Last week, severe bombardment of Kyiv continued despite talks of ceasefires. By the following morning, the news of three more lives tragically lost — a five-year-old girl, her father, and an 80-year-old woman— had spread across a city already battered by years of war.
Streets covered with debris, neighbours going through the rubble. These scenes shape how the world sees the war in Ukraine.
Yet hidden behind the visible devastation is another consequence of this daily brutality that is not in the public spotlight: an escalating struggle in countless homes, where women and girls face a rising tide of gender-based violence, worsened by the mental health consequences of war, of family losses, blackouts due to the attacks on energy infrastructure, and displacement across and outside Ukraine.
In Ukraine, UNFPA has released a new report ‘Voices from Ukraine’ — a qualitative study grounded in listening closely to women and girls, amplifying and centring their voices, and elevating their experiences to guide humanitarian responses.
The ongoing war contributes to new forms of gender-based violence, exacerbates pre-existing ones, and hinders survivors’ access to support.
From this study, we've come to understand a few things about what women and girls are going through in the country: even during continued shelling, the home can be the most dangerous place for women.
And gender-based violence in Ukraine has significantly intensified, with increased intimate partner violence and other forms of domestic violence.
Women also feel increasingly unsafe in public spaces, on the streets and public transport, and in shelters. Attacks have severely damaged the once-strong national energy infrastructure, with Ukraine operating on one-third of the energy it had prior to the war.
Streets that were previously lit and relatively safe, now disappear into darkness. Local organisations continue to warn that dark streets create unsafe environments for women and girls. Curfews force families indoors for hours on end, and in cramped quarters, tension escalates with nowhere to escape. Neighbours cannot intervene if they cannot see or hear what happens behind the curtains of a darkened home.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion, reports of intimate partner violence, domestic abuse, sexual assault, and other forms of gender-based violence have surged.
Nearly 2.4 million people—mostly women and girls—urgently need gender-based violence prevention and response services.
At times, many cannot reach help lines because phone networks fail during power cuts. Others, living in temporary shelters or unfamiliar collective housing, feel trapped and fearful of exposing themselves to further risk.
The emotional toll across the country is staggering. Almost two-thirds of households report anxiety, depression, or extreme stress. Mass job losses, displacement, and constant uncertainty push families to the brink. In some areas, substance abuse is rising, compounding the likelihood of violence.
Those who survive domestic abuse often have no safe place to go. Living in a small apartment with extended relatives or strangers becomes a breeding ground for further harm.
Men returning from war frequently bear unprocessed trauma. Without solid mental health support, some channel distress into harmful behaviour at home. Communities often regard these men as heroes, which can make survivors hesitant to speak out — deterring some from seeking the justice they deserve.
A pause in fighting may spare families from the immediate horrors of war.
Yet attacks are only part of Ukraine’s crisis: If the weapons were silenced tomorrow, the psychological and social damage could remain for generations.
Ukraine’s future rests on more than rebuilding roads and power lines. Local organisations, many of which are led by women, provide emotional and social support to those most at risk; they support the needed process of healing.
They run shelters, helplines, counselling sessions, and legal aid. They also travel to rural or heavily damaged areas to reach women who cannot leave. Many frontline workers have been displaced themselves. They understand first-hand the fear and disruption that follow every strike. Their work bridges the gap between immediate crisis relief and long-term recovery.
Yet without stable funding and resources, their ability to respond dwindles.
Comprehensive mental health support is essential. Survivors of violence need specialised counselling. Men returning from war require avenues to address their trauma.
Many couples now find themselves needing to relearn how to communicate, understand each other, and build healthy connections once again.
Research from Voices from Ukraine indicates that early interventions — community counselling, survivor support groups, and structured psychosocial programs — help break cycles of violence before they become deeply ingrained.
We must ensure that the services on the ground—shelters, hotlines, psychosocial care, and economic opportunities—are funded and scaled up.
These initiatives are crucial to rebuilding trust in communities traumatised by war. A just and peaceful Ukraine is one where a woman can walk the streets after dusk without dread, where she can seek help if danger emerges within her own four walls, and where she can heal from the traumas of war.
Let us build a society where women and girls can freely navigate, work, and live in peace—for the well-being of all.
Tackling the hidden battle against gender-based violence requires visible commitment, one that goes hand in hand with the nation’s broader reconstruction. Let us centre the voices of women and girls in every humanitarian plan, every budget allocation, every training for healthcare workers, and every dialogue on peace.
Ulla Müller is the UNFPA representative to Ukraine
Ulla Müller is the UNFPA representative to Ukraine