PROFBUD leads workers’ 16 days of anti-VAW activism in Ukraine

In an attempt to bring together the region’s different women trade union leaders and activists, BWI-affiliated PROFBUD led the trade unions’ 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence in Ukraine and the first four days of the campaign in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. 

The union started its campaign by sharing important information to the public on the rise of domestic violence cases in the region when COVID-19 lockdowns were imposed. In Lviv Oblast (a big region in the west of Ukraine) alone, PROFBUD said that cases of domestic rose by 150 percent from 5,057 in 2019 to 13,640 in 2020. 

PROFBUD also drew attention to COVID-19’s impact on women’s work. Citing the latest survey conducted by Ukrainian civil society group UrFem, women carried the burden of household work and child care, together with night work, during the COVID-19 lockdown. Women said that they had to work at night as they are preoccupied with household chores and child rearing during the day. The survey also reported that many of these women are victims of violence and abuse at their workplaces and homes.

As part of its data gathering, the union closely monitored the tv series “Outcasts,” which was dedicated to the campaign against domestic violence. One of its episodes was particularly interesting to PROFBUD as it focused on domestic violence and it is impact on women’s work. The tv series reportedly registered 2,856 calls to its anti-domestic violence hotline. PROFBUD said that it is a microcosm of the women’s situation in the region.

BWI European Regional Women’s Committee member  Lesia Husak called on fellow trade unionists to respond to this crisis and help protect women from all forms of violence at home and workplaces. 

“We are seriously concerned with the increasing cases of gender-based violence in Ukraine and in the region. We need to mobilise all our resources to stop this pandemic of violence against women. We need to escalate our campaign and push more countries to ratify ILO Convention 190.  Only by working together can we ensure that all women are safe at home and at work,”  Husak said.