“First Lady Olena Zelenska took part in the founding meeting, during which the priorities of this year’s presidency of Ukraine in the Global Alliance for the Prevention of Sexual Violence in Conflict (PSVI) were presented.”, — write: www.president.gov.ua
First Lady Olena Zelenska took part in the founding meeting, during which the priorities of this year’s presidency of Ukraine in the Global Alliance for the Prevention of Sexual Violence in Conflict (PSVI) were presented.
Among the participants of the event were the Government Commissioner for Gender Policy Kateryna Levchenko, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Maryana Betsa, as well as representatives of alliance members, including international organizations and embassies of participating countries (Great Britain, Japan, Australia, France, Colombia, Spain, Switzerland, etc.).
The President’s wife emphasized that Ukraine’s leadership is important for the formation of global responsibility for the prevention of sexual violence in armed conflicts. 648 Ukrainian men and women applied for interim reparations within the framework of the pilot project to provide them to victims of sexual violence by the Russian occupiers. 432 people have already received payments.
“It’s not about money – it’s about comprehensive support for victims, about compassion, about destigmatization and the opportunity to start a new life. I believe that with such an attitude, more people will stop being afraid and dare to ask for help, and later testify,” she said.
The first lady expressed her hope that Ukraine’s chairmanship of the alliance will make it possible to attract and accumulate the best world experience and support to help the affected Ukrainian men and women.
Among the main priorities of our country in the alliance for this year are the analysis of the basic documents and their improvement, the strengthening of obligations to create comprehensive programs of reparations for victims and the study of best practices among the member states of the alliance to develop a practical guide that will contain effective measures to prevent, responding to incidents of violence and supporting victims.
“Our (and our partners’) main goal is for the perpetrators of such crimes to receive fair punishment and international condemnation. After all, justice is exactly what the victims need the most,” said Olena Zelenska.
The event was organized by the NGO UAExperts on the initiative of the office of the Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Justice of Ukraine Olga Stefanishyna together with the Government Commissioner for Gender Policy and with the assistance of the UN Population Fund in Ukraine.
Reference. In November 2022, the United Kingdom announced the creation of the Global Alliance, and states signed a political declaration to improve coordination, share experiences and ensure justice for victims of sexual violence in conflict.
In March 2023, the alliance officially began its activities with Ukraine as co-chair.
This year, our country became the head of the alliance for the first time, confirming its commitment to the fight for human rights and justice despite the ongoing full-scale war.
As of January 2025, the alliance includes 26 states and other members.
