Tatiana Kovalchuk: Gender policy should be at the heart of the law enforcement system
This was announced today, March 30, by Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Tatyana Kovalchuk during a meeting with the Government Commissioner for Gender Policy Ekaterina Levchenko. The meeting was also attended by the Vice President of the NGO “La Strada-Ukraine” Olga Kalashnyk, the advisers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs on gender issues from the UN Women structure Khrystyna Brodych and Mykhailo Koryukalov and representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
“Gender policy should be at the heart of the law enforcement system. We are talking about equal rights and opportunities for women and men in all bodies of the civil security sector, whose activities are directed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs,” said Tetiana Kovalchuk.
According to her, the gender approach is one of the priorities in the process of reforming the system of internal affairs bodies.
“We are not just declaring gender equality. In the Strategy for the Development of the System of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine until 2020, approved by the Government, the implementation of a comprehensive gender approach to personnel policy is one of the keys,” the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs added.
Tatiana Kovalchuk noted that the affirmation of gender equality is an integral part of the social transformations taking place in Ukraine and, at the same time, an incentive for further development.
“Today in Ukrainian society, stereotypical ideas about the role of man and woman are being destroyed. In almost all spheres of life, the role of women is growing. Not only in civilian bodies, but also in military formations, the proportion of women continues to increase. They participate in volunteer activities, military actions, law enforcement and peacekeeping activities. Therefore, gender policy in our state in the conditions of the chosen vector appears in a new relevant light. And the Ministry of Internal Affairs is working to ensure equal opportunities and prevent discrimination regarding the participation of men and women in making important social decisions,” she assured.
Government Commissioner for Gender Policy Ekaterina Levchenko assured that she will provide all necessary support for her part.
“The Ministry of Internal Affairs demonstrates very great progress in the development of a gender-neutral policy. You can count on our full support,” she added.
In particular, the parties agreed that gender experts will be involved in the development of the action plan of the Ministry of Internal Affairs within the framework of the reform.
Department of Communications of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine
Photo by Andriy Novitsky
