Adam Zivo - NATIONAL POST
Unbeknownst to most of the world, Ukraine has made significant progress on LGBTQ rights over the past decade. The progress in Ukraine contrasts starkly with the harsh curtailments of LGBTQ rights in neighbouring countries, such as Russia , Belarus and Hungary . If Russia were to conquer Ukraine, it would be a terrible blow to LGBTQ Ukrainians and to gay activists throughout the region.
© Provided by National PostLenny Emson, executive director of KyivPride.
LGBTQ activism has existed in Ukraine since the early 1990s, when homosexuality was decriminalized, but activists only started making themselves more visible in the early 2010s. At that time, Ukraine was ruled by Viktor Yanukovych, a pro-Russia sycophant, who, in 2012, proposed legislation banning LGBTQ rights advocacy under the pretext of stopping “gay propaganda.” The ban copied a similar anti-gay law that Russia had proposed and would later pass in 2013.
In response, a handful of veteran activists founded KyivPride . In 2012, they tried to hold a Pride parade but were met with threats of severe violence. Approximately 100 marchers faced off against thousands of counter-protesters, according to Lenny Emson, the executive director of KyivPride. When the police refused to intervene, the event was cancelled.
In 2014, the Euromaidan revolution ousted Yanukovych and decisively shifted Ukraine away from Russia and towards Europe. Yanukovych’s anti-gay bill was aborted and never revived. Ukraine’s post-revolution governments have since consistently passed pro-LGBTQ laws — such as an anti-discrimination employment law in 2015, liberalization of legal gender changes for trans Ukrainians in 2016 and ending a ban on blood donations from gay and bisexual men in 2021.
This succession of pro-LGBTQ legislation partially reflects shifting attitudes among the Ukrainian public, but there is also a realpolitik angle: Ukraine wants to be admitted into the European Union and, for that to happen, it needs to meet certain conditions, which include robust human rights protections.
This year, Ukraine was on track to pass a comprehensive anti-hate crime law that would have protected gender and sexual minorities, but, according to Ukrainian LGBTQ activists, its passage through parliament was interrupted by the Russian invasion.
Prior to the war, the main challenge facing LGBTQ Ukrainians was a rise in hate crimes by some far-right groups. When I interviewed several of Ukraine’s leading LGBTQ activists, representing four different organizations, in KyivPride’s office last month, they shared their suspicion that these groups, which seemed well-funded, were being supported by Russia.
However, despite this rise in hate crimes, Ukraine’s LGBTQ activists were optimistic about the future. KyivPride has consistently grown and, last year, 7,000 people marched in support of LGBTQ rights and faced only a few hundred counter-protesters. Today, Kyiv’s LGBTQ community is thriving, despite some violent attacks .
Ten years ago, it was near-impossible to live as an openly LGBTQ person in Ukraine. Today, being LGBTQ is relatively accepted among youth and in major urban centres, though obviously there is still huge room for improvement. This is, at least, the opinion of the dozens of LGBTQ Ukrainians (both activists and everyday community members) I’ve engaged with over the past nine weeks.
But all of this progress will be erased if Russia conquers the country or turns it into a puppet state. Ukraine’s LGBTQ activists have already heard reports that gay Ukrainians in Russian-controlled areas — such as Crimea, Donbas and Kherson — are experiencing persecution similar to Russia’s 2017 anti-gay purge in Chechnya.
These activists also believe that if Russia occupies their homeland, they will be hunted and killed. They spoke about “ kill lists ” of human rights activists that have been floating around online and are allegedly in the hands of Russian security forces. Some of these activists have spotted themselves and their colleagues on these lists, their names accompanied by addresses and photos.
“We know that they will come for us and they will do everything to make us non-existent. Literally, they will kill us,” said Emson.
None of this is surprising. Russian state media has adopted genocidal language towards Ukraine, with an infamous Russian state media op-ed arguing in April that Ukrainian elites “must be liquidated as they cannot be reeducated and the social swamp that backed them must be subject to the terror of war and made to pay for their crimes.”
If Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to liquidate Ukraine’s intelligentsia, would it really be so surprising if he wanted to liquidate LGBTQ Ukrainians, as well?
The LGBTQ activists I spoke to pleaded for the international community’s help, as they believe their lives depend on it, as does their hope for a future in which LGBTQ eastern Europeans can live free from violence and harassment.
Putin has made upholding “ traditional values ” a central plank of his government’s agenda, and has exported anti-LGBTQ legislation elsewhere within his sphere of influence. Ukraine’s existence as a democratic, increasingly pro-LGBTQ country on Russia’s doorstep is a thorn in Russia’s side — a challenge to its vision of dominating eastern Europe, both politically and culturally.
Unfortunately, according to Ukrainian LGBTQ activists, attempts to call attention to the plight of Ukraine’s LGBTQ community have been undermined by Russian propaganda claiming that Ukraine is governed by fascists and Nazis — a narrative that Putin used to justify his recent invasion.
The narrative has legs because, yes, some far-right elements exist in Ukraine, but these LGBTQ activists argue that the far right is no more powerful in Ukraine than it is in other European countries — and in many cases, it is less influential.
Since the 2014 revolution (when Putin alleges that Nazis took over Ukraine), Ukraine’s far-right parties have consistently failed to secure more than five per cent of the vote in national elections. They hold no parliamentary seats. In contrast, Germany’s main far-right party controls 11 per cent of parliament; while, in France, far-right nationalist Marine Le Pen secured 41.5 per cent of the 2022 presidential vote.
Ukrainians have generally been frustrated by the fact that Russia, abetted by some more gullible members of the international press, has exaggerated the influence of Ukraine’s far right to undermine international support for its resistance against Russian conquest.
In a cruel twist, some people have even invoked the well-being of LGBTQ Ukrainians when arguing against international aid for Ukraine. From their perspective, if far right elements within Ukraine attack LGBTQ people, then Ukraine does not deserve aid.
This misguided belief not only puts LGBTQ Ukrainians at risk if the country comes under Russian control, it also directly contradicts the direct military support that Ukrainian LGBTQ activists have consistently asked for. But Putin’s enablers will gladly speak over Ukrainian LGBTQ activists, and assiduously avoid actually speaking with them, while pretending to care about their interests.
“Listen to us. Ask us. Talk to us. Follow our social media. Look at what we are posting and you can talk to us anytime. You can address us. You can ask all questions. Do not just follow Russian propaganda. Do not just believe. Ask us, because we exist here,” said Emson.
National Post
Unfortunately, according to Ukrainian LGBTQ activists, attempts to call attention to the plight of Ukraine’s LGBTQ community have been undermined by Russian propaganda claiming that Ukraine is governed by fascists and Nazis — a narrative that Putin used to justify his recent invasion.
The narrative has legs because, yes, some far-right elements exist in Ukraine, but these LGBTQ activists argue that the far right is no more powerful in Ukraine than it is in other European countries — and in many cases, it is less influential.
Since the 2014 revolution (when Putin alleges that Nazis took over Ukraine), Ukraine’s far-right parties have consistently failed to secure more than five per cent of the vote in national elections. They hold no parliamentary seats. In contrast, Germany’s main far-right party controls 11 per cent of parliament; while, in France, far-right nationalist Marine Le Pen secured 41.5 per cent of the 2022 presidential vote.
Ukrainians have generally been frustrated by the fact that Russia, abetted by some more gullible members of the international press, has exaggerated the influence of Ukraine’s far right to undermine international support for its resistance against Russian conquest.
In a cruel twist, some people have even invoked the well-being of LGBTQ Ukrainians when arguing against international aid for Ukraine. From their perspective, if far right elements within Ukraine attack LGBTQ people, then Ukraine does not deserve aid.
This misguided belief not only puts LGBTQ Ukrainians at risk if the country comes under Russian control, it also directly contradicts the direct military support that Ukrainian LGBTQ activists have consistently asked for. But Putin’s enablers will gladly speak over Ukrainian LGBTQ activists, and assiduously avoid actually speaking with them, while pretending to care about their interests.
“Listen to us. Ask us. Talk to us. Follow our social media. Look at what we are posting and you can talk to us anytime. You can address us. You can ask all questions. Do not just follow Russian propaganda. Do not just believe. Ask us, because we exist here,” said Emson.
National Post
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