EUAM Ukraine.

Resource

PDF | 32 pages
Read the full report

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