Gender adviser of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oksana Hryhorieva spoke about the problems of women in the army and the fight against harassment

In recent years, issues of gender equality in the security and defense sector have been increasingly raised in Ukraine. The war intensified the need not only to attract women to the service, but also to create conditions for them equal to men. In response to the challenges that accompany the participation of women in the military, the institute of gender advisors was introduced. Since March 2025, Oksana Grigoryeva, who previously worked as an adviser in the Ground Forces, will hold such a position at the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. She told, why a systemic gender policy is needed in the army, how to ensure equal opportunities for servicemen of both sexes, and why even the word “gender” still causes resistance in the political community.

Priorities in office

Among the main directions of her work, Grigorieva names the provision of equal rights and opportunities for men and women in the army. According to her, this is the fundamental goal of introducing the position of gender advisor, because formal equality recorded in legislation is not always implemented in practice.

She considers the second priority to be the creation of opportunities for women to receive military education at all levels — tactical, operational, and strategic. Grigorieva emphasized that women have already proven their ability as full-fledged combat units. At the same time, the leadership positions in the army are dominated by men. According to her, if you analyze the career paths of those who have voluntarily joined the army since 2014, you can see that men now occupy the positions of combatants and comb brigs, while women have remained in the same roles. One of the reasons she mentioned was the ban on women in the past for combat specialties and training at military universities.

She considers the fight against discrimination, sexual harassment, gender-based violence, stereotypes and prejudice to be the third direction. Grigorieva noted that these phenomena, unfortunately, still occur in the army, despite their incompatibility with the service.

Gender policy in various types of military

As Grigorieva reported, the problems of inequality are not exclusive to a particular type of military — they are the same everywhere, although they may vary in scale. In the Ground Forces, where she worked before, there were the most such challenges due to the size of the contingent and a significant share of mobilized civilians.

She explained that the position of a gender advisor requires interdisciplinary knowledge — in the fields of psychology, sociology, law, and medicine. According to her, there is currently no official specialty with such a name, so these specialists need additional professional training.

Attitude to the word “gender” and public reaction

Grigorieva noted that there is still a prejudiced attitude towards the term “gender” in Ukraine. According to her, many perceive it as alien or threatening, although it is only a matter of the social role that society assigns to a person from childhood.

As an example, she cited school approaches, when boys and girls were prepared for different functions from an early age — boys built, girls cooked. In adolescence, this discrepancy was consolidated during pre-conscription training. At the same time, according to Grigorieva, every person has the right to choose without an imposed role.

She said that in official documents, the word “gender” is often replaced by “equality of rights and opportunities” to avoid opposition in the parliament. Many deputies do not vote for documents that mention “gender”, because this term “cuts the ear”.

The history of the emergence of gender advisors in the army

According to Grigorieva, the positions of gender advisers appeared in Ukrainian administrations back in 2005, after the adoption of the Law of Ukraine on ensuring equal rights and opportunities for women and men. But the actual implementation at the level of the security sector began in 2016, when the state approved the National Action Plan for the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 “Women, Peace, Security”.

The positions of advisers in the Armed Forces were officially established in 2019 by a joint directive of the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff. Initially, these positions were freelance, but were later institutionalized at various levels.

Grigorieva noted that when the advisers’ work remained private, there was no opposition. But after their activities became a part of public communication, hate appeared — in particular, from anti-gender organizations. At the same time, she considers it necessary to speak publicly about real cases of discrimination and mechanisms for overcoming them.

The most common requests

As Grigorieva reported, counselors are most often contacted in connection with gender discrimination and harassment. Mostly they are women. According to her, the problem is not only the existence of such cases, but also the fear of the victims to voice the situation, especially when the perpetrator is a direct commander.

She emphasized that trust in the counselor is a key condition for effective assistance. If the adviser cannot resolve the situation at his level, the matter is referred to a higher level — to the command adviser or to the central adviser of the Armed Forces.

In addition to harassment, gender advisors deal with issues related to parental leave, discharge from the army, support for women released from captivity, and assistance to the families of the dead or missing.

Gender Challenges After a Full-Scale Invasion

Grigorieva reported that with the beginning of a large-scale war, more cases appeared when both spouses are military, have a child together, and the question arises: who should leave the service. It is often the woman who is released, even if she is a military personnel and has the appropriate education, while the man is a mobilized volunteer. According to Grigorieva, such a situation requires a review, because after dismissal, a woman has limited opportunities for civilian employment.

Separately, she mentioned the fate of women who returned from captivity. According to her, they are an extremely vulnerable group, often subjected to psychological pressure, financial fraud, and sometimes disappear after being forced to stay in private mental institutions.

Suggestions and follow-up

Among the initiatives that Grigorieva is working on are the updating of the provision on the gender advisor, the creation of a separate hotline for reporting harassment and discrimination, as well as the provision of appropriate living conditions for decent service for both men and women.

She also reported that currently in the army, women are present in almost all combat specialties, from gunners to drone operators. There are female snipers, gun commanders, combat medics without formal medical education who have acquired a high level of practical skills during their service.

Grigorieva emphasized the need to create conditions in which women will not only be able to serve, but will also be encouraged to do so. She expressed hope that in the future there will be more female officers in high positions, including female generals.

Gender challenges in mine action: participation of women sappers

Oksana Grigoryeva recalled that in September 2024, representatives of the Ministry of Defense took part in a conference dedicated to gender aspects in the field of mine action. According to her, the Ministry of Defense is actively working on this topic, because its structure includes the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Main Directorate of Intelligence, the State Special Service of Transport – these institutions are directly engaged in demining.

Grigorieva explained that currently the main focus is on humanitarian demining, that is, actions in relatively peaceful areas where there are no longer active hostilities, but fragments of ammunition or projectiles remain. Female sappers are also involved in this work. She noted that women have already shown high results in this field and have proven themselves as effective specialists.

When it comes to full-scale demining after the end of the war, about restoring security in previously occupied or mined territories, Grigorieva believes that women will also be able to join this work. She emphasized that Ukraine already has female sappers in combat units, that is, not only in the humanitarian sector.

Comprehensive gender strategy for the Armed Forces of Ukraine

When asked about the content of the gender strategy, which is mentioned in the news about her appointment, Oksana Grigoryeva said that the document was worked on for six months under the auspices of the Ministry of Defense. Now the strategy is awaiting approval by the Minister’s order. Its basis is the creation of equal conditions and opportunities for men and women in the army. The document covers areas of educational and educational work, ensuring the material and psychological well-being of servicemen, promoting career growth, as well as introducing mechanisms to combat discrimination and sexual harassment.

Grigorieva noted that in the army it is especially important to have all these provisions in writing. Although gender equality has been talked about for more than a year, there is still no separate budget article for its implementation. That is why she considers it important not only to harmonize the strategy with the current legislation, but also to lay the groundwork for finding funding, in particular through the support of international partners.

In her opinion, respect for military personnel should be preserved even after the end of their service – already in the status of veterans, and it is the strategy that can help lay the foundation of such a policy.

Comparison with the experience of NATO

Speaking about the adaptation of the Ukrainian system to NATO standards, Grigorieva emphasized: the introduction of the position of senior gender advisor to the staff list is an important step towards mutual coordination between the structures of the Ministry of Defense and the branches of the military, as well as the creation of horizontal connections between institutions.

At the same time, according to her, there is a fundamental difference between Ukrainian advisers and those working in NATO member countries. NATO advisers, as a rule, work in peacekeeping missions outside their countries. Ukrainian advisers work directly in conditions of full-scale war, on their own territory.

This means that Ukrainian specialists do not need to adapt to the local mentality, as their Western colleagues do. At the same time, they interact with the civilian population, which often remains in combat zones, even after evacuation is announced.

According to Grigorieva, another significant difference is the degree of involvement in the process of planning military operations. In NATO countries, gender advisors actively participate in it, while in Ukraine they do not yet. It is the comprehensive strategy that is currently being worked on that can create the conditions for changing this approach.

Voluntary training instead of forced mobilization of women

Grigorieva emphasized that she considers it necessary to prepare all citizens — both men and women — to protect the state. She expressed her belief that everyone should learn a military specialty and undergo basic training in first aid. At the same time, she emphasized: this should happen on a voluntary basis.

As an example, she mentioned Norway, where women can, of their own volition, undergo conscription for six months to two years. However, she emphasized that in Ukraine it is not a time of peace, but a full-scale war, and the mechanisms of other countries cannot always be applied directly.

According to her, Ukrainian society is not yet ready for the general mobilization of women. She emphasized that many men of draft age can still be seen on the streets of cities, and not all of them really have the right to deferment. Grigorieva is convinced that the key to effective mobilization is not coercion, but motivation. In her opinion, people should not be forced, but convinced that their participation in the war is necessary. She admitted: everyone has fear, both women and men. But those who are already serving, as a rule, cope with it better than those who have not yet dared to take this step.