Human beauty is complete when the body and soul are in harmony.
Taking care of the mental state during war is extremely important for each of us, and especially for those Ukrainians who suffered from its cruel consequences.
Thus, last year, the Future for Ukraine Foundation began cooperating with the British beauty brand Medik8 for the GIDNA project, which provides free psychological assistance to women during the Russian-Ukrainian war. The official representative company of Medik8 in Ukraine — Starlit Group — accumulated 10% of its profit for December 2023 to direct funds to the project’s needs.
The GIDNA project helps women who survived sexual violence from the russian occupiers and women whose relatives went missing or are in captivity.
Starlit Group founder Tetiana Taran about their decision to support the project:
“Sexual violence is a complicated issue. That’s why we chose a different path to say out loud about it and joined the GIDNA project from Future for Ukraine to support those who have suffered from violence and also fight stigma in our society.”
In January 2024, the Medik8 representative office in Ukraine transferred UAH 505,915.40 to the activities of the GIDNA project. Donated funds enabled free qualified psychological assistance to Ukrainian women affected by the war throughout the year.
Thanks to therapy, 42 female participants can overcome a critical period in their lives, and form inner resilience. These are 24 women who survived sexual violence committed by occupiers and 18 women whose relatives were captured or went missing during hostilities.
As GIDNA specialists note, most women who have experienced sexual violence do not seek psychological help for a long time for one common reason — the feeling of shame and guilt, artificially imposed by society. However, having overcome internal hesitations and applied to GIDNA, the women found support that helped them move on.
Therapy effects:
- Women gained skills in building internal resilience.
- Learned how to work with destructive emotions and help themselves in crisis states.
- All participants noticed that they started sleep well and that their daily routines had improved. They gained more time for self-care.
GIDNA specialists conducted 408 consultations — 392 individual sessions and 16 group ones.
We thank the Medik8 representative office in Ukraine for their cooperation and assistance in improving the mental health of Ukrainian women.
