Victoria Roshchyna
In recognition of her important work, Victoria Roshchyna was awarded the Courage in Journalism Award 2022 by International Women's Media Foundation (IWMF), an organisation working internationally to elevate the status of women in the media.
Victoria Roshchyna was a woman human rights defender and journalist, who worked to promote the observance of the right to a fair trial and freedom of assembly. She also reported on the persecution of activists and public figures, as well as illegal construction in Kyiv, which has been accompanied by the destruction of urban parks and buildings of historical importance. Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Victoria shifted her focus towards documenting war crimes and human rights violations, collecting evidence, in particular, in the Russian-occupied territories.
Prior to this, she spent several years working for Hromadske, a prominent Ukrainian media outlet, then subsequently as a freelance reporter. She often collaborated with Radio Liberty/Radio Free Europe (Ukrainian service), Ukrainska Pravda.
In recognition of her important work, Victoria Roshchyna was awarded the Courage in Journalism Award 2022 by International Women's Media Foundation (IWMF), an organisation working internationally to elevate the status of women in the media. In March 2025, during the opening of the One World Film Festival in Prague, Czech Republic, Victoria Roshchyna was officially recognised as a co-recipient of the 2025 Homo Homini Award for her courageous work as a human rights defender and journalist.
Before the escalation of the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine and the annexation of the Crimean Peninsula by the Russian Federation, the key concerns regarding the situation of human rights defenders (HRDs) in Ukraine were characterised mainly by systemic impediments to the rights to freedom of assembly, association, and personal liberty. In many cases, HRDs were subjected to intimidation, harassment, and attacks, while violence against journalists was tolerated by the authorities. The situation was exacerbated by pervasive corruption in all branches of government and limitations on workers’ rights to strike.
