THE NATIONAL UNION OF
JOURNALISTS OF UKRAINE
The Dr. Denis Mukwege Foundation organized a visit to the Panzi Hospital and Foundation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) for key Ukrainian stakeholders to improve comprehensive care services for survivors of conflict-related sexual violence (CRVS).
From September 16 to 19, a delegation from Ukraine visited the Panzi Hospital and Foundation in the DRC as part of a multi-year program of the Dr. Denis Mukwege Foundation aimed at strengthening Ukraine’s capacity to provide comprehensive support to survivors of violence.
This exchange allowed the participants to visit institutions that are part of the Panzi Unified Center, exchange experiences with experts, and learn more about the practice of the comprehensive care model, which is an internationally recognized standard of care for survivors of sexual violence.
“Despite the differences between the contexts and conflicts in the DRC and Ukraine, some of the challenges of providing comprehensive assistance to survivors of sexual violence are the same. This visit is part of our approach to ensure that participants in such exchanges have the opportunity to network, share experiences and best practices, and develop relationships to support and improve comprehensive care for survivors of conflict-related sexual violence,” says Katrien Coppens, executive director of the Mukwege Foundation.
The Ukrainian delegation included representatives of SEMA Ukraine – the national network of women who suffered from violence in the russian-Ukrainian war, representatives of the National Social Services, the Government Commissioner for Gender Policy, the Ministry of Health, the Prosecutor General’s Office and civil society organizations. This initiative is part of the Mukwege Foundation‘s cooperation with Ukraine, aimed at strengthening the quality of comprehensive assistance to survivors of the conflict, as well as the Foundation’s mission to work for a future in which people affected by violence during the conflict receive the comprehensive assistance and compensation, they need for rebuilding their life.
The National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU) was able to implement a joint project with the Foundation. With the help of this, seven trainings were held in different regions of Ukraine on the training of journalists to properly cover the topic of CRSV. In conclusion, a competition of journalistic works was also held. The results of which you can already familiarize yourself with on the website of the NUJU. In gratitude, colleagues were presented with special awards from the NUJU, which are a symbol of support for Ukrainian journalists. They were handed over by Liudmyla Huseinova, a human rights activist, citizen journalist, and the communications director of the NGO SEMA Ukraine.
The Dr. Denis Mukwege Foundation is impressed and inspired by the commitment of survivors, authorities, and civil society organizations in Ukraine. This exchange will definitely contribute to better access to comprehensive care for survivors of CRSV in Ukraine. The Mukwege Foundation continues to support the survivors, the Ukrainian state and civil society in these efforts.
To date, the Mukwege Foundation has facilitated the exchange of experience with specialists from Guinea-Conakry, the Central African Republic, and Iraq on the basis of the Panzi Hospital and Foundation. In addition, Panzi’s one-stop model has been recognized by the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region, the World Bank, and other organizations as a standard of best practice for assisting CRVS survivors.
For more information, please contact: media@mukwegefoundation.org
About the Dr. Denis Mukwege Foundation:
- The Mukwege Foundation is an international human rights organization working to transform the global response to conflict-related sexual violence with a focus on survivors.
We support survivors’ demands for a world where sexual violence as a weapon of war is no longer tolerated and bears consequences for individual perpetrators and states. We work for a future where survivors receive the holistic care and compensation they need to rebuild their lives. We create opportunities for survivors to speak out and be heard and where they can organize to create change, influence policies, and demand justice and accountability.
We are working towards a future where sexual violence in conflict is no longer seen as inevitable but is recognized for what it is: a crime that should have consequences. We want the international community to draw a line against wartime sexual violence and to hold states and individuals accountable.
For further enquiries, please contact us via Twitter : @MukwegeFound; LinkedIn: Dr. Denis Mukwege Foundation; Facebook: facebook.com/Mukwegefoundation; Instagram: @mukwegefoundation or visit our website: www.mukwegefoundation.org
About Panzi Hospital and Foundation:
- Panzi General Hospital was established in 1999 by Dr. Denis Mukwege. In response to the devastating war in eastern DRC and high levels of sexual violence events that took place in this context, the hospital soon became the epicenter of care for survivors of sexual violence. Since then, Panzi Hospital has treated more than 50,000 female patients, including survivors of sexual abuse. The Panzi Fund was established in 2008 to complement other elements of the holistic aid package, including socio-economic support and legal aid. In the following years, Panzi initiated the establishment of various health and community facilities in other communities that are linked to the Panzi Tertiary General Hospital to facilitate referrals when needed. All of these institutions are part of an ecosystem known today as the Panzi Single Help Center model.
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