Uzhgorod journalists learn how to become responsible parents
Starting the conference, the project coordinator Larysa Kobelyanska said the meeting coincided with the end of "16 days of activism against gender violence". This campaign started on the 25th of November on the International Day of the elimination of violence against women and finished on the 10th of December on the International Human Rights Day.
Larysa Kobelyanska has stressed out that gender rights were inevitable human rights. "When we are talking about gender rights, we are discussing not only women's rights or men's rights but the necessity to respect them all for the benefit of all," she added.
According to the meeting participants, one of the relevant problems in Ukraine is the right of a father to stay with his child. For a very long time, Ukrainian law did not recognise the right for fathers to take parental leave after the birth of their child. Larysa Kobelyanska said that "Ukrainian society has been very suspicious towards fathers that express their will to stay home when the child is ill. It is almost impossible for fathers to take a sick leave in these conditions".
Chief specialist of the Department of family, youth and sport of Zakarpattya Regional State Administration Oksana Huranych mentioned that there was an urgent need for establishing specialised schools for new fathers.
She also noticed that with the help of Equal Opportunities Programme it was possible to start working with fathers back in 2004. Before that, women centres offered consulting services to women only and did not have any psychologists working with fathers there.
Deputy Head of Kherson Regional State Administration Igor Yakovlev noted that they had quite different problems in Kherson region, when compared to those faced in Zakarpattya. For instance, in Zakarpattya many parents leave their homes to seek any work abroad while their children are left without proper parental care. In Kherson region, however, this problem is less acute. Most of the difficulties faced by parents are addressed and integrated into the regional social and economical development projects.
Assistant to the Minister of Interior Affairs in Lugansk Region Valeriy Arkhypov said that due to global financial crisis many labour workers are currently returning to Ukraine from elsewhere. In his opinion, social care centres and other specialised service organizations should be prepared for the returnees.
Head of the Department of family, youth and sport of Zakarpattya Regional State Administration Volodymyr Flenko spoke about the important roles gender equality and equal opportunities between men and women play in Ukraine. Especially, when many people are not even aware of their parents' rights. He called on the journalists to take active part in raising public awareness in Ukraine. He also asked them to help overcome certain stereotypes that prevent men from being good fathers.
Journalists supported the idea of advancing responsible fatherhood and followed the discussion by asking relevant questions to the meeting participants. They were also keen to know where it would be possible for young fathers to get assistance and first-hand advice. Oksana Huranych provided the participants with a list of organizations dealing with responsible parentage problems. Moreover, Volodymyr Flenko suggested that young parents having any difficulties on their way to responsible fatherhood contact the Department of family, youth and sport directly.
All participants were invited to participate in the All-Ukrainian Fathers' School that will be conducted over 10-12 December together with the Equal Opportunities Programme and Zakarpattya Regional State Administration.
For further information, please, contact Mykola Yabchenko, tel: +38 067 290 55 01.
