Listening Can Save Lives: Empowering Family Doctors in Ukraine to Support Women Facing Violence

One such case is that of Tetiana, a 38-year-old woman who came to her doctor with symptoms of chronic stress, insomnia, and fatigue. While these could have been dismissed as signs of overwork, her doctor, Dr. Valerii, had been trained to listen more deeply. He noticed her discomfort, her hesitance to speak about her home life, and her visible anxiety. With care and sensitivity, he gently asked the right questions.

Eventually, Tetiana opened up: her husband behaved aggressively, controlled her finances, limited her contact with friends and family, and was sometimes physically violent. She had never told anyone.

Dr. Valerii reassured her, reminded her that she was not to blame, and connected her with a local support center for survivors of violence. With the help of trained psychologists, Tetiana began to process her trauma and create a personal safety plan. Today, she is taking her first steps toward a life free from fear, coercion and violence.

The online course empowered Dr. Valerii to act.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity to take the online course. It taught me how crucial it is to truly listen and not avoid difficult topics. Every woman deserves care, dignity, and protection,” he shared.

Nearly 2,000 healthcare professionals across Ukraine have now completed this course, each one better prepared to recognize, respond to, and prevent gender-based violence. In the face of war, WHFP—a member of the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF)—continues to uphold women’s rights to safety, healthcare, and human dignity.

Centering Safety: Why SGBV Services Must Lead Humanitarian Aid

Women, girls, adolescents and marginalised groups are disproportionately affected by the crisis, as emergencies exacerbate existing gender inequalities and structural discriminations and risks of SGBV, increasing their vulnerability while either remaining in the country, or during the journey to flee it. The forms of SGBV that have been reported within the conflict in Ukraine include a rise in intimate partner violence, human trafficking, conflict-related sexual violence and rape, as well as sexual exploitation and abuse.

Further, in humanitarian settings, the devastating consequences of SGBV can be even more severe. Survivors may avoid seeking help due to fear of stigma or retaliation—including the loss of housing, food, or other basic services. The situation is exacerbated by the limited availability of care services, a lack of trust in providers, widespread impunity for perpetrators, and low awareness of the benefits of seeking care. These factors create significant barriers to safety, health care, and justice.

States must act swiftly to ensure that essential, life-saving services—including interventions to prevent sexual violence and respond to survivors—are integrated into the minimum package of sexual and reproductive health care in emergencies.

European governments and the EU can help by recognizing that services to support all SGBV survivors are life-saving and ensuring, including through funding and advocacy, that they are accessible in Ukraine and the neighboring countries. The EU Directive on Violence Against Women requires Member States to ensure timely access to sexual and reproductive healthcare services and maintain specialist support for survivors of sexual violence during crises. Humanitarian actors need to work with local CSOs to implement risk mitigation and prevention strategies in shelters and support disseminating information on SGBV services to the refugees and hosting communities. Training healthcare professionals to provide first-line support — offering practical care that addresses survivors’ emotional and physical safety, and supports their needs while fully respecting their privacy—is also essential.

Read more about our response to the war in Ukraine

* This case study is published as part of the Open Society Foundations project, Meeting the Essential Sexual and Reproductive Health Needs of Communities Affected by the War in Ukraine and Neighboring Countries.