Dateline.
OFFICER
ILONA REORTING FOR DUTY.
REPORTER: Calliste Weitenberg
IRINA ZELINSKAYA, POLICE COMMANDER
(Translation): When you are sure of
yourself, you can 100% take on any opponent at all. If you feel enough strength in your muscles
and in your brain, you can do great things.
Today
Irina Zelinskaya is getting ready to enforce the law.
IRINA ZELINSKAYA (Translation): Long life to you officers!
OFFICERS (Translation): Long life!
IRINA ZELINSKAYA (Translation): I'm glad to greet you at the
HQ in the city of Ivano-Frankivsk .
Commanding
177 officers, most of them men, this 31-year-old mum is the face of a
remarkable transition taking place in Ukraine today.
IRINA ZELINSKAYA (Translation): Your bullet proof vests…They
are a must. Do not forget them. The moment that
window came, when I was given the chance to hook up with the new reform and
work for the police. There was one thing that I understood. I was coming to
work for a system that wanted to change our country and bring about something
better.
Three
years ago a female commander like Irina would have been unthinkable here. Only
5% of the police force were female, and most of them did desk jobs. Now they're
on the front line, part of an entirely new arm of the police that's changing
Soviet traditions. Known as the Patrol Police, their mission is to win back the
trust of the public.
IRINA ZELINSKAYA (Translation): These cars that are
protesting and driving around...they drove into here...It’s our own town hall.
So what I need you to do is line up one by one and drive out.
In our culture, women have always been the homemakers. It might sound
extreme but in most cases it’s true.
REPORTER: Do people ever say women should be at home
making borsch?
IRINA ZELINSKAYA (Translation): Oh yeah.”‘You are
a blonde’. You know nothing. What are you doing coming here?”
The main thing is how you react to it, in psychology there
is such a technique called mirroring. You imagine there is a sheet of
glass in front of you and that man is talking to himself. So you just stand
there smiling and it irritates them no end.
Ukraine's
police force was once infamous as one of the country's most sexist and corrupt
institutions, known for taking bribes and brutality. It's something that
Irina's determined to change.
IRINA ZELINSKAYA (Translation): Please be careful and talk to people who are
taking part in the protest. This way there will be no conflict between us.
MAN (Translation): You know we don’t have a conflict with you
people.
REPORTER: Do you have a good relationship with the
public here?
IRINA ZELINSKAYA (Translation): We try to understand each other. If we are
aggressive with them, they will respond aggressively.
Watching
Irina at work just now, it's clear she's a bit of a star about town. People
engage with her, she's friendly, they seem to like her. Perhaps that's the sign
of the biggest changes that are being made with these reforms. The public seem
to genuinely trust Irina.
IRINA ZELINSKAYA (Translation): We needed to change something
in this country, we needed to start lifting her up… somehow with our own hands.
People's
trust in the government and the law broke during the 2014 Maidan revolution.
The old police, known as the Militsiya, killed more
than 100 unarmed civilians. After decades of impunity and corruption, Euromaidan
became a bloody watershed event which left Ukrainians angry, demanding
change. It can't be easy then for Irina
being at the coal face of reforms, especially when she believes so passionately
in them.
IRINA ZELINSKAYA (Translation): Here’s Mum cooking you the vareniki you asked for.
LYUDMILA ZELINSKAYA, MOTHER
(Translation): Vareniki
to order… Ukranian dumplings with
potatoes, with our beloved spuds. And my wish is for her personal life to work
out. I want her to meet her prince.
IRINA ZELINSKAYA (Translation): Ok
let’s just have some food. Start eating, otherwise I am going to
be married off right now…I just don’t know to whom.
Single
and the bread winner for her family, Irina's an image of modern Ukraine. She
sees her role in the Patrol Police as part of a much bigger battle to break
free of Russia which is still waging war to maintain control in the country's
east.
LYUDMILA ZELINSKAYA (Translation): In our own country we didn't have the right to say that we loved Ukraine
and that we didn’t need any other country, that we were the masters of our
country.
Irina's
family are from Donetsk. Their home was just 100km from the contested border
with Russia. There, her brother was tortured by Russian separatists simply for
flying a Ukrainian flag.
LYUDMILA ZELINSKAYA (Translation): Then the militia took him away and
put him in a cell. They handcuffed him, tied some cloth over his head and kept
him in a cell for 5 days.
After
this, the family fled to Kiev, just as the government announced the Patrol
Police. Irina was one of the very first females to sign up.
LYUDMILA ZELINSKAYA (Translation): There is this saying, "Every cloud has a silver lining."
IRINA ZELINSKAYA (Translation): Not ‘thanks to’ but ‘because of’…
LYUDMILA ZELINSKAYA (Translation): It is because of that conflict that we
started moving forward faster and we are having reforms…and I believe that we
are going to see our country prosper.
IRINA ZELINSKAYA (Translation): I believe that the tiny amount of effort I put into this, could be the
last drop in the glass that may change everything in our country for the
better, and turn us into a truly developed country.
REPORTER: Toast to you.
IRINA ZELINSKAYA: Thank you.
These
young female police officers are the face of one of the biggest reforms in Ukraine
today. They've got new uniforms, they look great but how significant is the
change that's taking place? I want to see how Patrol Police like Irina are being
trained. Can they do more than just change the force's image?
At
this university in Dnipro, the walls of the old Soviet regime hold many Cold
War secrets. But inside, thousands of women are learning new tactics, funded
and designed by the West. These recruits are the next wave of officers
following in Irina's footsteps.
YULIA, RECRUIT (Translation): My name is Yulia,
I’m 21 years old.
NATALIA, RECRUIT (Translation): I’m Natalia, I am from Kiev.
RECRUIT (Translation): What I want to learn is what methods to use that would work in
a domestic violence incident.
A
modern police force is a step towards a modern Ukraine. The new Patrol Police
are being paid more than their predecessors. They're also learning very
different policing methods. Today they're being taught how to respond to
domestic violence callouts.
OKSANA KORDONSKA, RECRUIT (Translation): The book says one thing, but reality
is totally different.
WOMAN, RECRUIT (Translation): Utterly different.
Domestic
violence is a major problem, thought to affect more than half of Ukrainian
homes. But only around 10% of victims dare to report the crime. It's hoped
training female officers will help victims speak out.
LECTURER (Translation): What I mean is that most of the time, family
violence occurs when the person is, let’s say, intoxicated. Those of you who
have gone out all know that.
OKSANA KORDONSKA (Translation): The
difficult thing is that our task is not only to punish, but also to protect the
victim.
30-year-old
Oksana is a former banker and wrestler. And Ilona, 28 used to be a kindergarten
teacher. They're being tested in a simulated role play.
MAN (Translation): Three steps back! Move, three steps back!
As
Patrol Police, they need to de-escalate the situation without using force.
GIRL (Translation): Help, please!
ILONA GAVRISH, RECRUIT (Translation):
What’s going on? Please get out
of the way. Please step aside.
BOY (Translation): Leave my mum alone!
ILONA GAVRISH (Translation): Calm down. Please sit down. Dear sir, please, calm down. Is this
happening often?
BOY (Translation): Very often.
ILONA GAVRISH (Translation): Very often!
102 calling 103 I am a patrol police
inspector, patrol Police Lieutenant, Gavriusheva, and
we need an ambulance.
One
of the biggest challenges for Ilona and Oksana are Soviet attitudes and laws.
Domestic violence is seen as a private matter between families. Overcoming
attitudes like this will be one of their biggest obstacles.
OKSANA KORDONSKA (Translation):
Unfortunately, the only form of punishment our law has is community work. In
general, it is not tough punishment and the people, the offenders, are not that
afraid of it. That makes it difficult for us.
At
the Patrol Police headquarters in Kiev, it's change over hour and Oksana and
Ilona are preparing for duty.
ALEXANDER ANATOLIEVICH, POLICE OFFICER (Translation): I can
feed her from my palm, like a horse.
OKSANA KORDONSKA
(Translation): You’re the horse. Sasha,
please contact team 201.
REPORTER: How is it different working with a woman as
opposed to a man in the patrol police?
ALEXANDER ANATOLIEVICH (Translation): The only difference is that if you get in a particular situation where
you need a lot of physical strength, that’s where it is better to have another
guy at your side.
Callouts
tonight could range from stolen phones to murders. But domestic violence is
becoming more common as soldiers with post- traumatic stress return home from
the conflict in the country's east.
ILONA GAVRISH (Translation): Number 252 is in the area. Reporting in. Good
evening to everyone.
The
suburb of Darnitsa is one of Kiev's worst affected
areas. Ilona and her boss Ruslan know it will be a busy night.
RUSLAN DOVGAL (Translation): Yesterday we had 18 call-outs.
TRANSLATOR (Translation): Wow, that’s a lot!
ILONA GAVRISH (Translation): That’s the minimum.
It's
not yet 10:00pm and they're called to their first incident.
WOMAN (Translation): Can you see the crowd of people? She is
walking around behind them.
MAN (Translation): There they are, he is in a wheelchair!
WOMAN (Translation): You fucking scum!
ILONA GAVRISH (Translation): Hush.
WOMAN (Translation): You talk shit!
ILONA GAVRISH (Translation): Hush, madam.
WOMAN (Translation): Why are you talking shit, scum?
ILONA GAVRISH (Translation): That’s how it is with her.
WOMAN (Translation): Take this, bitch!
ILONA GAVRISH (Translation): Quite!
WOMAN (Translation): I’m alive and I will go on living!
ILONA GAVRISH (Translation): Stop it. Please sit down…
REPORTER: Have you guys been drinking tonight?
MAN (Translation): Us? All we did today was inject. Painkillers
for my leg. Don’t think badly of me.
Ilona
confronts domestic violence cases like this every patrol. It's one of 90,000
cases registered in Ukraine each year.
ILONA GAVRISH (Translation): They are husband and wife, they had a family
row. The woman cut her veins, but the ambulance has already treated her. The
paramedics have already given her medical assistance. Words are our main
weapon, we try to minimise the use of special equipment, not to mention tough
approaches.
As
Ilona manages to calm one couple down, in another part of Darnitsa,
Oksana is called to a stand-off between families.
OKSANA KORDONSKA (Translation):
Who called the police?
MAN (Translation): That guy over there.
Neighbours
have called police because a father was drink driving.
FATHER (Translation): It was my birthday and I had every right to
drink.
ALEXANDER ANATOLIEVICH (Translation): Were you behind the wheel?
FATHER (Translation): Did you catch me driving?
ALEXANDER ANATOLIEVICH (Translation): No.
Oksana
has to make sure the situation doesn't escalate, especially because there are
children around.
FATHER
(Translation): Should I say sorry for just being here in the
middle of the street?
LADY
(Translation):
He was behind the wheel!
OKSANA
KORDONSKA (Translation): Young lady, please quiten down. Young lady, are you listening to me?
LADY
(Translation): Listen, you bastard, you drunk
bastard!
OKSANA
KORDONSKA (Translation): Don’t worry, we will be finished soon.
The
longer it takes to issue a fine, the bigger the crowd here gets. We've been
asked to sit inside the car because the main offender is quite nervous about
the camera right now and the situation is really quite tense. The main offender
has turned out to be a known criminal with some drug charges and previous
traffic offences. It's really obvious how things in this area could potentially
get out of hand quite quickly.
REPORTER: How difficult is it to handle these kinds of
situations when everyone's really drunk?
OKSANA KORDONSKA (Translation): It's hard. People do not control their
emotions and they can change their behaviours at any moment or their thoughts,
or anything actually. They're unpredictable and they can be aggressive.
For
Oksana's patrol partner Alexander, having a female partner in this situation
isn't ideal.
ALEXANDER ANATOLIEVICH (Translation): His support has arriving and this is one of
those cases… remember you asked me about the difference between having a male
and female partner? In this case a male officer would have been better but on the other hand she is coping with the
situation.
Every
move the Patrol Police make out here is being judged. Ilona's next challenge is
another domestic violence incident at a family's apartment. She knows her boss
Ruslan will be watching how well she handles the situation.
ILONA GAVRISH (Translation): Patrol police, please open the door. Please
open the door.
WOMAN (Translation): Yes, of course. One moment. Hello.
ILONA GAVRISH (Translation): Was it you who called/
WOMAN (Translation): Yes.
RUSLAN DOVGAL (Translation):
What’s going on up there?
ILONA GAVRISH (Translation): Please calm down and tell us what has happened.
RUSLAN DOVGAL (Translation): Do
you have kids?
WOMAN (Translation): Yes.
RUSLAN DOVGAL (Translation): How
old is the child?
WOMAN (Translation): Six.
It's
a heart breaking situation. A mother has tried to leave with her daughter and
says she's been hurt. But she doesn't want police to go inside.
ILONA GAVRISH (Translation):
Please, tell us, what do you think - will it worsen the family situation
or give you a chance..
WOMAN
(Translation):
Worsen it. He refuses to give me
my child.
ILONA GAVRISH (Translation):
Now, what about an ambulance? Shall we call one?
WOMAN
(Translation):
I did, to record my injuries.
Ilona
needs to get an official record of the woman's injuries to involve social
services. But the woman is too anxious and it quickly becomes apparent why.
MAN (Translation): Go home, don’t shame us.
ILONA GAVRISH (Translation): This must be the husband. Step aside.
MAN (Translation): Don’t be a disgrace, you have a child at
home.
WOMAN (Translation): Don’t touch me.
MAN (Translation): Don’t demean us. Take a look. Look what’s…
ILONA GAVRISH (Translation): Step aside for a moment.
As
the woman leaves for a nearby hospital, Ilona and Ruslan check the house for
signs of physical abuse. But find nothing. Unless the woman files a statement,
they're powerless to take any action.
REPORTER: How do you think Ilona handled that
situation?
RUSLAN DOVGAL (Translation): What
do I think? I have a wonderful partner and I think she did great.
ILONA GAVRISH (Translation): Thanks.
RUSLAN DOVGAL (Translation): She
is someone who can establish good lines of communication with other people.
With both offenders and victims, as in that situation.
Despite
the good work of officers like Ilona and Oksana, the reforms have a long way to
go if Patrol Police are to respond effectively to gender violence and help
change this country's future. Ukraine remains the most corrupt country in
Europe. Change will take reforming not just police ranks but the country's
laws, prosecutors and social policy. And it's a 26-year-old woman who's taking
it on.
ANASTASIA DEEVA, DEPUTY INTERIOR MINISTER (Translation): I’d like to say that all of us
present here in this room, I hope, understand that domestic violence is a
crime. For us, this is the bedrock all the other types of violence within
the society grow.
Anastasia
Deeva is Ukraine's deputy interior minister. Having
worked her way through the ranks of the very ministry that once ran the old Militsiya, today she's rallying female decision-makers to
extend gender reforms beyond the Patrol Police.
REPORTER: What's
the most frustrating thing for you in your daily mission to overhaul this giant
institution?
ANASTASIA DEEVA: The
system is changing. This is why I think it's too early to speak about how do
you see, what do you think and what happened? We have a very unique chance to
change our country and we need to do it right here and right now.
REPORTER: Some people say that you've just created a
kind of parallel police force alongside the old one which is still very much
business as usual. Is that the case?
ANASTASIA DEEVA: You
can't change the whole system, a very big law enforcement system, in one day.
REPORTER: Is it a pretty face and a nice smile and a
new uniform enough to really tackle corruption?
ANASTASIA DEEVA: That's not about new uniform and smile
only, because if we're speaking about Patrol Police, the previous which was
traffic police or road police, they were the most corrupted institution in the
whole of Ukraine. Patrol Police is zero corruption. Maybe not zero, always 1%
or 2% which is always in any country, but it's a dramatic change. You need
personalities. You need strong personalities and individuals who will carry on
and continue with all those new reforms and values. I believe injection has
been made and now it's starting to work.
Back
at the Patrol Police headquarters in Kiev, it's graduation day. And after two years of service, it's Oksana's
turn to rise through the ranks.
OKSANA KORDONSKA (Translation):
lieutenant Kordonska reports for promotion.
OFFICER (Translation): Congratulations.
OKSANA KORDONSKA
(Translation): Thank you.
OFFICER (Translation): Proceed.
OKSANA
KORDONSKA (Translation): I serve the people of Ukraine. I am now a
senior police lieutenant in the patrol police in the city of Kiev, the patrol
police directorate.
REPORTER: And how does it feel to finally become a
senior lieutenant?
OKSANA KORDONSKA (Translation): It's a beautiful
feeling. I've never been a senior lieutenant; I'm going to see what it is like.
When
this program began, just 19% of Kiev residents approved. One year on, thanks to
the work of women like Irina and Oksana, trust in the Patrol Police has spiked
to 60% and continues to grow. But everyone knows reform is a very long game.
IRINA ZELINSKAYA (Translation):
Initially, we were full of rosy hopes that everything was going to be cool, well, then
we went into the streets and we had to face the reality. Things were not as good as we’d thought. But it's great that it's begun. It's only though painstaking work that we will
be able to see in a while, whether that reform is going to work in the end or
not.
reporter
calliste weitenberg
story
producer
kylie
grey
camera
ben foley
research
michael friedman
story
editor
simon phegan
translations
elena mikhailik
6th
March 2018