OVERVIEW OF LGBT HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION IN UKRAINE IN 2010
15/02/2011
Submitted by
Nash Mir (Our World) Gay & Lesbian Center
OVERVIEW OF LGBT HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION IN UKRAINE IN 2010
Download this overview here in PDF: http://www.ilga-europe.org/media_...ountry/ukraine/overview_ukraine_2010
Attitudes of society and the state
Ukrainian society becomes more homophobic. Whereas in 2002 33.8% and
in 2007 46.7% of Ukrainians considered that homosexuals do not have
rights equal to other citizens' rights (public opinion polls carried
out by the TNS Ukraine sociological service by request of Nash Mir –
http://gay.org.ua/publications/gay_ukraine_2007-r.pdf), throughout
2010 the situation substantially worsened.
The indicative survey of the Socis sociological center conducted in
September, 2010, showed that about 65% of Kiev residents consider
homosexuality as a perversion or mental disease
(http://www.vsenovosti.in.ua/news/095469). Likewise were the findings
of ‘A family in Odessa students’ eyes’ survey of the Gorshenin
Institute, March, 2010, which established that 74.7% of the students
polled consider homosexual relations inadmissible
(http://www.prochurch.info/index.php/news/more/16764). Another survey
of the Gorshenin Institute, December, 2010, (‘Morals in Ukraine’
telephone poll) showed that 72% of Ukrainians have negative attitude
towards sexual minorities
(http://www.unian.net/ukr/news/news-413171.html).
At the 45th session of the UN Committee on the Elimination of
Discrimination against Women, which took place in Geneva, January,
2010, Ukraine presented a report on implementation of the respective
UN convention.
On January 18 were heard the shadow reports of Ukrainian public
organizations on human rights observance towards women in the country.
Among others, a representative of Kherson LGBT organization For Equal
Rights informed those concerned that the national legislation makes no
provision for sexual orientation discrimination prohibition, although
homosexual women suffered numerous cases of their rights and freedoms
being violated. Because of the above mentioned lack of provision,
crimes against the women noted cannot be qualified as hate crimes. On
January 21, after the official report of the Ukrainian delegation,
some members of the Committee asked nine questions concerning, in this
way or another, observance of LBT women’s rights in Ukraine. Not one
question received an answer that was duly noted by the Committee.
On February 18 the Committee issued the Final Observation for the
country. Ukraine has to implement the Committee's recommendations
within four years. The implementation markedly requires the inclusion
of LBT women identified as a result of the For Equal Rights advocacy
work. For the first time Ukraine did meet demands to eliminate
discrimination against women on the ground of their sexuality
(http://www.zrp-kherson.org.ua/novosti.html).
On March 31, 2010, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe
unanimously (meaning with Ukraine’s support) adopted the
Recommendation on combating sexual orientation and gender identity
discrimination. The document recommends to member states of the
Council of Europe (CE) a number of measures for improvement of human
rights legislation and policies towards LGBT – in such areas as labor
relations, freedom of associations and peaceful meetings, private and
family life, education, health protection, sports, hate crimes and so
on
(https://wcd.coe.int/wcd/ViewDoc.j...t=EDB021&BackColorLogged=F5D383)
Ukraine’s support for this document means that our state for the first
time on the international level admitted that sexual orientation
cannot be a ground for discrimination. How demonstrably sincere is the
attitude of Ukraine regarding this question will become clear in three
years' time, when the Committee will examine implementation of the
Recommendation by CE member countries
(https://wcd.coe.int/wcd/ViewDoc.j...t=FFBB55&BackColorLogged=FFAC75).
The head of the Board of the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union A.
Bushchenko believes: ‘It is especially important to put them
[questions of overcoming inequality and prejudices towards LGBT
citizens] before today’s authorities in Ukraine, because in my view
the latest statements of high-ranking officials showed that the
present authority does not understand the meaning of basic principles
of the modern society’
(http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,5455765,00.html).
On April 10, 2010, once again Ukrainian LGBT organizations issued an
appeal to the speaker of the Ukrainian parliament and heads of the
relevant parliamentary committees – for introducing changes into the
first reading of the draft bill on Labor Code. At this time and in
accordance with the Recommendations of the CE Committee of Ministers,
LGBT organizations’ leaders proposed to legislators the addition of
sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of
non-discrimination grounds in labor issues. However, unlike previous
times, they did not receive even a formal answer from representatives
of the Ukrainian parliament.
On April 29, 2010, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
(PACE), following the CE Committee of Ministers, adopted two more
historic pan-European-community documents regarding sexual orientation
and gender identity discrimination. Those are: Resolution 1728(2010)
(http://assembly.coe.int/Mainf.asp...ments/AdoptedText/ta10/ERES1728.htm)
and Recommendations 1915(2010)
(http://assembly.coe.int/Mainf.asp...ments/AdoptedText/ta10/EREC1915.htm).
Both documents along with the Resolution of the Committee of Ministers
are directed at ensuring civic equality for LGBT persons and measures
against human rights violation and sexual orientation and gender
identity discrimination as well as hate crimes towards LGBT persons in
the CE member states.
Besides these documents, for the first time the issue was raised of
settling problems of same-sex partnerships in the CE member states.
On June 10, 2010, Ukrainian Christian churches proclaimed another
declaration ‘On negative attitude towards the sin of homosexualism,
its promotion in society and attempts to legalize so-called same-sex
marriages’
(http://www.risu.org.ua/ru/index/resourses/church_doc/ecumen_doc/36168).
Taking into account the great influence Christian religion has in
Ukraine, especially disturbing is the language of animosity towards
homosexuals that saturates this document's text. For instance it
reads: ‘The society has no right to turn a blind eye to promotion of
homosexualism, taking it as supposedly the ‘private affair’ of those
inclined to this sin. […] a society that shuts its eyes to this sin,
approving it by that, from the secular point of view is doomed to die
out through decreasing birth rate, and from the spiritual point of
view will carry responsibility before God’. Also ‘we strongly object
to regarding homosexual lifestyle and behavior as natural, […]
reckoning homosexualism in the list of human rights, promoting it as a
normal option of sexual life…’
On July 2, 2010, during her official visit in Ukraine the USA
Secretary of State Hilary Clinton met with representatives of public
organizations. Answering the question ‘What is the policy of USA
towards rights of gays and lesbians and what message can be delivered
to Ukrainian authorities on this issue?’ the high representative noted
that the administration of President Obama works to put an end to
oppression and discrimination of LGBT community both in the country
and abroad. ‘I believe that we have to integrate all the people in
society’ underscored the head of the USA State Department.
It is well to remember in this regard that the State Department of the
USA in its annual reports on observation of human rights in the world,
in the section concerning Ukraine, repeatedly noted problems faced by
LGBT people in our country
(http://korrespondent.net/ukraine/...e-gei-zadali-vopros-hillari-klinton).
In July, 2010, the Kharkiv Circuit Administrative Court upheld a suite
of the Kharkiv City Council on banning peaceful meeting of sexual
minorities (http://www.city.kharkov.ua/uk/news/view/id/3944). Though
initiators of the demonstration remained unstated, there are quite
interesting arguments pertinent to the ground on which the court
banned peaceful meeting. The court stated that there is probability
that in the specified time in this place there could be people present
who ‘have an interest that will not agree with interests of the march
participants’. That is, a right for peaceful meeting was judged to be
in opposition to a pedestrian's right to walk freely in unrestricted
perambulation ‘without making additional efforts to it’. Also the
court took into account a reference of the State Traffic Police that
this demonstration could complicate traffic conditions and even lead
to human victims, though in the same situation the city authorities of
Simferopol considered it possible to stop all the traffic for a
homophobic march in October of 2010
(http://ua.korrespondent.net/ukrai...ozungom-gomoseksualizm-smert-naciyi).
The Chief Sexopathologist of Ukraine, Professor Ihor Horpinchenko,
states that homosexuality is not a disorder. His respective statement
was made on behalf of the Ministry of Public Health and circulated by
the Gay Forum of Ukraine.
“We affirm that [...] sexual orientation proper must not be
interpreted as a disorder and consider it incorrect to use the terms
‘incorrect orientation’ and ‘disorder’ towards homosexuality”, said
professor Horpinchenko (http://korrespondent.net/tech/health/1109183).
The Chief Sexologist-Andrologist of Crimea Andrey Lyubarsky holds to a
similar opinion. ‘From the International Classification of Diseases,
Andrey Lyubarsky informed us, homosexuality was expunged as a disorder
of sexual behavior. That is, in our time this is not a disease needing
medical treatment and correction. So the division of people into
‘correct’ and ‘incorrect’, the sexologist believes, means not a very
great mind. And a homophobic-aggressive attitude towards
sex-minorities – just alerts physicians. “Usually it is a sign of
hidden or obvious sexual disorder, sometimes relating to some
homosexual experience, feeling of one’s own inferiority, unrealized
fantasies”, the sexologist told. “All in all, who cries louder, really
needs medical care”’ (http://1k.com.ua/347/details/8/10).
Familiar homophobic rhetoric was heard from another member of the
Ukrainian parliament, disguised as usual as necessity to protect
‘traditional values’. This time it was a deputy head of the Party of
Regions parliamentary group Vadim Kolesnichenko. In his interview
given to Radio Liberty on September 3, 2010,
(http://www.radiosvoboda.org/content/article/2147885.html) whilst
standing up for introduction of a special human rights system in
Ukraine based upon the ‘teaching of Russian Orthodox Church towards
human rights’, he said: ‘I believe that homosexual marriages are
unacceptable for our culture, for our state, and I will always oppose
it, though some European countries supported such decision. And I
believe that the overwhelming majority of Ukrainian citizens will be
against it’.
Echoing himself on October 13, 2010, in the interview given to
Internet publication ‘Vsenovosti.in.ua’ this human rights advocate (as
he calls himself) V. Kolesnichenko said: ‘An attempt to legalize
same-sex marriages in Ukraine will be very debatable and difficult.
[...] It strictly contradicts the spirit of our people. [...] I don’t
think that in the near time the Verkhovna Rada [Ukrainian parliament]
will consider laws for homosexualists. Because our society has to
develop in another way, upon different spiritual principles’.
The election campaign for local governments in Ukraine as well as many
other elections did not avoid ‘dirty’ political techniques. On October
7 there appeared on the Internet some police video footage
(http://mycityua.com/video/country/2010/10/06/130236.html) wherein the
then young common citizen and now member of parliament Oleh Lyashko
tells about his homosexual liaison in every detail. The Yulia
Tymoshenko Block parliamentary group, of which he was a member, later
expelled him under what was most probably a fictitious pretense . Thus
even representatives of the Ukrainian establishment become hostages of
the policy of concealment and homophobia which has been formed in
Ukraine towards LGBT citizens – not without their active
participation.
Consider one more instance from this election campaign. This time
pressure of ‘black and pink’ PR was exerted on Zhitomir mayoral
candidate Henadiy Zubenko by the political force ‘Front of Changes’
(led by A. Yatsenyuk). Purporting to be on behalf of some LGBT
organization in the city, leaflets were pasted up to support this
candidate. These leaflets undoubtedly influenced in a negative manner
his run in the election campaign. Unfortunately, Mr. Zubenko's
defenders, in trying to scrub him clean of ‘pink’ stains, for some
reason considered it necessary to fling more mud solely at gays and
lesbians – rather than at their political opponents who most probably
contrived the leaflet ad
(http://narodna.pravda.com.ua/politics/4c9dd9473a453).
The Kharkiv Governor M. Dobkin, a representative of the Party of
Regions, must have utilized second sight when he told on 20.07.2010:
‘Black PR is an integral part of every public figure’s life. Whoever
enters politics has to understand that any dirty technologies can be
used against him right up to accusations of [...] homosexualism [...]
Because some figures, and unfortunately there are lots of them, come
to their heights this very way’
(http://unian.net/rus/news/news-387503.html).
On 28.09.2010 the Kiev Mayor L. Chernovetsky by his directive No. 768
ordered Kiev State Administration and a number of other services to
assist in the carrying out of the festival ‘All together!’ organized
by a public movement of the same name
(http://www.kmv.gov.ua/news.asp?IdType=1&Id=222417). During action
from the stage in front of the capital city hall were heard some
homophobic slogans fomenting hate towards gays, and calling upon the
authorities for introduction of criminal liability for ‘promotion of
homosexualism’. Examples of such slogans were: ‘Homosexualism = AIDS’,
‘Registration of perverts’ partnerships – the threat to national
security of Ukraine’ etc.
(http://love-contra.org/index.php/news/issue/628/).
Relations with law enforcement bodies
This year the LGBT human rights situation in Ukraine, compared with
previous years, did not change substantially. As before, a large part
(35 of 79) of the recorded cases of human rights violation and
discrimination towards homosexuals took place in the sphere of
relations with law enforcement bodies.
Ukrainian police (militsyia) on their part actively enabled
infringements of such fundamental human rights as the right to freedom
and personal immunity, the prohibition of tortures and inhuman
treatment, the right to effective means of legal protection, the right
to privacy, and the right to private property.
In April, 2010, Ihor B. was severely beaten by police officers right
in the hall of the Central Police Department of Donetsk before the
eyes of a score of witnesses – only for requesting policemen to
observe the legal procedure of detention. Later on he was forced to
abandon attempts to defend his rights because he and his mother were
subjected to threats on the part of police officers. He was also made
to sign a document attesting an absence of any complaints from him
toward the police.
In January, 2010, Alexandr Z. was detained by police officers of
Pervomaysky District Police Department of Chernovtsy solely for being
in a gay cruising place. Apart from non-observance of legal procedure
during his detention, the police also photographed and took
fingerprints of Alexandr without any grounds.
In March, 2010, Mr. H., a resident of Nikolaev, was summoned to the
police in connection with a murder of a gay man. After the official
part of the interrogation during which it had been ascertained that H.
did not know the murdered man, he was transferred to another room
where four police officers started to insult and humiliate H. They
also threatened him with the disclosure of his sexual orientation to
his relatives. The police demanded from him that he give them contacts
of all gays known to him. They illegally confiscated his mobile
telephone and copied phone numbers present in it. He was released not
promptly but only in several hours' time.
In May, 2010, the Kiev police answered a complaint of Ukrainian LGBT
organizations about the assault by militants from the nationalist
organization ‘S. Bandera Tryzub’ upon participants and guests of a
homosexual collective poetry presentation which took place in Kiev in
the beginning of October, 2009. It took eight months for the police
‘not to find a crime’ in the actions of the assailants (insulting,
overturning the furniture, physically assaulting participants) and to
refuse to bring a criminal case against them.
In October, 2010, a criminal trial was completed in Donetsk that
convicted a policeman who beat a gay man. This fact is atypical for
Ukraine not just because our judges are unused to convicting policemen
but also because a gay man decided to come out against a police
officer.
This case is especially remarkable because the gay man’s lawyer added
this to the suite: incrimination under Article 161 of the Criminal
Code, which aggravates punishment for a crime of a discriminating
character. This is the second case in Ukrainian legal practice in
which suing homosexuals undertook to prove that infringement of their
rights was of a discriminating character.
Hate crimes
Worldwide every year on the 20th of November the International
Memorial Day of Transgendered Victims is observed. In 2010 the public
organization ‘Insight’ timed a number of activities to this date.
Among them was a movie demonstration in the Center of Contemporary Art
in Kiev Mohyla Academy. About ten men in masks tried to burst into the
hall. Fortunately they could not gain entry because resisting
‘Insight’ activists stood at the entrance. Two Academy activists
suffered from the aggressors’ violence. In addition, the aggressors
tried to spray tear gas from several cans into the hall that led to
some victims. When the aggressors understood that they could not break
rapidly into the hall, they disappeared in withdrawal.
(http://www.bagnet.org/news/summaries/ukraine/2010-11-21/84359).
The police summoned from Podol District Police Department of Kiev
gathered testimonies very reluctantly and refused to accept complaints
from all the incident’s participants. Supposedly all the blame for the
attack should be put on the ultra-rightist organization ‘National
Union’; next day on its very Internet site appeared the information
that the Academy hall attack was committed by ‘unknown patriots
resembling activists of the National Union’
(www.naso.org.ru/main/150-razgrom-transvestitov.html).
On December 11, 2010, in the center of Kiev took place an ‘AntiYolka’
action organized by some left-wing and one LGBT organization. Mostly
the action expressed protest against social policy of the current
Ukrainian authorities; the only direct reference to LGBT matters was
one slogan ‘LGBT rights – human rights’ and a rainbow flag. Initially
the action had been planned for another site and with a more expressed
anti-homophobic subject. But the Kiev branch of the neonazi party
All-Ukrainian Association ‘Svoboda’ (Freedom) announced that it would
carry out a counteraction in the same place at the same time. Despite
the action being transferred and their slogans being shifted towards a
general social protest against the authorities’ policy – after the
event has been closed the group of unknown young men calling,
themselves ‘Christian youth’ attacked, then withdrew, leaving the
participants of the action
(http://korrespondent.net/Kiev/114...meshat-akcii-protesta-seksmenshinstv
http://hr-activists.net/news/5176/
http://www.svoboda.kiev.ua/diyalnist/novyny/018199/ )
Prepared by the Nash Mir, Kiev (A. Zinchenkov, A. Kravchuk)
Document URL: http://www.gay.org.ua/publications/gay_ukraine_2010-e.doc
During preparation materials were utilized from ‘Gay Forum of Ukraine’
press service and other sources.
17.01.2011
Download this overview here in PDF: http://www.ilga-europe.org/media_...ountry/ukraine/overview_ukraine_2010
Attitudes of society and the state
Ukrainian society becomes more homophobic. Whereas in 2002 33.8% and
in 2007 46.7% of Ukrainians considered that homosexuals do not have
rights equal to other citizens' rights (public opinion polls carried
out by the TNS Ukraine sociological service by request of Nash Mir –
http://gay.org.ua/publications/gay_ukraine_2007-r.pdf), throughout
2010 the situation substantially worsened.
The indicative survey of the Socis sociological center conducted in
September, 2010, showed that about 65% of Kiev residents consider
homosexuality as a perversion or mental disease
(http://www.vsenovosti.in.ua/news/095469). Likewise were the findings
of ‘A family in Odessa students’ eyes’ survey of the Gorshenin
Institute, March, 2010, which established that 74.7% of the students
polled consider homosexual relations inadmissible
(http://www.prochurch.info/index.php/news/more/16764). Another survey
of the Gorshenin Institute, December, 2010, (‘Morals in Ukraine’
telephone poll) showed that 72% of Ukrainians have negative attitude
towards sexual minorities
(http://www.unian.net/ukr/news/news-413171.html).
At the 45th session of the UN Committee on the Elimination of
Discrimination against Women, which took place in Geneva, January,
2010, Ukraine presented a report on implementation of the respective
UN convention.
On January 18 were heard the shadow reports of Ukrainian public
organizations on human rights observance towards women in the country.
Among others, a representative of Kherson LGBT organization For Equal
Rights informed those concerned that the national legislation makes no
provision for sexual orientation discrimination prohibition, although
homosexual women suffered numerous cases of their rights and freedoms
being violated. Because of the above mentioned lack of provision,
crimes against the women noted cannot be qualified as hate crimes. On
January 21, after the official report of the Ukrainian delegation,
some members of the Committee asked nine questions concerning, in this
way or another, observance of LBT women’s rights in Ukraine. Not one
question received an answer that was duly noted by the Committee.
On February 18 the Committee issued the Final Observation for the
country. Ukraine has to implement the Committee's recommendations
within four years. The implementation markedly requires the inclusion
of LBT women identified as a result of the For Equal Rights advocacy
work. For the first time Ukraine did meet demands to eliminate
discrimination against women on the ground of their sexuality
(http://www.zrp-kherson.org.ua/novosti.html).
On March 31, 2010, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe
unanimously (meaning with Ukraine’s support) adopted the
Recommendation on combating sexual orientation and gender identity
discrimination. The document recommends to member states of the
Council of Europe (CE) a number of measures for improvement of human
rights legislation and policies towards LGBT – in such areas as labor
relations, freedom of associations and peaceful meetings, private and
family life, education, health protection, sports, hate crimes and so
on
(https://wcd.coe.int/wcd/ViewDoc.j...t=EDB021&BackColorLogged=F5D383)
Ukraine’s support for this document means that our state for the first
time on the international level admitted that sexual orientation
cannot be a ground for discrimination. How demonstrably sincere is the
attitude of Ukraine regarding this question will become clear in three
years' time, when the Committee will examine implementation of the
Recommendation by CE member countries
(https://wcd.coe.int/wcd/ViewDoc.j...t=FFBB55&BackColorLogged=FFAC75).
The head of the Board of the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union A.
Bushchenko believes: ‘It is especially important to put them
[questions of overcoming inequality and prejudices towards LGBT
citizens] before today’s authorities in Ukraine, because in my view
the latest statements of high-ranking officials showed that the
present authority does not understand the meaning of basic principles
of the modern society’
(http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,5455765,00.html).
On April 10, 2010, once again Ukrainian LGBT organizations issued an
appeal to the speaker of the Ukrainian parliament and heads of the
relevant parliamentary committees – for introducing changes into the
first reading of the draft bill on Labor Code. At this time and in
accordance with the Recommendations of the CE Committee of Ministers,
LGBT organizations’ leaders proposed to legislators the addition of
sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of
non-discrimination grounds in labor issues. However, unlike previous
times, they did not receive even a formal answer from representatives
of the Ukrainian parliament.
On April 29, 2010, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
(PACE), following the CE Committee of Ministers, adopted two more
historic pan-European-community documents regarding sexual orientation
and gender identity discrimination. Those are: Resolution 1728(2010)
(http://assembly.coe.int/Mainf.asp...ments/AdoptedText/ta10/ERES1728.htm)
and Recommendations 1915(2010)
(http://assembly.coe.int/Mainf.asp...ments/AdoptedText/ta10/EREC1915.htm).
Both documents along with the Resolution of the Committee of Ministers
are directed at ensuring civic equality for LGBT persons and measures
against human rights violation and sexual orientation and gender
identity discrimination as well as hate crimes towards LGBT persons in
the CE member states.
Besides these documents, for the first time the issue was raised of
settling problems of same-sex partnerships in the CE member states.
On June 10, 2010, Ukrainian Christian churches proclaimed another
declaration ‘On negative attitude towards the sin of homosexualism,
its promotion in society and attempts to legalize so-called same-sex
marriages’
(http://www.risu.org.ua/ru/index/resourses/church_doc/ecumen_doc/36168).
Taking into account the great influence Christian religion has in
Ukraine, especially disturbing is the language of animosity towards
homosexuals that saturates this document's text. For instance it
reads: ‘The society has no right to turn a blind eye to promotion of
homosexualism, taking it as supposedly the ‘private affair’ of those
inclined to this sin. […] a society that shuts its eyes to this sin,
approving it by that, from the secular point of view is doomed to die
out through decreasing birth rate, and from the spiritual point of
view will carry responsibility before God’. Also ‘we strongly object
to regarding homosexual lifestyle and behavior as natural, […]
reckoning homosexualism in the list of human rights, promoting it as a
normal option of sexual life…’
On July 2, 2010, during her official visit in Ukraine the USA
Secretary of State Hilary Clinton met with representatives of public
organizations. Answering the question ‘What is the policy of USA
towards rights of gays and lesbians and what message can be delivered
to Ukrainian authorities on this issue?’ the high representative noted
that the administration of President Obama works to put an end to
oppression and discrimination of LGBT community both in the country
and abroad. ‘I believe that we have to integrate all the people in
society’ underscored the head of the USA State Department.
It is well to remember in this regard that the State Department of the
USA in its annual reports on observation of human rights in the world,
in the section concerning Ukraine, repeatedly noted problems faced by
LGBT people in our country
(http://korrespondent.net/ukraine/...e-gei-zadali-vopros-hillari-klinton).
In July, 2010, the Kharkiv Circuit Administrative Court upheld a suite
of the Kharkiv City Council on banning peaceful meeting of sexual
minorities (http://www.city.kharkov.ua/uk/news/view/id/3944). Though
initiators of the demonstration remained unstated, there are quite
interesting arguments pertinent to the ground on which the court
banned peaceful meeting. The court stated that there is probability
that in the specified time in this place there could be people present
who ‘have an interest that will not agree with interests of the march
participants’. That is, a right for peaceful meeting was judged to be
in opposition to a pedestrian's right to walk freely in unrestricted
perambulation ‘without making additional efforts to it’. Also the
court took into account a reference of the State Traffic Police that
this demonstration could complicate traffic conditions and even lead
to human victims, though in the same situation the city authorities of
Simferopol considered it possible to stop all the traffic for a
homophobic march in October of 2010
(http://ua.korrespondent.net/ukrai...ozungom-gomoseksualizm-smert-naciyi).
The Chief Sexopathologist of Ukraine, Professor Ihor Horpinchenko,
states that homosexuality is not a disorder. His respective statement
was made on behalf of the Ministry of Public Health and circulated by
the Gay Forum of Ukraine.
“We affirm that [...] sexual orientation proper must not be
interpreted as a disorder and consider it incorrect to use the terms
‘incorrect orientation’ and ‘disorder’ towards homosexuality”, said
professor Horpinchenko (http://korrespondent.net/tech/health/1109183).
The Chief Sexologist-Andrologist of Crimea Andrey Lyubarsky holds to a
similar opinion. ‘From the International Classification of Diseases,
Andrey Lyubarsky informed us, homosexuality was expunged as a disorder
of sexual behavior. That is, in our time this is not a disease needing
medical treatment and correction. So the division of people into
‘correct’ and ‘incorrect’, the sexologist believes, means not a very
great mind. And a homophobic-aggressive attitude towards
sex-minorities – just alerts physicians. “Usually it is a sign of
hidden or obvious sexual disorder, sometimes relating to some
homosexual experience, feeling of one’s own inferiority, unrealized
fantasies”, the sexologist told. “All in all, who cries louder, really
needs medical care”’ (http://1k.com.ua/347/details/8/10).
Familiar homophobic rhetoric was heard from another member of the
Ukrainian parliament, disguised as usual as necessity to protect
‘traditional values’. This time it was a deputy head of the Party of
Regions parliamentary group Vadim Kolesnichenko. In his interview
given to Radio Liberty on September 3, 2010,
(http://www.radiosvoboda.org/content/article/2147885.html) whilst
standing up for introduction of a special human rights system in
Ukraine based upon the ‘teaching of Russian Orthodox Church towards
human rights’, he said: ‘I believe that homosexual marriages are
unacceptable for our culture, for our state, and I will always oppose
it, though some European countries supported such decision. And I
believe that the overwhelming majority of Ukrainian citizens will be
against it’.
Echoing himself on October 13, 2010, in the interview given to
Internet publication ‘Vsenovosti.in.ua’ this human rights advocate (as
he calls himself) V. Kolesnichenko said: ‘An attempt to legalize
same-sex marriages in Ukraine will be very debatable and difficult.
[...] It strictly contradicts the spirit of our people. [...] I don’t
think that in the near time the Verkhovna Rada [Ukrainian parliament]
will consider laws for homosexualists. Because our society has to
develop in another way, upon different spiritual principles’.
The election campaign for local governments in Ukraine as well as many
other elections did not avoid ‘dirty’ political techniques. On October
7 there appeared on the Internet some police video footage
(http://mycityua.com/video/country/2010/10/06/130236.html) wherein the
then young common citizen and now member of parliament Oleh Lyashko
tells about his homosexual liaison in every detail. The Yulia
Tymoshenko Block parliamentary group, of which he was a member, later
expelled him under what was most probably a fictitious pretense . Thus
even representatives of the Ukrainian establishment become hostages of
the policy of concealment and homophobia which has been formed in
Ukraine towards LGBT citizens – not without their active
participation.
Consider one more instance from this election campaign. This time
pressure of ‘black and pink’ PR was exerted on Zhitomir mayoral
candidate Henadiy Zubenko by the political force ‘Front of Changes’
(led by A. Yatsenyuk). Purporting to be on behalf of some LGBT
organization in the city, leaflets were pasted up to support this
candidate. These leaflets undoubtedly influenced in a negative manner
his run in the election campaign. Unfortunately, Mr. Zubenko's
defenders, in trying to scrub him clean of ‘pink’ stains, for some
reason considered it necessary to fling more mud solely at gays and
lesbians – rather than at their political opponents who most probably
contrived the leaflet ad
(http://narodna.pravda.com.ua/politics/4c9dd9473a453).
The Kharkiv Governor M. Dobkin, a representative of the Party of
Regions, must have utilized second sight when he told on 20.07.2010:
‘Black PR is an integral part of every public figure’s life. Whoever
enters politics has to understand that any dirty technologies can be
used against him right up to accusations of [...] homosexualism [...]
Because some figures, and unfortunately there are lots of them, come
to their heights this very way’
(http://unian.net/rus/news/news-387503.html).
On 28.09.2010 the Kiev Mayor L. Chernovetsky by his directive No. 768
ordered Kiev State Administration and a number of other services to
assist in the carrying out of the festival ‘All together!’ organized
by a public movement of the same name
(http://www.kmv.gov.ua/news.asp?IdType=1&Id=222417). During action
from the stage in front of the capital city hall were heard some
homophobic slogans fomenting hate towards gays, and calling upon the
authorities for introduction of criminal liability for ‘promotion of
homosexualism’. Examples of such slogans were: ‘Homosexualism = AIDS’,
‘Registration of perverts’ partnerships – the threat to national
security of Ukraine’ etc.
(http://love-contra.org/index.php/news/issue/628/).
Relations with law enforcement bodies
This year the LGBT human rights situation in Ukraine, compared with
previous years, did not change substantially. As before, a large part
(35 of 79) of the recorded cases of human rights violation and
discrimination towards homosexuals took place in the sphere of
relations with law enforcement bodies.
Ukrainian police (militsyia) on their part actively enabled
infringements of such fundamental human rights as the right to freedom
and personal immunity, the prohibition of tortures and inhuman
treatment, the right to effective means of legal protection, the right
to privacy, and the right to private property.
In April, 2010, Ihor B. was severely beaten by police officers right
in the hall of the Central Police Department of Donetsk before the
eyes of a score of witnesses – only for requesting policemen to
observe the legal procedure of detention. Later on he was forced to
abandon attempts to defend his rights because he and his mother were
subjected to threats on the part of police officers. He was also made
to sign a document attesting an absence of any complaints from him
toward the police.
In January, 2010, Alexandr Z. was detained by police officers of
Pervomaysky District Police Department of Chernovtsy solely for being
in a gay cruising place. Apart from non-observance of legal procedure
during his detention, the police also photographed and took
fingerprints of Alexandr without any grounds.
In March, 2010, Mr. H., a resident of Nikolaev, was summoned to the
police in connection with a murder of a gay man. After the official
part of the interrogation during which it had been ascertained that H.
did not know the murdered man, he was transferred to another room
where four police officers started to insult and humiliate H. They
also threatened him with the disclosure of his sexual orientation to
his relatives. The police demanded from him that he give them contacts
of all gays known to him. They illegally confiscated his mobile
telephone and copied phone numbers present in it. He was released not
promptly but only in several hours' time.
In May, 2010, the Kiev police answered a complaint of Ukrainian LGBT
organizations about the assault by militants from the nationalist
organization ‘S. Bandera Tryzub’ upon participants and guests of a
homosexual collective poetry presentation which took place in Kiev in
the beginning of October, 2009. It took eight months for the police
‘not to find a crime’ in the actions of the assailants (insulting,
overturning the furniture, physically assaulting participants) and to
refuse to bring a criminal case against them.
In October, 2010, a criminal trial was completed in Donetsk that
convicted a policeman who beat a gay man. This fact is atypical for
Ukraine not just because our judges are unused to convicting policemen
but also because a gay man decided to come out against a police
officer.
This case is especially remarkable because the gay man’s lawyer added
this to the suite: incrimination under Article 161 of the Criminal
Code, which aggravates punishment for a crime of a discriminating
character. This is the second case in Ukrainian legal practice in
which suing homosexuals undertook to prove that infringement of their
rights was of a discriminating character.
Hate crimes
Worldwide every year on the 20th of November the International
Memorial Day of Transgendered Victims is observed. In 2010 the public
organization ‘Insight’ timed a number of activities to this date.
Among them was a movie demonstration in the Center of Contemporary Art
in Kiev Mohyla Academy. About ten men in masks tried to burst into the
hall. Fortunately they could not gain entry because resisting
‘Insight’ activists stood at the entrance. Two Academy activists
suffered from the aggressors’ violence. In addition, the aggressors
tried to spray tear gas from several cans into the hall that led to
some victims. When the aggressors understood that they could not break
rapidly into the hall, they disappeared in withdrawal.
(http://www.bagnet.org/news/summaries/ukraine/2010-11-21/84359).
The police summoned from Podol District Police Department of Kiev
gathered testimonies very reluctantly and refused to accept complaints
from all the incident’s participants. Supposedly all the blame for the
attack should be put on the ultra-rightist organization ‘National
Union’; next day on its very Internet site appeared the information
that the Academy hall attack was committed by ‘unknown patriots
resembling activists of the National Union’
(www.naso.org.ru/main/150-razgrom-transvestitov.html).
On December 11, 2010, in the center of Kiev took place an ‘AntiYolka’
action organized by some left-wing and one LGBT organization. Mostly
the action expressed protest against social policy of the current
Ukrainian authorities; the only direct reference to LGBT matters was
one slogan ‘LGBT rights – human rights’ and a rainbow flag. Initially
the action had been planned for another site and with a more expressed
anti-homophobic subject. But the Kiev branch of the neonazi party
All-Ukrainian Association ‘Svoboda’ (Freedom) announced that it would
carry out a counteraction in the same place at the same time. Despite
the action being transferred and their slogans being shifted towards a
general social protest against the authorities’ policy – after the
event has been closed the group of unknown young men calling,
themselves ‘Christian youth’ attacked, then withdrew, leaving the
participants of the action
(http://korrespondent.net/Kiev/114...meshat-akcii-protesta-seksmenshinstv
http://hr-activists.net/news/5176/
http://www.svoboda.kiev.ua/diyalnist/novyny/018199/ )
Prepared by the Nash Mir, Kiev (A. Zinchenkov, A. Kravchuk)
Document URL: http://www.gay.org.ua/publications/gay_ukraine_2010-e.doc
During preparation materials were utilized from ‘Gay Forum of Ukraine’
press service and other sources.
17.01.2011
