As part of the program, 52 female media representatives from various regions of Ukraine received funding to take care of their physical and mental health. They underwent preventive medical checkups and received counseling from psychotherapists to continue performing their challenging work in wartime conditions.
The Take Care of Your Health program, implemented by Women in Media with the support of the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), was created in response to the current challenges faced by Ukrainian women in media. Stress, heavy workloads, and the need to care for children and other family members often prevent women from prioritizing their health in a timely manner. Another factor is the lack of health insurance for employees in many newsrooms, particularly due to reduced media funding in a country experiencing full-scale war.
As part of the Take Care of Your Health program, selected participants from different regions – representatives of various types of media – had the opportunity to undergo examinations, medical procedures, and receive consultations from doctors based on their individual needs. For many, it helped detect chronic diseases, disease exacerbations, new illnesses, and pre-operative conditions, allowing them to respond in time.
Direct impact of war
Zaporizka Pravda, the oldest publication in the Zaporizhzhia region, is a regional Ukrainian-language newspaper that celebrated its centenary in 2017. Today, Zaporizhzhia and the surrounding region are frequently subjected to shelling and missile attacks by the Russian army, with some areas under occupation. Despite this, the publication continues to operate and has a digital version.
Nataliia Zvoryhina has been the chief editor of Zaporizka Pravda since 2015, nearly 10 years. This year, she joined the Take Care of Your Health program as a participant. Recently, she underwent two complex surgeries and is still undergoing a lengthy rehabilitation process, which is quite expensive. Consequently, this financial assistance has been invaluable.
“During these challenging times, you have proven to be reliable friends, genuinely ready to help. With your support, I feel that the world is a much better place. Your kindness warms my soul and encourages me to believe in goodness. You have given me the confidence that I will overcome the difficulties I’ve faced. I still have much ahead of me, including in journalism. Let’s stay united; we still have a victory to celebrate!” — Nataliia Zvoryhina, in her review of the program.
The city of Severodonetsk, in the Luhansk region, has been under Russian occupation for the second time since June 25, 2022. The Russians first controlled it from May 22 to July 22, 2014. Many, including journalists, were forced to leave their hometown. Among them is Yana Chumachenko, the editor-in-chief of Severodonetsk Online. She moved to Severodonetsk after Luhansk was occupied, where she worked with various newspapers and online publications. At the end of last year, she took charge of Severodonetsk Online, a publication founded in the late 1990s, and, along with a colleague, revamped its format almost from scratch. After the occupation of Severodonetsk, she lives in Ivano-Frankivsk.
Thanks to the support of Women in Media, Yana Chumachenko was able to receive a medical examination and identify the disease that had been debilitating her for the past two years. Such an examination would have been difficult to carry out without the costly analyses.
“This is an incredible and much-needed opportunity. In the chaos of work, we often forget to get examined and eat properly. With clear deadlines and significant funding, this support came just before Journalist’s Day, making it the best gift. It’s crucial to highlight and support such initiatives,” Yana Chumachenko emphasizes.
With the onset of the full-scale war in Ukraine, many women, including those from media, joined the army to defend the country. One such individual is journalist Lesia Hanzha, who joined the territorial defense battalion in Kyiv immediately after the invasion and later earned the rank of senior soldier and the specialty of drone operator.
Serving in combat positions takes a significant toll on health, especially on the back and lower back, due to long hours in uncomfortable positions, the daily wear of heavy equipment, and other factors. For a servicewoman, taking care of her health is crucial not only for recovery but also for maintaining combat readiness.
“Thanks to you, I was able to see a rehabilitation doctor who listened to my concerns about my back and lower back, examined me, made a diagnosis, and prescribed medication and massages. I’m updating you, girls: I’m taking the medication and undergoing the treatments. Thank you,” Lesia Hanzha said in her review.
The announcement of recruitment for this program prompted Sofia Cholas, a correspondent for the state information and analytical TV channel Rada, to compile a list of medical procedures and consultations that journalists should undergo. Sofia says that she was surprised at how long it took and chose to start with the bare minimum. She received a professional treatment plan and continues to work on improving her health.
“Thank you for taking care of my health. Despite everything, I continue to work in the war zone and report on the remarkable people in the field,” says Sofia Cholas.
“The program provided the motivation to focus on my mental health and set aside thoughts of changing profession.”
“In the journalistic community, we often discuss how unethical it is to interview people who have recently experienced traumatic events – such as shelling, occupation, or the loss of loved ones. However, we rarely acknowledge that journalists themselves are constantly exposed to trauma. When we go to film the aftermath of shelling in Kharkiv, Dnipro, or Odesa, and another shelling occurs while we are there, it is just as dangerous, frightening, and shocking for us as it is for the people we report on,” says Yuliia, a 37-year-old freelance journalist and participant in the Take Care of Your Health program. Her last name is not included in this material at her request.
Filming evacuations, working in front-line zones, and reporting from de-occupied territories all impact journalists’ mental health, Yuliia emphasizes. She admits that after covering the winter shelling in Kyiv and its consequences, she began to experience brief episodes of losing consciousness. Despite seeking medical attention, the hospital found no physical cause and diagnosed these episodes as an “acute stress reaction.”
“I knew I needed to see a psychotherapist, but I postponed therapy due to its cost,” says Yuliia. “The Take Care of Your Health program from Women in Media gave me the motivation to focus on my mental health and set aside thoughts of changing my profession.”
As part of the program, the journalist attended several sessions with a psychotherapist of her own choosing. Yuliia recalls having encountered similar programs in the past that offered psychological help to journalists. However, in those cases, the organizers pre-selected the therapists, which led her to doubt their qualifications and discouraged her from participating.
“The psychotherapist I began seeing through the Women in Media program confirmed that I truly needed that. She also believes that every female journalist covering the war in Ukraine should receive psychological support. Thank you once again for providing this timely and essential help.”
“If you want to spin this planet, you need to be on healthy legs.”
Iryna Trebunskykh, a journalist for the Grechka online information portal from Kropyvnytskyi, says: “I used to plan hospital visits and preventive checkups, but with the onset of the great war, it became impossible to plan anything.” She has to schedule her vacations around her military husband’s leave dates, and it’s challenging to predict expenses due to urgent household needs and requests for military donations.
“As a result, my own health issues are often pushed to the background. I endure the pain and delay addressing chronic conditions, thinking I’ll deal with them after the war. But this procrastination only worsens the situation,” Iryna admits.
She provides an example: she has a hereditary predisposition to varicose veins. Five years ago, she noticed an enlarged vein on her left leg, which appeared as a dark blue, twisted strip. At that time, while working in print media and having more free time, she underwent an experimental treatment. Although it provided temporary relief, the vein reappeared a year and a half later. Swelling, pain, and a feeling of heaviness in the leg developed. However, Iryna continued to delay visiting a phlebologist, telling herself that the leg was still functional so it could wait. However, she stopped wearing heels, even though she sometimes wanted to, and began to feel self-conscious about wearing skirts. At the same time, she feared being told that surgery was necessary.
“Thanks to the support from Women in Media, I decided to see a doctor. Knowing that the consultation would be covered, I chose not to go for the nearest or cheapest option but to a specialist whose expertise I could trust. I found an excellent phlebologist who detailed the risks of worsening varicose veins and potential complications. He thoroughly explained the different types of surgery, how they are performed, and their consequences. He answered all my questions, from “What is the rehabilitation period and what exercises should be done?” to “Does it hurt a lot?”, shares Iryna Trebunskykh.
The next step in the treatment is an expensive surgery, scheduled for the fall, for which the journalist has started saving money. She adds that she would gladly take advantage of similar programs for media women to cover the costs of planned surgeries if such programs were available:
“Thank you very much for your support program. This is not only important from a financial point of view, it is also a reminder that if you want to spin this planet, you need to be on healthy legs!”
“I feel remembered and supported.”
“Over the past year, I’ve received several serious diagnoses, including asthma and an autoimmune disease. I’ve come to realize that I visit doctors or take tests every week. It demands time, money, and mental strength. But I still need to receive treatment,” says Nataliia Mazina, a journalist for the online publication hromadske.
Nataliia used the funds from the Take Care of Your Health program for allergen analysis, which she couldn’t have afforded on her own. The results of this test will help her understand how to avoid allergens in the future and prevent asthma flare-ups.
“I am grateful to Women in Media for this opportunity and support; it means a lot to me. It’s not just about the financial assistance, but also about feeling remembered and supported,” Nataliia Mazina concludes.
The allergen test emerged as one of the most popular choices among this year’s Women in Media program participants, with several media women opting for it. Among them is Yuliia Dukach, a journalist from the website Texty. The test revealed that she is allergic to grass – the kind that grows everywhere and is hard to avoid.
“I finally received a diagnosis – the first and most expensive step toward treating my seasonal spring-summer allergies, which leave me with a perpetually stuffy nose and inflamed eyes. It’s a condition where it’s hard to decide whether sneezing ten times in a row or the risk of falling asleep at work after taking an allergy pill is worse,” says Yuliia Dukach about the results of her examination.
Kids need a healthy mom
Olha Bulkovska, a journalist with the national hyperlocal media network Район.in.ua and curator of the West Media Forum in Lutsk, has three children: two minors and an older son who serves in the army. Recently, she splits her time between Lutsk and Kyiv, balancing work with caring for her younger children. When applying for the Take Care of Your Health program, Olha knew she had health issues but was unaware of their true extent.
“Work and life in two cities, combined with constant stress, have taken a significant toll on my health. My eyesight has worsened, and I have ulcers in all my digestive organs, which will require at least a month of treatment. I am scheduled for another surgery in August, which I hope will be planned rather than urgent. Doctors have also expressed concerns about my cardiovascular system, along with several smaller issues that will need long-term treatment. Additionally, I consulted a psychotherapist and will be taking antidepressants for at least six months. Sleep has become a luxury due to constant anxiety and self-stress, which has become almost a permanent state for me,” says Olha Bulkovska.
She adds that she needed an incentive to begin her examination and being selected for the program provided that motivation. The financial aspect was also significant: due to ongoing financial pressures, she had delayed addressing her health issues until they became critical, eventually seeking medical help only when her ulcers had worsened.
“I know many colleagues who, like me, discovered health problems that should have been addressed much earlier, thanks to your support. We share these stories to encourage everyone who reads them to pay attention to their bodies, which often signal trouble. Dear colleagues, take care of yourselves – your well-being is essential, and only you can maintain it. My children are also a major motivation for me; they need a healthy mother,” says Olha Bulkovska.
Women in Media NGO regularly organizes programs to support the mental and physical health of Ukrainian media women. These include self-support groups, retreats in the Carpathians for female journalists and their children, individual psychological assistance programs, and compensation for medical examinations, among others.
It is worth noting that in 2023, Women in Media NGO, in cooperation with the Government Commissioner for Gender Policy of Ukraine, published the results of the study “Gender Balance in Decision-Making in Ukraine’s Media.” The survey, based on 173 questionnaires from male and female journalists across 168 Ukrainian media outlets, revealed that while women constitute the majority in the governing bodies of newsrooms, men dominate among media owners. The size of editorial offices affects not only gender representation but also the burden on female managers. Often, in small teams, the same person combines several leadership positions at once due to a lack of personnel and resources in the media. Some respondents pointed out that it is the low incomes in the media that cause editorial offices to consist mainly of women who hold senior positions.
The Take Care of Your Health initiative by Women in Media is implemented within the framework of the Voices of Ukraine support program. The program, led by the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom, is part of the Hannah-Arendt-Initiative and is funded by the German Federal Foreign Office.