Time to address the absence of ‘gender’ in the temporary protection directive and its recent implementation

Russia frst attacked Ukraine and violated its sovereignty in 2014.1 Since then, the number of displaced persons from Ukraine in the EU has increased and the threat of a large-scale infux was constantly felt. Yet, it was difcult to predict that by the end of February 2022 millions of Ukrainians would be forced to leave their homes and seek refuge in the west of the country or abroad, with many of them experiencing this for the second time. The scale of the migration crisis caused by Russian aggression is unprecedented in Europe and such levels of migration have not been seen since World War 2. Such an infux of people feeing the war in Ukraine has even become a challenge for experienced EU migration countries, let alone those that can hardly be called immigration countries, such as Poland.

According to data from the EUAA, more than 4,7 million registrations for the temporary protection of people feeing the war in Ukraine have been made in EU countries between February and November 2022. According to United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, around 86% of them are women and children. The martial law that was frst declared by the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, after Russia’s full-scale attack, prohibits Ukrainian men aged 18-60 from leaving the country. Ukrainian men are required to remain on Ukrainian territory even if they are not directly engaged in military activities. There are some exceptions to this rule including men exempted from military service for health reasons; fathers of three or more children under the age of 18; single fathers of children under the age of 18; fathers of children with disabilities under the age of 23; caregivers of persons with disabilities; and other categories designated by Ukrainian law. Due to this law, displacement from Ukraine is mainly dominated by “women-headed households, single women, adolescent girls, and elderly women”. However, the EU’s response to Ukrainian displacement, in particular the Temporary Protection Directive and its implementation, mostly disregards this unique aspect so far and lacks a gender perspective.

The Temporary Protection Directive (hereinafter TPD) was activated in response to the Russian attack on Ukraine that has caused a mass infux of people feeing the war to the EU. It was not only a part of the “Union’s response to the migratory pressure resulting from the Russian military invasion of Ukraine” but also became an act of solidarity towards Ukraine and its people, and between the EU Member States.10 Such a fast response was followed by the simplifcation of border control and increased fexibility with regards to entry conditions, which made it possible for millions of people, mostly women, to fee the war without obstacles (at least legally) to reach the EU and more easily settle into a new place. Obtaining security by crossing the border between Ukraine and the EU, however, does not insure these women and girls against the risks and dangers that they may face while traveling or in their new destination.