Model Programme for Perpetrators of Domestic Violence — Ukraine's Court-Referred, Municipally Delivered Scheme (Order No. 1434, 2018)

In October 2018 Ukraine's Ministry of Social Policy approved a model programme for perpetrators of domestic violence (Order No. 1434, amended by Order No. 588 of October 2021). Under the Law on Preventing and Combating Domestic Violence, referral to a perpetrator programme is a protection measure a court can impose, and the Criminal Code and Criminal Procedure Code allow convicted persons and suspects to be referred as well. Programmes last 3–12 months and are implemented by local state administrations and local authorities, mainly through state-run social welfare services and some NGOs, in community settings only; probation programmes do not exist.
A 2022 UN Women/UNFPA regional review under the EU 4 Gender Equality programme mapped 19 Ukrainian programmes. It found that 74% work mostly with court-referred clients, 74% also accept voluntary clients (about 20% of their caseload on average), 84% are government-funded and 74% say that funding is permanent. It also found that 79% work with fewer than 25 perpetrators a year, referral rates vary widely between regions and even between Kyiv districts, and there are no comprehensive data on protection measures ordered. Only 5% of programmes treat a gender-specific approach as a core element, and the widely used curriculum is gender-neutral. Programmes are often added to existing social services without extra resources, and staff turnover is high.
Outcome evidence is weak: 74% of programmes say they measure outcomes, but mainly through interviews with the perpetrator or psychological inventories, which are poor indicators of changed behaviour. No independent evaluation of reoffending or survivor safety was found. UNFPA reported 414 referrals to perpetrator programmes in 2020, against more than 80,000 people registered for domestic or gender-based violence acts. The review was conducted during Russia's invasion, and interviews with survivors and perpetrators could not be held.
The practice is listed as a partial, cautionary case: a solid legal design that shows how a state can embed perpetrator accountability in civil and criminal law, but with low reach and no outcome evaluation. The reviewers recommend a uniform 12-month duration and a fixed enrolment deadline.

Read the full analysis: https://ukraine.unfpa.org/en/news/review-national-perpetrators%E2%80%99-response-mechanism-was-presented-ukraine