De(ter)mined? A Qualitative Research of Gender Mainstreaming Practices in Humanitarian Mine Action in Ukraine

Abstract: Ukraine belongs to the most landmine contaminated countries in the world. Therefore, humanitarian mine action (HMA) is an important area of work for Ukraine’s humanitarian protection cluster. In Ukraine, landmine contamination produces gendered insecurities and vulnerabilities. Casualties are predominantly men, while the affected population has a high proportion of vulnerable people, including women, the elderly, displaced and the disabled.  This study investigates which strategies were applied by organisations in the Ukraine’s mine action sub-cluster in order to respond to gendered insecurities and vulnerabilities to landmine contamination and by empowering vulnerable groups through their programmes. It is based on semi-structured interviews with representatives of HMA operators and international organisations in Ukraine. The main findings are that HMA operators in Ukraine considered gender and diversity to reach marginalised groups for operational purposes, such as internally displaced people (IDPs) and the elderly, by conducting household visits and deploying diverse teams. While operators adopted an evidence-based approach to explosive ordnance risk education (EORE), programmes predominantly focused on children, despite the largest at-risk group being adult men. More than in operations, gender mainstreaming was visible in operators’ efforts to offer equal employment opportunities in the HMA sector, supporting the affected population socio-economically. However, for meaningful participation in decision making in the sector, more time and continuous effort is required to help women advance even further into senior roles of impact.  Challenges to adequately mainstream gender were the lack of a centralised information management system and difficulties accessing the affected population. Particularly since early 2020, gender mainstreaming in community interaction has been severely limited due to COVID-19 related contact restrictions. Technological solutions were identified as the main opportunity for continued community interaction and EORE amid these access restrictions.