Domestic and intimate partner violence

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.

The Law "On Combating Trafficking in Human Beings" defines the organizational and legal framework for combating trafficking, guaranteeing gender equality, the main directions of state policy and principles of international cooperation in this area, the powers of executive authorities, the procedure for establishing the status of persons affected by human trafficking, and the procedure for assisting such persons.

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.

     This 2021 Report from JurFem (Report on the results of judicial practice “On the application of the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention)”) contains analyzes courts’ application of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence (“Istanbul Convention”) in domestic violence cases delivered

The Criminal Code defines and criminalizes domestic violence under Article 194, which is the main legislation providing for domestic violence prosecution. Domestic violence is defined as the “use of violence, threat of attacks against life or body, insolent or ruthless behaviour [that] endangers the tranquility, physical integrity or mental condition of a member of his family.” The definition of “family member” does not include ex-spouses or unmarried partners who do not live together or have children.

Article 390¹ provides criminal liability for (i) intentional failure to comply with the restrictive measures applicable to perpetrators of domestic violence (for example, prohibition on cohabitation with a person who has suffered from domestic violence, restriction of communication with the child in the event that domestic violence is committed against the child or in their presence, etc.); (ii) intentional failure to comply with restrictive instructions; or (iii) intended evasion of a court-mandated offender treatment program.

According to Article 284(1)(7) of The Criminal Procedural Code of Ukraine, a court cannot drop a case related to domestic violence if the victim waives the charge. The purpose of this rule is to prevent perpetrators from forcing or pressuring the victim into dropping the charge.

A “reconciliation agreement” is designed to save all participants time and stress. Courts can often take years to finalize a matter, but a reconciliation agreement allows for a single hearing to complete the case, including a sentence for the perpetrator and compensation for the victim. In criminal proceedings related to domestic violence, an offender often has personal influence on the victim (e.g., cohabitation or family relations). Therefore, there are special rules for concluding a reconciliation agreement.

Domestic violence is a specific crime committed in the family or within the place of residence or between relatives, between former or current spouses, or between other persons who lived together as a family but were not related or married to each other, regardless of whether the perpetrator of domestic violence lived in the same place as the victim, as well as threats of such acts (also see the

The applicant lived in social housing provided by the local authorities because she was disabled and had four children with her husband. Gradually, the relationship between the applicant and her husband began to deteriorate as he abused alcohol and threatened her and the children. He sometimes subjected her to physical and psychological violence. Over several years, the applicant repeatedly appealed to the police with complaints about her husband’s abuse and ill-treatment of her. In response, law enforcement agencies only visited the residence and conducted preventive talks.