Gender Accessibility Audit of the city of Kramatorsk, Donetsk Oblast

The brochure presents the best practice on conducting the Gender Accessibility Audit of eight infrastructure buildings in Kramatorsk City of Donetsk Oblast in Eastern Ukraine. The audit was conducted by UN Women in partnership with Donetsk Civil-Military State Administration, Kramatorsk City Council, the National Assembly of People with Disabilities of Ukraine and the People with Disabilities of Donetsk Oblast during October-November 2017. 

The Gender Accessibility Audit identified the architectural, infrastructure, information and communication barriers restricting the access of women with disabilities to public services, and causing direct and indirect discrimination against them, their social isolation, marginalization and exclusion. The Gender Accessibility Audit defines accessibility as the ability to access and equally benefit from public services, thus making possible the exercising of human rights, advancing the equality of all women and girls with the aim of leaving no one behind. Conducting the Gender Accessibility Audit focusing to identify the barriers restricting the participation and access to service for women with disabilities is particularly relevant in the context of ongoing decentralization reform.

The publication provides the description how the Gender Accessibility Audit can be applied as an effective tool which assists the decentralized authorities to identify and address infrastructure, and information barriers that prevent or restrict the full and equal participation of women and girls with disabilities in public life. The Audit findings have potential to inform designing disability inclusive and gender-responsive local services that consider the needs and reduce the barriers faced by women and girls with disabilities.

The brochure was prepared by UN Women in partnership with National Assembly of People with Disabilities of Ukraine. This publication is produced in the framework of the UNDP/UN Women Joint Programme “Restoration of Governance and Reconciliation in Crisis-Affected Communities of Ukraine” funded by the European Union.