Women’s access to justice in Ukraine: the invisibility of the problem

The article considers women’s access to justice as an invisible problem, the existence of which is overlooked or denied. Cases where women in similar situations experience more adverse legal consequences are not perceived as linked to gender inequality. The reasons for the invisibility of the problem are rooted in the Soviet past, in the patriarchal traditions of Ukrainian society, as well as in the reluctance to abandon myths and stereotypes, the lack of proper reflection on the past and the lack of a culture of public discussion of important social problems, the marginalization of “women’s” topics. To illustrate the invisibility of the problem, results of the questioning of training participants (judges, court staff and law enforcement officers) has been used, i.e. the discussion regarding manifestations of gender inequality, acknowledged in the Concept Paper of the State Programme for Ensuring Equal Rights and Opportunities of Women and Men, approved by the order of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated November 21, 2012, No. 1002. The author noted, that during many years of delivering gender equality trainings only those participants who de facto contribute to caregiving/family responsibilities admitted that inadequate level of providing conditions for “a harmonious combination of family and professional responsibilities” is an actual problem; the same is observed in relation to other manifestations of inequality between women and men, which confirms the opinion that the perception of relevance or irrelevance of specific manifestations of gender inequality is determined by the individual’s own experience. The trend of reducing gender gap is perceived as the irrelevance of a certain manifestation of gender inequality, since “the situation has been improved significantly”, even if the gap remains large. In addition to the experience of delivering trainings, “stories from life” were also used to demonstrate the invisibility of the problem, particularly cases that illustrate the superior, prejudiced and sexist attitude towards women in high level (deputy minister) positions, especially when compared with the attitude towards men of the same age and status. Since a problem that is invisible has no chance of being solved, the ability to “notice”, “see”, “make visible”, “name”, “qualify”, etc. are the first steps towards its solution.