According to the data of Info Sapiens Omnibus, in February 2019, 61% of Ukrainians aged over 16 years old would support the introduction of gender quotas for increasing women's representation in the Verkhovna Rada, while 22% were not in favour.
Women support gender quotas more than men – 67% vs. 52%. Also, the highest support for gender quotas is observed in the West and the North. The respondents aged 16-19 years old are less likely to support gender quotas than other age groups – there is the highest percentage of the responses «hard to answer» among them.
Assessments of the changes in the law on rape that came into effect in January 2019, were divided: 31% support the fact that sex without consent should be considered rape, 36% do not support it, and 32% can not evaluate them. Again, women are more likely to support the changes in the laws on rape than men, 34% vs. 29%. The highest support for this change is in the West and in Kyiv. Also, the support for this change decreases with age.
At the same time, 60% advocate for the prohibition of sex with a person under 16 years of age, as stated in the amendment to the Criminal Code in March 2018, and 15% do not support this change. 64% of women and 56% of men are in favour of this amendment. This change is most often supported by the citizens of the West. Among the age groups, this amendment is less likely to be supported by those aged 16-19 years old and over 60, but not due to high levels of disagreement, but because of higher proportion of the responses «hard to answer».
There are no significant differences by education for all three questions.
«We are pleased that 61% of the population support gender quotas, although the focus groups show that a significant proportion of the population agrees with the importance of this issue only after we have presented the statistical data in the question, Inna Volosevich, Deputy Director of Info Sapiens, comments. – Therefore, it is very useful to raise awareness on why we need «quotes instead of flowers» for March 8th.
The attitude to the changes in the law on rape is ambivalent, probably due to much mockery in the media regarding the "vouchers on sex": 31% supports the fact that sex without consent should be considered rape, and 36% do not support it. It's a pity that a third of society does not support the protection of the rights of rape victims and that it has become a popular theme for jokes. The clarifications of this law given by lawyers and public figures, had not reached at least 32% of the population who could not assess whether they supported or did not support this amendment to the law. At the same time, 60% support the prohibition of sex with a person under 16 years of age, as established by this amendment to the Criminal Code.
According to Tamara Martseniuk, PhD in Sociology, Associate Professor at University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy (Ukraine), consultant of Info Sapiens, and the author of the article "International experience in introducing gender quotas and Ukrainian realities", «The results of this public opinion survey have once again shown that ordinary Ukrainians have much more positive attitude towards the introduction of gender quotas than the representatives of Ukrainian politics, especially deputies of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and the leaders of political parties. Moreover, women are as always more likely than men, to support the idea of introducing gender quotas, since they are more aware of gender stereotypes and understand the obstacles associated with the phenomenon of "glass ceiling" in general and in politics in particular.»
The article "International experience in introducing gender quotas and Ukrainian realities" is available here.