For the GIDNA project, 2025 was a year of profound, complex, and at the same time extremely important work. We worked with those whose pain often remains invisible to society — women survivors of conflict-related sexual violence or its witnesses, and women who live in a state of ambiguous loss, whose relatives went missing or are in captivity.
These are women who have lost their sense of security, trust in the world, and often their right to a voice. Women who are afraid of condemnation, who do not dare to talk about the sexual violence they have experienced, and who carry the guilt imposed on them by society for years. And women whose lives have stopped waiting for a call, news, or any sign that their loved one, son, or father is still alive.
Conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) undermines and sometimes destroys a person's basis. Many women admit after their experiences that they have lost trust in people and even in themselves. Fear of condemnation, stigmatization, and phrases such as “it's your fault” force them to remain silent. However, only by speaking about their pain can they begin to live again.
Experiencing violence is often accompanied not only by emotional pain but also by feelings of danger, shame, guilt, and deep dissociation. Therefore, my main task is to create a safe space where women can gradually regain control over their bodies, emotions, and thoughts. Through the gradual identification and awareness of their fears and anxieties, women can see that past events do not define their lives today. Every success, even the smallest one, such as being able to talk about trauma without panicking, is of great importance," says Maryna Kuzmyn, the GIDNA project’s psychologist.
Of all GIDNA applications in 2025, 58% were related to sexual violence. Fifty-three women aged 18 to 46 received help. GIDNA psychologists held 841 individual sessions for women who had suffered violence during the war. A significant proportion of requests were from victims of sexual violence, while there were also requests from women who had witnessed crimes, which is extremely traumatic for their mental health. We are approached by women who need not only psychological help, but also support during the war crime investigation. The path of a woman who has survived sexual violence is difficult and long, and they needs to receive support and professional help along the way to heal from trauma step by step and regain control of their life.
Ambiguous loss is another, but no less devastating experience. It is a state in which a woman finds herself for years, with no news about her loved one: no confirmation of death, no confirmation of captivity. It is like being frozen between two worlds and fighting an internal battle between hope and despair every day. Women cannot live through their grief because there is no certainty or closure, and they do not allow that to themselves. They block their emotions because they have to hold on, putting their own lives on hold, clinging to hope, and, at the same time, exhausting themselves every day.
While working with women who are experiencing ambiguous loss, I see how important it is to help them maintain the ability to continue living, gradually restoring the flow of life, even when everything around them stands still in anticipation of news about their loved ones. My task is often to help them not lose inner connection with themselves, their feelings, and their needs. It is not easy to be close to someone else's pain, which has no end and no certainty; however, it is 100% true that this presence and support create a space for a woman in which she can gradually recover," says Anastasiіa Kyrychenko, the GIDNA project’s psychologist.
In 2025, 42% of GIDNA applications are related to ambiguous loss. Help was provided to forty-one women aged 21 to 78. A total of 606 individual and 16 group sessions were held. Group work is particularly supportive and effective for women experiencing ambiguous loss.
These figures are not just statistics. They represent hundreds of hours of conversation, support, and gentle and patient rehabilitation. This is how GIDNA works — carefully, professionally, and with respect for each personal story.
“In 2025, we saw a rapid increase in requests — not only because of the scale of the war, but also because of growing trust in the project. Women are beginning to speak and think about wanting to free themselves from the burden of trauma so they can find relief. This is a fragile but highly important process. In 2026, we plan to develop the team, strengthen our work with women's groups, and work on removing stigma in society. Silence does not heal, but support does," says Anna Hrubaia, curator of the GIDNA project.
We sincerely thank everyone who supports the GIDNA project. Thanks to you, Ukrainian women have a chance to regain their strength, sense of purpose, and faith in life. Because each of them is important to their families, to society, and to our shared future.
