EUROPEAN INTEGRATION OF WOMEN BEFORE AND DURING THE MARTIAL LAW IN UKRAINE

Abstract

Summary. The purpose problem of social and legal protection of women, both in Ukraine and around the world, was and remains blatant and requires constant intervention and regulation. Women around the world regularly become victims of domestic violence, and the majority of cases of violence are kept silent by women for various psychological reasons, which make it impossible to provide them with help from qualified social services, psychologists and rehabilitation specialists. The most terrible thing in such situations is that often children also suffer from domestic violence in the family. They may experience both physical abuse from the abuser and psychological trauma from the abuse of their mothers. The quarantine caused by COVID-19 has led to an increase in the number of appeals by women to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine with complaints of domestic violence. The number of requests at the beginning of 2020 increased by 48% compared to the indicator of 2019. The introduction of martial law on the territory of Ukraine, unfortunately, did not improve these statistics too much; women continue to suffer from domestic violence. The international agreement of the Council of Europe on violence against women and domestic violence (hereinafter – the Istanbul Convention), opened for signature in Istanbul (Turkey) in 2011, ratified by Ukraine on June 21, 2022, is intended to solve this issue and bring Ukraine closer to the European level of solving this problem. Therefore, the purpose of the study is to obtain evidence and specific data about the level of prevalence of violence against women in Ukraine, about the context of violence and risk factors related to individual individuals, the level of Ukraine’s approach to the European level of overcoming domestic violence. As a methodology, the method of sociological surveys, the method of psychological analysis and statistical research methods were used. The scientific novelty of the research results is that the article analyzed the current state of manifestations of domestic violence in Ukraine, the reasons for the deterioration of the situation with domestic violence due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the introduction of martial law on the territory of Ukraine, analyzed the consequences and significance of Ukraine’s ratification of the Istanbul Convention, possible prospects improving the protection of the rights of Ukrainian women both within our country and abroad. The conclusions obtained as a result of the conducted research give reasons to believe that Ukraine is currently approaching the accession to the EU in terms of the level of protection of human and citizen rights and freedoms. And, mainly, this happens thanks to the European integration of Ukrainian women and the strengthening of the protection of their rights and freedoms by national legislation in ways and measures similar to European ones.