відповідальність держави

On five occasions from 2007 to 2013, the applicant's ex-husband inflicted injuries on the applicant, which the domestic authorities classified as minor bodily injuries. The police and the prosecutor's office repeatedly refused to open criminal proceedings due to the lack of evidence. In 2012, the offender was convicted of committing a crime under Article 125 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (intentional minor bodily injury) because criminal liability for domestic violence (Article 126-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) was not legislated until 2017 in Ukraine.

This report from HealthRight International (full title in English: Analytical report according to the results of the study on the dependence between the committed crime, domestic violence, gender-related violence among convicted women with experience of using drugs, using mixed methods) demonstrates a correlation between domestic violence (or any other type of violence) against women and subsequent commission of crimes by these women (based on a survey among women serving sentences in Chernihiv and Kachaniv prisons).

The case was initiated by three male applicants, who complained that the Criminal Executive Code of Ukraine, which regulates the procedure and conditions for the executing and serving criminal sentences, contained contradictory provisions and differing visitation rights  for male and female life prisoners. The Code provided that life prisoners were to serve their sentences in maximum-security correctional colonies and that life prisoners were entitled to one short visit every six months. No reference to prisoners’ gender was made in the relevant Articles.

The applicant was a single mother of two children. As part of a social program, she was provided a flat. Later, the prosecutor applied to the courts to terminate the applicant's right to the flat, due to the applicant's conviction and sentence in Russia, which prevented her from using the housing for about a year. The court of first instance found against the applicant, who then appealed on the basis that she had paid all the necessary payments and had nowhere else to live.

The applicant intended to change her patronymic (this term means a part of a personal name was traditionally derived from the name of the father of the person concerned) to disassociate herself from her biological father and associate herself more closely with her stepfather and half-brother. Despite the fact that the woman successfully changed her surname to the surname of her stepfather, she was not allowed to change her patronymic.

The study includes a survey, with the majority of respondents believing that women can command combat units, and that they have a harder time building a career compared to men. At the same time, prejudicial views regarding women in the armed forces still remain in society: more than 50% think that women are better off performing non-combat roles, and 40% believe that women in the military have more problems in their family life compared to civilian women. Women often face biased treatment in the form of being patronized and protected.

The study was prepared based on the results of a survey conducted among women that were subjected to domestic violence, as well as on a qualitative analysis of Ukrainian legislation.

This Law defines the right to free legal aid. Free legal aid is legal aid guaranteed by the state and fully or partially provided at the expense of the State Budget of Ukraine, local budgets, and other sources. Legal aid is the provision of legal services to ensure, protect, and provide redress for violations of human and civil rights and freedoms. Ukraine provides primary legal aid to all people and secondary legal aid to underserved groups.

Parliamentary control over the observance of human rights and freedoms, including gender equality, is implemented by the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights as enshrined in the Law of Ukraine "On the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights." The purpose of the Commissioner’s parliamentary control is to prevent discrimination in exercising human rights and freedoms. When applying to the Commissioner, there are no privileges or restrictions based on gender, race, color, religion, or other grounds.

In the report, the experts drew attention to the fact that only 15% of law enforcement officers identify child witnesses as victims of domestic violence.