Post by NGO Girls

Karine Ambartsumova spent ten years in a relationship marked by violence. This experience became a starting point and a moment of understanding for her: she wanted to help other women and their children. This is how NGO OSONNYA was founded. “My professional path officially began in 2019 with the creation of a civil society organisation. The key focus of our work has always remained work with perpetrators, while at its heart has been the safety of survivors and the improvement of their quality of life,” says Karine. In 2022, the organisation became a member of the European Network for the Work with Perpetrators of Domestic Violence, and Karine became an expert in researching perpetrator programmes in Ukraine. In 2024, she began sharing her knowledge with Ukrainian specialists. Thanks to her experience and persistent work, Karine took part in preparing amendments to the Model Programme for Perpetrators of the Ministry of Social Policy as an expert of the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine. Over the years of NGO OSONNYA’s work, around 200 perpetrators have completed the programme. More than 220 specialists from different regions have mastered work with perpetrators according to European standards. This became possible thanks to a training of trainers involving European experts, initiated by Karine, and the subsequent training of colleagues in the regions by the trained trainers. In addition, Karine, together with a colleague from NGO OSONNYA, trained more than 150 experts. “This is a successful path, but it has not been easy. We carried out a significant part of the work on a voluntary basis or with donor funding in cooperation with other, larger civil society organisations. Our organisation is small, and work with perpetrators is usually not a priority for donors,” the woman shares. At the end of 2025, the organisation received support from NGO Girls within the framework of a project implemented as part of the National PULSE Consortium. This cooperation is aimed at conducting a training session, supervision sessions, and information activities for specialists from front-line communities. “After nearly 30 rejections that NGO OSONNYA received over six years, this decision was not simply a surprise for us — it was a moment when we realised that our work is truly important and needed,” Karine shares. For a local organisation, such support is not only a material resource, but also recognition of its activities and contribution to socially significant work. It is because organisations work locally that changes in communities spread faster. This project was funded with UK aid from the UK Government and is implemented by NGO Girls within the National PULSE Consortium, coordinated by Right to Protection. UK Government support to this project in Ukraine is provided through the SHARP element of its Humanitarian Assistance, Recovery and Protection Programme.