67% of Ukrainians believe that one of the main problems for veterans will be lack of understanding from society.
41% of Ukrainians surveyed admit that they may become a veteran in the future, 53% have the opposite opinion.
This is evidenced by the data of the fourth national survey The image of veterans in Ukrainian society, conducted by the Sociological Group “Rating” together with the Ukrainian Veterans Fund.
Residents of the western regions, the youngest respondents, men with relatives most often speak about the possibility of becoming veterans and loved ones who fought from 2014 to now.
“Particular attention should be paid to the alarming trend of declining trust in veterans of the ATO/JFO period, according to the survey. This may indicate a growing stigmatization of veterans and a potential deepening of problems with their socialization and adaptation. If this trend continues, perhaps we will witness similar scenarios in relation to currently fighting veterans after they return home,” says Ruslana Velichko-Trifonyuk, acting executive director of the Ukrainian Veterans Fund.
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Despite the increase in the number of families in which there are people at war, the survey still records a decrease in the level of absolute trust of the civilian population in veterans of various categories and military personnel.
“76% of respondents believe that society today respects veterans. At the same time, compared to the survey in September 2023, their number has hardly changed (in September there were 79%). Today, 18% have the opposite opinion. There are more of these among residents of western regions and young people,” noted Lyubomir Mysov, deputy director of the Sociological Group “Rating”. 67% of Ukrainians believe that one of the main problems for veterans will be lack of understanding on the part of society. At that time, a survey conducted in January 2024 among veterans showed that 63.3% of veterans would face misunderstanding from society.
“We regularly conduct nationwide surveys among the civilian population and analyze the needs and sentiments of veterans. Now we are recording an increase in the stigmatization of defenders. For example, according to the results of a national survey, 86% of Ukrainians believe that veterans will face psycho-emotional instability at a time when the latest analysis of veterans’ sentiments indicates that only 50.5% of veterans consider this problem likely,” says Yulia Kirillova, head of the training center. analytical department of the Ukrainian Veterans Fund.
More details on the survey can be found on the website of the Ukrainian Veterans Fund.
The survey was conducted on March 2-5, 2024. The sample is representative by age, gender and type of settlement. Sample population: 1000 respondents. Survey method: CATI. Error of representativeness of the study with a confidence probability of 0.95: no more than 3.1%.
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