ABSTRACT
This chapter proposes that the intersecting legacies of Soviet patriarchy and imperialism are vital to exploring why promising gender-based violence reform efforts in Ukraine encountered backlash and subversion. The dynamics of campaigns against gender violence in Ukraine at first resembled patterns observed in neighboring postcommunist countries: western aid and desires of democratic reformers for national sovereignty and European Union (EU) membership initiated local advocacy and led to legal change eventually criminalizing trafficking and, later, domestic violence. As elsewhere in the region, reforms were subverted by the Soviet legacy of non-implementation of laws regarding women’s rights by police and other state agents interacting directly with citizens in the course of policy enforcement. Despite the ongoing efforts of local advocates, policy reforms begun with western assistance came under attack when anti-western politicians came to power. Responding to Russian opposition to Ukraine’s EU candidacy, pro-Russian politicians initiated backlash against women’s advocates and reversed gender violence reforms. Cyclical confrontations between pro-Russian and pro-European factions in Ukraine, together with hybrid warfare, continues to fuel backlash against gender violence reforms.
