Oleksandra Schastlyva

Biography

Oleksandra Schastlyva is a researcher in conflict studies, human rights, and gender policy. As Deputy Head of the ADASTRA analytical center, she leads the research program “International Security and Human Rights” and serves as lead researcher on the project “Women in Uniform: Closing Legal Gaps in the Protection of Ukrainian Servicewomen under International Humanitarian Law,” supported by the Ukrainian Women’s Fund.

During a Mitacs Globalink Research Internship at Toronto Metropolitan University, her work focused on older Ukrainian refugees’ access to healthcare in Canada and the vulnerability of migrant women involved in the sex industry. This research resulted in the co-authored article “Navigating Transnational Healthcare,” published in the Journal of International Migration and Integration. Her bachelor’s thesis examined the communication strategies of Ukrainian women politicians on social media, and her research on demography and war-related social phenomena has been presented at academic conferences at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv.

Currently an MA student in Politics and Public Administration at the University of Konstanz (Germany), Oleksandra is spending an exchange semester at the Balsillie School of International Affairs (Canada). She holds a BA in Sociology from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. Her methodological expertise spans qualitative and quantitative approaches, including in-depth interviews and focus groups, questionnaire development and translation, research instrument design, and research documentation. Other areas of experience include writing policy briefs and advocacy materials and coordinating research teams. In Konstanz, Germany, Oleksandra organized demonstrations marking the anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.