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Denounces the “alarming” rates of sexual harassment and assaults against girls and women due to the conflict with Russia
June 3 () –
The NGO Plan International has asked the Ukrainian, Polish and Romanian authorities to “urgently” adopt measures to address the mental health of adolescents affected by the war in Ukraine, since 75 percent of young women and minors, many of them displaced, need help to deal with the psychological impact of the conflict with Russia.
“Sometimes I get the impression that the war is not only outside my head, but inside it as well,” says Irina, a 15-year-old Ukrainian girl who is part of an investigation carried out in Ukraine, Poland and Romania with the voices of 135 adolescents.
The report, carried out between August and October 2023, reveals the difficulties that young women affected by the conflict have in accessing mental health services that can help them minimize the high levels of stress and anxiety they face.
Psychological problems also impact their education. Many young women experience a delay in school subjects and even drop out of classes. “It’s very difficult to study when you have anxiety every day and alarms are constantly ringing,” says Alyona, another young woman who lives in Ukraine.
The NGO also focuses on online learning due to security reasons in Ukraine or the barrier to academic success that displaced adolescents have to learn from scratch a language that is not their own.
“When we had to leave our home, I was unable to participate in school for months. I had no laptop or internet. We left everything there. We had nothing left,” says Hanna, a 15-year-old girl living in Ukraine.
Plan International hopes that the Ukrainian authorities can carry out transition pathways so that school-aged boys and girls can re-enter the formal education system once security conditions allow. Likewise, it urges the governments of these countries to promote social cohesion in the host countries.
After more than two years of war, 14.6 million people need humanitarian aid, 4 million people are internally displaced within the country and 6.5 million are refugees in neighboring countries. In addition, more than 3,700 educational buildings have been destroyed.
SEXUAL VIOLENCE AND GENDER ROLES
Plan International denounces that many girls and adolescents both in Ukraine and in neighboring countries are vulnerable to suffering gender violence. In Poland and Romania they report that there are “alarming” rates of sexual harassment and assault. Jisu, a 10-year-old girl who lives in Poland, says she is afraid to walk alone on the street “because of the stories they tell about attacks.”
The NGO also highlights that gender roles have been reinforced because many men go to the front and women stay at home, taking care of the rest of the family. “I also clean and cook. My mother works all day and my sister is too young to do it. So I help my mother,” Natalie tells Plan International.
Despite the burden of domestic responsibilities, the young women demonstrate that they are capable of assuming the role of head of the family and being the providers of the home. “Civilian life depends mainly on women. And I think this helps women achieve their own independence, their capacity for action,” says Emiliya, 15, for her part.
In the same way, many teenagers are committed to participating in the reconstruction of a more inclusive Ukraine. “I wish for a future in which there is greater social acceptance and less prejudice,” emphasizes Oleksa, 15, a girl who lives in Romania.
Thus, the NGO recommends that the authorities, as well as donors, guarantee the participation of the most vulnerable people, such as the Roma community, people from the LGBTIQ+ community and young people with disabilities.
This also includes prioritizing comprehensive sexuality education so that adolescent girls can access affordable sexual and reproductive health services or adequate information to confront taboos and misinformation, challenges that existed before the war.
Regarding gender violence, Plan International hopes that national authorities expand their prevention and awareness plans in the face of the growing risk of sexual exploitation and human trafficking.
Plan International, which has managed to help almost 650,000 people, including more than 259,000 girls and boys, affected by war, hopes that this report will be a call to action before the Ukraine Recovery Conference is held in Berlin next 11th of June.
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