Охоплення: Regional

Overcoming Gender Stereotypes in Fatherhood Through Local Journalism

Context

Gender stereotypes about fatherhood remain deeply rooted in Ukrainian society: childrearing is often perceived as a “woman’s responsibility,” while men’s caregiving role is undervalued or treated as exceptional. In the context of war, loss, and the disruption of family structures, these perceptions require particular reconsideration.

For frontline communities in the Kharkiv region, stories of families who survived occupation and continue living through wartime become an important source of social support and normalization of diverse family models.

What was done

The Hromada.Group editorial team published a social-profile feature about Oleh Mykhailiev, a history teacher from Artemivka in the Pechenihy community, who has been raising three children alone after the death of his wife.

The article:

  • presents the experience of a single father without appealing to pity or sensationalism;
  • shows a man’s daily responsibility and care as a normal part of fatherhood;
  • describes the family’s experience of surviving Russian occupation and adapting to life during the war.

How it was implemented

The article was produced in the format of a social portrait focused on the family’s everyday life.

The journalistic approach included:

  • a detailed description of the family’s story and the daily challenges of raising children;
  • a conscious avoidance of heroization, dramatization, or emotional pressure on readers;
  • a focus on the father’s role as caregiver, educator, and a stable figure in the children’s lives;
  • adherence to ethical standards regarding children’s privacy.

Olena Zelenina, Head of the Analytical Department of the Hromada.Group local media network in Kharkiv region, noted:

“The topic of ‘a dad on parental leave’ is almost absent from Ukrainian media. Perhaps because very few fathers use this opportunity. According to various estimates, only 2–3% of fathers take parental leave, which is significantly lower than in many European countries, although public opinion surveys show that a large share of Ukrainians consider it normal when a woman earns more than a man. In reality, however, stereotypes still limit this practice.”

She also emphasized that stereotypes in the portrayal of fatherhood are reinforced by exceptional cases. According to her, when media focus only on “ideal” fathers or, conversely, “terrible” fathers, they create an unrealistic background for most people. Therefore, avoiding moralizing judgments is one of the best safeguards against reproducing stereotypes in coverage of fatherhood.

Zelenina further stressed the importance of balancing public interest with children’s privacy. In sensitive cases, she recommends changing names and avoiding identifiable locations such as schools or neighborhoods. Journalists should explain not only where the material will be published, but also what reactions and comments may appear online, so that participants understand the implications of a permanent digital footprint. At the same time, she emphasized that journalists must never pressure people to relive painful experiences for emotional effect or a stronger headline.

Impact

The publication helps challenge the stereotype that parenting is exclusively a “female sphere” and increases the visibility of men as responsible and engaged fathers.

The article also:

  • supports public acceptance of diverse family models;
  • demonstrates how local journalism can address sensitive social issues without stigmatization;
  • fosters empathetic understanding of families living in frontline communities.

What other media can learn from this

  • Cover male caregiving without sensationalism or exoticization, avoiding framing it as an “exception” or a “heroic act.”
  • Avoid pity-oriented language and excessive heroization, focusing instead on responsibility and everyday care.
  • Portray fatherhood as an ongoing process, not merely a reaction to tragedy or loss.
  • Challenge gender stereotypes through normalization, allowing the story itself to convey the message.
  • Address social issues through concrete human stories, rather than abstract generalizations.
  • Take into account the local context of war and occupation, showing the resilience of communities and families.
  • Apply strong ethical standards regarding children’s privacy, never using children as emotional tools.

Visibility of Veterans’ Experiences and Reducing Stigma Through First-Person Storytelling

Context

Since the beginning of the full-scale war, the number of veterans in Ukraine has been rapidly increasing. At the same time, public discourse about veterans’ experiences is often limited to two extremes: heroization or stigmatization. Veterans’ stories are frequently reduced to narratives of trauma, loss, or “otherness,” which complicates reintegration into civilian life, contributes to social isolation, and reinforces discriminatory perceptions.

In this context, media play a crucial role in shaping a responsible, unbiased, and humane understanding of veterans—as diverse individuals with their own histories, experiences, and potential for active participation in society.

What Was Done

The media platform Nakypilo created the podcast series Shoulder to Shoulder, centered on conversations with soldiers and veterans of Ukraine’s liberation war.

The podcasts address:

  • returning from the front to civilian life, adaptation, and rehabilitation;
  • mental health, bodily changes, inclusion, and the prevention of social isolation;
  • veterans’ experiences in their own words, without imposed frameworks of heroization or pity.

One episode features Dmytro Kozatskyi (“Orest”), a veteran, public speaker, and project manager working on veterans’ engagement in the defense industry, highlighting veterans’ professional development and civic participation as well.

How It Was Implemented

The series is built around open, non-confrontational conversations in which participants speak in the first person, at their own pace and in their own language.

The editorial team deliberately chose:

  • an audio format that creates a sense of a safe space for discussing difficult topics;
  • a focus on personal experience without generalizations or stereotypes;
  • an approach that allows discussion not only of traumatic events but also of recovery, new social roles, and participation in community life.

Natalia Nekypila, commissioning editor at Radio Nakypilo, explains that the newsroom approaches mental health, bodily changes, and vulnerable veterans’ experiences in line with the outlet’s editorial policy. The key principles include prioritizing human dignity over sensationalism, using non-stigmatizing language, and respecting the personal boundaries of guests. Veterans are never treated as “cases” or generalized figures; their own voices and their right to control their stories remain central.

According to her, the newsroom consciously avoids dramatization, excessive heroization, and pathologization of experience, does not pressure guests emotionally, and considers the psychological safety of the audience, especially when covering PTSD, loss, and adaptation to civilian life. This helps minimize the risk of retraumatization and triggering for listeners.

She also emphasizes the importance of contextualization: veterans’ personal experiences are presented within a broader wartime and social context, including access to rehabilitation, the role of communities, and state responsibility.

“This approach resonated with audiences: listeners and veterans noted the calm tone and the feeling of a safe space where difficult topics could be discussed without retraumatization. Critical feedback also occurred, and we took it into account. The local context of Kharkiv is fundamental for us: the city lives in close proximity to active hostilities, and this shapes the tone of our conversations—careful, restrained, and oriented toward supporting the community. The radio does not merely talk about veterans; it talks with them as members of a community for whom the experience of war is an everyday reality.” — Natalia Nekypila

Impact

The podcast series contributes to changing perceptions of veterans—from seeing them solely as carriers of traumatic experience to recognizing them as diverse and full participants in social life.

The materials:

  • help dismantle stereotypes related to bodily changes, mental health, and expectations of the “perfect hero”;
  • strengthen public discussion about equality, dignity, respect, and trust;
  • provide an example of responsible journalism when working with vulnerable experiences in wartime and postwar contexts.

What Other Media Can Learn From This

  • Build conversations with veterans on the basis of equality rather than treating them as a “special category.”
  • Allow guests to speak in the first person and at their own pace, without emotional pressure or imposed narratives of heroism or suffering.
  • Avoid generalizations and stigmatizing language that automatically links veteran status with mental illness, danger, or social isolation.
  • Cover mental health responsibly, distinguishing personal experience from professional medical or psychological information.
  • Use formats that reduce confrontation, such as podcasts and long-form conversations that allow careful listening and nuanced discussion.
  • Show the diversity of veterans’ experiences, including women veterans, veterans with disabilities, and people of different ages and professions.
  • Shift the focus from war as an event to life after war, including work, civic engagement, professional development, and everyday challenges.
  • Coordinate sensitive topics with guests and respect their right to decline discussing certain experiences.
  • Avoid exploiting visual or audio effects that intensify drama at the expense of human dignity.
  • Reflect on the newsroom’s own role in shaping public perceptions of veterans and its responsibility to support inclusion rather than exclusion.

Women Soldiers’ Visibility in the Culture of Memory

Context

Despite women’s active participation in the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other components of the security and defense sector, their military experiences remain insufficiently represented in the culture of memory. Traditional practices of war memorialization often reproduce masculine images of heroism shaped by the Soviet legacy, which leads to the symbolic exclusion of women soldiers from public commemorative space.

In the context of the full-scale war, the question of whom and how we remember becomes not only cultural but also political and value-based. The visibility of women defenders in memorial practices is an important condition for building an inclusive, fair, and contemporary culture of memory.

What Was Done

The media platform Nakypilo produced an episode of the podcast Memorialization of War dedicated to the presence of women soldiers in the culture of memory.

In conversation with Oksana Dovhopolova—co-founder and curator of the memory culture platform Past / Future / Art, Doctor of Philosophy, and professor at the Kyiv School of Economics—the episode:

  • analyzed why women’s military experiences remain insufficiently visible in public space;
  • examined the influence of Soviet militaristic traditions on contemporary commemorative practices;
  • raised the question of rethinking approaches to memorialization through a gender lens.

How It Was Implemented

The podcast was designed as an expert analytical conversation focused on cultural and philosophical analysis.

The episode discussed:

  • contemporary tools of war memorialization, including artistic projects, memory festivals, public campaigns, and local memorials;
  • the ways cultural practices can both reproduce inequality and become instruments of change;
  • the topic in cooperation with Divoche.Media, which expanded the audience and engaged listeners interested in gender issues and cultural processes.

The podcast format made it possible to explore the issue not through isolated cases but as a long-term social process requiring reflection and systemic solutions.

Impact

The episode contributed to a new understanding of commemorating women soldiers as full participants in the war rather than exceptions within a “male” narrative.

The material:

  • strengthened public discussion about the need for change in the culture of memory;
  • drew attention to symbolic inequality in memorial practices;
  • generated active audience engagement on social media through comments, shares, and discussions.

What Other Media Can Learn From This

  • Integrate a gender perspective into coverage of war, memory, and commemoration, rather than limiting attention to news reports about women’s participation in combat.
  • Ask questions about visibility and exclusion, analyzing whose experiences are represented in memorial practices and whose are systematically ignored.
  • Work with experts from humanities, cultural studies, and philosophy to provide deeper analysis of complex issues that extend beyond daily news logic.
  • Use podcasts and long-form formats to discuss long-term social processes where context and reflection are more important than speed.
  • Critically rethink the Soviet legacy in language, symbols, and memorial forms, proposing alternative and inclusive approaches.
  • Collaborate with other media outlets and cultural platforms to broaden audiences and bring multiple perspectives into conversations about memory and war.

Increasing Inclusion and the Visibility of People with Disabilities Through Rehabilitation and Community Participation

Context

In the context of the full-scale war, the number of people with disabilities in Ukraine is increasing, including as a result of injuries, trauma, and deterioration of health. At the same time, media coverage of this topic is often limited to emotional stories or focuses on disability as a “problem” rather than on rights, opportunities, and systemic solutions.

For regional media, it is especially important to discuss inclusion in practical terms—to show what services exist at the local level, how rehabilitation works, and what opportunities people with disabilities have for full participation in community life.

What Was Done

The information and television agency VITA produced an episode of the talk show On Time dedicated to the inclusion of people with disabilities in Vinnytsia.

The program:

  • discussed key aspects of social integration, including rehabilitation, vocational education, employment, and family support;
  • emphasized that people with disabilities have the right not only to basic assistance but also to a full life and participation in social processes;
  • presented the issue through a discussion of opportunities, services, and community responsibility rather than through pity or dramatization.

How It Was Implemented

The talk show was organized as a studio-based expert discussion hosted by Oleksii Litvinov. Professional speakers were invited, including Roman Shtohryn, Director of the Podillia Comprehensive Rehabilitation Center, which made it possible to:

  • discuss rehabilitation on the basis of practical experience;
  • present concrete examples of available services and support programs;
  • explain the importance of a comprehensive approach that combines psychological, professional, and social assistance.

The talk-show format allowed the editorial team to combine informational and educational goals, making a complex topic understandable for a broad regional audience.

Impact

The program contributed to strengthening public discussion about the accessibility of urban services and the need for systematic support for people with disabilities at the community level.

The episode:

  • demonstrated positive examples of cooperation between civic organizations and public institutions;
  • shifted the focus from limitations to opportunities and rights;
  • increased audience awareness of rehabilitation and social services available in the region.

What Other Media Can Learn From This

  • Discuss disability within a human-rights framework, emphasizing rights, dignity, and opportunities rather than pity or charity.
  • Engage qualified experts and practitioners working in rehabilitation, education, or employment so that discussions are grounded in real solutions.
  • Show local services and support tools relevant to a specific community instead of relying on abstract discussions about “the disability problem.”
  • Use studio discussion formats for calm and constructive conversations about complex social issues, allowing space for explanation and clarification.
  • Avoid language that reinforces stigma, including wording that defines a person solely through disability rather than through their roles, experience, and participation in society.
  • Highlight the comprehensive nature of support, showing that rehabilitation is not only a medical process but also psychological, social, and professional integration.
  • Present inclusion as a shared responsibility of the community, not solely as an issue for individual people or families.

Journalistic Audit of a Barrier-Free Environment

Context

Accessibility of the urban environment is one of the key conditions for realizing the rights of people with disabilities and other groups with reduced mobility, including wheelchair users, parents with strollers, and older people. At the same time, in many Ukrainian cities, accessibility remains fragmented or merely declarative, and the actual state of infrastructure often does not meet the declared standards.

In this context, local media can play the role of public oversight, not only informing audiences about the problem but also initiating concrete changes through community engagement and dialogue with local authorities.

What Was Done

Journalists from the municipal enterprise Uman Television Company conducted their own journalistic audit of one district of the city from the perspective of accessibility.

As part of the initiative, they:

  • assessed the accessibility of streets and infrastructure for wheelchair users and parents with strollers;
  • documented problematic areas that make movement difficult for people with reduced mobility;
  • involved local residents and people with disabilities in discussing the findings.

The goal of the material was not only to document the problem but also to draw attention to real barriers in the urban environment and encourage authorities to implement practical solutions.

As Andrii Vdovychenko, Director of Uman Television Company, noted:

“The project became highly visible because journalists did not simply show the problems—they involved people with disabilities and parents with strollers in the discussion. Thanks to this public attention, local authorities began lowering curbs in the most problematic areas, while residents gained an opportunity to publicly identify street sections that required improvement. The audience actively supported the initiative: in the comments, people shared their observations, noted positive changes, and suggested specific locations for improvement. In this way, Uman Television Company promotes inclusive practices and fosters a culture of shared responsibility for creating a barrier-free urban environment.”

How It Was Implemented

The journalistic team:

  • inspected streets and infrastructure facilities from the perspective of users for whom barriers are a daily reality;
  • involved community residents and representatives of groups with reduced mobility in identifying problematic zones;
  • combined critical analysis with examples of positive changes that had already taken place or could realistically be implemented.

This approach helped create an open public discussion about accessibility as a shared responsibility of the community, local authorities, and municipal services.

Impact

The material produced practical results at the community level:

  • local authorities began installing lowered curbs in the most problematic locations;
  • residents received a public channel for reporting areas that required changes;
  • audiences actively participated in the discussion by sharing observations, noting positive developments, and proposing specific locations for accessibility improvements.

The initiative demonstrated that journalistic reporting can become a tool for real change in the urban environment rather than merely a record of existing problems.

What Other Media Can Learn From This

  • Conduct local journalistic accessibility audits based on the real experiences of people with reduced mobility, not only on formal standards.
  • Involve people with disabilities and other groups with reduced mobility as direct participants in media materials rather than external commentators.
  • Combine criticism with solutions by showing not only problems but also possible ways to address them and examples of positive change.
  • Use media as a platform for civic dialogue, where residents can report barriers and monitor authorities’ responses.
  • Treat accessibility as a universal value that benefits not only people with disabilities but the entire community.
  • Follow up on the effects of publications by returning to the issue after initial changes and demonstrating that journalistic attention can have a lasting impact.

Inclusive newsroom and journalist with disability

What has been done

Nakypilo Radio has introduced the practice of inclusive editorial work, which is based on equality, trust in professionalism, and the full engagement of journalists with disabilities in content creation. One such example is the work of Volodymyr Noskov, a journalist and an author of radio programs, who has been working in Ukrainian media for over ten years despite complete loss of vision. For the past three years, he has been one of the voices of Nakypilo radio, where he creates his own programs, hosts live broadcasts, and conducts interviews, often focusing on human stories and accessibility issues.

The newsroom did not just adapt working conditions but also provided the journalist with broad discretion, granting him the ability to come up with the topics, tone of the conversation, and editorial content. Volodymyr Noskov’s own experience allows him to talk about barriers not as an outside observer, but from the inside — without stereotypes and regret, but with dignity and respect. The newsroom emphasizes that he insists on equal professional treatment and demands, not expecting any preferential treatment but simultaneously reminding the team of the importance of empathy and respect.

The presence of a blind journalist reinforced tolerance and empathy within the entire team. His colleagues note his professional strength, ability to work with the most complex topics, and charisma, which contributes to team spirit in the newsroom. In addition, Volodymyr Noskov tests Nakypilo’s materials and services for accessibility, helping the media outlet improve its practices.

A special example of this work was a public case when the journalist pointed out a low-quality service for people with low vision. This situation resulted in a broader public discussion on systemic accessibility issues. The media viewed it not as a personal conflict but rather as an important signal about real difficulties faced by people with disabilities.

Nakypilo’s approach in this practice is based on several key principles: a journalist with a disability is viewed as a full team member, not a “special case”; the author’s personal experience strengthens the materials instead of limiting the content; stories about barriers serve to form empathy and understanding among the audience rather than pity. This case demonstrates that inclusion in the media is not only a matter of access; it is primarily about trust in professionalism and creating equal conditions for a journalist to influence content and public conversation.

Gender Inequality in Public Space: Bodily Autonomy, Ethics, and Double Standards

Context

In everyday public space, unwritten gender rules continue to define how women and men are “allowed” or “not allowed” to look. Nudity, clothing, and ideas of “decency” are often treated as matters of personal taste or morality, yet they reflect deeper mechanisms of social control and inequality.

Women’s bodies are far more frequently subjected to judgment, sexualization, and stigmatization in public space, while similar behavior by men is often considered socially acceptable or neutral. Such double standards rarely become the subject of systematic media analysis, especially at the local level.

What Was Done

The online publication Shpalta produced an interview-based analytical article examining gender inequality in attitudes toward bodily autonomy and nudity in public space.

The article:

  • explored why men are socially permitted to appear shirtless or in informal clothing in public places, while women are stigmatized for similar behavior;
  • analyzed the mechanisms of sexualization of women’s bodies;
  • demonstrated how labels such as “prostitute” or “temptress” function as tools of social pressure and control;
  • moved beyond individual incidents to offer a broader examination of cultural and social norms that sustain inequality.

How It Was Implemented

The material was presented as an analytical interview that went beyond discussing appearance itself.

The editorial team:

  • shifted the focus from moral judgments to ethical, cultural, and power-related mechanisms;
  • used accessible, non-academic language;
  • relied on everyday experiences familiar to readers, allowing them to recognize situations from their own lives.

This approach made a complex gender issue understandable to a broad audience and opened space for reflection.

Olha Maksymiuk, Editor-in-Chief of Shpalta:

“This article is about why and where men have ‘granted themselves’ the right to walk around shirtless, with an unbuttoned shirt, or even in home shorts in public places. And at the same time, why women—even in hot weather, when a bra causes discomfort, or simply because they want their bodies to breathe—cannot be topless without immediately risking labels such as ‘prostitute’ or ‘temptress.’ The author sought to understand whether this is only about nudity or about deeper mechanisms of control over women’s bodies. We received many reactions, comments, and responses from readers who said the topic is important, relevant, and rarely discussed openly in Ukrainian media.”

Impact

The publication generated strong audience engagement through numerous comments, discussions, and responses. Readers:

  • emphasized the relevance of the topic;
  • noted that issues of bodily autonomy and double standards are rarely addressed in depth by Ukrainian media;
  • shared their own experiences of stigmatization and social pressure.

The article encouraged audiences to rethink what is considered “normal” in public space and challenged established gender norms.

What Other Media Can Learn From This

  • Address everyday forms of gender inequality that may seem “minor” but have significant social consequences.
  • Analyze bodily autonomy, ethics, and notions of decency through the lens of rights and equality, rather than morality or subjective judgment.
  • Use interviews as analytical tools, providing context and explanation rather than merely transmitting opinions.
  • Speak the language of everyday experience, making complex gender issues relatable and understandable.
  • Create safe spaces for discussion, where readers can reflect on familiar situations and share their own observations.

Veteran Voice and Media Literacy as a Component of Community Resilience

What has been done

The Hromada. Group local media network practices creating separate editorial spaces for authors who are also veterans. For instance, the newsroom started a special blog for a veteran of the Russia-Ukraine war, writer Mykhailo Filonenko, who was seriously injured in combat in the Kharkiv oblast and lost his hands and partly his eyesight. The author thus obtained his own information platform, where he fulfills his creative ideas, publishing materials about Ukrainian folklore, memory, and the connection between generations through traditional images.

In addition, Hromada. Group carries out systematic work with future journalists and young university students. The media network serves as a platform for media students to acquire practical experience, including those from S. Kuznets Kharkiv National Economic University and the Kharkiv Culture Academy.

The newsroom points out they are interested in engaging young journalists more, but they were forced to let go of some young professionals due to the loss of funding from USAID. At the same time, the team has plans to expand the network and create new offices in communities if funding resumes or new funding opportunities arise.

The newsroom also engages in combating disinformation and attempts of the Russian special services to recruit young people. This is done both through analytical journalistic materials and through editors’ participation in thematic trainings. In July and August 2025, Hromada. Group representatives participated as speakers in joint Ukrainian-Lithuanian workshops dedicated to combating the recruitment of young people by Russian special services. These events were aimed at young Lithuanians and Ukrainians and were attended by journalists, civil society organizations, and educators from the Krasnokutska community of the Kharkiv region. Like Ukraine, Lithuania sees attempts to recruit young people, both locals and Ukrainian immigrants, for subversive activities.

Inclusive Newsroom Culture

What Has Been Done

The newsroom of Grechka has a gender policy, as well as a diversity and inclusion policy, which are featured on the website in the Editorial Policy section. The team began using feminine forms of nouns in their content even before these changes were officially introduced in the Ukrainian spelling rules in 2019.

The media outlet provides corporate support for parenthood. Among other things, employees can work remotely and on flexible schedules, adapted to individual needs. This approach allows combining professional activities with childcare, particularly during the parental leave. Additional vacation days are provided for colleagues with young children, and work schedules are adjusted to take into account family circumstances — for example, some employees have the opportunity to start and finish their work day earlier.

The newsroom also took care of the team’s technical ability to work from home when necessary. Employees were provided with the necessary equipment, including power stations, power banks, and laptops. Women constitute the majority of the Grechka team.

At the same time, the newsroom points out they have initiatives that they have not yet been able to implement due to limited resources. These include introducing medical insurance for journalists, which would enable them to take care of their health systematically, have regular checkups and respond to problems if any arise. The newsroom would also like to offer access to sports classes, a swimming pool, massages, or other recovery practices, but due to prices growing during the war, the implementation of such initiatives would require more funding.

Inclusiveness and Accessibility as Part of Internal Editorial Policies

What Has Been Done

The editorial team of Trybuna.Sumy has implemented internal policies and practices in the following spheres: non-discrimination, parenthood support, flexible schedules.

In addition, in 2025, the editorial team introduced an inclusive version of the website with personalized accessibility settings for readers. Available features include:

  • changing font and cursor size;
  • adjusting the interletter spacing and line height;
  • black and white mode;
  • brightness adjustment;
  • color inversion;
  • hiding images;
  • stopping animation;
  • reading line and mask;
  • link highlighting.

Trybuna.Sumy has become the first regional media outlet to introduce this range of accessibility functions on its website.

In addition, since 2024, the About section on the website features the editorial policy including the principles of equality and non-discrimination.

How It Was Implemented

The team combined internal policies with technical solutions aimed at improving content accessibility for a wider audience. The inclusive version of the website is designed as a tool allowing the users to customize the way they consume information in line with their needs.

Impact

Introducing an inclusive version of the website has made the content more accessible to people with different needs, solidifying the position of the newsroom as a leader in inclusive solutions among regional media. The public editorial policy has increased the transparency and of the media outlet, highlighting that its activity is deeply rooted in values.

The editorial team continues testing the inclusive version of the website. The team is also looking into offering machine translation of website materials into different languages.

How Other Media Can Follow:

  • Combine internal equality policies with practical technical solutions.
  • Consider website accessibility as a basic standard, not an additional option.
  • Publicly record the principles of non-discrimination and equality in editorial policies.
  • Start implementing inclusion with specific, measurable steps.