“Most women and men believed that a woman could not head the police”

Olha Svitlychna is 29 years old. She has been building her career in the security sector for five years now. Olha was born in Mariupol. She studied in Zaporizhzhia. Having completed her studies in 2014, she returned to her hometown. At the age of 24, she became a Commissioner for Human Rights appointed by the Head of the National Police. Over time, she became Head of the Department of International Cooperation at the Donetsk State University of Internal Affairs.

Read about the desire to create a world without stereotypes, the evacuation from Mariupol, and the fight against gender-based violence in the hromadske article.

“I do not know a place in Mariupol where a shell hasn’t hit”

“It is very difficult for every citizen of Mariupol to find their place on Earth,” Olha says. Now her place is in Kropyvnytskyi. She moved here from Mariupol together with her mother and her dog Miata. The University where Olha works also partially moved to this city.

A shell hit her Mariupol apartment on March 10. The balcony collapsed. A few days later, Olha, her mother, and her dog got into a car and left the city. Olha often returns to Mariupol now, but only in her imagination. She always visits the first police hub project in Ukraine, which she implemented herself.

“I dreamed about it, probably from the moment I joined the police. I wanted to create a large creative space where police officers would feel like members of the community. I’m pretty sure it’s no longer there. I do not know a place in Mariupol where a shell hasn’t hit.”

Olha Svitlychna at work in the Donetsk State University of Internal Affairs
Photo: hromadske

“They hadn’t taken my words seriously until the management changed”

We meet Olha at work — at the Donetsk State University of Internal Affairs, which is now based in Kropyvnytskyi. She looks restrained and has long straight hair; the woman impresses with the strength and sharpness of her gaze.

Since childhood, she dreamed of changing the world. In 2014, when the security sector reform began, Olha wanted to work in this sector and only in her hometown. In 2017, Svitlychna learned from a Facebook post about the creation of the Human Rights Directorate, she did not hesitate to submit a CV and successfully passed a questionnaire and an interview for the position. Olha recalls that she was worried because of her young age (at that time she was only 24), and her lack of experience. But they accepted her.

“At first, it was difficult, my colleagues didn’t take my words seriously. First, I am a woman, and second, I am young. This changed along with the change in management. The new team supported me very much, in particular, when I created the Expert Council on Innovative Ideas in the police”

At the same time, Olha constantly faced stereotypes in the Directorate.

“I conducted training for all 23 regional police units operating at that time. At the end of the training, we would play a game: I would ask questions, and the group was divided into those who answered in the affirmative and those who objected. And so I asked: “Who agrees that a woman can lead a territorial police unit?” And the vast majority of women and men who attended the training, from all units, believed that she could not.”

When I asked “Why?” one of the men said that he was not ready to obey a woman. Others said that the woman is weak and morally unstable for this responsible position, especially in the territory where the war is going on.

“Women often said that they are not ready because the schedule is very busy, managers do not take into account personal time at all,” Olha recalls.

Now, a few years after those training, Olha sees the changes — it becomes easier for a woman to work in the security sector.

Olha Svitlychna
photo: hromadske

“I only had one chocolate bar in my backpack to eat”

On the morning of February 24, cadets and teachers of the Police Academy of Donetsk State University of Internal Affairs gathered in the lobby. The rector announced that everyone could evacuate to Kryvyi Rih, where the University Branch is located. We started making lists of those who were going by bus and those who were going with some colleagues leaving in their cars.

Olha decided to wait it out, but just in case, she filled up a full tank of fuel. It seemed that everything would end soon or in any case, there would be an opportunity to leave.

On March 2, there was no electricity and heating in Mariupol, moreover, it was impossible to safely leave the city. In a few days, Mariupol turned into a trap.

“We collected snow on the street to have drinking water, took it from some springs we hadn’t seen before, drained it from heating stations,” says Olha.

During her last trip to the store, she purchased sweets, beans, and nuts — that’s all that was left. Olha left this small supply of food on the balcony. The next morning, a shell hit there. It also destroyed the store next door, where Olha went shopping.

“It’s good that we kept water in the room and dog food in the hallway, so my Miata wasn’t hungry. I only had one chocolate bar in my backpack to eat.”

Olha Svitlychna with her dog Miata
photo: hromadske

The mobile connection had already disappeared by that time. It was not clear which part of the city they could go to and which was already occupied. First, Olha went to the city center. A submachine gunner was standing next to the Mariupol State University pointing a weapon at the car from afar. There were fierce battles in the courtyards.

“I had no idea where to run. I intuitively drove some roads and arrived somewhere,” Olha recalls.

She and her mother managed to get to their friends and stay with them. Their other friends came to the house, who somehow managed to charge the phone and catch the connection, so they found out that a column was being gathered for evacuation.

“There was no doubt that we should escape: if we don’t die from shells, we will die from hunger, lack of water, or some disease. So we got in the car and drove at random.”

For the first few days, it was impossible to believe they had escaped from hell.

“At first, you feel like a superhero, because for two days you raced through mined fields, under missiles, survived, and were able to save your closest person and your most precious pet. After the euphoria, you fall into the abyss of depression, because you could not save others. The feeling of helplessness is unbearable. And then you gradually look for meaning and realize that you need to find a place where you will be useful.”

Olha Svitlychna found her meaning in working at the Donetsk State University of Internal Affairs which she calls a big family. After relocation to Kropyvnytskyi (the entire university could not be physically located in Kryvyi Rih, so they found a new base), both teachers and cadets had a hard time adapting. However, everything is gradually getting better.

“My personal challenge is to do everything possible to ensure that international partners know about the history and fate of our university, and see the heroism of our teachers, scientists, and children,” Olha also attracts European partners to cooperate so that future police officers can learn how to work according to international standards.

Olha Svitlychna
photo: hromadske

“We promoted the idea of zero tolerance for violence in the community”

Back in Mariupol Olha developed a Strategy for Integrating Gender Perspectives into the activities of the Donetsk State University of Internal Affairs. She conducted a study “Women’s Opinion on Domestic Violence in the City of Mariupol” and created a Center for Gender Education and Innovation at the premises of the educational institution.

Cadets of the University of Internal Affairs participated in her research. They collaborated with local authorities and participated in information campaigns: they created videos in which they called on women to seek help in cases of domestic violence, and passers-by and neighbors not to ignore such cases.

In addition, together with the University’s research team, Olha prepared scientific and practical recommendations for police officers who help document cases of domestic violence. She also organized the All-Ukrainian Forum for Women’s Leadership “Be a woman. Be a leader. Be yourself.”

“We promoted the idea of zero tolerance for violence in the community,” says Svitlychna.

Olha says that the war created even more challenges. Ukrainian law enforcement officers do not have access to the temporarily occupied territories. It is still impossible to stop crimes there. At the same time, violence has not disappeared from relatively safe areas, quite the contrary. But you can’t rely on statistics. Often, women who are abused simply do not go to the police.

“A woman may have no place to go, she may be afraid that she won’t be able to provide for herself and her children,” Olha explains. “Today we need to study these factors in every community. Sometimes it is necessary to build shelters or engage in social entrepreneurship and create jobs for women. Or maybe we just need to deal with the courts in the region.”

Olha is getting used to the new city and does not yet feel at home in Kropyvnytskyi. However, she has already found a gym, she tries to go there three times a week because sports are one of her energy sources.

While walking her dog, Olha explores Kropyvnytskyi. When she is with Miata, her voice becomes softer, she relaxes — and her posture is no longer as tense as at work. She says that she was very worried about her pet after the evacuation because it was very stressful for the dog.

Olha Svitlychna on a walk with Miata
photo: hromadske

Everything has changed around her. But, just like 5 years ago, Olha Svitlychna strives to change the world for the better. And she believes that she will succeed.

“Like before, I want to make a personal contribution to live in a world free from gender stereotypes and violence. I am faithful to my dream, but the way to achieve it has changed. I used to work more in the community, inside Ukraine. After a full-scale invasion, I realized that we are not just fighting for ourselves — today Ukraine is fighting for the whole world. I devote myself to international activities, studying international experience that will help us rebuild the country.”

The partner material is published as an advertisement. The article was created in collaboration with the UN Women project “Decentralization Reforms and Community Security: Transformative Approaches to Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment in Ukraine” funded by the Danish government.

Journalist Oksana Pavlenko, editors Khrystyna Kotsira and Victoriia Beha, designer Tetiana Kostik, and creative producer Anna Sokha worked on the material.