Project: Comprehensive qualitative research on the attitude of Ukrainian society to the deportation of children to the Russian Federation.
Client: NGO Kharkiv Institute for Social Research (KhISR) with the support of The Reckoning Project and the Government of Sweden.
Geography: Ukraine.
Methodology: Conducting focus groups (FGD) with residents and relevant experts.
The issue of child deportation is one of the most difficult challenges of modern warfare. The goal of the project was to study the deep-seated fears of communities, analyze the awareness of the population and develop recommendations for protecting the rights of children in the territories of the “risk zone”. The topic required a special level of ethics, as it touched on the issues of ideological pressure on children, loss of identity and traumatic experiences of families.
In this project, Yasno Research acted as a fieldwork partner, focusing on the quality of the sample and the ethics of data collection.
In total, 10 focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted with community residents and parents in the northern, southern and eastern regions and 2 focus groups (FGDs) with teachers and social workers in the northern, southern and eastern regions.
Moderation was carried out taking into account the psychological state of the participants. We provided an atmosphere of trust where people could share their concerns about the identity and future of deported children.
Online discussions on the Zoom platform were conducted with prior technical support for each participant to ensure stable communication from the frontline regions.
Key theses of the project results:
- Most respondents perceive deportation not as random actions, but as part of a purposeful policy of the Russian Federation aimed at the genocide of the Ukrainian people and the destruction of the country’s future through the abduction of children.
- The key fear of the communities is the “re-education” and ideological processing of children. Respondents fear that due to propaganda, children will lose the Ukrainian language, culture and loyalty to their own state.
- The study found that a significant part of the population does not know a clear algorithm of actions in the event of a threat of deportation, which creates a demand for more active educational work on the part of the state.
- Many focus group participants expressed uncertainty about the ability of official structures to effectively prevent deportation in the territories of the “risk zone” and expressed doubts about the rapid return of all children.
- Specialists and residents agree that after the children’s return, the main challenge will not only be legal formalities, but also deep, long-term psychological assistance to overcome the consequences of trauma and “drilling”.
- The results highlighted the need to create special educational programs that will help children catch up with the Ukrainian school curriculum and neutralize the influence of Russian propaganda education.
- It was determined that maintaining contact with relatives (even remotely) is a crucial factor that helps a child maintain their identity during deportation.
- Communities expect international organizations not only to provide humanitarian assistance, but primarily to create effective legal mechanisms to force the Russian Federation to return children and strengthen sanctions.
- The participants in the discussions discussed the complex ethical boundaries of the forced evacuation of children from risk areas. The majority is inclined to believe that the safety of life is a priority, even if this requires tough decisions on the part of the state.
- The potential for forming communities around the topic of children’s return was identified. Respondents see effectiveness in collective action, advocacy, and the creation of initiative groups that would put pressure on the international community.
You can read the full version of the report at the link. (In Ukrainian only)
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