Recently, the YurFem Open Space event "Best Practices for Protection from Domestic Violence" was organised in Uzhhorod by the YurFem Women Lawyers Association, Medical Aid Committee in Zakarpattia, and the Gender Education Centre of Uzhhorod National University. Participants in the discussion, including representatives of public authorities, legal and educational sphere, employees of courts, prosecutors, and law enforcement agencies, discussed the access of victims to social and legal services, as well as legal mechanisms to protect their rights in the relevant authorities.

The first panel discussion "Access of victims of domestic violence to social and legal services" was moderated by Eugenia Melesh, CAMZ's lawyer, member of the YurFem Women Lawyers Association of Ukraine. In particular, she addressed the problem of violence against women, which is one of the most common forms of human rights violations in the world and was particularly acute during the COVID-19 pandemic,  when women often did not even have the opportunity to report the facts of domestic violence.

In 2017, the Law “On Prevention and Counteraction to Domestic Violence” was adopted, it offers a comprehensive approach to combating this phenomenon, as well as introduces a mechanism for providing assistance and protection to victims of domestic violence. This whole mechanism can work effectively when there is a proper interaction of all actors who carry out activities in the field of preventing and combating these crimes. Therefore, today it is important to talk about whether the mechanism of interaction of all actors involved in the prevention and combating of domestic violence is working in the region, how effective this interaction is and whether the result of this interaction is the practical realisation of the rights of victims. In order for victims to use legal opportunities provided by law, we must fully inform them of their rights and ensure that they respond appropriately to acts of violence. There is an urgent need to ensure access to general and specialised victim support services, and for this, the physical availability of these facilities and the provision of services must be guaranteed. And this is only a part of the agenda in realising the rights and opportunities of citizens in combating domestic violence, ”Eugenia Melesh emphasised.

During the discussion, issues, directly related to the current implementation of public authorities in the field of preventing and combating domestic violence and gender-based violence, were raised. For example, the use by the regional state administration of legal grounds for the establishment of shelters - specialised support facilities for victims. As well as the organisation of community funding for the maintenance of institutions that provide basic social services. The issue of providing temporary asylum to victims of domestic violence in communities is also open.

Amendments to the legislation of 2017 (Laws of Ukraine "On Judicial Fees" and "On Free Legal Aid") granted victims the right to free legal aid and exemption from court fees. Thus, the representatives of the free legal aid system were addressed the issue of public awareness of the opportunities provided and their actual use.

The second-panel discussion "Legal mechanisms for the protection of victims of domestic violence, their effectiveness and challenges in practice", moderated by the chairman Khrystyna Kit, lawyer of the YurFem Women Lawyers Association, discussed changes in legislation that provide more thorough and effective opportunities to protect the victims. In particular, they talked about the wider use by lawyers of the opportunity to protect victims through restrictive legal regulations, problems with the issuance of urgent restraining orders by the police, as well as problems of proving cases in courts. Khrystyna Kit emphasised another mechanism for protecting victims that lawyers rarely use, the same restrictive requirement that can be truly effective when a victim needs real and effective protection from the offender. The lawyer thanked all participants in the discussion for their openness in covering problems because such discussions provide an opportunity to identify legislative and law enforcement gaps and advocate for the necessary changes.

The solution to any problem begins with its awareness and recognition. Therefore, it is worth to accept the fact that the discussed area of ​​social services and legal assistance has significant shortcomings due to both the imperfection of legislation and the unwillingness of new communities to implement functions assigned to them, and, consequently, to interact with other authorities to solve problems. The experts attending the event expressed a common point of view that interaction is the key to overcoming the shortcomings in ensuring the protection of citizens from domestic violence and the most important means of establishing a mechanism for providing social and legal assistance to victims. Consequently, the initiated dialogue will be continued, including in the practice of direct cooperation of state institutions.