ЛГБТ

Officials of the Odessa City Council sued the head of the organizing committee of "Odessa Pride-2015" (a multi-day queer festival and peaceful meeting in support of human rights for everyone, regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity scheduled for August 2015), in order to limit the right of this organization to peaceful assembly by banning their mass public events, namely gatherings, rallies, pickets, demonstrations meetings, etc., in the center of Odessa.

LGBTIQ people make up approximately 2-10% of the population today. However, Ukrainian legislation does not regulate relations of same-sex couples that de facto have all the elements of a stable and long-term family relationship. Part 1, Article 21 of the Family Code of Ukraine defines marriage as a family union between a woman and a man registered in the State Register of Vital Records, which means that it is currently impossible to register marriage of same-sex partners in Ukraine.

This report by LGBT Human Rights Center “Our World” contains a comprehensive analysis of the situation of the LGBTQ community in various spheres of social life, including relations with state and law enforcement agencies, the church, and the general public. The experts also investigated violations committed by the occupation authorities. The authors draw attention to legislative shortcomings in Ukraine in terms of regulating the status of LGBTQ communities.

The study includes a survey, with the majority of respondents believing that women can command combat units, and that they have a harder time building a career compared to men. At the same time, prejudicial views regarding women in the armed forces still remain in society: more than 50% think that women are better off performing non-combat roles, and 40% believe that women in the military have more problems in their family life compared to civilian women. Women often face biased treatment in the form of being patronized and protected.

The report features quantitative and qualitative indicators of crimes committed in Ukraine in 2022 on the grounds of homophobia and transphobia taking into account the ongoing war. A total of 77 cases were documented, of which 31 cases were war crimes committed by the Russian occupiers and 2 cases happened to Ukrainian LGBTIQ refugees abroad.

The report, among other things, draws attention to some specific issues that people in the LGBTQ community have been facing in connection with Russia’s invasion. In particular, conscription into the Armed Forces of Ukraine as part of the mobilization is one of the most pressing issues amid the war. Per the Regulation on Medical Examination for Military Service, gender dysphoria are grounds for doctors to rule the person unfit for military service and exclude that person from military service.