POVAHA’s Victoria Kobyliatska: Gender-Sensitive War Reporting and Women’s Leadership in Ukraine

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/11/29

Victoria Kobyliatska is a Ukrainian journalist and editor-in-chief of POVAHA, a campaign and media platform that challenges sexism in politics and the media. Her work spans gender equality, feminism, and gender-sensitive journalism, including training for reporters and editors. She has authored publications on women’s experiences during Russia’s war against Ukraine and on preventing sexual and gender-based violence. Kobyliatska supports the “Ask a Woman” expert initiative developed via the POVAHA platform and co-founder of the organization “Womenactive”, which was created to strengthen the influence of women in Ukrainian society. She is also editor of the allied platform Women Are 50% of Ukraine’s Success, focused on political representation and media standards. 

In this interview with Scott Douglas Jacobsen, Kobyliatska, editor-in-chief of POVAHA, explains why war reporting must center accountability for Russia’s gender-based crimes and align with international humanitarian law. She urges precise, non-sensational headlines, survivor-first protocols, informed consent, and careful anonymization. Kobyliatska highlights The Kyiv Independent’s investigation ‘Rape as a Weapon of War,’ rising documentation—368 conflict-related sexual violence cases by July 2025—and women’s leadership, from soldiers to Nobel laureate Oleksandra Matviichuk’s rights work. She critiques newsroom gaps: women are 58% of staff yet 51% of management and 30% of expert quotes. Tools like Ask a Woman and formal editorial policies embed gender-sensitive journalism in Ukraine.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Russia wages war against Ukraine. Women are impacted often in gendered ways. Therefore, Russian-based gendered crimes against Ukrainian women require accountability. How should this framing shape headline writing and accountability language, and the real lived stories of women in war?

Victoria Kobyliatska: Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine has a clearly defined gender dimension. Sexual violence, persecution, and other forms of gender-based crimes are not random consequences of hostilities but deliberately used tools of genocide, intimidation, and control.

That is why the media coverage of these crimes needs to take into account that these are not just “tragic stories” but serious violations of international humanitarian law. Such understanding must shape an ethical approach to coverage and the language of journalistic materials.

Ethical coverage of war crimes is not only about language but also about respect for the experiences of women who have survived the war. They are not only “victims” but, first and foremost, people who are fighting for justice. The journalist’s task is to give voice to those who usually do not have one — without distortion and without exploiting pain, to bear witness to crimes rather than reproduce trauma.

There are key requirements that the media are recommended to follow:

• accurate headlines to avoid oversimplification, devaluation, and clickbait in sensitive topics (“Russian soldiers under investigation for war-related sexual violence,” rather than “Ukrainian women tell horrific stories of rape” — the focus is on the responsibility of perpetrators, not on emotions or any information about survivors);
• appropriate vocabulary (using terms such as “war crime,” “crime against humanity,” “violation of international humanitarian law,” rather than “drama,” “sex scandal,” or “horrific story”);
• avoid retraumatization (there must be informed consent for publication, respect for the preferred choice to remain anonymous, carefully prepared questions to avoid causing pain or triggering repeated trauma; graphic images, sexualized photos, or emphasis on emotional details must not be used).

The media do not cover this topic very often, as it is difficult to find women willing to testify and talk about cases of sexual violence committed by Russians. But, for example, there is The Kyiv Independent’s documentary investigation“Rape as a Weapon of War” about sexual crimes committed during the Russian occupation of Kyiv and Kherson regions in early 2022. Two women shared their stories with journalists, which made it possible to identify the soldiers who raped them and their commanders. In one case, the team reconstructed the crime scene, undercover contacting several civilians and military personnel in the occupied Donetsk region to clarify key details. The communication between the survivors and journalists in this case was so trusting that one of the film’s protagonists, during a public screening in Kyiv, gave up her anonymity and told her story.

Jacobsen: What are some of the most noteworthy narratives told by Ukrainian women in war so far, known to you?

Kobyliatska: The stories of Ukrainian women during the full-scale war are not only testimonies of suffering. Among them there are stories of solidarity, resistance, and leadership that shape Ukraine’s image in the world. I would highlight three key areas here. These are the stories of women who survived sexual violence committed by Russian soldiers, the stories of women who took up arms to defend Ukraine, and the stories of human rights defenders, lawyers, and volunteers.

As for the first category, these are mostly anonymous testimonies. However, they are detailed enough to understand the scale of the problem — and sometimes even to identify the perpetrators.

As of July 2025, the Prosecutor General’s Office recorded 368 cases of conflict-related sexual violence, 232 of which concern women.

Recently, organizations of women who survived Russian captivity and conflict-related sexual violence — SEMA Ukraine and Numo, Sisters! (Let’s do it, sisters!) — prepared a joint submission to UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Alice Jill Edwards. They collected testimonies of survivors and statements from lawyers defending their rights. These are voices that must be heard at the international level. The submission demonstrates that conflict-related sexual violence in Russia’s war against Ukraine is used as a form of torture — a tool of humiliation, control, and terror (the full document can be found here).

There are also the stories of female soldiers who fight on equal terms with men — as commanders, snipers, drone operators, artillerywomen. This is crucial because they rewrite the narrative of war, making women subjects rather than objects of storytelling. Yaryna Chornohuz, a poet, is among them a combat medic, marine, and intelligence officer. She has been at war since 2019 and often travels abroad to advocate for supporting Ukraine with weapons.

Another important dimension is that of human rights defenders who document war crimes. For example, Oleksandra Matviichuk, head of the Center for Civil Liberties, who, together with her team, has been recording Russia’s crimes since the first days of the invasion. Her story is significant because it combines women’s leadership, legal precision, and humanism. This very work helped the Center receive the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize.

All these women are united by their strength to speak out. And it is they who explain to the world what Ukraine is fighting for — and what enormous price we are all paying for our freedom.

Jacobsen: What are important interview protocols, verification steps, and anonymization standards, to best protect survivors while serving the public interest in reporting?

Kobyliatska: I have already spoken about the key requirements for the war reporting in media and covering those affected by it. When highlighting the principles of interviewing survivors, I believe it is important to ensure the safety of the interviewees. For example, in the occupied territories, women have united in the resistance movement “Zla Mavka” (Angry Wood Nymph). They use tools such as leaflets, posters, stickers, symbolic actions, and information manifestations to show that people in the occupied territories continue to resist. But they do this anonymously for safety reasons. When communicating with members of the movement, this must be taken into account, because even seemingly minor details can make a person identifiable to the enemy.

Informed consent is also crucial. A person must understand in which outlet and what exactly will be published, and must agree to it. This is especially important when it comes to personal, traumatic, or dangerous topics. In October 2022, there was a major prisoner exchange during which 108 women returned to Ukraine. A journalist from “Povaha” interviewed one of the women who had spent about five years in prison due to a fabricated case by the Russians. Before publication, we removed from the text all mentions of settlements and any information that could have endangered the woman. All the more so because, at that time, her children were still in the occupied territory, and negotiations were underway to have someone take them out and bring them to their mother.

That is, minimizing identifying data, using agreed pseudonyms and general descriptions, as well as protected visual content (concealing faces). When we speak about sensitive journalism, the goal of the journalist is to give voice to survivors, to serve the public interest while ensuring the safety of the interviewees and avoiding additional harm.

Jacobsen: Women in Media examined gender balance in Ukrainian newsrooms. What is the current state of gender balance in Ukrainian newsrooms?

Kobyliatska: As far as I know, Women in Media will conduct their research for the third consecutive year. The situation has not changed much compared to 2023–2024. According to the latest data, work in the media remains a field where women constitute the majority: 58% compared to 42% of men. At the same time, only 51% of managerial positions are held by women. Overall, the situation with expert commentary is disappointing, since only 30% of such comments in the news belong to women, while men dominate among speakers in television analytical programs.

Very few newsrooms have gender equality policies or mechanisms for reporting violations of these policies. For example, only 3% have policies aimed at promoting women’s leadership. The situation in regional media is worse than in national or capital-based outlets.

This means that the presence of women in the media does not necessarily translate into influence or equality in decision-making. In the context of war, this imbalance is especially significant, since it is the media that shape narratives — and gender sensitivity in newsrooms is crucial to ensure that war coverage is balanced and reflects women’s experiences without reproducing gender stereotypes.

Jacobsen: POVAHA and partners called out sexist content. Did the intervention make changes, or has this been a punctuation of a longer-term intervention?

Kobyliatska: Povaha was established in April 2014. We began to counter sexism at a time when almost no one in Ukraine even mentioned it. Moreover, people often did not know the meaning of the word “sexism” and asked whether it had something to do with sex.

Since then, the campaign has achieved significant results, raising the issue of sexism in the media to the national level. However, this was not a one-time “effect” but rather a long-term, systematic effort to transform the media environment. Changes are already happening, but it is still far from being considered a solved problem.

We advocated for the abolition of banned professions (until 2017, Ukraine had a list of more than 450 professions prohibited for women — restrictions that had existed since Soviet times). We also joined the advocacy campaign for the ratification of the Istanbul Convention. It was challenging and not always effective, as these initiatives faced strong resistance and triggered the emergence of anti-gender movements in the country.

Another area of Povaha’s work is gender-sensitive journalism. We conducted training sessions for journalists on how to maintain gender balance, avoid stereotypes, and communicate with women who have experienced violence without retraumatizing them. We also created a database of female experts for the media, Ask a Woman, so that journalists could seek comments from women specialists in various fields.

For several years in a row, we presented the anti-award “Tse Yaitse” (This is an egg), recognizing public officials who made sexist statements. Another nomination of the anti-award was for media outlets that failed to meet standards and tolerated sexism.

After the start of the full-scale invasion, we began writing extensively about women in the military, the work of women volunteers, and the wartime experiences of women. We spoke out against a well-known TV channel that released a calendar featuring naked female journalists as a way to raise funds for the army. This initiative sparked wide discussion about whether such methods are acceptable for charity purposes. In our opinion, it discriminates against women, and such content is unacceptable.

Unfortunately, we are currently facing financial difficulties, so the campaign has suspended its activities.

Jacobsen: “Ask a Woman” (2015-) expands expert sourcing. What editorial nudges, assignment checklists, producer prompts, and so on, move usage from optional to routine? Gender equity matters. Resources like this can move things to a healthier balance. 

Kobyliatska: For the use of databases like Ask a Woman to become a systemic practice, media outlets need to formalize it not merely as a matter of goodwill, but as part of their editorial policy. When a newsroom has a document that explicitly states that every publication should strive to ensure a balance of expert voices by gender, this principle becomes part of everyday work.

A policy is an official and publicly documented text that provides clear guidance for the internal processes of an editorial office (for example, principles of balancing expert voices, avoiding sexism and gender stereotypes).

This is by no means a novelty for Ukraine. The organization Volyn Press Club has been encouraging the creation of editorial policies with a gender component for many years. Training sessions are held for regional media outlets, and they receive mentorship to develop editorial policies that directly establish commitments to gender balance (in the selection of experts, newsmakers, and within the editorial team).

In addition to regional outlets, national media have also begun adopting editorial policies. This has been facilitated by the organizations Women in Media and the Commission on Journalism Ethics. Over the past year alone, gender equality policies have been introduced by Ukrainska Pravda (Ukrainian Truth), Rubryka (Heading) and Suspilne (Public).

When media outlets have an effective editorial policy, consulting expert databases such as Ask a Woman becomes a habit — not something optional or occasional.

Jacobsen: Women in Media connects a large peer network of journalists. It links ZMINA, JurFem, Ukrinform, and others. How does that network accelerate change? 

Kobyliatska: Women in Media is just one of the NGOs focused on supporting women working in journalism. The other organizations you listed are more human rights–oriented (Yurfem is a community of female lawyers who advocate for gender equality, and ZMINA is a Human Rights Center, one of whose areas of activity is the protection of women’s rights). Ukrinform is a media outlet, a news agency.

Returning to Women in Media, it is a large network of women working in the media who support and strengthen each other. I follow the work of this organization closely. They have many important initiatives. In particular, I have participated in several of them: a retreat for women in media and a reimbursement program for childcare expenses (the cost of a nanny, clubs, or camps).

I also know that Women in Media is promoting the creation of children’s corners so that journalists can take their children with them to conferences or media events and leave them in a special childcare space where they will be looked after. This is a very good and inclusive initiative. It gives women the opportunity to do their work with peace of mind and to know that their children are safe and cared for during that time.

Jacobsen: Women are, indeed, 50% of Ukraine’s success (and pride). Which lessons on political representation coverage, candidate profiling, and debunking gendered narratives should be adopted more?

Kobyliatska: “Women are 50% of Ukraine’s success” is the name of a social project aimed at activating and supporting women in public and political life, balancing the representation of women and men in key positions to help create a truly European model of society. It was mainly an information platform, but we also held training sessions for female politicians. This project is now also suspended due to a lack of funding.

Regarding the approaches of the media and the political representation of women, the topic of elections is irrelevant for Ukraine and will remain irrelevant for a long time because the war is ongoing, and no elections can be held during wartime. Activists and volunteers are encouraged to enter politics, but it is unknown how and when this will happen. Therefore, we work with those women who are already members of parliament or work in local authorities

In training sessions, we always emphasize that when working with this topic, journalists should avoid stereotypes and misogyny and should not discriminate against the female politicians they are writing about. However, unfortunately, a woman can still be asked in an interview who she left her children with or who cooks in her family. Men are not asked such questions. I always talk about the “mirror test”: if you want to ask a woman something and have doubts about whether it is a discriminatory question, think about whether you would ask a man the same thing. If not, then you should reconsider the question and ask something else.

I think editorial policies on gender equality would be very useful here because they set clear rules when everyone in the newsroom knows that sexist descriptions, comments about appearance, family status, or “feminine traits” should be avoided. Talk about professionalism and experience, not about gender. It would also be good if the media prepared more materials about successful female politicians, stories of overcoming barriers, and women’s initiatives in communities. They should use storytelling that shows women as subjects of action, not as exceptions or “victims of the system.” Although slowly, this is already happening — because if we compare the media approaches that existed 10 years ago with what we have now, the progress is quite noticeable.

Jacobsen: Thank you for the opportunity and your time, Victoria.

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