Women in Media NGO (WiM), with the support of IREX Europe operating as ERIM, organized the project “Emergency Support to Civil Society and Media in Response to the Russia’s war in Ukraine (ESU).” It ran from April 15, 2023, to December 14, 2023. During the project, we were able to achieve the following:
- Self-support group of female journalists in online and offline format;
- Creation of informational and educational materials on the topic of psychological hygiene
- Creation of educational materials on countering gendered or sexualized misinformation and online harassment
- Individual psychosocial consultations for female journalists
We got good feedbacks from the participants of this program and here are some of them.
“I am infinitely grateful to you for the opportunity to work with my fears and problems connected to my first job, which prevented me from developing and working at a new one. The psychologist was very empathetic and helped me get all the emotions out, and after the conversation, I felt noticeably better. In general, the morale improved and the success in the new job began to increase noticeably, so I am grateful to you for such a chance and to Maryna for her qualifications. In 5 sessions I was able to overcome the problems with which I came. She also provided her recommendations on how to act in crisis situations for herself. I send rays of kindness and gratitude to everyone involved in this program’’, – Anna Steblovska.
“These 5 meetings were really very valuable for me, in the end I got more than I expected at the start. Thank you and the Women in Media team for this opportunity. You make me feel much better”, – Anastasiya Abramets.
“Thank you very much for this opportunity, I got a lot for myself, such sessions are one of the best investments in myself. I was very satisfied with the work with the psychologist. I think, maybe in time I will still contact Olena Stupak with some questions”, – Iryna Ladyka.
Additionally, Ukrainian female journalists, along with their children, had the opportunity to enjoy a few days of free relaxation and rejuvenation in the village of Tatariv, Ivano-Frankivsk region.
Journalists who participated in the program shared that it is exceptionally important to have the opportunity to slow down and take a breath, to recharge and continue working in the stream of news, vividly covering Russian military aggression in Ukraine.
“I am very grateful to the organizers for this opportunity. Many journalists, from the very beginning of the full-scale invasion, have not had the chance to take a vacation or even just relax. The work of journalists, both women and men, in Ukraine over the past year and a half has been very demanding, day and night. Initiatives like these help to gather strength and calm the nervous system a bit,” says program participant Victoria Yermolaeva.