COUNTRY CONTEXT ANALYSIS OF LGBT PEOPLE SITUATION IN Abridged version Kyiv, December 2016

Country Context Analysis of LGBT People Situation in Ukraine is made the first time in this quality. Proposed document concerns major tendencies related to LGBT, which are observed in Ukraine in recent years - especially since the revolutionary events that occurred in late 2013 - early 2014. The analysis is accompanied by referring to the regulations, examples of specific situations, statistical data (as the experts has prepared the analysis in its various parts from spring 2016, some statistics are not up to date, but presented as a reference to it since addressing to the co-authors). A number of national experts for MSM / LGBT are involved to team of the co-authors. The context analysis focuses around issues of human rights for LGBT people, but also devoted to the problems of some groups associated with LGBT people – men who have sex with men, to a lesser extent – women who have sex with women, and in addition – people living with HIV.

The analysis preparation is coordinated by the Centre of Social Expertizes of the Institute of Sociology of the NAS of Ukraine, which was ordered by the LGBT Association ‘LIGA’ public organization together with the COC Netherlands within the second phase of the Bridging the Gaps: Health and Rights for Key Populations program (2016-2020) funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Authors of the publication: Iurii Pryvalov, director of the Centre of Social Expertizes of the Institute of Sociology of the NAS of Ukraine, PhD. Oleg Alyokhin, chairperson of the LGBT Association ‘LIGA’ public organization, national expert on health and rights of gays and other MSM in Ukraine. Oleg Belov, chairperson of the Sources of Right (Dzherela Prava) public organization, member of the association of lawyers of Ukraine. Andrii Zarytskyi, coordinator of the Centre of Cooperation with Society and Government program of the LGBT Association ‘LIGA’ public organization. Maksym Kasianchuk, head of the board of trustees of the Interregional Centre of LGBT Researches “Donbas- SocProject” public organization, PhD. Olena Semenova, co-chair of the LGBT Association ‘LIGA’ public organization. Olesia Trofymenko, projects manager of the Centre of Social Expertizes of the Institute of Sociology of the NAS of Ukraine. Sviatoslav Sheremet, national expert on health and rights of gays and other MSM in Ukraine, expert of the Coalition for Combating Discrimination in Ukraine.

Technical editor Oksana Rokytska, project assistant of the Centre of Social Expertizes of the Institute of Sociology of the NAS of Ukraine.

You are free to copy and redistribute the publication under the following conditions:  You must attribute the work to COC Netherlands, LGBT Association ‘LIGA’ or the Centre of Social Expertizes of the Institute of Sociology of the NAS of Ukraine (But not in any way that suggests that any of the abovementioned organizations endorses you or use of the work);  You may not use the material for commercial purposesю

Please, note that in case if you edit, transform, or modify the publication, you may not redistribute it.

Country Context Analysis of LGBT People Situation in Ukraine 2 Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...... 6 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ...... 7 Section 1. General Context of Situation in Ukraine ...... 8 1.1. Political Situation and Context Relating to LGBT ...... 8 1.1.1. Current Political Context and Factors Contributing to Status Quo or Driving Change in the Political Situation for LGBT People ...... 8 1.2. Economic and Employment Situation for LGBT People and Factors Contributing to Status Quo or Driving Change ...... 9 1.2.1. Economic Environment for LGBT People ...... 9 1.2.2. Economic Situation for MSM ...... 10 1.3. Background on the Situation in the Crimea and Donbass Regions ...... 10 1.4. Social Contextual Factors Affecting LGBT ...... 10 1.5. The Current Situation for Women in the Society and Decision Making Institutions and Trends in Gender Equality (Including Statistics) ...... 10 Section 2. Laws and Regulations Posing Obstacles to LGBT ...... 11 2.1. Constitutional Laws ...... 11 2.1.1. ...... 11 2.1.2. Codes ...... 11 2.2. Criminal Code of Ukraine ...... 11 2.2.1. Hate Crimes ...... 11 2.2.2. Hate Speech ...... 11 2.2.3. Pornography ...... 11 2.2.4. Age of Consent ...... 12 2.2.5. Liability for Sexual Abuse ...... 12 2.3. Laws ...... 12 2.3.1. The Law on Principles of Preventing and Combating Discrimination in Ukraine as a Key Antidiscrimination Act ...... 12 2.4. Regulations...... 12 2.4.1. Regulations on Blood Donation ...... 12 2.4.2. Regulations on Sex Reassignment Procedure ...... 12 2.4.3. Adoption Procedure ...... 12 2.5. “Legislation” in Territories Not Controlled by the Ukrainian Government ...... 12 Section 3. Policy Barriers Affecting LGBT Rights ...... 13 3.1. A Policy of Completely Ignoring LGBT Issues ...... 13 3.1.1. Bullying ...... 13 3.1.2. Family Policy Gaps ...... 13 3.1.3. Youth Policy Gaps ...... 13 3.1.4. Religious Policy Gaps ...... 13 3.1.5. Freedom of Assembly Policy Gaps ...... 13 3.1.6. Election Policy Gaps ...... 13 3.2. A Policy of Understating LGBT Issues ...... 14 3.2.1. Inadequate LGBT Representation in Central and Local Governments ...... 14 3.2.2. Inadequate Consideration for LGBT Specifics in the Public Health Policy ...... 14 3.3. Policy in Territories Not Controlled by the Ukrianian Government ...... 14 Section 4. Laws Mainstreaming LGBT Equality and Eliminating Barriers Faced by LGBT People ...... 15 4.1. Constitutional Process ...... 15 4.1.1. Draft Amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine ...... 15 Country Context Analysis of LGBT People Situation in Ukraine 3 4.2. Codes ...... 15 4.2.1. Labour Code of Ukraine ...... 15 4.2.2. Family Code of Ukraine ...... 15 4.3. Laws ...... 15 4.3.1. Key Legislative Act on HIV ...... 15 4.4. Judicial Decisions ...... 15 4.4.1. Superior Specialised Court Decisions ...... 15 4.5. By-laws and Regulations ...... 16 4.5.1. to Ukraine ...... 16 4.5.2. Adoption ...... 16 4.5.3. Governmental Action Plan for Implementing the National Strategy on Human Rights ...... 16 Section 5. LGBT Mainstreaming and Empowerment Policy ...... 16 5.1. LGBT Engagement Policy at the National Level ...... 16 5.1.1. LGBT Engagement Policy Pursued by the Presidential Administration of Ukraine ...... 16 5.1.2. LGBT Engagement Policy of the of Ukraine ...... 16 5.1.3. LGBT Engagement Policy of the Ombudsperson of Ukraine ...... 17 5.1.4. LGBT Engagement Policy of Governmental Ministries ...... 17 5.1.5. LGBT Engagement Policy Adopted under the National Coordination Mechanism of Response to HIV/AIDS ...... 18 5.2. LGBT Engagement Policy at the Local Level ...... 18 5.2.1. LGBT Engagement in the Local Youth Policy Development ...... 18 5.2.2. LGBT Engagement in Policy Making on Responding to HIV at the Local Level ...... 18 Section 6. International Agreements, Laws and Regulations Protecting LGBT (Including the Status of Ratification, Domestication and Implementation of these International Acts in Ukraine) ...... 18 6.1. Constitution of Ukraine ...... 18 6.2. Current International Agreements on LGBT Rights Ratified by Ukraine ...... 18 Section 7. Coverage of LGBT Issues by Media and Other Communication Sources ...... 19 Section 8. Laws and Policies on Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights ...... 20 8.1. Laws and Regulations on Sexual and Reproductive Health...... 20 Section 9. Laws and Regulations Considered to Pose Obstacles for People Living with HIV ...... 20 9.1. Codes ...... 20 9.1.1. Criminal Code ...... 20 9.2. By-laws and Regulations ...... 21 9.2.1. Adoption Procedure ...... 21 9.3. Other Regulatory Barriers Affecting the Rights of PLHIV ...... 21 Section 10. International Agreements, Laws and Regulations Protecting PLHIV ...... 21 10.1. Constitution, Codes and Laws of Ukraine ...... 21 10.2. Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine Resolutions ...... 22 10.3. By-laws and Regulations ...... 22 Section 11. International, Regional and National LGBT Right Protection Mechanisms ...... 23 11.1. Universal Periodic Review (UPR) ...... 23 11.2. Other International Mechanisms ...... 23 Section 12. Human Right Violations against LGBT People in Ukraine and Legal Remedies Available to Them ...... 23 12.1. LGBT Community Awareness of Human Rights (under International Treaties and National Legislation) and the Violation Thereof ...... 23 12.2. Violations of LGBT Human Rights and Freedoms ...... 24 Country Context Analysis of LGBT People Situation in Ukraine 4 12.2.1. The Specifities of Violations of Individual Rights and Freedoms of LGBT People in Territories Not Controlled by the Ukrainian Government ...... 24 12.3. Where Do LGBT People Go to Seek Protection ...... 24 12.4. NGO Activities on Providing Legal Support and Advise to LGBT People ...... 25 12.5. Judicial Mechanisms Available for LGBT People to Seek Remedy for Human Rights Abuse ...... 25 12.5.1. Overview ...... 25 12.5.2. The Right to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly ...... 26 12.5.3. Court Cases against Hate Crime and LGBT Discrimination ...... 26 12.5.4. Court Cases on Transgenders ...... 27 12.5.5. Court Cases Involving Same-Sex Partnerships ...... 27 12.6. Procedure for Changing Gender Markers in ID Documents Issued to Transgender Persons ...... 27 Section 13. Professional Sensitivity and Awareness of Expert Groups toward SOGI and LGBT Issues ...... 28 Section 14. Socio-Demographic and Behavioural Characteristics of LGBT People as Part of the Nation’s Population...... 28 14.1. LGBT/MSM/WSW Population in Ukraine ...... 28 14.1.1. LGBT Population...... 28 14.1.2. MSM Population ...... 29 14.1.3. GB Population ...... 29 14.1.4. LB Population ...... 29 14.1.5. WSW Population ...... 29 14.1.6. Transgender Population ...... 29 14.2. Behavioural Characteristics of LGBT Community ...... 29 14.2.1. Percentage of LGBT People Providing Sexual Services ...... 29 14.2.2. Percentage of LGBT People Engaged in Transactional Sex ...... 30 14.2.3. Percentage of LGBT People Who Inject Drugs ...... 30 14.2.4. Percentage of LGBT People Who Abuse Non-Injection Substances (Including Alcohol) ...... 30 Section 15. LGBT Violence, Stigma and Discrimination in the Context of HIV Transmission ...... 30 15.1. Violence against LGBT ...... 30 15.2. LGBT Stigma and Discrimination in the Context of HIV Transmission ...... 30 15.2.1. Stigma and Discrimination against LGBT and Social Perceptions of Discrimination ...... 30 15.2.2. Stigma and Discrimination against Sex Workers ...... 31 15.2.3. Stigma and Discrimination against People Who Inject Drugs ...... 31 15.2.4. Stigma and Discrimination against People Living with HIV (PLHIV) ...... 31 15.2.5. HIV-Related Stigma within the LGBT Community ...... 32 Section 16. Capacity Development within LGBT Community ...... 32 16.1. Level of Capacity of Front Liners to Deal with Media Attention ...... 32 16.2. Informal LGBT Groups ...... 32 16.3. LGBT Visibility in the Society ...... 33 16.4. Availability and Accessibility of LGBT Friendly Venues ...... 33 16.4.1. LGBT Friendly Venues and Meeting Places ...... 33 16.5. Mobilisation Capacity of LGBT Community ...... 34 16.6. Improvements in Human Rights and Opportunities Situation for LGBT ...... 34 16.7. Level of Support for LGBT Community among the Allies ...... 35 Section 17. Current Status of LGBT Movement ...... 35 17.1. General Overview of LGBT Movement ...... 35 Country Context Analysis of LGBT People Situation in Ukraine 5 17.2. Essential Statistics on LGBT Organisations ...... 35 17.3. National Umbrella LGBT Community Organisations ...... 36 17.4. Expert Bodies Representing LGBT Community and MSM Services ...... 36 17.5. Level of Support for LGBT among Key Mainstream Organisations ...... 36 17.6. Support for LGBT from the United Nations Organisations, Diplomatic Missions and International Agencies ...... 36 17.7. LGBT Interactions with Other Civil Society Movements and Sectors ...... 36 Section 18. LGBT Health and Welfare in the Context of Public Health ...... 37 18.1. HIV Transmission Rates ...... 37 18.1.1. Estimated HIV Infection Rates in General Population ...... 37 18.1.2. HIV Infection Rates in Key Population Groups ...... 37 18.2. Sexually Transmitted Diseases and Hepatitis B Infection Rates ...... 37 18.2.1. STD Infection Rates in General Population ...... 37 18.2.2. SDT and Hepatitis B Infection Rates among MSM, WSW and TG ...... 38 18.3. TB Infection Rates ...... 38 18.3.1. TB Infection Rates in General Population ...... 38 18.3.2. TB Coinfection Rates among PLHIV ...... 38 18.3.3. TB Coinfection Rates among HIV Positive MSM, WSW and TG Persons ...... 38 18.4. Hepatitis C Infection Rates ...... 38 18.4.1. Hepatitis C Infection Rates in General Population ...... 38 18.4.2. Hepatitis C Coinfection Rates among PLHIV ...... 39 18.4.3. Hepatitis C Coinfection Rates among HIV Positive MSM, WSW and TG ...... 39 18.5. Some HIV Risk Factors ...... 39 18.5.1. Annual Number of Deaths due to AIDS among General Population ...... 39 18.5.2. Annual Number of Deaths due to Aids among MSM, WSW and TG People ...... 39 18.6. HIV Prevention and Treatment in MSM, WSW and TG People ...... 39 18.6.1. Primary HIV Prevention in MSM, WSW and TG People ...... 39 18.6.2. Secondary HIV Prevention in MSM, WSW and TG people ...... 39 18.6.3. Tertiary HIV Prevention / Treatment in MSM, WSW and TG People ...... 40 18.6.4. LGBT Awareness of HIV Prevention Options and Safe Behaviour Strategies ...... 41 18.7. Some HIV Risk Factors ...... 41 18.7.1. Percentage of Reported Multiple Sexual Partnerships among MSM, WSW and Transgender People ...... 41 18.8. Availability and accessibility of Healthcare Services for LGBT ...... 41 18.8.1. Sensitivity of Healthcare Professionals and Staff to Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity ...... 41 18.8.2. Level of Knowledge on LGBT Health Issues among Healthcare Professionals ...... 42 18.8.3. Level of Satisfaction with Healthcare Services among LGBT People ...... 42 18.8.4. How Much Do LGBT People Care about Their Health and Why LGBT People Avoid or Delay Getting the Healthcare Services ...... 42 18.8.5. Availability and Accessibility of Psychological Support and Counselling for LGBT ...... 42 18.8.6. Availability and Accessibility of Mainstream Healthcare Services for LGBT People ...... 42 18.8.7. Availability and Accessibility of Specialised Healthcare Services for LGBT ...... 42 18.8.8. Availability and Accessibility of Hormones and Sex Reassignment Surgery for Transgender People ...... 43 Country Context Analysis of LGBT People Situation in Ukraine 6 18.8.9. Percentage of LGBT People Who Know Where to Receive Healthcare Services Specifically Designed for Them ...... 43 18.9. National Policy on Responding to HIV/AIDS and Financing Relevant Programmes ...... 44 18.9.1. National Policy on Responding to HIV Epidemic ...... 44 18.9.2. State Strategy of Responding to HIV among MSM Population ...... 44 18.9.3. Available Funding for MSM Specific Activities under the Ongoing State Target Social Program to Respond to HIV / AIDS ...... 44 18.9.4. MSM Representation in Official Structures Formulating Response to HIV in Ukraine ...... 45 18.10. Domestic and International HIV Spending by Category and Financing Source (UNGASS Indicator No. 1) ...... 46 18.11. Spending for MSM-Specific HIV Prevention Programmes ...... 46 18.12. Percentage of the National Healthcare Spending Used to Finance LGBT Specific Services ...... 46 Section 19. Recommendations ...... 46 19.1. To Governmental Bodies ...... 46 19.2. Entities of Ukrainian LGBT Movement ...... 48 19.3. International Governmental and Non-Governmental Organizations ...... 48 APPENDIX 1.LGBT component of the Action Plan on implementation the National Strategy on human rights for the period until 2020 ...... 50 APPENDIX 2.Legal proceedings regarding the right on freedom of peaceful assembly for LGBT...... 55 APPENDIX 3.Examples of proceedings in cases of hate crimes and discrimination against LGBT ...... 57 APPENDIX 4.Table 1. UPR Recommendations to Ukraine, their Status and Comments ...... 58

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

In late 2013 - early 2014 in Ukraine there have been revolutionary developments triggered by the refusal of President Yanukovych to sign the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU. These events are called Revolution of Dignity and and dramatically affected the situation in the country the most from the time Ukraine gained independence in 1991, namely:

1. A change of the political regime: President Yanukovych fled the country, the ruling Party of Regions, led by Prime Minister Azarov, lost power, the composition of the political elite significantly changed after the elections. 2. The Ukraine, weakened by the revolutionary events, lost control of the Crimean Peninsula, which was annexed by . O March 18, 2014 Russian legislation was applied de facto in Crime, including condemned by international community homophobic norms of administrative law1. 3. In the east, in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions, separatist behaviour and actions, supported by Russia, led to some quasi-state entities - the Donetsk and Lugansk "people's republics". In the so-called "LPR" and "DPR" any openness to the public about the level of their "non-traditional" sexual orientation or gender identity that differs from the natural sex can lead to discrimination, provoke violence or other types of aggression. 4. In order to regain control over all east of the state, government began ATO - anti-terrorist operation that had many signs of war, but Ukraine refrained from announcement of martial law. ATO continues to this day. 5. In the course of actual armed conflict many soldiers and civilians were killed, housing and infrastructure largely destroyed in the conflict zone. 6. One of the key social groups in Ukraine have become IDPs - internally displaced persons, ie people who are forced to leave the conflict zone in the east or left Crimea on the territory controlled by the government. One of the subgroups of IDPs are among LGBT people.

1 See in more details Rights Violations of LGBTI in Crimea and Donbass: problems of homophobia on territories not controlled by Ukraine / right report of Antidiscrimination Centre “Memorial” supported by [public organization] Centre for Civil Rights. — 2016. — 40 p. — Access mode: http://adcmemorial.org/wp-content/uploads/LGBT_report.pdf Country Context Analysis of LGBT People Situation in Ukraine 7 7. National currency devaluated more than half and domestic production reduced, which, combined with other factors, led to a significant deterioration in the economic situation of the population. 8. Ukraine signed an Association Agreement with the EU, which partly entered into force, but its future is in question because of the negative outcome of the referendum in the Netherlands on the adoption of the agreement. 9. The signing of the Association Agreement with the EU was evidence of geopolitical choice of post- revolutionary in favour of the Euro-Atlantic vector and the corresponding distance from the Eurasian geopolitical space led by Russia. 10. The geopolitical choice made by the government forces authorities to implement in Ukraine the rights and freedoms based on European principles which also applies to the segment of LGBT. 11. In the social sphere, there is a radical strengthening of civil society, NGOs and wide volunteer movement. 12. The political map has changed currents and movements: left spectrum has weakened, while the right sector gained considerable power. The political configuration is not constant; it changes quite quickly. 13. Ukraine's dependence on international financial assistance increased. 14. Balance of power among the major Christian denominations has changed, much greater influence is gained by Ukrainian Orthodox Church Kiev Patriarchate, which is not recognized by the Local Orthodox Churches, but is consistent with the priority of national interests. 15. Significantly increased the prestige of the army, there is the effect of "militarization" of public consciousness.

Based on the results of the analysis, the situation for LGBT people in Ukraine can be described as follows: 1. The trend is taking shape in Ukraine toward the improved rights and freedoms for LGBT people. 2. At the same time, many legal and regulatory provisions that still remain valid in Ukraine appear to have signs of discrimination, direct or indirect, based on sexual orientation and gender identity. 3. In Ukraine, the same-sex marriage remains illegal for LGBT people. 4. Attitude of wider civil society towards LGBT remains negative in general. 5. LGBT continue suffering from hate crimes, moreover, a significant legislative gap is that hate based on SOGI is not considered as a ground when hate crime cases are investigated. 6. Ukrainian politicians seem to show growing attention toward LGBT issues. 7. Controversies still remain regarding the right to freedom of peaceful assembly for LGBT people with attitudes to various pride events differing from city to city. 8. LGBT issues and topics generally receive sufficient and adequate coverage in mass media. 9. LGBT communities generally have sufficient capacity to play a role in various societal and political processes instead of being a spectator. 10. HIV rates grow among men who have sex with men (MSM) while actions taken in response fall short when it comes to taking epidemic processes under control. 11. Transgender people are not recognized in Ukraine as a key group when responding to HIV and their rights require special protection. 12. Very little information and statistics is available on the women who have sex with women (WSW) group in Ukraine. 13. Situation of LGBT people on territories not controlled by the Ukrainian government (Crime, separate territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions) is much worse than other regions of Ukraine.

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

ARV — Antiretroviral ART — Antiretroviral therapy ATO — Antiterrorist Operation BBS-2015/2016 — Bio-Behavioural Survey conducted in Ukraine among men who have sex with men (MSM) including trans men in the late 2015/early 2016 by the Centre of Social Expertise at the Institute of Sociology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and commissioned by the International Charitable Foundation “Alliance for Public Health” CEA — Central executive authorities “DPR” — “Donetsk People’s Republic” - quasi-separatist formation on the territory of Donetsk region, including Donetsk, led by their own self-appointed authorities and entities closely linked with Russia, which Ukraine considers as an aggressor country. Country Context Analysis of LGBT People Situation in Ukraine 8 GB — Gays and bisexual men GFAMT — Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis GI — Governmental institution IDU — Injection drug users KCSA — Kyiv City State Administration LB — Lesbians and bisexual women “LPR” — “Luhansk People’s Republic” -quasi- separatist formation on the part of the Luhansk region, including Lugansk, controlled their own self-appointed authorities and entities closely linked with Russia, which Ukraine considers as an aggressor country. LGBT — Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender people LGBTІ — Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex people MIA — Ministry of Internal Affairs MFA — Ministry of Foreign Affairs MES — Ministry of Emergency Situations (now disbanded; its functions taken over by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine) MES — Ministry of Education and Science MOH — Ministry of Health MSM — Men who have sex with men NAS — National Academy of Sciences NGO — Non-governmental organisations PWID — People who inject drugs PHF — Public health facilities PLHIV — People living with HIV Post-CP — Post-contact preventive care SOGI — Sexual orientation and gender identity SSU — Security Service of Ukraine STD — Sexually transmitted diseases TB — Tuberculosis TG — Transgender UNGASS – United Nations General Assembly Special Session [on HIV/AIDS] VCT — Voluntary counselling and testing for HIV WSW — Women who have sex with women

Section 1. General Context of Situation in Ukraine

1.1. Political Situation and Context Relating to LGBT 1.1.1. Current Political Context and Factors Contributing to Status Quo or Driving Change in the Political Situation for LGBT People The government appears to do more to support LGBT people than in the previous years. In 2015, the National Strategy on Human Rights was adopted2 and the Strategy Implementation Plan till 20203 was prepared to include almost all activities proposed by the Ukrainian LGBT organisations. In November 2015, the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada) passed the amendment4 to the Labour Code to recognize SOGI and prohibit discrimination at work on the basis of SOGI. In June 2015, a court decision was released in Kyiv stating that denying recognition of gender identity because someone is transgender is an unlawful practice. Traditional homophobic rhetoric that prevailed among the Ukrainian politicians in the previous years is counterbalanced by respectful and friendly attitudes toward LGBT demonstrated by the new-generation politicians.

2 http://hrstrategy.com.ua/documents/versions/2. 3 http://www.kmu.gov.ua/control/uk/cardnpd?docid=248740679. 4 http://zakon2.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/785-19. Country Context Analysis of LGBT People Situation in Ukraine 9 By reemphasizing their support to LGBT people and their human rights as an essential component of Ukraine’s European choice, many top government officials including Pavlo Klimkin, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Serhiy Petukhov, Deputy Minister of Justice responsible for EU integration, have joined the Ukrainian Ombudswoman Valeria Lutkovska who has always been consistent in her support to LGBT people and their human rights. In his public statements, the has also strongly supported LGBT rights as human rights. Commenting controversies around the 2015 Pride Parade in Kyiv, President Poroshenko said: “My attitude toward the Pride Parade is one of the Christian and President promoting European values. These things fit perfectly together. While I’m not planning to take part in it personally, I don’t see any reasons to cancel it – this is the constitutional right of each and every Ukrainian citizen”5. In addition to hate-crime offences based on race, ethnicity, and religion that have been already covered in the Criminal Code, the central office of the National Policy of Ukraine has begun to file and keep under special control SOGI-motivated hate-crime incidents that are yet to be included in the hate-crime provisions of the Criminal Code. It is however not enough to correctly report a motive behind a hate-crime incident because the investigation not able to qualify any offence against LGBT people as a hate crime because it is not recognized in the current legislation. This means that amending the Criminal Code appropriately should be the next important step. 1.2. Economic and Employment Situation for LGBT People and Factors Contributing to Status Quo or Driving Change 1.2.1. Economic Environment for LGBT People Economic Development and Key Macroeconomic Indicators in Ukraine The European Union Association Agreement was signed and ratified by Ukraine in 2014. According to the data for 2014, country’s GDP dropped 7.5%, national currency fell in value by 100%, consumer price inflation reached 25%, withdrew about a third of their bank deposits, and country’s gold and currency reserves shrank to USD 7.5 billion6. In 2015, the inflation rate hit a 20-year record to reach 43.3%7. As of April 2016, the inflation index in Ukraine was 103.5%8. The industrial production in Ukraine decreased by 13.4% over 2015 and shrank 2.5 times as compared to 2014 (excluding the ATO zone)9. In 2014, the share of shadow economy grew to 42% of GDP and hit the record high since 200710 (this share was later estimated at 4111). The real GDP showed a 9.9% decrease in the 1st quarter of 2016 as compared to the same period of the previous year. In 2015, Bloomberg rated Ukraine’s economy among the top five unhappiest economies in the world12. In April 2015, the personal financial situation index fell to reach a 15-year low13. In 2015, the unemployment rate reached the highest level since Ukraine’s independence14. In 2015, GDP shrank by 35% as compared to the 1991 level, showing the worst performance in the world15. The real household income dropped more than 40% since 201416. Labour Market The ILO unemployment rate stood at 9% toward the end of 2015. The labour demand curve continues to slope downward in Ukraine.

5 http://interfax.com.ua/news/political/270127.html. 6 http://pronedra.ru/globaleconomics/2015/01/17/ukraina-obval-ekonomiki/. 7 http://news.finance.ua/ru/news/-/367262/minekonomrazvitiya-o-prichinah-inflyatsii-vsemu-vinoj-devalvatsiya-grivny. 8 http://index.minfin.com.ua/index/infl/?_ga=1.22840315.1362461619.1462966814. 9 http://www.segodnya.ua/economics/enews/yacenyuk-obyasnil-iz-za-chego-padaet-ekonomika-669084.html. 10 http://news.finance.ua/ru/news/-/350605/tenevaya-ekonomika-v-ukraine-vyrosla-do-rekordnogo-urovny. 11 http://news.finance.ua/ru/news/-/369338/mert-v-teni-nahoditsya-40-ukrainskoj-ekonomiki. 12 http://apostrophe.com.ua/news/economy/2015-03-03/bloomberg-ukraina-voshla-v-pyaterku-stran-s-samyimi- neschastnyimi-ekonomikami/17014. 13 http://gazeta.zn.ua/macrolevel/stabilnoe-uhudshenie-_.html. 14 http://news.finance.ua/ru/news/-/358000/bezrabotitsa-dostigla-samogo-vysokogo-urovnya-za-vsyu-istoriyu-ukrainy- minsotspolitiki. 15 http://zn.ua/ECONOMICS/za-gody-nezavisimosti-ukraina-ustanovila-mirovoy-rekord-po-padeniyu-vvp-186287_.html. 16 http://news.finance.ua/ru/news/-/361185/ukraintsy-obedneli-bolshe-vseh-v-mire-za-2014-2015-gg. Country Context Analysis of LGBT People Situation in Ukraine 10 1.2.2. Economic Situation for MSM For many years in a row, the bio-behavioural survey results for the MSM sample have shown higher income levels relative to other population groups. The 2015/2016 bio-behavioural survey results indicate that the average income among the MSM is UAH 6039, which is significantly higher than the country’s average income reported at UAH 2080 and also higher than the country’s average wage level reported at UAH 4984 in May 201617. 1.3. Background on the Situation in the Crimea and Donbass Regions In the first half of 2014, the conflict escalated between Russia and Ukraine. Military actions and propaganda led to Crimea (now known as the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and a separate administrative unit of Ukraine — the city of Sevastopol) and part of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions to announce their separation from Ukraine. When the territory of Crimea was annexed by the Russian Federation under the guise of legitimate procedures for accession, in Donetsk and Luhansk, self-proclaimed authorities announced the creation of "Donetsk" and "Lugansk" "people's Republic" separatist territorial entities, de facto closely integrated with Russia. The conflict in Donbas resulted in significant suffering on part of the local population: first, people died in the hostilities, and second, many left their homes and moved to Ukrainian-controlled territories — these people are recognized as internally displaced persons (IDPs). In Crimea and the Donbas regions, the situation is worsening, especially for those social groups perceived by the rest of the population to be marginalized, including the LGBT community. It should be noted that in accordance with the Ethical code of the Ukrainian LGBT movement, in assessing the military-political situation in Ukraine and behind its limits, the legitimacy of the foreign political regimes in the recognition or non-recognition of certain public entities of the LGBT movement adheres to the official vision of the state of Ukraine. The LGBT situation in the Crimea looks like the LGBT situation in Russia and boils down to a tacit agreement between the community and the government; the essence of which is that the community avoids publicity, and the government does not touch people of the LGBT community if they live a private life. Previously known in the former Soviet Union as a "gay resort", Simeiz village on the southern coast of the Crimea, has almost completely lost attraction for the gay community since 2014. 1.4. Social Contextual Factors Affecting LGBT According to the published media freedom rankings for 2015, Ukraine ranks 107th among 197 countries and territories. It appears that the level of the media freedom decreased dramatically in 2015 at the global scale. Ukraine was ranked 9 based on the literacy level in the 2009 UNDP Report. According to the 2015 Human Development Report, Ukraine ranks 81 out of 200 countries and territories. The results of the ESS Comparative Attitudinal Research18 conducted in 2012 in 24 European countries, Ukraine is among the countries that are the least tolerant of homosexuality. The results of the Ukrainian public opinion survey “What do Ukrainians Think about the Current Situation” conducted in the late 2014/early 2015 show that the Ukrainian population is still quite homophobic with 75% of the interviewed being more or less inclined to believe that homosexuality is bad and only 3% of those who absolutely disagree and 6% of those who would rather disagree with that. According to the results of the Public Survey Examining the Public Attitudes to LGBT and Ways to Improve Them, 45% of Ukrainians, both male and female, believe that the rights of homosexuals should be somehow restricted, with only 33% of the interviewed supporting equal rights for all people. Furthermore, only 5% of the interviewed support legalizing gay partnership with 69% being opposed to this idea. The Internet-based public survey carried out in 2011 among a sample of 1721 people showed that 61% of respondents encountered discrimination and violation of their rights due to their sexual orientation or gender identity at least once over the past three years. 1.5. The Current Situation for Women in the Society and Decision Making Institutions and Trends in Gender Equality (Including Statistics) In the 2015 global gender equality ranking, Ukraine came 67th out of 142 countries. Based on the 2015 gender inequality index using the reproductive health, empowerment and labour market participation dimensions to capture gender disparity, Ukraine ranks 83 among 150 countries.

17 Source: Financial Portal “MinFin”: http://index.minfin.com.ua/index/average/. 18 The European Social Survey, http://www.europeansocialsurvey.org/. Country Context Analysis of LGBT People Situation in Ukraine 11 As of 2016, 12.08% members of the Ukrainian Parliament are women. There is one Oblast Council and one State Oblast Administration led by women out of 27 highest-level administrative and territorial units, i.e. the female representation at the top tier of the Oblast government is at 3.7%. Women constitute 8.6% of the top personnel at the national ministries (i.e. four of 18 existing ministries are led by women working as ministers/deputy ministers). The judicial branch has a much higher level of female representation (23.5% or 12 out of 51 persons). As of 1 January 2013, women constituted 76.8% of all governmental officials though only 13.5% of the top-tier personnel (i.e. those people who make decisions at the national level) were female.

Section 2. Laws and Regulations Posing Obstacles to LGBT

2.1. Constitutional Laws 2.1.1. Constitution of Ukraine While the current Constitution of Ukraine in it Article 24 declares that any discrimination is unacceptable, it does not specifically mention sexual orientation and gender identity despite their large social significance. However, the list of anti-discrimination signs in Article 24 is open, which allows for the possibility of such an interpretation, according to which the signs SO included in the category "other". The term "discrimination" in the Constitution not used. The first part of Article 51 does not allow for marriage between persons of the same sex, as it defines that "marriage is based on the free consent of women and men", and thus emphasizes the "heterosexual formula" of marriage. 2.1.2. Codes Family Code of Ukraine While the same sex families (civil partnerships) de facto exist in Ukraine, this form of family relationship is not recognized in the Family Code of Ukraine. Some articles of the Family Code contain wording that could be interpreted is discriminating against the same sex partnerships by providing specific guarantees only for the opposite-sex partners who maintain a family but are not married officially, while no guarantees are provided for the same-sex partners that have a similar legal situation. 2.2. Criminal Code of Ukraine 2.2.1. Hate Crimes The Criminal Code of Ukraine has seven articles (six in the General Provisions Chapter and one in the Special Provisions Chapter) that specify sanctions for offences driven by hostility and hatred on the basis of personal characteristics but the list of motives for such hostility and hatred appears to be limited and only includes race, ethnic origin and religion. At the same time, many hate-based offences recorded in Ukraine are perceived to be motivated by hostility and hatred toward LGBT, i.e. based on homophobia (transgender phobia). The lack of specific provisions on hate crimes against LGBT in the Criminal Code leads to the situation where investigators and courts ignore the real motives of offenders who commit crimes based on homophobia, thus making LGBT people even more vulnerable to crime attacks while offenders may feel like they can get away with their crimes. Furthermore, many key articles of the Criminal Code do not provide stricter sanctions for crimes motivated by hate or bias. 2.2.2. Hate Speech The Criminal Code does not include a really workable provision to recognize and prosecute hate speech. As a result, the overwhelming majority of cases involving public expressions promoting or justifying hatred and hostility towards LGBT people and their supporters remain unreported and unprosecuted. 2.2.3. Pornography There are situations when allegations of pornography are used by law enforcement officers to blackmail and threaten gays in Ukraine. The Criminal Code Article 301 prohibits the distribution of pornography in Ukraine in any form, not only among those who are under the age of consent and not only child pornography that should be banned indeed. In other words, this article is really out of date and contradicts the reality where the distribution of sexually explicit content is a widespread and common practice. Country Context Analysis of LGBT People Situation in Ukraine 12 Existing mobile applications for gay dating may feature explicit content that could be interpreted as pornography, thus putting the users at risk of being prosecuted under the above mentioned Article over absurd allegations of pornography distribution. 2.2.4. Age of Consent In Ukraine, the age of consent is 16 for both male and female persons. According to the Criminal Code Article 22 (Part 1, General Provisions Chapter), a person who has reached the age of 16 can be prosecuted for offences defined in this Article. 2.2.5. Liability for Sexual Abuse The Criminal Code of Ukraine is discriminatory in differentiating between rape as a crime solely involving penis contact with vagina and unnatural sexual intercourse initiated by a perpetrator against a victim without their consent (this category also includes the same-sex abuse). Sanctions are also defined in a discriminatory manner: for example, a gang rape perpetrated by men against a heterosexual woman carries a 7 to 12-year sentence (Article 152, Part 3) while butt-raping a man by a group of other men (regardless of their sexual orientation) is subject to a 3 to 7-year sentence (Article 153, Part 2). 2.3. Laws 2.3.1. The Law on Principles of Preventing and Combating Discrimination in Ukraine as a Key Antidiscrimination Act Despite recommendations made by the Council of Europe to the draft of this Law, the legislators (Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine) have opted not to recognize sexual orientation and gender identity as bias categories. The current key antidiscrimination law does not include SOGI as a bias category. 2.4. Regulations 2.4.1. Regulations on Blood Donation Current laws and regulations do not allow blood donations from gays, lesbians and bisexuals. 2.4.2. Regulations on Sex Reassignment Procedure The sex reassignment procedure for persons diagnosed with trans-sexuality is set out in the Ministry of Health Order of 3 February 2011 No. 60 “On Enhancing the Healthcare Services for Persons Requiring Gender Correction”. According to the list of medical/biological and social/psychological criteria for gender reassignment, the following restrictions apply: marriage, children under 18 years of age, and ‘homosexuality’. All these restrictions are not fair and should be revised. The legal implication of gender reassignment is the need to change the individual tax-payer number which contains a hidden gender marker, but there is no legally defined procedure to do so in Ukraine. 2.4.3. Adoption Procedure The list of medical conditions limiting the eligibility to adopt a child, approved by the Ministry of Health Order of 20 August 2008 No. 479, includes behavioural and personality disorders in the adult age (Item 9) with reference to specific codes assigned to them in the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th revision (F60–F65 and F68, including the code F64.0 (Trans-sexuality). In practice, this means that transgender people are virtually deprived of any legal possibility to adopt a child; this also applies to persons who have undergone the sex reassignment procedure, i.e. corrected their gender, changed documents and live in harmony with their gender identity. At the same time, the above-mentioned list of medical conditions limiting eligibility to adopt a child has no limitations for adopting a child by homosexual/bisexual persons, but does not allow HIV-positive persons to adopt children. 2.5. “Legislation” in Territories Not Controlled by the Ukrainian Government In the territory of Crimea, occupied by Russia, there is an administrative code against "propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations among minors expressed in the dissemination of information aimed at minors promoting nontraditional sexual attitudes, the attractiveness of nontraditional sexual relationships, distorted ideas about social equality of traditional and nontraditional sexual relations; or the distribution of information about nontraditional sexual relations that leads to interest in such relations" (Article 6.21 of the Russian Code of Administrative Offences). Country Context Analysis of LGBT People Situation in Ukraine 13 The "Constitution" of Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), adopted 14 May 2014, contained a rule that "any form of perverted unions between people of the same sex [...] are not recognized, not permitted and punishable by law." According to some, after the ban on same-sex relations in "the Constitution of the DPR", The law of "DNR": "On the protection of children from information harmful to their health and development", adopted 2 October 2015, is based off of a similar Russian law, No. 135-FZ, adopted in 2013. In accordance with Article 5, both laws state that among children it is prohibited to distribute information that "denies family values" or "promotes unconventional sexual relationships". In Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR), there is a similar law being proposed, according to available information.

Section 3. Policy Barriers Affecting LGBT Rights

We distinguish the following two broad types of policy barriers affecting LGBT rights: 1) A policy of completely ignoring LGBT issues even where they do really exist; 2) A policy of understating LGBT issues, i.e. while these issues do receive attention, the level of this attention is obviously insufficient. Let us review separately policies introduced on the territories not controlled by Ukrainian government. 3.1. A Policy of Completely Ignoring LGBT Issues 3.1.1. Bullying Bullying on LGBT persons is widespread at schools and universities. While school administrations, psychologists and teachers are responsible for maintaining a healthy psychological climate and proper relations among students, they are not able to provide adequate protection against bullying and abuse for LGBT persons in practice even if they perform their functions properly. 3.1.2. Family Policy Gaps The fact that Ukraine de facto has a significant number of the same-sex partners including those that have children is consistently ignored by policy makers involved in the formulation of the country’s family policy. 3.1.3. Youth Policy Gaps While LGBT people constitute a significant part of the socially active youth (i.e. people in the 14 to 35 age group), we are not aware of any youth policy initiative that would seek to address LGBT issues, promote social inclusion of LGBT people or engage any youth organisations to plan and implement social actions for LGBT youth. 3.1.4. Religious Policy Gaps Regular dialogue is and has been maintained between the state and leading religious organisations, including regular meetings of the President with the members of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organisations. The major confessions in Ukraine have traditionally opposed the concept of equal rights for LGBT people in family and labour relations, information and communications etc., and also insisted that the right of LGBT people to be treated equally in other areas of social life should be limited. It is worth to note that the representatives of the state and local government typically tend to agree with the Churches or at least take a neutral position to avoid direct confrontation with them over LGBT issues. 3.1.5. Freedom of Assembly Policy Gaps Many various LGBT-related public events have been announced in Ukraine in the past few years. It appears from various real examples that Ukraine lacks a consistent policy to guarantee the right to peaceful assembly to LGBT community. On one hand, some local authorities asked the courts to issue decisions banning planned pride events: this practice was employed in Kyiv, Odesa, Kherson, Mykolaiv and other cities. But in some cases local authorities were able to successfully cooperate with LGBT communities willing to realize their right to peaceful assembly (e.g., during the Pride Marches in Kyiv in 2013 and 2015). 3.1.6. Election Policy Gaps Despite large social significance of LGBT issues that have always been in the public spotlight, leading political parties mostly tend to avoid including LGBT issues in their election agenda. Since 2002, LGBT movement activists have never been invited to cooperate with the political parties at the formal public level. Unlike other important communities, LGBT people have never been included in the party lists of candidates for elections. Country Context Analysis of LGBT People Situation in Ukraine 14 3.2. A Policy of Understating LGBT Issues 3.2.1. Inadequate LGBT Representation in Central and Local Governments Ukraine has a number of various agencies that are able to exert influence on the formulation and implementation of sectoral policies while not having the public authority status. First of all, these include various ‘hybrid’ advisory structures with equal representation of both governmental officials and members of the public. The second group includes various public councils mainly comprising the representatives of civil society and providing advice to the state agencies and local authorities. Apart from very few exceptions, there is currently no policy to encourage the systemic and consistent engagement of LGBT representatives in the activities of the above mentioned structures. We are not aware of LGBT having any representation in a public council in any ministry or agency. 3.2.2. Inadequate Consideration for LGBT Specifics in the Public Health Policy The public health policy should consider LGBT as one of key groups because there are some specific health risks that are considered to be inherent to being a member of LGBT community or, more precisely, GB/LB/TG sub-communities. These risks can be linked to the social stigma and lifestyle, and can be exacerbated by difficulties experienced by transgender persons who embark on a transition journey. All these issues are however almost completely ignored by policy makers involved in the development of the country’s health policy — we have failed to find any mention of them in relevant policy documents. 3.3. Policy in Territories Not Controlled by the Ukrianian Government In September 2014, it was proposed in LPR to introduce the death penalty for gay sex. Although this initiative was not implemented, it has become a significant factor in the deterioration of the situation for LGBT people since it acted as a message for homophobic minded groups, and legitimized homophobic violence. Some people from the LGBT community who were from the territory of DPR, provided testimony that they were convinced in the existence of an "article for the LGBT community" on the basis of which people were tortured. In November 2015, a draft of the law in LPR, "On amendments to the Law "On the protection of children from information harmful to their health and development"", was drafted which aims to complement "propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations." There is no information on whether this "bill" has been adopted, but the fact of its existence is a powerful message of homophobia for the territory that is in fact being regulated by the LPR. In DPR, however, a similar rule is already in force. The political leadership of Russian Crimea, after joining Russia, dramatically increased the severity of its homophobic position. Thus, the head of Crimea, Sergey Aksionov, said in April of 2015: The authorities will not allow you to promote something that is contrary to the moral values of the peoples of Crimea and causes outrage and disgust in the overwhelming majority of the Crimean people. There is no discrimination — we do not pry into the private life of citizens, let everyone live as he wants, but we have to protect people, especially youth, from information which is aimed at the destruction of the moral health of the nation19. A similar statement was made by the Deputy Prime Minister of Crimea, Dmitry Polonsky: [...] not for what our grandfathers fought that now all sorts of buggers crawl out with the promotion of their worldview. We need [...] to educate young people in the rejection of such perversion. [...] from sodomy to pedophilia one step, so it should burn in the Bud20. These are just some of the homophobic attitudes demonstrated by some members of the governing bodies of the local authorities.

19 http://www.ng.ru/news/540487.html. 20 http://www.c-inform.info/news/id/37983. Country Context Analysis of LGBT People Situation in Ukraine 15 Section 4. Laws Mainstreaming LGBT Equality and Eliminating Barriers Faced by LGBT People

4.1. Constitutional Process 4.1.1. Draft Amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine In 2015, President Poroshenko established the Constitutional Commission to draft amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine. The Constitution Commission’s Work Group on Human Rights and Freedoms21 has formulated draft amendments to the Human Rights Section of the Constitution, including a proposed modified definition of marriage which uses a so-called universal gender-neutral formula: 1. The right to marry and have a family is guaranteed under the law. 2. Each partner in a marriage has equal rights and obligations in the family. 4.2. Codes 4.2.1. Labour Code of Ukraine In 2015, the Ukrainian Parliament passed antidiscrimination amendments to Article 21 of the Labour Code of Ukraine to outlaw discrimination based on a broader range of grounds including, inter alia, SOGI. These amendments were required by the European Union as part of the visa liberalization action plan. 4.2.2. Family Code of Ukraine Some definitions in the current edition of the Family Code of Ukraine could be construed in favour of LGBT people. This first of all concerns the definition of family as a basic social unit consisting of persons who live together, maintain a common household and have shared commitments to the mutual relationship (Parts 1–2, Article 3 of the Family Code). The Family Code further specifies in its Article 3, Part 4 as follows: A family is established on the basis of marriage, blood relation, adoption and any other grounds not prohibited by law and not contradicting moral standards prevailing in the society. The Ukrainian legislation also includes a definition of societal ethics, which is provided in Article 1 of the on the Protection of Societal Ethics: Societal ethics refers to a system of ethical standards and rules of conduct that are accepted by the society and underpinned by traditional moral and cultural values, ideas on good, honour, dignity, citizen’s obligations, conscience and justice. We can see that the definition of societal ethics is gender neutral and the same-sex partnership should not be therefore considered through the prism of the societal ethics. It can be concluded that this type of partnership is to be classified as a family partnership under the Family Code. 4.3. Laws 4.3.1. Key Legislative Act on HIV The antidiscrimination provision of the Law of Ukraine on Preventing the Spread of Diseases Caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and Ensuring the Legal and Social Protection of People Living with HIV (Article 14, Clause 3) has been effective since 15 January 2011. Albeit implicitly, it also protects MSM people (or gays and bisexuals in simple terms) against discrimination: Discrimination against people on the basis of HIV status or their belonging to any high-risk group for HIV infection is prohibited. At the time of writing this report, WSW and transgender people are not considered in Ukraine as high-risk groups for HIV and the above-mentioned antidiscrimination provision of the HIV prevention law does not apply to them. 4.4. Judicial Decisions 4.4.1. Superior Specialised Court Decisions The parliamentary decision to amend the antidiscrimination Article 21 of the Labour Code of Ukraine and include sexual orientation and other issues to the list of grounds for discrimination adopted in autumn 2015 was preceded by the statutory interpretation provided by the Superior Specialised Civil and Criminal Court on 7 May 2014 No. 10-644/0/4-14 “On Ensuring the Proper Equal Treatment of Citizen’s Labour Rights in Lawsuits Involving Labour Disputes”. In this interpretation, the Court pointed out as follows:

21 Final edition of bill of Section II «Human Rights» for new Constitution as of 15 July 2015: http://constitution.gov.ua/work/item/id/9. Country Context Analysis of LGBT People Situation in Ukraine 16 […] Courts hearing cases involving a labour dispute should bear in mind that the list of prohibited grounds of positive and negative discrimination in the workplace is not complete. More specifically, it is unacceptable to discriminate against an individual not only on the grounds listed in the Constitution of Ukraine (Part 2, Article 24), Labour Code of Ukraine (Article 21), and Law [“On the Principles for Preventing and Combating Discrimination in Ukraine”, Clause 2, Part 1, Article 1], but also on the basis of age, skin colour, and other physical characteristics (weight, height, speech defects, face defects), marital status, sexual orientation etc. 4.5. By-laws and Regulations 4.5.1. Immigration to Ukraine On 11 June 2015, the Ministry of Health issued the Order No. 329 to remove HIV infection from the List of Infection Diseases Limiting Eligibility for Immigration to Ukraine. This means that HIV-positive foreign citizens or persons without citizenship may expect that they would be permitted to immigrate to Ukraine provided that all other immigration requirements are complied with. However, persons diagnosed with AIDS could be denied an immigrant visa because they fall under a different restriction which covers Other contagious diseases in the acute phase, before the recovery or until a person is no longer a carrier of infection. 4.5.2. Adoption The adoption process is governed by a suite of laws and regulations. For example, the Family Code of Ukraine in its Article 212 (Clause 8, Part 1) prohibits adoption by the persons who Suffer from any of the diseases included in the list approved by the central executive authority responsible for policy-making in the public health sector. By its Order No. 479 of 20 August 2008, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine approved the list of health restrictions identified for people willing to adopt a child, which does not limit the eligibility of gays or lesbians for adopting a child. 4.5.3. Governmental Action Plan for Implementing the National Strategy on Human Rights On 23 November 2015, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine issued the Resolution No. 1393 to approve the Action Plan for Implementing the National Strategy on Human Rights until 2020, which includes an unprecedented suite of actions (20, to be exact) aiming to ensure human rights and freedoms for LGBTI people in Ukraine:

Section 5. LGBT Mainstreaming and Empowerment Policy

5.1. LGBT Engagement Policy at the National Level 5.1.1. LGBT Engagement Policy Pursued by the Presidential Administration of Ukraine President’s Annual Message to Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Since 2013, the Presidential Administration of Ukraine has begun to make LGBT references in their public statements. In the Annual Message to Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on the State of the Country in 2013 22, presented on 6 June 2013, the President identified ten public movements that “were most active in 2012”. Among these groups, the President mentioned “Chornobyl activists, entrepreneurs, Afghan war veterans, national minorities, animal and human rights activists, trade union organisations, groups of Ukrainian intellectuals, football fans and LGBT activists. In most cases, public events organized by these groups aimed to draw attention to human rights issues” (Section on the State and Development of Civil Society in Ukraine). In the same Message, the President described LGBT movement as ‘organised’, ‘long-term’ and ‘human rights focused’; it was noted that LGBT activists operate at both local and national levels (Section on the State and Development of Civil Society in Ukraine). In annual Presidential Addressing of 2016 the problems of LGBT were not present. 5.1.2. LGBT Engagement Policy of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Some members of the Ukrainian Parliament engage LGBT representatives to work as their assistants/advisors.

22 http://www.niss.gov.ua/content/articles/files/Poslannia_2013-c7954.pdf. Country Context Analysis of LGBT People Situation in Ukraine 17 A number of current MPs, particularly those who represent the Euro-optimists inter-fraction association, support LGBT openly and voluntarily by initiating and promoting relevant draft laws, making public statements and taking part in LGBT events including the Pride Marches. 5.1.3. LGBT Engagement Policy of the Ombudsperson of Ukraine Firstly, the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner on Human Rights has begun putting spotlight on violations and abuses against LGBT rights in the Annual Report to the Verkhovna Rada several years ago, drawing on information and data provided by the Ukrainian human rights organisations including the Nash Svit (Our World) LGBT Human Rights Centre, LiGA LGBT NGO and Insight NGO. Secondly, on 1 February 2013, the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner on Human Rights issued the Order to establish the Expert Council on Non-discrimination and Gender Equality to the Commissioner’s Authorised Representative on Children’s Rights, Non-discrimination and Gender Equality. This Expert Commission includes a representative of LGBT community. Thirdly, the Commissioner’s Office has acted as a third party in the court processes initiated by LGBT organisations to protect their constitutional right to freedom of peaceful assembly where it is unreasonably restricted by local authorities (for example, on the side of the LiGA LGBT Association in Mykolaiv). In some cases, the Commissioner on Human Rights acts as a Plaintiff to initiate legal proceedings against those who attempt to restrict the LGBT right to freedom of peaceful assembly (Lviv, Mykolaiv). 5.1.4. LGBT Engagement Policy of Governmental Ministries Ministry of Justice In March 2012 (i.e. prior to the 2013/2014 Revolution), the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine took the initiative and approached the Council of Ukraine’s LGBT Organisations to invite their proposals to the Action Plan on the Implementation of the Antidiscrimination Strategy in Ukraine, which was being drafted at that time. This was the starting point for the cooperation between the Ministry of Justice and organized LGBT movement in Ukraine, considering that all previous contacts had only occurred as one-way formal applications made by LGBT entities. The Council of LGBT Organisations responded to the invitation of the Ministry of Justice by providing their proposals developed with the involvement of a number of LGBT organisations including, inter alia, the LiGA Mykolaiv Association of Gays, Lesbians and Bisexuals23, Nash Svit Regional Information and Human Rights Centre for Gays and Lesbians24, and Gay Forum of Ukraine NGO. In September 2015, the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine set up a Work Group to prepare the Action Plan for the Implementation of the National Strategy on Human Rights. This Work Group includes six representatives of LGBT community. All these efforts morphed into the final version of the Action Plan for the Implementation of the National Strategy on Human Rights until 2020, approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine Resolution of 23 November 2015 No. 1393 r and comprising a broad suite of activities designed to ensure and promote human rights for LGBT people. Ministry of Health On 17 July 2015, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine issued the Order No. 438 “On the Approval of the Composition of Multidisciplinary Work Groups on Developing Medical Practice Guidelines (Evidence-Based Unified Clinical Practice Protocols) in 2015–2016”. One of 53 work groups established pursuant to this Order has a topical focus on trans-sexuality and comprises two representatives of the T-ema Civil Initiative NGO (a member of the Council of Ukraine’s LGBT Organisations). The result of work of this group was the singing of the Ministry of Health Order № 972 from September 15, 2016, "On approval and introduction of medical and technological documents for standardization of medical care in gender dysphoria" 25 . This Order approved the unified clinical protocols of primary, secondary (specialized) and tertiary (highly specialized) medical care in case of Gender dysphoria26. Besides, a document Gender Dysphoria27, evidence Based Clinical Adapted Guidelines prepared by State Expert Centre of MoH Ukraine, PO Civil Initiative T-ema and the Ukrainian Association of Family Medicine was published at the same time. On 28 July 2015, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine issued the Order No. 470 to establish the inter-ministerial work group on ensuring the sustainable response to the TB and HIV/AIDS epidemics throughout the duration

23 The old name of the organization currently known as the Liga LGBT Association NGO 24 The old name of the organization currently known as the Nash Svit LGBT Human Rights Centre. 25 http://www.dec.gov.ua/mtd/dodatki/2016_972%20GenDysfor/2016_972_nakaz_GenDysfor.doc.

26 General information: http://www.dec.gov.ua/mtd/reestr.html. 27 General information: http://www.dec.gov.ua/mtd/reestr.html Country Context Analysis of LGBT People Situation in Ukraine 18 of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria interventions and afterward. While the Work Group Founding Regulation has no provision for using a quota system to ensure the representation of key groups affected by HIV epidemic, one of its 28 members represents the Gay Alliance NGO (this organization is part of the Council of Ukraine’s LGBT Organisations). 5.1.5. LGBT Engagement Policy Adopted under the National Coordination Mechanism of Response to HIV/AIDS The National Coordination Mechanism of Response to HIV/AIDS in Ukraine functions as the National Council to Fight Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS and comprises two committees focusing on the regional policy and programme issues, respectively. It is the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria that the national coordination mechanism should comprise representatives of key groups affected by HIV/AIDS. The above-mentioned National Council currently does not include any representatives of MSM group (LGBT community) though a representative of LGBT organisations (Gay Forum of Ukraine and Tochka Opory (Fulcrum Point)) used to work at the Council for several years from 2010 on the quota assigned to non- governmental organisations. On 22 April 2016, the National Council’s Committee on Programme Issues was joined by a representative of MSM group/gay community who manages the advocacy and public relations issues in the Gay Alliance NGO. The current composition of the National Council’s Committee on Regional Policy, approved on 28 December 2015, has no MSM/LGBT representation, but the proposed new composition of the Committee includes representatives of this group. 5.2. LGBT Engagement Policy at the Local Level 5.2.1. LGBT Engagement in the Local Youth Policy Development Local authorities engage and work with LGBT and MSM organisations to formulate their youth policies. An example to mention is that MSM and LGBT organisations have representation in the Youth Affairs Council to the Odesa City Mayor. More specifically, two members of the Youth Affairs Council’s Committee on the Youth Rights are the Chairman of the Board of the Sources of Law NGO (which is a member of the Council of Ukraine’s LGBT Organisations) and Chairman of the Board of the Partner Youth Movement NGO (which provides HIV prevention services to MSM community members); the Committee on Health Care includes the manager of MSM servicing projects of the Partner NGO. 5.2.2. LGBT Engagement in Policy Making on Responding to HIV at the Local Level In some regions, LGBT (with MSM as a key group) representatives are invited to work in the local coordination councils established to fight tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS. Generally, the composition of the coordination council is approved by the Head of the State Administration at the oblast or city/town level. To our knowledge, LGBT/MSM communities are represented in the coordination councils established in Zakarpattia, Zaporizhzhia, Kirovohrad, Lviv, Mykolaiv, Odesa and Cherkasy Oblasts, and Kyiv and Mykolaiv Cities.

Section 6. International Agreements, Laws and Regulations Protecting LGBT (Including the Status of Ratification, Domestication and Implementation of these International Acts in Ukraine)

6.1. Constitution of Ukraine The Constitution of Ukraine Article 9 reads as follows: International treaties in force, consented by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine as binding, shall be an integral part of the national .

Conclusion of international treaties, contravening the Constitution of Ukraine, shall be possible only after introducing relevant amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine.

6.2. Current International Agreements on LGBT Rights Ratified by Ukraine 1. European Social Charter (ratified on 14.09.2006) 2. Universal Declaration of Human Rights (adopted on 10.12.1948) 3. United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (signed on 19.12.1980) Country Context Analysis of LGBT People Situation in Ukraine 19 4. Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ratified on 17.07.1997) 5. The Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (ratified on 26.01.1987) 6. Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse, signed by Ukraine on 14 November 2007 in Strasbourg (), ratified by the Ukrainian Parliament on 20 June 2012 and effective in Ukraine since 21 July 2012: it explicitly states that provisions thereof are to be applied without any discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation28 7. Council of Europe Convention on the Counterfeiting of Medical Products and Similar Crimes Involving Threats to Public Health (MEDICRIME), signed by Ukraine in Moscow on 28 October 2011, ratified by the Ukrainian Parliament on 7 June 2012, and effective in Ukraine since 1 January 2016: it explicitly states that provisions thereof are to be applied without any discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation29. 8. International Pact on Civil and Political Rights (ratified on 19.10.1973) 9. International Pact on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ratified on 19.10.1973) 10. Protocol 12 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ratified on 09.02.2006) 11. Agreement between Ukraine and Spain to Regulate Labour Migrant Flows between the Two Countries, signed on 12 May 2009 in Madrid, ratified by the Law of Ukraine No. 27/27-VI of 1 December 2010 and effective in Ukraine since 28 July 2011: it declares discrimination based on sexual orientation as unacceptable30. 12. Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (ratified on 05.06.2003) 13. Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (ratified on 21.07.2006) 14. Optional Protocol to the International Pact on Civil and Political Rights (joined by Ukraine on 25.12.1990).

Section 7. Coverage of LGBT Issues by Media and Other Communication Sources

In the past years, the manner and mode used by the media to cover LGBT issues have changed significantly. Growing interest of media to human rights issues in general including those of LGBT has been catalysed by a number of factors including the European integration processes, consolidation of people around the Maidan events, and increased number of LGBT events aiming to put LGBT issues in the spotlight. Just to mention a few: The Rainbow Spring Festival held in the Southern Ukraine (Mykolaiv), Dark Nights Feminist Festival (Kyiv and Mykolaiv), Equality and Pride Days featuring a suite of human rights events (Mykolaiv), Kyiv Pride Forum and Festival (Kyiv), and Equality Festival held in a number of cities (Kyiv, Lviv, and Dnipro). Generally, LGBT activists note that the way LGBT-related issues are covered in the media has become less biased, with more accurate wording and presentation of facts. A significant improvement is that the media have now begun to cover LGBT as something much broader than just sex alone, with stronger emphasis placed upon human rights, sexual minority rights, equality and safety for all people, and legal aspects. Broad Such important issues as same-sex partnerships and children raised by same-sex couples are brought forward for a broad public discussion. The tone and mood of publications on these issues are not always positive, ranging from negative to neutral. Ongoing discussions focus on the LGBT rights as human rights, especially the right to freedom of peaceful assembly which is still considered by quite a few Ukrainian citizens as something LGBT people are not entitled to. Overall, the recent trends in the media portrayal of LGBT people over the past five years can be characterized as positive, with the public perceptions on LGBT community and issues becoming closer to the reality.

28 http://zakon4.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/994_927/page. 29 http://zakon4.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/4908-17/paran2#n2. 30 http://zakon4.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/724_024. Country Context Analysis of LGBT People Situation in Ukraine 20 Section 8. Laws and Policies on Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights

8.1. Laws and Regulations on Sexual and Reproductive Health 1. Law of Ukraine “Framework Legislation on Health Care in Ukraine” is the major piece of legislation governing societal relations in the field of reproductive health. It declares that motherhood in Ukraine is protected and supported by the state; sets out requirements regarding the provision of qualified medical aid during pregnancy, labour and birth, and postnatal period through an extensive network of women’s health clinics, medical and genetic centres and other healthcare facilities; and guarantees the operation of health resorts for pregnant women and mothers with children, preschool and school facilities etc. 2. Law of Ukraine “On the State Programme and the National Action Plan on the Implementation of UN Convention on the Rights of the Child” until 2016”. 3. Law of Ukraine “On the Prevention of the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and Social Protection of the Public”. This Law guarantees the accessibility, quality and efficiency of medical examinations and HIV testing, provision of confidential medical services to people with HIV/AIDS without prejudice and discrimination. 4. Law of Ukraine “On the Protection of the Public against Contagious Diseases” declaring that persons with sexually transmitted diseases are legally required to receive medical treatment (on an anonymous basis if they choose so) at the state and municipal healthcare facilities, with their clinical records to be kept confidential. 5. Law of Ukraine “On the Protection of the Natural Environment”. 6. Law of Ukraine “On the Labour Protection”. 7. Law of Ukraine “On the Prevention of Family Violence”. 8. Labour Code of Ukraine. 9. Constitution of Ukraine (includes a suite of provisions on the protection of reproductive health and family planning, specifically including provisions emphasizing that:  Women and men are entitled to equal rights;  Conditions are guaranteed for balancing work and motherhood, provision of financial and moral support for families, mothers and children;  People have the right to freedoms of having a family, reproductive behaviour and reproductive choice of women and men. 10. Criminal Code of Ukraine. 11. Ministry of Health of Ukraine Order of 4 August 2006 No. 539 “On the Organisation and Operation of the Family Planning and Reproductive Health Service in Ukraine”. 12. Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine Resolution of 27 December 2006 No. 1849 “On the Approval of the State Programme on the Reproductive Health of the Nation until 2015”. 13. Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine Resolution of 31 October 2011 No. 1164-r “On the Approval of the Concept of the National Programme “Health 2020: Ukrainian Dimension” (this Programme declares a new public health policy for the current decade). 14. Family Code of Ukraine. 15. Civil Code of Ukraine.

Section 9. Laws and Regulations Considered to Pose Obstacles for People Living with HIV

9.1. Codes 9.1.1. Criminal Code Hate Crime Offences against People Living with HIV The current edition of the Criminal Code has no provision for stronger criminal penalties for hate crime offences against people living with HIV though such penalties are applied for similar offences based on race, ethnic origin and religion. Criminalisation of HIV Transmission The current Criminal Code includes Article 130 “Transmission of Human Immunodeficiency Virus or Other Incurable Contagious Diseases”. Country Context Analysis of LGBT People Situation in Ukraine 21 This Article can be characterized as follows: 1) It works poorly or does not work at all; 2) It stigmatizes persons living with HIV by specifically differentiating this infection among many others; 3) It encourages HIV-positive people to evade registration with specialized medical care facilities; 4) Generally, it adversely affects the HIV epidemic situation in Ukraine. The governmental Action Plan for the Implementation of the National Human Rights Strategy until 2020 provides for “decriminalizing the transmission of HIV and other contagious diseases” through the development of a relevant draft law by or before Q2 2016. Specific Emphasis on HIV Infection in Other Articles of the Criminal Code The Criminal Code of Ukraine explicitly mentions only HIV, AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases, while the analysis of current public health situation indicates that there are other contagious diseases that are considered to pose threat to the public health. These include various forms of hepatitis, tuberculosis, flu and some other. There is no criminal responsibility for the transmission of these diseases in Ukraine and none of them are explicitly mentioned in the Criminal Code. This leads us to the conclusion that an explicit focus on HIV infection and sexually transmitted diseases is nothing else than a way to stigmatize people living with HIV and those suffering from the sexually transmitted diseases. 9.2. By-laws and Regulations 9.2.1. Adoption Procedure The List of Diseases Limiting the Eligibility for Child Adoption, approved by the Ministry of Health of Ukraine on 20 August 2008 No. 479, includes the ‘diseases caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)’ and contains reference to codes assigned to these diseases in the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (Tenth Edition), namely B20–B24. In practice this means that people living with HIV are not able to adopt children including those diagnosed with HIV infection and having little or no chance for adoption by other people. This provision actually undermines the interests of a child and should be abolished as discriminatory, especially when it comes to the adoption of HIV-positive children. The governmental Action Plan for the Implementation of the National Human Rights Strategy until 2020 provides for “amending and revising the child adoption regulations to eliminate any forms of discrimination, including discrimination against HIV-positive people […]”, with a relevant law to be drafted by or before Q4 2016. 9.3. Other Regulatory Barriers Affecting the Rights of PLHIV Current laws and regulations that are considered to pose obstacles for PLHIV and significantly impede the right of PLHIV to high quality palliative and hospice care including access to timely and effective anaesthesia at the outpatient clinics and stationary hospitals include some provisions of the Law of Ukraine “On Countermeasures to Fight the Illegal Turnover and Consumption of Drugs, Psychotropic Medicines and Precursors” and the Regulation on the Turnover and Consumption of Drugs, Psychotropic Medicines and Precursors at the Healthcare Facilities in Ukraine approved by the MoH Order of 21 January 2010 No. 11.

Section 10. International Agreements, Laws and Regulations Protecting PLHIV

10.1. Constitution, Codes and Laws of Ukraine 1. Constitution of Ukraine 2. Criminal Code of Ukraine, Article 132 3. Law of Ukraine “Framework Legislation on Health Care in Ukraine” 4. Law of Ukraine “On the Approval of the State Target Social Programme to Fight HIV/AIDS for 2014- 2018” of 20.10.2014 No. 1708-VII 5. Law of Ukraine “On Preventing the Spread of Diseases Caused by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Legal and Social Protection of People Living with HIV”31 6. Law of Ukraine “On the Social Services”.

31 http://zakon1.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/1972-12. Country Context Analysis of LGBT People Situation in Ukraine 22 10.2. Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine Resolutions 1. Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine Resolution of 8 February 1994 No. 66 “On Additional Guarantees for Low Income Families with Sick Children or Those Aged 1-2 Years”32 2. Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine Resolution of 18 December 1998 No. 2026 “Issues Concerning the HIV/AIDS Prevention and Public Health Protection”33 3. Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine Resolution of 15 February 2006 No. 148 “On the Approval of the Generic Regulation on the HIV-Infected Children and Youth Care Centre”34 4. Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine Resolution of 17 February 2010 No. 208 “Certain Issues Pertaining to the Improvement of the Healthcare System” 5. Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine Resolution of 12 September 2012 No. 852 “On the Size of Monthly State Allowance for HIV-infected Children and Those with Diseases Caused by HIV”35. 10.3. By-laws and Regulations 1) Guidance on the Provision of Medical and Social Aid to HIV-infected Children, approved by the Joint CEA Order of 23 November 2007 No. 740/1030/4154/321/614а; 2) Guidance on the Provision of Preventive Care to Prevent Mother to Child HIV Transmission at the State Penitentiary System Facilities in Ukraine, approve by the Joint CEA order of 23 November 2007 No. 740/1030/4154/321/614а; 3) MoH of Ukraine Order of 19 August 2005 No. 415 “On the Improvement of Voluntary HIV Counselling and Testing”; 4) MoH of Ukraine Order of 3 July 2007 No. 368 “On the Approval of the Clinical Protocol on the Provision of Palliative Care, Symptomatic and Pathogenetic Therapy to Persons with HIV/AIDS”; 5) MoH of Ukraine Order of 23 November 2007 No. 740/1030/4154/321/614а “On the Organisation of Preventive Care to Prevent Mother to Child HIV Transmission, Medical Care and Social Support for HIV-infected Children and their Families”; 6) MoH of Ukraine Order of 27 December 2007 No. 866 “On the Approval of Sample Regulations on the Provision of Hospice and Palliative Care to Persons with HIV/AIDS; 7) MoH of Ukraine Order of 11 May 2010 No. 388 “On Improving the HIV Diagnostics”; 8) MoH of Ukraine Order of 26 November 2012 No. 946 “On the Approval of Procedure for Providing Monthly State Allowance to HIV-infected Children and Those with Diseases Caused by HIV”; 9) Joint Order by the Ministry of Family, Youth and Sports Affairs and Ministry of Health of 13 September 2010 No. 3123/275/770 “On the Approval of the Social Care Service Standards for At-Risk Groups” covering the following standards:  Social Care Service Standard for People Living with HIV/AIDS;  Social Care Service Standard for the Provision of HIV Preventive Care for People Who Are At Risk of Sexually Transmitted HIV Infection;  Social Care Service Standard for People with Tuberculosis and HIV;  Social Care Service Standard for People with Triple Diagnosis (HIV, tuberculosis, drug abuse);  Social Care Service Standard for People Receiving Opioid Replacement Therapy. 10) Generic Regulation on Establishing the Interdisciplinary Team for the Provision of Medical and Social Care Services to HIV-infected Children and their Families, approved by the Joint CEA Order of 23 November 2007 No. 740/1030/4154/321/614а.

32 http://zakon4.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/66-94-п. 33 http://zakon1.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/728-2008-р. 34 http://zakon2.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/148-2006-п. 35 http://zakon4.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/852-2012-п. Country Context Analysis of LGBT People Situation in Ukraine 23 Section 11. International, Regional and National LGBT Right Protection Mechanisms

11.1. Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Were LGBT issues covered in the most recent National Report prepared within the framework of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism? The National Report prepared by Ukraine for the Universal Periodic Review did not include any mention of sexual orientation, gender identity, LGBT or MSM. Was the alternative report prepared for the Universal Periodic Review and did it include reference to LGBT issues? What exactly did this report say about LGBT and SOGI issues? The report was prepared as part of the second cycle of the Universal Periodic Review by the coalition of organisations working with LGBT and compiled by the Council of Ukraine’s LGBT Organisations. Issues reflected in the Report include equality and protection against discrimination, right to personal security, right to privacy, right to marry and have a family, right to freedom of peaceful assembly, right to refuge, and rights of transgender people. For each of these issues, the Council of Ukraine’s LGBT Organisations provided recommendations on how the situation could be improved. Were recommendations formulated for the country on LGBT issues as part of the most recent UPR cycle? What kind of recommendations did the countries provide and what countries? Did Ukraine accept them? Did it implement these recommendations? Recommendations on LGBT rights were provided to Ukraine by a number of countries (see Appendix 4 - Table 1). Number of recommendations made to the country on LGBT/SOGI issues Thirteen. Future UPR Session dates and current progress on LGBT/SOGI Issues in the context of UPR process The next 26th UPR Session on Ukraine is planned to be held in October/November 2017. The National Report should be submitted by July 2017 (tentatively). 11.2. Other International Mechanisms Number of presentations/statements delivered by LGBT organisations at the regional and global human rights forums The report on the situation with human rights for LGBT people in Ukraine was presented during the World Pride Human Rights Conference in Toronto (Canada) in 2014.

Section 12. Human Right Violations against LGBT People in Ukraine and Legal Remedies Available to Them

12.1. LGBT Community Awareness of Human Rights (under International Treaties and National Legislation36) and the Violation Thereof The authors of this Situation Analysis are not aware of any studies focusing directly on the awareness the LGBT community members have regarding their rights and freedoms ensuing from the national legislation and international conventions. The lack of this type of research is a significant gap impeding the analysis of the situation of LGBT people in Ukraine. At the same time, some indirect conclusions can be drawn on the basis of studies examining what do LGBT people think themselves regarding the LGBT human rights violations. The logic is simple: if LGBT think that their rights are violated, this means that they are aware of what all these rights are about. Based on data and information they have, LGBT activists indicate that their rights have been and are violated in various areas including employment, healthcare, education, legal defence, private life etc.).

36 According to the Constitution of Ukraine, international treaties ratified by the Parliament, are part of the national legislation and by referring to the national legislation itself we mean laws adopted at the national level, not the national legislation. Country Context Analysis of LGBT People Situation in Ukraine 24 Misconceptions about Human Rights for LGBT in the LGBT Community It should be noted that various misconceptions about human rights are disseminated in the media that are not are not exactly the same as the rights guaranteed under the national legislation. The most common misconceptions surround the following rights: 1. The right to express yourself: The Constitution of Ukraine only guarantees this right as long as it concerns the freedom everyone has to develop his/her personality (Article 23) and freedom to express views, thoughts and beliefs (Article 24). At the same time, the law does not guarantee the freedom to express yourself through external appearance (which is considered to be part of self-expression). 2. The right to same-sex marriage: this right is not guaranteed under any international treaty. Whether the common marriage law should be applied to same-sex couples or a specific mechanism be introduced to take account of LGBT needs is a decision to be made exclusively by the national government. This means that LGBT should be made aware of what human rights are guaranteed by the law but inadequately implemented and what of them are actually misconceptions or inaccurate ways of understanding the rights not defined in the legislation. 12.2. Violations of LGBT Human Rights and Freedoms LGBT people in Ukraine are likely face greater social, legal, and political challenges than heterosexual people or people whose cisgender identity is understood and accepted by the Ukrainian society. This leads to frequent human rights violations against LGBT people committed by both public law and private law entities. Number of LGBT Human Rights Violations Recorded by LGBT Organisations and SOGI-Based Offences Reported to Relevant Authorities Mandated to Counteract Discrimination or to NGO Essential statistics for 2015 on the number of human rights violations against LGBT based on sexual orientation or gender identity is reflected in the official document known as the Annual Report on the Status of Human and Civil Rights and Freedoms by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Commissioner on Human Rights. For example, the 2015 Report contains the following information: In 2015, an apparent rising increase in hate crime offences against LGBT was noted, mainly various forms of physical violence. For example, the Nash Svit Centre in its 2015 Report on the Status of LGBT in Ukraine indicates that there were 71 bias-related incidents37 against LGBT, including 32 physical violence cases and 2 property damage offences, which was almost twice as much as the previous year. The Commissioner’s human rights monitoring indicates that there were 15 hate incidents based on sexual orientation. It should be noted that the Criminal Code only recognizes three types of grounds for hate offences (race, ethnic origin and religion) and does not include any reference to SOGI as a possible ground for hate. 12.2.1. The Specifities of Violations of Individual Rights and Freedoms of LGBT People in Territories Not Controlled by the Ukrainian Government On the territories of Donetsk and Lugansk "People's Republics", in 2014 torture and executions for people based on their SO became a reality. The reasons for this — public anti-European rhetoric, the rapid spread of homophobia, the transition of power in the hands of armed people and the total decrease in the reinforcement of law. According to human rights activists, violence against LGBT people has become the norm, encouraged by representatives of power structures. There is information about violence against LGBT and their abuse by armed men. According to the testimony of an informant who left the Donetsk region, his "buddy was a witness of how a gay man was shot and buried in the place in front of Yasynuvata [post]"38. 12.3. Where Do LGBT People Go to Seek Protection One apparent trend can be observed: the more an LGBT individual is integrated into the LGBT community, the better he/she knows who to contact and where to seek help if his/her rights and freedoms are violated. The parties contacted by LGBT persons seeking help and protection include: 1) Famous and reputable LGBT activists; 2) LGBT organisations at the national and local level; 3) Projects on Preventing HIV among MSM in Ukraine;

37 Here and after “incidents” mean crimes, administrative offences and other cases of breaking a law. 38 Source: Violation of the human rights of LGBTI people in the Crimea and Donbas: the problems of homophobia on the territories beyond the control of Ukraine / HRC report ADC [antidiscrimination centre] "Memorial" with the support of [the NGO] Centre for Civil Liberties. - 2016. - Access Mode: http://adcmemorial.org/wp-content/uploads/LGBT_report.pdf. Country Context Analysis of LGBT People Situation in Ukraine 25 4) LGBT-friendly human rights activists; 5) Police; 6) Influential acquaintances from outside the community who may help settle problems informally; 7) Mass media; 8) Relatives; 9) Courts; 10) The Lord and saints (through prayers). There is, however, another way of dealing with violations when victims are not willing to seek justice for any of the following reasons: 1) “Any trouble I have is my own fault”; 2) “There is no sense to call the police, just more stress and waste of time”; 3) “I will be more careful next time”; 4) “Seeking justice would make things even worse”; 5) “Past is past, I have to forget it and move on”. In 2011, the Centre of Social Expertise at the Institute of Sociology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine conducted the national online opinion survey among MSM people to ask them what mechanisms do they use to report violations of their rights. The survey results graphically illustrate trends described above. Overall, a group of 100 from various regions of Ukraine took part in the survey. Almost half of them used to contact their influential acquaintances to deal with violations of their rights (47%), every fifth person contacted an LGBT organisation, and 12% of the interviewed called the police, while yet another 12% chose to contact criminal structures for protection. Part of the interviewed said that they did not seek any help and protection at all because they did not believe that any help would come. For these people, psychological and moral support appears to be more important than protection of their human rights. 12.4. NGO Activities on Providing Legal Support and Advise to LGBT People Non-governmental organisations providing services to MSM people and LGBT associations maintain a broad range of activities aiming to provide legal support and advise to LGBT people, including, inter alia: 1. Monitoring and reporting on human rights violations against LGBT. 2. Legal support and advise to victims of discrimination and offences based on homophobia and transphobia. 3. Legal awareness raising programmes for the members of LGBT community; 4. Actions taken jointly with other organisations to protect and promote human rights and freedoms for LGBT people and other social groups at the legislative and political level. 5. Improving the national antidiscrimination laws and practices. 6. Strategic judicial decision making. 7. Preparing alternative human rights reports for international institutions39. 12.5. Judicial Mechanisms Available for LGBT People to Seek Remedy for Human Rights Abuse 12.5.1. Overview The majority of cases involving offences committed against LGBT people over the past five years based on their sexual orientation or gender identity have never reached trial for a broad range of reasons, including: 1) Lack of progress at the pre-trial investigation stage; 2) Offenders remain unidentified; 3) Victims have little confidence that their attackers would be brought to justice as a result of investigation and do not take steps required to initiate proceedings. Even where a criminal lawsuit involving an LGBT person as a plaintiff is brought before the court, the trial often takes no account of homophobia or transphobia as real motives to the crime. We reviewed information from the Unified State Register of Court Decisions in Ukraine40, which is open to the public, to find court decisions issued in 2010–2015 using specific key words and phrases (e.g. ‘sexual

39 For example, http://insight-ukraine.org/monitoring-porushen-prav-lgbtik-v-ukraini/. 40 http://www.reyestr.court.gov.ua. Country Context Analysis of LGBT People Situation in Ukraine 26 orientation’, ‘untraditional orientation’ or ‘homosexuality’) and identified 111 cases in various categories (administrative, criminal and civil). Additional 12 administrative cases were identified using the abbreviation ‘LGBT’. An important development for the Ukrainian judicial system was the letter published by the Superior Specialised Court of Ukraine for Civil and Criminal Cases of 7 May 2014 No. 10-644/0/4-14 “On Ensuring Equal Rights for Citizens Who are Parties in Labour Disputes” 41 : in this letter, the Court made the unprecedented move to explicitly emphasise that sexual orientation is one of the prohibited grounds for discrimination in labour law. While not being a decision in a specific case, this document should be taken into account by local and appellate courts dealing with labour disputes and this, in its turn, could help enhance the judicial practice of dealing with cases concerning the protection of labour right for LGBT people. The Ukrainian judicial practice related to LGBT rights and freedoms includes the following three categories of cases: 1) Administrative cases (protecting the right to freedom of peaceful assembly); 2) Criminal cases (criminal offences committed against LGBT persons); 3) Other cases (protecting human rights and freedoms for LGBT people). 12.5.2. The Right to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly Analyzing this category of cases, we can come to the following conclusions: 1) Despite the relatively high likelihood to experience attacks and other forms of violence, LGBT people tend to risk their safety by organizing public actions and relying on police protection; 2) Difficulties for the LGBT community in realizing their right to freedom of peaceful assembly is due primarily to the fact that public action is the most visible act of the LGBT community in Ukraine, and the visibility of LGBT people is facing resistance of public opinion and the homophobic participants in social and political life, which affects the negative attitude to these actions on the part of local authorities; 3) The constitutional right of LGBT people to the freedom of peaceful assembly is not from the point of view of local governments without reservations: practice shows that, using its lawful authority, city councils often turn to the courts with petitions to ban those or other public events with the participation of LGBT or support LGBT people; 4) There is not complete agreement against public LGBT events between local authorities and the courts of the relevant local level; there are examples when the latter rejected the petition of the city councils banning LGBT events; 5) The police, including the management level of territorial units, is fully aware of the positive (such that it is not subject to objection) duties regarding the protection of public order during public actions; 6) Despite the circumstances and trends mentioned above, there is slow progress in Ukraine regarding the realization on the part of LGBT rights to freedom of peaceful assembly. For details about court proceedings regarding freedom of peaceful assembly for LGBT people — see Appendix 2. 12.5.3. Court Cases against Hate Crime and LGBT Discrimination The prosecution of cases in this category have the following features and trends:

1) The motive of hatred on grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity is not accepted by courts for consideration and a condition for the strengthening of responsibility for the crimes because the criminal code recognizes only three motives of hatred — racial, religious and national; 2) Courts tend to use "softer" articles of the criminal code in cases with crimes motivated by homophobia, and lessen the penalties as is permissible by law, including the revocation of conditional imprisonment; 3) In cases of homicide on grounds of homophobia, homophobic feelings of the defendants can be considered as a mitigating, not an aggravating circumstance in determining the degree of guilt and punishment. For examples of trials in cases of crimes of hate and discrimination against LGBT people — see Appendix 3.

41 http://zakon3.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/v-644740-14. Country Context Analysis of LGBT People Situation in Ukraine 27 12.5.4. Court Cases on Transgenders Lawsuits Initiated by Transgender Persons against the Ministry of Health of Ukraine (Commission on Sex Reassignment (Correction) and Criteria Set Out in the Ministry Order of 3 February 2011 No. 60 “On Enhancing the Healthcare Services for Persons Requiring Gender Correction” 1. On 12 June 2015, the Kyiv District Administrative Court released the decision No. 826/5122/15 whereby: It qualified as unlawful and revoked the decision of 02.03.2015 to deny the issue of the medical certificate on sex reassignment to PERSON_1, adopted by the Ministry of Health of Ukraine represented by the Commission on Sex Reassignment (Correction), and impose an obligation on the Ministry of Health of Ukraine represented by the Commission on Sex Reassignment (Correction) to take certain actions, namely to issue the medical certificate on sex reassignment to PERSON_1 to enable the relevant amendments in the birth records due to sex reassignment. The Court recognized the Commission’s denial to issue the medical certificate on sex reassignment unlawful because it was solely based on the explanatory note provided by the SE Institute of Urology of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine (13 March 2013 No. 106), which was not sufficient to serve as an official document. 2. The Kyiv District Administrative Court by its Resolution of 19 January 2015 No. 826/16044/14 sustained the claim brought by the transgender person against the MoH of Ukraine to recognize as non-compliant and cancel the Clause 3 of the Medical, Biological and Socio-Psychological Criteria for Sex Reassignment, approved by the Ministry Order of 3 February 2011 No. 60 “On Enhancing the Healthcare Services for Persons Requiring Gender Correction”, which specifies the following restrictions: “having children under the age of 18” and “significant non-compliances with the social adaptation conditions (lack of employment and permanent place of residence)”. On 30 June 2015, the Kyiv Administrative Appellate Court42 sustained the appeal filed by the MoH of Ukraine against the decision issued by the Kyiv District Administrative Court on 19 January 2015 in favour of the claim brought by the transgender person. The final decision is to be made by the Superior Administrative Court of Ukraine as part of the cassation proceeding initiated by the Plaintiff against the resolution of the appellate court (pursuant to the decision to initiate the cassation proceeding of 14 August 2015). The final decision is pending. 12.5.5. Court Cases Involving Same-Sex Partnerships A default judgment was granted on 12 July 2013 in the civil case No. 760/13071/13-c by the Solomiansky District Court in Kyiv to officially confirm that two women had lived as a family for over five years. The plaintiff A. brought a lawsuit against citizens N. and О. to confirm her legal right to inherit property owned by her female partner D. which she had lived together with. The plaintiff A. explained to the court that she met the woman D., also a teacher, who came to spend a summer with her and help keep the house, and then the plaintiff moved to Kyiv to spend for autumn and winter with the deceased D, and they lived together in a flat owned by D. till 2006. The plaintiff A. was looking after the woman D., supported her financially and helped pay utility bills. These circumstances and the fact that the women lived together as a family were confirmed by witnesses whose evidences were accepted by the court as properly provided and adequate. In fact, this is the first judicial precedent in Ukraine to recognize the same-sex partners living as a family and confirm that the plaintiff A. had a legal right to inherit property (flat) owned by the deceased woman D. To summarise the above, this case can be used by the LGBT partners as a precedent to ensure their civil (inheritance) rights in the future. It is not necessary to reveal the sexual orientation, just prove the fact of living together as a family. 12.6. Procedure for Changing Gender Markers in ID Documents Issued to Transgender Persons The details of the procedure for changing gender markers in the official documents are set out in a number of regulations. The right (reason) to change an ID document is defined in the Ministry of Health Order of 3 February 2011 No. 60 as follows: After the sex reassignment surgery, the Commission [on Sex Reassignment (Correction)] issues the medical certificate of sex reassignment (correction) pursuant to the annex [to this Order] to a person who has had the surgery; this certificate serves as a basis for amending/modifying birth records and granting a new birth certificate as a key document required to change ID documents as required. Changing the passport of the citizen of Ukraine as a key official ID document is governed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Order of 13 April 2012 No. 320 which contains the following provisions:

42 The full text of the resolution is available at: http://www.reyestr.court.gov.ua/Review/46189839. Country Context Analysis of LGBT People Situation in Ukraine 28 4.1. The Ukrainian passport is changed in the following cases: the holder’s name has changed; inconsistencies in personal records have been identified; the passport is no longer suitable for further use. 4.2. To change the passport, a passport holder files the application with the following attachments: passport to be changed; two 3.5 × 4.5 cm photos; evidence of payment of duty paid or the original duty exemption document and a copy thereof; and documents confirming the circumstances for changing a passport. Apart from gender markers, the holder’s name and/or surname are typically required to be changed. This procedure is described in the following documents: 1) Explanatory note by the Ministry of Justice on the Name/Surname/Patronymic Change Registration Procedure of 4 January 2011; 2) The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine Resolution of 11 July 2007 No. 915 “On the Approval of the Procedure for Processing the Name/Surname/Patronymic Change Applications Filed by Individuals”; 3) Civil Registration Rules in Ukraine.

Section 13. Professional Sensitivity and Awareness of Expert Groups toward SOGI and LGBT Issues

In recent years, some professional groups in Ukraine have begun making steps toward ensuring greater emphasis on LGBT/SOGI issues in their work: 1. UN Development Programme supported the preparation and dissemination of guidance documents on MSM and HIV among the following target groups: judges, journalists, law enforcement officers and social workers. These documents provide quite detailed information on the LGBT/SOGI issues. 2. The training programme for the National Patrol Police of Ukraine officers includes a special training course “Tolerance and Non-Discrimination. 3. In recent years, the LGBT awareness events have been regularly attended by the governmental officers representing various ministries including the Ministry of Social Policy, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Cultural Affairs, Ministry of Education and Science, as well as the Office of the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner on Human Rights. 4. Trainings on tolerance and raising awareness level of different professional groups on LGBT issues are held by a range of LGBT organizations, in particular, Zaporizhia Regional Charitable Foundation “Gender Zed”. A growing number of regulations and directives containing positive provisions on LGBT rights indicates that the governmental officials are increasingly sensitive toward SOGI. Some improvements notwithstanding, the Ukrainian governmental officers, especially at the local governance level, often prefer to stick to traditionalism by avoiding ‘slippery’ topics and making general statements on human rights and freedoms for all. The level of satisfaction with the professionalism of governmental officials and police officers among the members of LGBT community in Ukraine has not been assessed. Mass Media The members of the media community appear to show growing interest toward LGBT/SOGI topics. They have maintained close interaction with LGBT activists since 2006. In recent years, a number of NGO have hold various awareness raising and training events for mass media representatives to ensure that they cover LGBT topics correctly. The media coverage of LGBT issues including the use of terminology seem to improve gradually.

Section 14. Socio-Demographic and Behavioural Characteristics of LGBT People as Part of the Nation’s Population

14.1. LGBT/MSM/WSW Population in Ukraine 14.1.1. LGBT Population In 2016, the Nash Svit (Our World) Centre prepared and published the Analytical Note on the Legalization of Registered Partnership for Same-Sex Couples. This document contains estimates of LGBT population in Ukraine: […] We can only rely on rough estimates made on the basis of general views the modern science has on the same- sex relations in the society. Though the precise percentage of population identifying themselves as LGBT is not known, various expert estimates suggest that it ranges between 2 to 10%. Taking into account that Ukraine’s population aged 14 and up (except people living in the currently occupied Crimea) is about 36 million, the total number of adult LGBT population can be estimated as ranging from 720,000 to 3,600,000. Country Context Analysis of LGBT People Situation in Ukraine 29 The expert estimate made by the Permanent Reference Group on LGBT and MSM Service Projects (the national advisory body on MSM/LGBT issues) in 2010 suggested that LGBT population was in the range from 800,000 to 1,200,000 people (Minutes of the Group Meeting of 18 February 2010 No. 14). 14.1.2. MSM Population The 2012 Assessment of Population at Risk of HIV in Ukraine (commissioned by the International Charitable Foundation “International HIV/AIDS Alliance in Ukraine”) estimated the MSM population number as 176,000 people. According to the assessment criteria, this estimate only included people who are considered to be at risk, not all MSM persons. 14.1.3. GB Population The authors of this Situation Analysis do not have any information on the estimated number of people identifying themselves as gays and bisexuals in Ukraine which cannot be assumed as being equal to the MSM population number for the following reasons: 1) The MSM population estimate only takes into account MSM people who are considered to be at risk of HIV spread, not all MSM population; 2) Some gay subgroups do not actually belong to MSM group because they haven’t had sex yet (e.g. teen gays who have identified themselves as gays but have not had their first sexual encounter); 3) Bisexuals may have same-sex encounters on rare occasions (sometimes even less than once a year) and in these cases they are not considered as MSM persons. If we assume that GB people account for about half of the LGBT population, their number can be estimated as ranging from 400,000 to 600,000 based on the LGBT population estimate made by the Permanent Reference Group on LGBT and MSM Service Projects in 2010. 14.1.4. LB Population The authors of this Situation Analysis have no information on the estimated number of lesbians and bisexuals in Ukraine. If we assume that LB people constitute about half of the LGBT population, their number can be estimated to be in the range from 400,000 to 600,000, based on the LGBT population estimate made by the Permanent Reference Group on LGBT and MSM Service Projects in 2010. 14.1.5. WSW Population The authors of this Situation Analysis have no information on the estimated number of women having sex with . 14.1.6. Transgender Population Unfortunately, no national transgender survey has been conducted to date in Ukraine that could be considered representative. In 2000, the American Psychiatric Association published their estimates on the proportion of transsexual population, which are 1 MtF per 30,000 people and 1 FtM per 100,000 people. Based on these estimates and taking into account that Ukraine’s population aged 14 and up (except people living in the currently occupied Crimea) is about 36 million, the authors of this Situation Analysis have made a basic calculation to estimate the transsexual population in Ukraine and these estimates suggest that about 1,200 individuals are MtF and about 360 individuals are 360. The transgender group is an umbrella group comprising, alongside with transsexual persons, other groups of gender-nonconforming individuals (bigenders, agenders, intergenders etc.), people whose gender identity goes beyond the male/female continuum (queers, genderqueers), some transvestites (cross-dressers) and she-males. 14.2. Behavioural Characteristics of LGBT Community 14.2.1. Percentage of LGBT People Providing Sexual Services More or less reliable data is only available for MSM group. The 2015/2016 bio-behavioural survey results (4,552 male respondents aged 16 years and up living in the Oblast centres and some other urban areas) indicate that 3% paid for sex during the last 30 days and 18% reported that they practiced providing sex services in exchange for payment or some other benefit throughout their life. There appear to be significant differences between GB people and trans men, with 33% of the latter reporting sex work experience. Half of the interviewed transgender individuals practicing sex services in exchange for payment/benefit reported that they provided these services during the last month on varying occasions, from one to 3-4 times per month. Country Context Analysis of LGBT People Situation in Ukraine 30 14.2.2. Percentage of LGBT People Engaged in Transactional43 Sex Percentage of Transgender People Engaged in Transactional Sex Any information on what percentage or number of transgender people could be engaged in transactional sex is not available in Ukraine. 14.2.3. Percentage of LGBT People Who Inject Drugs The 2015/2016 bio-behavioural survey (BBS) results indicate that about 1% to 3% of GB persons and trans men inject drugs (less than 0.5% during the last month; about 1% throughout the last year; and about 3% sometimes throughout life). At the same time, only three (or 2.6%) of the interviewed transgender individuals reported using drug injections (one person did so during the last 30 days, one person had a drug injection more than a year ago, and one person did inject drugs long time ago). For the total MSM sample, the percentage of individuals injecting drugs is 1.6%. 14.2.4. Percentage of LGBT People Who Abuse Non-Injection Substances (Including Alcohol) As regards non-injection substances, the difference between GB people and trans men is not significant and is only observed in individuals who reported using substances over the course of their lives: according to the 2015/2016 BBS results, 39% of GB and 53% of TG, respectively, have that kind of experience. The difference disappears when the respondents report on using non-injection substances during the last month, with 8% of the MSM individuals interviewed in 2015 reporting that they used non-injection drugs over the last 30 days.

Section 15. LGBT Violence, Stigma and Discrimination in the Context of HIV Transmission

15.1. Violence against LGBT Gays, bisexuals and trans men often face violence with trans men reporting to be more exposed. The 2015/2016 BBS data indicate that 18% of GB persons and 22% of trans men interviewed told about being stopped by police in the public places without any apparent reason; 12% and 14%, respectively, reported having been searched, again without any reason; and 4% of GB persons and 5% of transgender persons encountered blackmail. 3% of GB and 7% of transgender persons reported being blackmailed and harassed by homophobic groups; 1% and 2%, respectively, were videotaped and photographed against their will and threatened that videos and photos would be posted on the Internet; 15% and 20% of the interviewed GB and transgender persons, respectively, encountered hate speech and beating from homophobic gangs. Violence against Transgender People The 2015/2016 BBS data indicate that 31 interviewed TG persons (27%) reported to have been victims of sexual violence. For comparison, the number of cisgender MSM who have reported similar encounters is twice less (11%). 15.2. LGBT Stigma and Discrimination in the Context of HIV Transmission 15.2.1. Stigma and Discrimination against LGBT and Social Perceptions of Discrimination The Ukrainian society is still full of stereotypes about LGBT. Some of the most popular of them are that homosexuality is a disease or result of psychological trauma (36% of respondents) or that it is a vicious behaviour or bad habit (34% of respondents). Societal prejudices are based on ignorance and stereotyped views on homosexuality as something unnatural, being fostered by homophobic propaganda run by main churches. The Public Survey Examining the Public Attitudes to LGBT and Ways to Improve Them44 has demonstrated that high levels of discrimination prevail in Ukraine and everyone may face it, not only LGBT people. Knowing somebody from LGBT community typically helps improve the acceptance of LGBT equality and reduce stigma and homophobia. The above mentioned survey results indicate that only 4% of the interviewed Ukrainians reported having acquaintances, both men and women, in LGBT community.

43Transactional sex refers to sexual relationships where the giving of gifts and/or services is an important factor. 44 Commissioned by the Gay Alliance Ukraine, All-Ukrainian NGO, with the financial support of the US Embassy Democracy Fund. Country Context Analysis of LGBT People Situation in Ukraine 31 Thinking about where does homosexuality comes from, many Ukrainians are inclined to blame the West. For example, 40% of the interviewed link the presence of LGBT in the Ukrainian society with access to the ‘western’ literature and video products; 24% consider that they have become more active and visible due to the activities of various international organisations working to protect LGBT rights; and 11% attribute this fact to the emergence of political parties lobbying LGBT interests. Prevailing homophobic stereotypes underpin the view that lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender persons should be expelled from the country. Over half of the interviewed (59%) consider that homosexuality should not be tolerated because it is ‘amoral’ and condemned by the Church, and because it could adversely affect their families and children, or simply because this is wrong. Overall, 64% said they do not want their children to live in a country where gays and lesbians are present (of them, 34% fully agree and 30% agree rather than disagree). Only 17% of the interviewed treat homosexuality as a sexual orientation which is equal to heterosexuality. Only one fifth of the interviewed support the idea that human diversity is invaluable with LGBT being an important aspect of this diversity. It can be concluded that prevailing views and stereotypes about homosexuality underpin stigma and discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. 15.2.2. Stigma and Discrimination against Sex Workers The authors of this Situation Analysis do not have information on any research attempting to address this issue in Ukraine. 15.2.3. Stigma and Discrimination against People Who Inject Drugs The authors of this Situation Analysis do not have information on any research attempting to address this issue in Ukraine. 15.2.4. Stigma and Discrimination against People Living with HIV (PLHIV) The results of the 2013 HIV-Related Stigma Index survey45 indicate that the level of stigma towards HIV- positive people remained high, despite the fact that societal attitudes showed positive trend as compared to 2010. The levels of self-stigmatization and self-discrimination among the HIV-positive people remained persistently high during the past three years (82% and 62%, respectively). The most typical signs of internal stigma among people living with HIV are as follows:  Self-accusation (58%);  Guilty feeling (46%);  Low self-esteem (46%);  Feeling of shame (41%). The peak level of self-discriminating decisions among PLHIV occurs in the first year after being diagnosed with HIV (66%) and gradually decreases as life moves on (to about 55% among people who have lived with HIV over 15 years). The most typical anti-discriminating decisions made by PLHIV include:  Not to have children (39%);  Not to get married (21%);  Avoid health care facilities (21%);  Refuse to be taken to a hospital (18%). In 2013, biased attitudes and acts from the members of the society were experienced by 40% of the interviewed PLHIV, which is 11% less than in 2010. The most widespread forms of stigma toward PLHIV individuals include gossiping, insults, harassments or threats. Over 26% of the interviewed PLHIV encountered being gossiped about their HIV status. Other most widespread forms of stigma/discrimination against PLHIV are verbal insults, harassments and threats from other people. Over the past year, 13% of the interviewed encountered these types of stigma. Stigma and discrimination existing in healthcare and social welfare institutions were encountered by 11% and only 2% of PLHIV, respectively. The largest most vulnerable groups among PLHIV are those who inject drugs (54%) and people who were imprisoned (25%).

45 http://www.stigmaindex.org/sites/default/files/reports/Ukraine%20Stigma%20Index_Report_UKR%202014-Ukr.pdf. Country Context Analysis of LGBT People Situation in Ukraine 32 15.2.5. HIV-Related Stigma within the LGBT Community Stigma towards PLHIV HIV-related stigma is also significant within the LGBT community, being manifested in a number of ways, including: 1) HIV-negative people and those who are not aware of their HIV status tend to avoid sexual contact with partners known to be HIV-positive; 2) HIV-positive persons are slandered; 3) Slandering about someone’s alleged HIV-positive status can be used to discredit the person in the eyes of the community. HIV-positive MSM appear to self-stigmatize themselves within the gay community in the following ways: 1) The majority of them prefer not to reveal their HIV-positive status; 2) Some HIV-positive MSM tend to avoid visiting specialized healthcare facilities for PLHIV; 3) Information on HIV-positive status is normally not disclosed on gay-dating applications; 4) Some HIV-positive MSM deliberately delay initiating antiretroviral therapy to avoid suspicions about their HIV status. Stigma toward Sex Workers Stigma towards LGBT sex workers providing sexual services for money is considered to be minor due to the fact that commercial sexual services are common in the gay community: available survey data suggests that about one fifth of all MSM (18%) have had experience with providing sexual services on commercial basis. At the same time, it can be suggested that some stigma does exist indeed, mainly in the form of gossips, because it is considered inappropriate to talk about being engaged in sex work. Stigma toward People Who Inject Drugs (PWID) Given a very small number of LGBT people taking drug injections, the level of stigma toward them within the LGBT community is considered to be negligible.

Section 16. Capacity Development within LGBT Community

16.1. Level of Capacity of Front Liners to Deal with Media Attention Generally, the Ukrainian LGBT community has a significant capacity for dealing with the media, which encompasses a wide range of capabilities, including: 1. The availability of specialists trained to deal with the media within the community (speakers, press officers, PR and communications experts); 2. LGBT activists have more than 10 years of experience of interacting with the media closely. 3. LGBT activists and friendly organisations organize and hold awareness raising events for the members of the media community (training workshops etc.). 4. LGBT activists employ special PR technologies to help shape public opinions on LGBT issues through the media. 5. LGBT community is an active newsmaker attracting attention of the media. 6. Some LGBT organisations have their own PR service and communication capability. 7. A number of existing information resources maintained by LGBT community are used by other media as a primary source of information. 8. Facebook accounts of some LGBT leaders and activists are visited and kept track of by the members of the media at a similar level as those of many celebrities. Key adverse aspects of LGBT interactions with the media include: 1. A lack of comprehensive national PR strategy for the Ukrainian LGBT movement. 2. A lack of trained speakers to represent LGBT community in many regions of Ukraine. 3. A lack of long-term commitment to their work among people involved in the interaction between LGBT organisations and the media. 16.2. Informal LGBT Groups The informal LGBT groups in Ukraine are much less developed than LGBT organisations. At the time of writing this Situation Analysis, there are 19 informal LGBT associations in Ukraine focusing on various activity areas including sports, leisure and entertainment, culture, religion etc., though these groups operate only in some Country Context Analysis of LGBT People Situation in Ukraine 33 administrative Oblasts, may work intermittently and have limited numbers of members. In addition, their scope of activities is much less diverse than that of interests the members of LGBT community might have. For example, we are not aware of any informal youth or student groups, or arts and culture groups or LGBT art protest groups. Many existing LGBT organisations evolved from small informal initiatives. That said, many grassroots LGBT initiatives never become institutionalized. Some positive aspects encouraging the development of informal LGBT organisations are that some of them are supported by influential LGBT organisations and have access to small grants programmes without being registered as legal entities. Alongside with informal LGBT groups that exist in reality and hold meetings from time to time, there are many social networks and online communities with VKontakte being among the most popular networks. Their institutional capacity and chances that they would ever go beyond being a virtual online community are minor. In this respect, informal virtual LGBT communities have much less capacity than similar communities created by the right radical/nationalist groups or other public movements. Providing Gay-Friendly Venues The level of development of informal LGBT groups for providing gay-friendly venues is generally insufficient. In practice, LGBT people may use various outdoor venues for various activities (for example, a bicycle ride), but generally they do not establish more or less permanent gay-friendly venues. Providing Various Support to LGBT People Rather than providing various services or forms of support for LGBT people, some informal LGBT groups mainly function as hobby-based groups to help their members better spend their free time. Some informal groups have been created to bring together certain sub-communities like the lesbian sub-community. Other groups on the contrary aim to provide specific services or support for LGBT people, for example: 1) Support for HIV-positive gays (provided, for example, by the Good Shepherd Inter-confessional Christian Mission created as an informal association in 2010); 2) Control/prevention of HIV and sexually transmitted diseases among MSM (some MSM servicing organisations were initially created as informal LGBT initiatives whose participants worked to provide support to HIV-positive MSM). 16.3. LGBT Visibility in the Society The LGBT visibility in the society is directly linked with the following key factors: 1) Presence of media persons among the LGBT community; 2) Public LGBT events; 3) Willingness of the media to cover LGBT topics. The LGBT visibility in the Ukrainian society has reached a high level at the time of preparation of this Situation Analysis. This can be attributed to the following factors: 1. Public events regularly organized by LGBT community, including the Equality and Pride Days in Mykolaiv (formerly the Rainbow Spring Festival), Kyiv Pride International Forum and Festival (has been there since 2012), Equality Festivals (organized by the Insight NGO in Kyiv, Lviv and Dnipro), and Odesa Pride Forum and Festival (since 2015). 2. Key LGBT speakers regularly present in the information environment including television, radio, Internet etc. 3. Social issue advertisements focusing on LGBT topics distributed by LGBT and human rights organisations in various regions of Ukraine. 4. Information resources and proactive approach toward dealing with the media maintained by LGBT community. 16.4. Availability and Accessibility of LGBT Friendly Venues 16.4.1. LGBT Friendly Venues and Meeting Places LGBT Friendly Venues and Meeting Places LGBT FRIENDLY VENUES A network of LGBT friendly venues exists in Ukraine and mainly includes public visiting centres for LGBT people and offices of many LGBT organisations that are open for all members of LGBT community. While some LGBT organisations do not position their offices as public visiting centres but still provide them as secure and safe places for various LGBT events. Country Context Analysis of LGBT People Situation in Ukraine 34 LGBT MEETING PLACES: Safe: 1. Public visiting centres for LGBT people and offices of LGBT organisations mentioned above. Relatively safe: 2. Leisure infrastructure reputed to be LGBT-friendly (e.g. gay clubs, gay saunas). It should be noted that this infrastructure has shrunk over the past 10–15 years both in Kyiv and regional cities. For example, there used to be about 6–7 leisure facilities for LGBT, with only 3 surviving. Some cities that used to have at least one gay-friendly venue now have none. While this can be considered as taking LGBT people out of ‘ghetto’, it is also an illustration of slow progress in LGBT community development in Ukraine, which is mainly due to economic reasons. 3. LGBT parties as part of broader societal and cultural events focused on LGBT topics. Quite unsafe: 4. Gay dating venues to find sexual partners. These places have existed in Ukraine since the Soviet era but changed dramatically during the past decades. Unsafe: 5. Occasional one-time meeting places for LGBT people to hold publicly announced events, both outdoor (for example, street action locations) or indoor (for example, special cultural or political events). 16.5. Mobilisation Capacity of LGBT Community LGBT community in Ukraine has a relatively high mobilization capacity underpinned by the following factors: 1. The country’s LGBT community is well consolidated and is not torn apart by various mutually opposing movements within the community that could undermine its capacity. 2. Smaller sub-communities within LGBT community (GB, LB, TG) interact and cooperate with each other more or less closely, trying to find common points to promote equal human rights and tackle healthcare issues. 3. LGBT communities at the national and local level (though not everywhere) is able to organize themselves to work toward the following objectives:  Establish legitimate LGBT associations;  Establish virtual network groups and public accounts based on hobbies and interests;  Provide venues and infrastructure for cultural, sports and creative activities, and for dating potential sexual partners;  Attract funding required to address important LGBT related issues. 4. LGBT communities are able to consolidate around public LGBT events, with many LGBT individuals willing to attend them personally. 5. LGBT community generates LGBT activists and volunteers and this process is permanent. 16.6. Improvements in Human Rights and Opportunities Situation for LGBT Ongoing improvements in the human rights and opportunities situation for LGBT can be characterized as follows: 1. Virtually each and every member of LGBT community is able to realize his/her civil activism potential by joining an LGBT rights movement or a broader human rights association. 2. Human rights and freedoms formally guaranteed by the law become more accessible in practice for the members of LGBT community – this first and foremost concerns the right of peaceful assembly. 3. The civil society and political movements show a trend toward greater inclusivity through better consideration of issues faced by LGBT and willingness to interact with LGBT initiatives. 4. LGBT community is gaining more power to influence various political, economic and social processes through, for example, well-planned and consistent efforts taken to achieve the specified objectives. 5. LGBT community has gained access to a broader range of opportunities to communicate their thoughts, views and concerns to the general public due to the largely adequate attitudes demonstrated by the mass media and presence of professional speakers in LGBT community. 6. One controversial aspect of LGBT people in Ukraine having access to a broader range of opportunities is that they may seek and receive asylum in the USA, Canada and European Union because of hostilities toward LGBT that still prevail in the society despite all the achievements, successes and positive trends. Country Context Analysis of LGBT People Situation in Ukraine 35 16.7. Level of Support for LGBT Community among the Allies Support of the allies toward LGBT community has notably increased after the 2015 Equality March in Kyiv attended and supported by a number of Members of Parliament. Some important details of this support are described below: 1. A pool of the Ukrainian Parliament members has now emerged to openly and consistently support LGBT rights as human rights and attend various LGBT events. 2. Various international organisations including UN organisations in Ukraine, Council of Europe and European Union show increasing support for LGBT. 3. The state authorities gradually become more supportive toward LGBT; support mainly comes from the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner on Human Rights (Ombudsman). 4. The human rights organization show more vocal support toward LGBT. 5. The support and advocacy movement of parents of LGBT people is growing. 6. Some Christian leaders have begun showing first, however weak, signs of support toward LGBT to counterbalance the overwhelmingly homophobic attitudes of the Churches.

Section 17. Current Status of LGBT Movement

17.1. General Overview of LGBT Movement LGBT movement in Ukraine possesses the following characteristics: 1. Structured. 2. Showing succession of generations among LGBT activists. 3. Consolidated. 4. Open. 5. Relatively well provided with resources. 6. Working in a planned and consistent manner. 7. Not prone to conflicts. 8. Not engaged in politics. 9. Influential. 10. Personified (the Ukrainian LGBT movement includes speakers and public persons who represent it in the societal arena. 11. Significant newsmaker keeping the attention of the media. 12. Integrated to the international community. Overall, based on the above mentioned characteristics of LGBT movement in Ukraine, it can be described as very well organised (as compared to many other public and political movements). 17.2. Essential Statistics on LGBT Organisations Since LGBT movement emerged in the independent Ukraine in 1993, 52 LGBT organisations were registered with the relevant authorities on the initiative of activists. Five of them no longer exist. At the time of writing this report, the situation in Ukraine can be described as follows: 1) There is one officially registered association of non-governmental and charitable LGBT organisations — the Council of Ukraine’s LGBT Organisations; 2) There are 28 operational non-governmental LGBT organisations that meet required criteria to be classified as LGBT NGOs; 3) There are 20 non-governmental LGBT organisations that are not currently operational but have formal registration; 4) There are at least 7 organisations associated or closely linked with LGBT, for example, the Association of Parents of LGBT People; 5) There are 19 informal LGBT associations working in various areas (sports, leisure, culture and arts, religion etc.); 6) There are about 20 organisations providing services to MSM, mainly including HIV prevention services or social support to HIV-positive MSM (some of them are LGBT organisations); 7) Though it is difficult to quantify LGBT activists but some estimates suggest that there are about 200 persons systemically involved in LGBT activism. Country Context Analysis of LGBT People Situation in Ukraine 36 All collective entities of LGBT movement stopped working in “LPH”, “DPH” and Crimea – organizations and informal unions, and part of visible LGBT activists left the territories controlled by “LPH” and “DPH”. 17.3. National Umbrella LGBT Community Organisations The only and sole umbrella organization for LGBT communities in Ukraine is the Council of Ukraine’s LGBT Organisations set up in 13 December 2008 and registered with the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine on 17 January 2011. Throughout its history, the Council has been joined by 32 LGBT organisations in Ukraine with one organization having left it. At the time of writing this report, the Council has no formal leaders. Considering recent dynamic changes in LGBT movement in Ukraine, the format and mode of operation of the Council depend on how much the members of the Council would need it as a coordinating body. 17.4. Expert Bodies Representing LGBT Community and MSM Services The Expert Group on Gay and Other MSM Human Rights and Health Issues has worked in Ukraine since the late 2012 as the only specialized expert body of this type that brings together national experts agreed with the key stakeholder on the basis of relevant criteria of expertise. Currently, the Group comprises nine members. 17.5. Level of Support for LGBT among Key Mainstream Organisations The following types of mainstream organisations currently operate in Ukraine: 1. Volunteer organisations to support the Army and military volunteer units. Generally, these organisations tend to keep distance from LGBT topics, but some activists representing them are apparently homophobic. At the same time, the volunteer community comprises openly gay individuals. 2. Analytical and expert centres conducting research on various aspects of societal and political life and shaping views of the general public through the mass media. These organisations are often affiliated with various political powers and therefore their public position is close to the ideology and principles declared by a respective political force. At the same time, many of these centres appear to maintain neutral to positive attitudes towards LGBT. 3. Churches and religious organisations. Many sociological surveys indicate that these structures are among the most trusted in Ukraine. While the majority of leading Churches and religious organisations continue to consider homosexuality as a sin, they have demonstrated a moderate progress in recent years (i.e. after the 2013–2014 Revolution) toward openly condemning violence and hostility against LGBT. 4. Businesses. The overwhelming majority of business structures are indifferent toward LGBT. Some positive developments however take place with some businesses having adopted equality and non- discrimination policies prohibiting discrimination at work based on sexual orientation even before the antidiscrimination amendments explicitly referring to SOGI have been passed by the Ukrainian Parliament. 17.6. Support for LGBT from the United Nations Organisations, Diplomatic Missions and International Agencies UN organisations and programmes represented in Ukraine have well established communication channels and cooperate with LGBT organisations. These programmes include, inter alia, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), UN Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), United Nations Population Fund etc. Ukrainian LGBT organisations have established cooperation and communication with the embassies of many countries including the United Kingdom, Canada, the Netherlands, , USA, Switzerland, Sweden etc., as well as with the missions of international organisations in Ukraine including the European Union in Ukraine. Some embassies support initiatives proposed by LGBT community organisations. In addition, the Ukrainian LGBT movement cooperates with the foreign technical assistance agencies including the US Agency for International Development, German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) etc. All these partners and stakeholders support LGBT initiatives at the political level through official contacts, public statements, informal negotiations, personal presence at LGBT events, and providing venues for LGBT actions. 17.7. LGBT Interactions with Other Civil Society Movements and Sectors LGBT movement is deeply integrated into the human movement. Since 2011, the National Coalition to Fight Discrimination has worked in Ukraine. It comprises many LGBT organisations and one of the Coalition’s Co- Chairs is the leader of an LGBT organisation. LGBT issues are often part of the agenda of other leading human rights organisations and initiatives in Ukraine, for example, Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union. Country Context Analysis of LGBT People Situation in Ukraine 37 Ukrainian LGBT movement is broadly supported by the international human right movement and its key actors including Amnesty International, Freedom House and Human Rights Watch. Virtually all HIV/AIDS organisations maintain tolerant attitude toward LGBT while many organisations specialized in providing services to people living with HIV are openly LGBT friendly with some of them maintaining MSM service projects. LGBT movement maintains systemic and fruitful cooperation with HIV servicing organisations. LGBT organisations also interact with the civil society movements promoting human rights for certain social groups including people with disabilities and those living with HIV. At the same time, some NGO dealing with female issues, including female sexual and reproductive health, are reportedly hostile towards LGBT community with apparent signs of transphobia. There is little or no interaction between LGBT movement and sports societies with the latter doing as much as they to avoid discussing problems faced by LGBT persons in sports and thus de facto supporting the status quo tactic of not coming out with someone’s sexual orientation and gender identity.

Section 18. LGBT Health and Welfare in the Context of Public Health

18.1. HIV Transmission Rates All countries have committed themselves to combat the AIDS epidemic by 2030 as part of the sustainable development agenda unanimously adopted by the UN member countries in 2015. 18.1.1. Estimated HIV Infection Rates in General Population Number of Persons above 15 Years of Age Living with HIV HIV infection rates in Ukraine are high and continue to grow. The estimated number of people above 15 years of age living with HIV in the early 2015 was 217,500 people (or 0.58% of population in this age group)46. As of 1 January 2016, there were 126,604 HIV-infected people registered with the public healthcare facilities. The number of officially registered new HIV infection cases in 2015 was 15,869. Regional Variations of HIV Infection Rates within the Country The Southern Ukraine, Dnipropetrovsk and Kyiv Oblasts, and Kyiv City itself have high HIV infection rates while low rates are recorded in the Western Ukraine. Over half of the officially registered HIV infected persons are concentrated in Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk and Odesa Oblasts and the City of Kyiv, i.e. in four of 27 highest- level administrative and territorial units. 18.1.2. HIV Infection Rates in Key Population Groups HIV Infection Rate among MSM (UNGASS Indicator No. 23) In 2015, the percentage of MSM population infected with HIV, estimated based on the Bio-Behavioural Survey comprising 4552 respondents from all regions of Ukraine, was 8.5%. The differences between GB and trans men groups were minor. HIV Infection Rate among WSW No data. This implies that the WSW group is not considered as a HIV most-at-risk group in Ukraine. HIV Infection Rates among Transgender People According to the 2015/2016 BBS results, 7 persons (6%) in the interviewed trans men group were tested as HIV positive. Three of them belong to the under 24-year age group and four are in the above 25-year age group. For comparison, the HIV infection rates for the total survey sample are as follows: 8.5% among MSM and 10.4% among the interviewed who are above 25 years of age. The authors of this report have no data on HIV infection rates among trans women. 18.2. Sexually Transmitted Diseases and Hepatitis B Infection Rates 18.2.1. STD Infection Rates in General Population People who have sexually transmitted infections face a much greater HIV risk. Available data indicates that all nosological forms of STD show an obvious downward trend: from 235.5 per 100,000 population to 134.1 (–

46 HIV Infection in Ukraine. Information Bulletin No. 44 / SE Ukrainian Centre for Control over Socially Dangerous Diseases of MoH of Ukraine, SE Hromashevsky Institute of Epidemiology and Contagious Diseases of the National Academy of Medical Sciences. — Kyiv, 2015. — P. 13. (Estimates produced using Spectrum/ЕРР 5.30 software) Country Context Analysis of LGBT People Situation in Ukraine 38 43.1%) for trichomoniasis; from 85.9 to 73.8 (–14.1%) for mycoplasma genitalium; from 79.2 to 53.9 (–31.9%) for Chlamydia infections; and from 25.0 to 8.6 (–65.6%) for syphilis and from 27.1 to 14.4 (6.9%) for gonococcal infection (the latter two have shown the most abrupt decrease). 18.2.2. SDT and Hepatitis B Infection Rates among MSM, WSW and TG STD Infection Rates among Transgender People According to the 2015/2016 BBS results, four persons (4%) among the interviewed transgender people were tested positive for hepatitis B based on the combined express test. Two of these persons self-reported that they were diagnosed with hepatitis during the past 12 months. One of these two persons belongs to the young age group (up to 24 years). The remaining three persons tested positive for hepatitis B are above 25 years of age. Both respondents diagnosed with hepatitis B earlier went to healthcare facilities to receive medical aid, with one of them having received treatment for hepatitis В and one not. Of the total number of MSM respondents interviewed during the survey (4552 people), the percentage of those who were tested positive for hepatitis B is 2.7%. The combined express test also included testing for syphilis. None of the interviewed transgender people were found to have syphilis though the percentage of those who were tested positive among the total number of respondents was 2.7%. In addition, three transgender persons reported that they had diseases/infections on their genitals and anus during the past 12 months through but they did not go to the doctor and chose self-medication instead. 18.3. TB Infection Rates 18.3.1. TB Infection Rates in General Population The tuberculosis infection rate including all active TB forms and recurrent TB cases was 70.5 per 100,000 (30,151) in 201547,48. 18.3.2. TB Coinfection Rates among PLHIV According to the World Health Organisation statistics for 2014, 97% of people in Ukraine diagnosed with tuberculosis were aware of their HIV status, while the number of people having HIV/TB coinfection was 7,640 or 20% of the total number of people diagnosed with TB49. As of 1 January 2016, 12,566 people diagnosed with AIDS in Ukraine had tuberculosis, which is 36.9% of all AIDS cases in Ukraine50. 18.3.3. TB Coinfection Rates among HIV Positive MSM, WSW and TG Persons TB Coinfection Rates among Transgender Persons The results of the 2015/2016 Bio-Behavioural Survey of MSM indicate that none of 113 transgender (trans man) persons interviewed reported having had tuberculosis during the past 12 months. There are no other sources of data on the TB infection rates among transgender people in Ukraine. 18.4. Hepatitis C Infection Rates 18.4.1. Hepatitis C Infection Rates in General Population51 Knowing that the hepatitis C is often hidden, it is obvious that available statistics on the officially registered acute hepatitis C cases does not reflect the real picture of disease incidence and even impedes the assessment of actual infection rates. At the same time, the incidence of the acute hepatitis C in Ukraine shows an apparent downward trend. The results of the hepatitis C blood tests conducted among blood donors indicate that Ukraine can be classified as a country with the moderate prevalence of hepatitis C virus with the prevalence of HCV antibodies in blood donors being at 1.51%.

47 The disease rates provided in the report do not take account of those parts of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts that are currently not controlled by Ukraine and the occupied Crimea and Sevastopol. 48 Official statistics prepared by the SE Ukrainian Centre for Control over Socially Dangerous Diseases of MoH of Ukraine is available at http://ucdc.gov.ua/uploads/files/_2014-2015%20р%20-%20копия.pdf. 49 WHO Ukrainian Tuberculosis profile, 2014. – Accessible at: http://ucdc.gov.ua/uploads/files/_2014-2015%20р%20- %20копия.pdf. 50 HIV Infection in Ukraine. Information Bulletin No. 45 / SE Ukrainian Centre for Control over Socially Dangerous Diseases of MoH of Ukraine, SE Hromashevsky Institute of Epidemiology and Contagious Diseases of the National Academy of Medical Sciences. — Kyiv, 2016 (not published at the time writing). 51 The most recent information available dated 2013. Country Context Analysis of LGBT People Situation in Ukraine 39 18.4.2. Hepatitis C Coinfection Rates among PLHIV In 2015, 9,720 persons first diagnosed with HIV were tested for hepatitis С, which was 75.4% of all identified HIV cases. According to test results, 3,525 persons were found to be infected with hepatitis С (36.3% of the tested). 18.4.3. Hepatitis C Coinfection Rates among HIV Positive MSM, WSW and TG The hepatitis C coinfection rates among HIV positive MSM and trans man persons can be estimated using the results of the 2015/2016 Bio-Behavioural Survey of MSM but this task is yet to be completed by the authors. There is no information on the hepatitis C coinfection rates among HIV positive WSW people. 18.5. Some HIV Risk Factors 18.5.1. Annual Number of Deaths due to AIDS among General Population Since the HIV epidemic began in Ukraine, 38,457 people diagnosed with HIV have died. Despite ART having been available and accessible since 2004, deaths in people living with HIV including deaths due to AIDS remain high in Ukraine. In 2015, 4,990 deaths were recorded among officially registered people living if HIV, including 3,032 deaths due to AIDS52. The death rate declined as compared to the 2014 level and turned negative (–11.2%). 18.5.2. Annual Number of Deaths due to Aids among MSM, WSW and TG People No data is available because death figures are not differentiated based on whether a person is MSM, WSW or TG. 18.6. HIV Prevention and Treatment in MSM, WSW and TG People 18.6.1. Primary HIV Prevention in MSM, WSW and TG People Availability and Accessibility of Primary Prevention (Condoms, Lubricants, Latex Napkins, Female Condoms) According to the 2015/2015 BBS results, 65% of GB and 59% of trans man persons reported using condom during the last sexual anal intercourse with another male person. The 2015/2016 BBS results for transgender persons indicate that 54 trans men (48%) obtain condoms from NGO during the past six months. Percentage of MSM Involved in the Prevention / Healthcare Awareness / Healthy Lifestyle Promotion Programmes According to the 2015/2015 BBS results, only 50% of MSM are involved in HIV prevention programmes. Almost half of respondents (46%) are clients of HIV prevention programmes undertaken by NGO specifically for MSM. Percentage of WSW Involved in the Prevention / Healthcare Awareness / Healthy Lifestyle Promotion Programmes At the present time, there are no HIV and STD prevention, awareness raising and/or healthy lifestyle promotion programmes that focus specifically on WSW. Percentage of TG Persons Involved in the Prevention / Healthcare Awareness / Healthy Lifestyle Promotion Programmes According to the 2015/2015 BBS results, 60% (60 persons) of the interviewed transgender people are involved in HIV prevention programmes as compared with 56% of the total number of the interviewed MSM. 18.6.2. Secondary HIV Prevention in MSM, WSW and TG people Percentage of Women and Men Aged 15–49 Who Were Tested for HIV during the Past 12 Months and Who Know Their Result (UNGASS Indicator No. 7) In 2014, the survey of the general population was undertaken (except the Crimea and those parts of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts not controlled by Ukraine)53. The survey data indicate that 14% of women and men aged 15 to 49 who were tested for HIV during the past 12 months and know their results (15% of women and 13% of men).

52 HIV Infection in Ukraine. Information Bulletin No. 45 / SE Ukrainian Centre for Control over Socially Dangerous Diseases of MoH of Ukraine, SE Hromashevsky Institute of Epidemiology and Contagious Diseases of the National Academy of Medical Sciences. — Kyiv, 2016 (not published at the time writing). 53 Survey conducted by GfK Ukraine and commissioned by the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ). Country Context Analysis of LGBT People Situation in Ukraine 40 Percentage of MSM People Who Were Tested for HIV during the Past 12 Months and Who Know Their Result (UNGASS Indicator No. 8) According to the 2015/2016 BBS results, 55% of GB persons and 62% of trans men interviewed during the survey were tested for HIV during the past 12 months and know their result. Percentage of MSM People Who Were Tested for STD during the Past 12 Months and Who Know Their Result According to the 2015/2016 BBS results, 66% of MSM persons interviewed during the survey had a medical examination or were tested at the medical facilities. During the past 12 months, less than a third of MSM people were tested for syphilis (27%), 14% and 14% for hepatitis В and С, and only 8% for gonorrhoea. Percentage of WSW People Who Were Tested for HIV during the Past 12 Months and Who Know Their Result No survey has been conducted among WSW persons specifically. Percentage of WSW People Who Were Tested for STD during the Past 12 Months and Who Know Their Result No survey has been conducted among WSW persons specifically. Percentage of Transgender People Who Were Tested for HIV during the Past 12 Months and Who Know Their Result According to the 2015/2016 BBS results, 57% of the interviewed transgender people (64 persons) were tested for HIV during the past 12 months and received their test result. Percentage of Transgender People Who Were Tested for STD and Hepatitis during the Past 12 Months and Who Know Their Result According to the 2015/2016 BBS results, 35% of the interviewed transgender people (40 persons) during the past 12 months were tested for syphilis; 10% (11 persons) for Chlamydia infections and gonorrhoea; 18% (20 persons) for hepatitis В; and 19% (21 persons) for hepatitis С. 18.6.3. Tertiary HIV Prevention / Treatment in MSM, WSW and TG People Estimated Number of People Who Receive ART As of 1 January 2016, 60,753 people living with HIV receive antiretroviral therapy, including 2,761 children (under 18 years of age). Ensuring that antiretroviral therapy is provided to all who need it is a priority task for the state in order to provide efficient response to HIV. Medicines purchased through the state budget are provided to 39,797 adults living with HIV and 2,761 children. However, prescribing and providing ART to all people who have been diagnosed with HIV regardless of CD4 levels in line with the international recommendations is a distant objective that is still to be achieved. In the beginning of 2016, 4,438 people living with HIV with low CD4 levels were not receiving antiretroviral medicines54. Percentage of HIV-Positive MSM, WSW and TG People Who Receive ART According to the 2015/2016 BBS results, 28% of HIV-positive MSM receive ART. Nine percent of HIV-positive MSM have been prescribed ART but the treatment has not started yet; and 1% of MSM stopped taking antiretroviral medicines for various reasons. None of the interviewed transgender persons have received ART at the time of survey. Percentage of MSM, WSW and TG People Who Have Fast Progressing HIV and Who Receive ART No data. Willingness to Receive ART among PLHIV The level of willingness to receive ART among PLHIV in Ukraine is estimated using the cohort analysis capturing the period from August 2004 to December 2013. The results of this analysis indicate that after 12 months of receiving treatment:  84.5% of persons in cohorts who started ART treatment continued receiving it;  7.5% of persons died within a year since the start of treatment;  8.0% of persons stopped receiving ART, mainly for non-medical reasons.

54 Official statistics of the SE Ukrainian Centre for Control over Socially Dangerous Diseases of MoH of Ukraine as 1 January 2016. Available at: http://ucdc.gov.ua/uploads/documents/85ec49/f0a9c5448559b8064ffd8ac9a97ff2ce.pdf. Country Context Analysis of LGBT People Situation in Ukraine 41 Willingness to Receive ART among MSM, WSW and Transgender People Though this aspect has not been analysed, our experience suggests that MSM persons who treat their HIV infection using ART typically demonstrate a relatively high level of willingness to receive it. 18.6.4. LGBT Awareness of HIV Prevention Options and Safe Behaviour Strategies Percentage of Men Reporting the Use of a Condom the Last Time They Had Anal sex with a Male Partner (UNGASS Indicator No. 19) According to the 2015/2016 BBS results, 70.9% of the interviewed men. Percentage of MSM Who Both Correctly Identify Ways of Preventing Sexual Transmission of HIV and Who Reject Major Misconceptions about HIV Transmission (UNGASS Indicator No. 14) According to the 2015/2016 BBS results, 70.9% of the interviewed. Percentage of WSW Who Both Correctly Identify Ways of Preventing Sexual Transmission of HIV and Who Reject Major Misconceptions about HIV Transmission No data. Percentage of Transgender People Who Both Correctly Identify Ways of Preventing Sexual Transmission of HIV and Who Reject Major Misconceptions about HIV Transmission According to the 2015/2016 BBS results, 70 (62%) of 113 transgender persons interviewed correctly identify ways for preventing sexual transmission of HIV, as compared with 59% in MSM population. 18.7. Some HIV Risk Factors 18.7.1. Percentage of Reported Multiple Sexual Partnerships among MSM, WSW and Transgender People Percentage of Reported Multiple Sexual Partnerships among Transgender People Among the total number of transgender persons interviewed during the 2015/2016 BBS, 65 persons (or 58%) reported having a permanent sexual partner during the past 6 months. The same percentage is reported for the total number of all MSM persons interviewed. On the average, the level of permanent sexual partnerships among TG and MSM people is 1.75 and 1.8, respectively. Forty-one TG persons (63%) reported to be aware of HIV status of their permanent partners, which is negative in all cases. As regards the total number of the interviewed during the survey, the percentage of those who are aware of HIV status of their permanent sexual partners is much higher (72%). In addition, 40 TG persons (35%) reported having group sex encounters during the past 6 months, including 35 persons reported having male only group sex and 5 had group sex with both male and female participants. For comparison, 26% of MSM persons reported having group sex encounters and, unlike the transgender persons, MSM persons tend to have mixed group sex more often. Of transgender respondents reported taking part in group sex, 66% were not aware of HIV status of their group sex partners. Only 5% were aware of the negative HIV status of all partners, with 25% being aware of the negative HIV status of some partners. At the same time, 92% of TG persons who had group sex encounters reported using condom. As regards the total number of the survey respondents, the percentage of those who are not aware of HIV status of their partners is somewhat lower (58%) and so is the percentage of people reported to use condom during group sex (82%). 18.8. Availability and accessibility of Healthcare Services for LGBT 18.8.1. Sensitivity of Healthcare Professionals and Staff to Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity According to the results of the Public Survey Examining the Public Attitudes to LGBT and Ways to Improve Them conducted by the Centre of Social Expertise55, virtually half of the interviewed healthcare professionals characterized their attitude and that of healthcare staff to MSM as being rather negative. Three fourths of the interviewed healthcare staff indicated that their attitudes toward MSM and those of other healthcare professionals changed little or none during the past five years. The survey results also indicate that 58% of MSM people inform that they have sex with male partners during the Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) and 60% of them claim that this fact has not had any influence on the healthcare staff attitude which remained neutral and formal.

55 http://upogau.org/netcat_files/192/224/h_b922b7f45346af6ed06dccc645f0550a. Country Context Analysis of LGBT People Situation in Ukraine 42 18.8.2. Level of Knowledge on LGBT Health Issues among Healthcare Professionals No data. 18.8.3. Level of Satisfaction with Healthcare Services among LGBT People No data. 18.8.4. How Much Do LGBT People Care about Their Health and Why LGBT People Avoid or Delay Getting the Healthcare Services No special surveys have been conducted in Ukraine to understand how much do LGBT people care about their health. Some assumptions can be drawn from the 2015/2016 MSM Bio-Behavioural Results suggesting that the interviewed do care about their health. An important evidence supporting this assumption is that they want to know their HIV status and that of their partner(s). The survey results indicate that 90% of respondents want to know the HIV status of their sexual partners and want them to know the HIV status of their own. The authors of this Situation Analysis are not aware of any studies examining and describing facts and causes of why LGBT people delay getting healthcare services though it is known that homosexual and transgender people often see their sexual orientation and gender identity as barriers to getting medical help. 18.8.5. Availability and Accessibility of Psychological Support and Counselling for LGBT It is difficult to assess the availability and accessibility of psychological support and counselling for LGBT in Ukraine because this data is not available specifically for LGBT. However, providing psychological support to MSM is a basic component of MSM-servicing projects in Ukraine funded by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, as well as other projects providing services to MSM people. Many LGBT and MSM organisations in Ukraine have full-time psychologists to help LGBT people. The LIGA LGBT Association has developed and maintained a network of professionals providing or intending to provide psychological counselling services to LGBT people. Providing proper psychological counselling services to LGBT people, their partners and their close friends/relatives is an essential component of caring about psychological (mental) health of LGBT people which plays a decisive role in shaping the attitude of LGBT people themselves to their own somatic (bodily) health. 18.8.6. Availability and Accessibility of Mainstream Healthcare Services for LGBT People Generally, the mainstream healthcare services are equally accessible for general public and LGBT people. The following factors, however, are considered to impede access to some extent: 1. A person may actually live at an address which is different from his/her address of registration. 2. Lack of time to take care of one’s own health, especially among people who have to sustain themselves because work takes its time while visiting healthcare facilities is a very time consuming and bureaucratized process. 3. Backwardness, imperfection of health care system in Ukraine, in particular, its lack of awareness and excessive bureaucracy. 4. High cost of some essential medical services, for example, surgery, magnetic resonance tomography etc. 18.8.7. Availability and Accessibility of Specialised Healthcare Services for LGBT The monitoring data collected by the International Charitable Foundation “International HIV/AIDS Alliance in Ukraine” (now the International Charitable Foundation “Alliance for Public Health”), 18 NGOs provided services to MSM people in 2013 using funding provided by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The minimum HIV prevention package (information materials, condoms, and VCT) was provided to 21,988 MSM people, which is about 12.5% of the estimated number of MSM people (175,750)56. This data also indicates that during the same year NGOs provided HIV testing for 8,030 MSM people, or 4.57% of the total estimated MSM population in Ukraine, though the 2013 Bio-Behavioural Survey conducted among MSM people indicate that 38% were tested for HIV and 44% received preventive treatment. In 2014, the Tochka Opory (Fulcrum Point) All-Ukrainian Charitable LGBT Organisation launched the Friendly Doctor Network Project which brought together medical professionals who knew well the specifics of health issues faced by LGBT people. The Friendly Doctor Network included both anonymous counselling and testing stations established by the Tochka Opory Organisation in cooperation with Elton John AIDS Foundations and private medical practitioners providing healthcare services to LGBT people on a commercial basis. Those who wanted to receive healthcare services free of charge in the Friendly Doctor Network were able to make appointment online. The Project’s healthcare services provided free of charge included HIV testing and specialist consultations (dermatological/venereal disease doctor, urologist, GP, psychologist, and family

56 http://www.aidsalliance.org.ua/ru/library/our/monitoring/pdf/indd.pdf. Country Context Analysis of LGBT People Situation in Ukraine 43 counsellor). The first chain of the Friendly Doctor stations was launched in Kyiv and then in 2013-2014 expanded to include stations in nine regions of Ukraine (Dnipropetrovsk, Lviv, Odesa, Poltava, Kharkiv, Kherson and Chernihiv). This year the Friendly Doctor Project is due to complete. The lesbian-friendly healthcare services are available in Zaporizhia. 18.8.8. Availability and Accessibility of Hormones and Sex Reassignment Surgery for Transgender People57 All medical procedures and services (tests, hospital treatment, counselling etc.) and the treatment process in the state and municipal healthcare clinics are formally declared to be provided free of charge. In reality, transgender people have to pay for hormones (and all other medicines). They also typically pay themselves for their sex reassignment surgery. Hormone Therapy The lack of endocrinologists who are knowledgeable in replacement hormone therapy is considered to be a very pressing issue in Kyiv and all other regions of Ukraine. There is a lack of awareness and/or experience/practice among healthcare specialists on specific aspects of providing healthcare services to transgender people. In some cases, transgender people encountered cruel and painful treatment simply due to the lack of information or incorrect interpretation of hormone test results. Hormones are generally affordable for the majority of respondents who buy them at pharmacies or via the Internet. On those rare occasions when pharmacy staff ask for prescription, a transgender person simply goes to another pharmacy. At the same time, it is important to note that trans women reported difficulties encountered by them when buying hormones because they were requested to provide prescription. Some trans women emphasize poor quality of hormones available in pharmacies and complained that some medicines are obsolete (they are no longer used or banned in other countries) and could be harmful. No complaints regarding the accessibility of hormones have been expressed by trans men. Another aspect of hormone therapy is affordability. Transgender people often experience financial difficulties and cannot afford buying hormones. This can be illustrated by the fact that some trans women specify financial problems as a decisive factor influencing their ability to maintain regular hormone medication schedule or causing interruptions in the hormone treatment course. Sex Reassignment Surgery Even those transgender people who have jobs complain that they cannot accumulate a sum required to pay for sex reassignment surgery. Regardless of the amount of surgery required in each specific case, transgender respondents emphasize financial difficulties as being a key obstacle to receiving required treatment. Only two of 20 participants who planned for surgery chose to have it in Ukraine (both planned to have surgery in Odesa). The remaining 18 respondents said that they would try to find more affordable options in Thailand (trans women), Russia (trans women), (trans women and trans men) and (trans men). The lack of qualified surgeons and, consequently, poor quality of surgery are indicated as a key obstacle that forces many transgender to seek suitable options abroad. The cost of surgery is often a key issue that makes people chose an option which is affordable in the first turn. The lack of qualified endocrinologists and surgeons undermines the quality of healthcare services transgender people are able to receive in Ukraine. This is exacerbated even further by financial problems that impede access to healthcare services. 18.8.9. Percentage of LGBT People Who Know Where to Receive Healthcare Services Specifically Designed for Them The LGBT-targeted healthcare service infrastructure is not stable and changes depending upon the duration and scope of relevant projects, availability of (international) donor funding and other circumstances. Therefore, no surveys have been conducted to examine whether LGBT people are aware of where they can receive services that are specially designed for them. That said, those MSM people who live in the cities where MSM servicing projects are implemented typically know the details of services provided as part of these projects including healthcare services (e.g. testing for STD).

57 The section draws on the publication titled Reporting Discrimination against Transgender People in Healthcare Sector in Ukraine: Sex Reassignment Procedure and Access to Healthcare Services. — Insight NGO, 2015. Country Context Analysis of LGBT People Situation in Ukraine 44 18.9. National Policy on Responding to HIV/AIDS and Financing Relevant Programmes 18.9.1. National Policy on Responding to HIV Epidemic Role of MSM, WSW and Transgender People as Most-at-Risk Groups in the Context of Responding to HIV in Ukraine MSM population is one of the most-at-risk groups for HIV in Ukraine. The men who have sex with men have been identified as one of at-risk groups in the ongoing seventh 2014- 2018 State Target Social Programme to Respond to HIV / AIDS approved by the Law of Ukraine of 20 October 2014 No. 1708-VII and in the Plan of Actions for Implementing It which forms an attachment to the Programme (MSM people are specifically addressed in Action 8 under Task 11). WSW and transgender people have never been mentioned as being most-at-risk for HIV in the official documents adopted in Ukraine. The issue of classifying WSW and transgender populations as key or most-at-risk groups in the context of responding to HIV in Ukraine was raised before the Ministry of Health of Ukraine by the Council of Ukraine’s LGBT Organisations in their request of 13 September 2012 No. 01-09/12-LGBT. This appropriately justified request has never been replied to by the Ministry. Since then, the issue of including WSW and transgender people into the list of groups being at risk for HIV has been raised and discussed many times at various specialized events organized by the UN organisations and state authorities. The authors of this report believe that relevant authorities and officials would be willing to consider classifying WSW and transgender populations as most-at-groups for HIV provided that there is factual evidence indicating that these groups meet at least one of the following criteria: (1) the HIV infection rates in either of these groups are significantly higher than the country average; (2) the risk of HIV infection is significantly higher for the members of these groups as compared to the general public due to their sexual behaviours and/or other related factors (e.g. providing sex services on a commercial basis, taking psychoactive drugs stimulating sexual activities etc.). 18.9.2. State Strategy of Responding to HIV among MSM Population The ongoing seventh 2014-2018 State Target Social Programme to Respond to HIV / AIDS states that: […] an optimal option [for responding to HIV in Ukraine as part of the healthcare sector reform] involves establishing a system providing high-quality and affordable HIV prevention and testing services on a continuous basis to those people and groups that are most at risk for HIV; and treatment, care and support services to people living with HIV by: Optimizing the healthcare and social service system, providing proper professional training to various specialists (family doctors, specialists and staff involved in the provision of services to the members of most-at-risk groups and their partners, as well as people living with HIV); […] Improving the efficiency of HIV prevention strategies for the members of most-at-risk groups to reduce HIV infection rates; […] Engaging non-governmental organisations in providing prevention, treatment, care and support to most-at-risk groups and people living with HIV; […] The implementation of the Programme will ensure […] greater tolerance among the mainstream population […] towards those who are considered to be at-risk for HIV and reduce discrimination against them by 50 percent. The following specific activities have been identified for MSM people: Ensuring that men who have sex with men have access to comprehensive HIV prevention services recommended by the World Health Organisation and Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) using best international practices and based on a network of non-governmental organisations, mobile stations, outpatient clinics, pharmacies etc. In the ongoing State Programme, MSM-specific HIV prevention activities are not considered as being at the top of the country’s agenda for HIV response. The only activity explicitly identified as a priority refers to ensuring that people living with HIV and members of their close circle receive required treatment, care and support. 18.9.3. Available Funding for MSM Specific Activities under the Ongoing State Target Social Program to Respond to HIV / AIDS The budget allocated for financing MSM-specific HIV prevention activities under the 2014-2018 State Target Social Programme to Respond to HIV / AIDS includes UAH 45,352,870 provided by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and UAH 21,065,720 to be released through local budgets; UAH 66,418,590 Country Context Analysis of LGBT People Situation in Ukraine 45 in total or USD 2,660,076 or EUR 2,360,735 based on the official National Bank of Ukraine exchange rate as of 14 June 2016. 18.9.4. MSM Representation in Official Structures Formulating Response to HIV in Ukraine The HIV Response National Coordination Mechanism’s policy on engaging LGBT/MSM is described in Section 4.1.5. The LGBT/MSM engagement in the formulation of HIV response policies at the local level is detailed in Section 4.2.2. The representatives of LGBT/MSM community were involved in the conceptual and detailed formulation of funding applications submitted by the Government of Ukraine under the AIDS Component of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. It should be however noted that not all proposals formulated by MSM/LGBT representatives were accepted and that people lobbying other activity areas tended (and often succeeded) to cut amounts applied for under the MSM component and redistribute funds in favour of other activity areas. The representatives of LGBT/MSM community also took part in the development of the ongoing 2014-2018 State Target Social Programme to Respond to HIV / AIDS and provided a large number of useful proposals focused on MSM for the HIV prevention component for MSM. However, the final version of the Programme Implementation Plan includes only one MSM-specific activity (which is referred in the previous section) without any details on how prevention would be organized. Other stakeholders involved in the formulation of HIV response policy for MSM and transgender people in Ukraine include various UN organisations (UNAIDS, UNDP and UN Population Fund). MSM-specific interventions have been included in the previous and ongoing state programmes to respond to HIV in Ukraine, partly funded by GFATM, in the form of specific HIV prevention actions included in the attachments to these programmes. No specific interventions for WSW and transgender people have been included in the previous and ongoing programmes. The International Charitable Foundation “International HIV/AIDS Alliance in Ukraine” (currently known as the International Charitable Foundation “International Public Health Alliance”) has traditionally been the main recipient of GFATM funds provided to finance MSM-specific HIV prevention programmes. The Foundation has further distributed funds among sub-recipients by conducting open competitive tenders for local non- governmental or charitable organisations. Estimates indicate that about 30 sub-recipients from various regions of the country have received GFATM grants to implement HIV prevention programmes throughout the entire term of GFATM operation in Ukraine. As of 2016, on implementation of special programs aimed at MSM, the Global Fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, funded 23 non-governmental organizations in 20 of the 27 administrative-territories of Ukraine, namely — Crimea (Simferopol), Sevastopol, Kiev and 17 regions: Vinnytsia (Vinnytsya city), Volynska (Lutsk), Dnipropetrovsk (Dnipro and Kryvyi Rih cities), Donetsk (Mariupol city), Zhytomyr (Novohrad-Volyns'kyi city), Zaporizhia (Zaporizhia city), Kirovohrad (Kropyvnytskyi city), Lviv (Lviv city), Mykolayiv (Mykolaiv city), Odesa (Odesa city), Rivne (Rivne city), Sumy (Sumy city), Ternopil (Ternopil city), Kharkiv (Kharkiv city), Kherson (Kherson city), Cherkasy (Cherkasy city) and Chernivtsi (Chernovtsi city). While in Kiev, Ternopil, Dnipropetrovsk regions and AR Crimea two non-governmental organizations were involved to implement programs among MSM. The range of services available to MSM within the framework of prevention projects for the Global Fund resources are often different, but the standard package includes: HIV testing and STI with rapid tests, conducting self-help groups and information sessions, consultation of social workers, dissemination of informational-educational materials. In addition to this list, some cities with long-standing prevention programs for MSM have also added counseling, sports, information and entertainment events, legal advice, health professionals, referral and social support. A wide range of services are provided by the following organizations: Charitable organization "Charitable society "All-Ukrainian Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS" Kryvyi Rih", the public organization "LGBT Association "LIGA" (Mykolayiv); Zaporizhia regional charitable Foundation "Gender Zed" (Zaporizhia); public organization "Gay-Alliance" (Kyiv); Kherson regional charitable Foundation "Mangust" (Kherson); and Cherkasy regional branch of all-Ukrainian charitable organization "All-Ukrainian Network of PLWH" (Cherkasy).

New Country Operational Plan (COP) for 2016 outlines new priority tasks to be addressed through PERFAR funded projects in Ukraine. Key strategic goals identified by PEPFAR include introducing innovation at all stages of the clinical cascade to increase initiation and effectiveness of treatment and catalysing reforms in treatment guidelines, service delivery models and protocols, and critical health service systems to support sustainable operations. Country Context Analysis of LGBT People Situation in Ukraine 46 As regards MSM population, the RESPOND Project funded by PEPFAR launched an initiative in Kyiv and Odesa aiming to increase detection of HIV-positive MSM people and ensure that they receive the same range of services as people living with HIV. As part of the Fast Track Initiative launched by Kyiv City Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko, PEPFAR is prepared to contribute to achieving the specified objective of ensuring that all HIV positive PWID and MSM receive ART medicines. 18.10. Domestic and International HIV Spending by Category and Financing Source (UNGASS Indicator No. 1) In 2013, the total domestic HIV spending in Ukraine was UAH 880,296,584 or USD 110,133,440 (USD to UAH exchange rate of 1 to 7.993). In 2014, the amount of spending increased significantly in the national currency () due to Hryvnia devaluation relative to US dollar, to reach UAH 1,013,182,835 or USD 85,236,679 (USD to UAH exchange rate of 1 to 11.887)58. The analysis of spending by funding source shows Ukraine’s serious reliance on international funding and non-governmental financial sources for financing its HIV response programmes, which accounted for 55% and 63% of the total spending in 2013 and 2014, respectively. The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has been and is the major international source of funding to provide 43.83% in 2013 and 42.64% in 2014 to the total HIV/AIDS budget. The US Government contribution also increased significantly from 5% in 2013 to 12% in 2014. Other significant contributors to MSM-specific HIV programmes are COC Nederland (Dutch organization for LGBT men and women) that mainly operates through the LIGA LGBT Association. General budget of 2011- 2015 was 681,137.53 euro. The analysis of spending by activity area indicates that the major proportion of funding is used to finance the cost of treatment (42.6% of the total budget in 2013 and 39.7% in 2014)59. 18.11. Spending for MSM-Specific HIV Prevention Programmes The 2014 spending for MSM specific HIV prevention programmes was UAH 2,823,378 as compared to UAH 5,660,921 in 2013. 18.12. Percentage of the National Healthcare Spending Used to Finance LGBT Specific Services Special health services for LGBT are not funded from the budget.

Section 19. Recommendations

Recommendations which are formulated below directed to the different categories of subjects - authorities of the LGBT movement, international governmental and non-governmental organizations, based on logic of further support of human rights for LGBT people and forming an effective response to HIV in Ukraine.

19.1. To Governmental Bodies

1. Implement, in close cooperation with LGBT organizations in Ukraine, all activities, including LGBT component, provided in the Action Plan for the implementation of the National Strategy on human rights for the period till 2020, in particular: a. accepting and considering existing departmental normative and legal acts on the protection of peaceful assembly in accordance with modern international standards in the field of freedom of peaceful assembly and with the specific of controversial public events particularly those which are carried out in support of LGBT; b. developing and adoption changes to the Law of Ukraine “On Principles of Prevention and Combating to Discrimination in Ukraine” for bringing it into conformity with the provisions of EU law acts. In particular, in the part of the grounds which prohibiting discrimination, including the prohibition of discrimination on the ground of sexual orientation and gender identity. Also expanding the list of the discrimination (victimization), settlement of the multiple discrimination prohibition and discrimination by association, clarifying the scope of the law;

58 Apart from Crimea, Luhansk and Donetsk Oblasts. 59 Ukraine Harmonized AIDS Response Report (reporting period: January to December 2015, Indicator 6.1). Country Context Analysis of LGBT People Situation in Ukraine 47 c. developing and adoption a law on amendments to the Criminal Code of Ukraine to ensure punishment for crimes committed on the grounds of intolerance on such attributes as: race, skin color religious beliefs, sexual orientation, gender identity / transsexual, disability, language - changes to paragraph 3 of Article 67, second paragraph of Article 115 "Murder", 121 "Intentional serious bodily injury" 122 "Intentional moderate bodily injury" 126 "Beating and torture" 127 "Torture" 129 "Threats of murder," Article 293 "Group violations of public order"; d. developing and adoption a bill to legalize in Ukraine registered civil partnerships for opposite-sex and same-sex couples considering economic and moral rights, in particular ownership and inheritance of property, keeping of one partner by other in the event of disability, constitutional right not to testify against his partner, etc; e. making changes to the Ministry of Health of Ukraine Order of 20 August 2008, number 47960 to remove discriminatory restrictions on adoption of children, including HIV-positive people, people with disabilities and transgender people; f. developing a procedure for the replacement of official documents for persons who established clinical diagnosis of "transsexuality" or are under treatment of gender dysphoria, in order to change the documentary itemizing and prepare proposals for appropriate amendments to other legal acts; g. making changes to the Ministry of Health of Ukraine Order dated 3 February 2011, number 60 "On improvement of medical assistance for persons who need of change (correction) sexual belonging"61 and to the Section 2 of the Amendments Rules to the record of civil status, their updating and cancellation, approved by the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine on January 12, 2011, Order № 96/562 to ensure of providing services on the non-discrimination platform for transgender people; h. amending the List of diseases, contraindications to organ donation and forms of risky behavior - Annex 3 to the Procedure for medical examination donors of blood and/or its components approved by the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, Order dated August 1, 2005 r. number 385 "About infectious safety of donor blood and its components"63, remove Paragraph 1.3 "Forms of risky behavior," which include, in particular "homosexual relations". 2. Upon further examination and improvement of the draft (p. N. 1658) adopted in first reading, complement its anti-discrimination rules prohibiting gender discrimination SOGI, considering also other amendments to the bill, developed by the Council of LGBT organizations in Ukraine. 3. Continue involving representatives of LGBT organizations to the working groups, the purpose of which is working on legislative proposals and / or policies affecting the LGBT community. 4. The National Police - undoubtedly providing freedom of assembly to LGBT by preventing social conflicts, aggression and bullying against LGBT community and its supporters. 5. With further approval the draft of new Constitution of Ukraine include to the text such wording which would not have run into obstacles in the way of full support and expansion of human rights for LGBT people in view of the latest global trends, including: a. introducing the fundamental prohibition of discrimination in Ukraine on an open list of characteristics that would understood as being implicitly contains features SOGI to the new Constitution of Ukraine; b. saving a formula of marriage without reference to the sex of the persons who enter into it in the draft of Constitution; c. providing of other forms partner family relationships than marriage in the draft of Constitution.

60 http://zakon1.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/z1022-08. 61 http://zakon4.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/z0239-11. 62 http://zakon4.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/z0055-11. 63 http://zakon2.rada.gov.ua/rada/show/z0896-05. Country Context Analysis of LGBT People Situation in Ukraine 48 6. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine: a. Develop legislative propositions for recognizing in Ukraine marriages, civil unions and other forms family relations between persons of the same sex, lawfully entered into in other jurisdictions - both for persons with Ukrainian citizenship, and to persons with foreign citizenship or stateless; b. Monitor the ratification by Ukraine of international or regional conventions, treaties and other multilateral instruments in combating discrimination, and to submit relevant proposals to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine to make the necessary bills to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine; c. to take into account the Yogyakarta principles 64 using of international law on human rights regarding sexual orientation and gender identity when formulating Ukraine's position on human rights at the international level; d. translate carefully into official language key decisions of the UN and some UN agencies, all resolutions and recommendations of the Council of Europe, the key EU documents and other intergovernmental organizations on human rights. 7. To the Ministry of Health of Ukraine – recognize transgender people as individual key group ("risk group") in response to the spread of HIV in Ukraine according to international guidelines and approaches to admit. 8. To the National Police of Ukraine - to properly investigate crimes committed against LGBT people on the grounds of homophobia and transphobia; to the courts - to make judgments in cases involving such crimes considering hate as an aggravating circumstance. 9. To courts – to consider the motive of hatred as an aggravating circumstance in determining the punishment for crimes committed on the grounds of homophobia or transphobia. 10. To local authorities - to respect LGBT unconditional right to freedom of peaceful assembly, avoiding unjustified attempts to limit this right by filing appeals to the court to prohibit the action.

19.2. Entities of Ukrainian LGBT Movement

11. Continue the work which positively recommended itself of constant adding and updating fundamental internal document of LGBT movement in advocacy area – the National Strategy on human rights for the period till 2020. 12. Regularly inform international organizations about key achievements and problems in area of human rights and freedoms for LGBT, in particular institutions and other entities of UN system. 13. Increase informational and analytical support for advocacy work. 14. Articulate advocacy agenda more accurately during holding public LGBT actions, in particular International LGBT Forums “KyivPride”, Equality Festivals, OdesaPride projects etc. 15. Cooperate proactively with governmental bodies on the rights of civil society organizations for maximum involvement into the process of regulations and policies development. 16. Continue systematic cooperation with media for public informational assistance of advocacy action on promoting human rights and freedoms of LGBT people in Ukraine; make up a PR strategy for unifying messages, keynotes, arguments, approaches and other influential levers on public opinion. 17. Continue working on expanding circle of political allies basing on positive achievements of recent years. 18. Demonstrate enough unity and consolidation for the outer world in the most relevant questions within the All-Ukrainian Council of LGBT Organizations, which recommended itself as the leading entity of advocacy work, and, in case if this is impossible, seek new formal ways demonstrating of consolidated position.

19.3. International Governmental and Non-Governmental Organizations

19. Provide as before political, financial and technical support of LGBT movement’s entities in advocating human rights and freedoms of LGBT people in Ukraine, in particular, via developing regulations, holding public LGBT actions aimed at advocacy etc.

64 Follow http://www.yogyakartaprinciples.org/principles_ru.htm. Country Context Analysis of LGBT People Situation in Ukraine 49 20. Envisage some funding in your expenses structure for needs in advocacy of human rights and freedoms of LGBT people in Ukraine. 21. Have a continuous dialogue on ensuring human rights and freedoms of LGBT people in Ukraine with Ukrainian governmental bodies of Ukraine regularly. 22. Participate in key LGBT events in Ukraine via your representatives.

Country Context Analysis of LGBT People Situation in Ukraine 50 APPENDIX 1.

LGBT component of the Action Plan on implementation the National Strategy on human rights for the period until 2020

Source: the Action Plan on implementation the National Strategy on human rights for the period until 2020, approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on 23 November, 2015, No 1393-p65

Expected Result (as per the Action Designed to Achieve the Expected Result Success Indicator Timeframe Responsibility National Strategy)

[Package 7.] Ensure the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association Ensure that people are able to exercise their right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association

39. Exclude unreasonable and 5) Adopt new and revise existing regulations pertaining to A relevant regulation submitted to the Q3 2016 MIA disproportionate restrictions the protection of public order during the peaceful assembly Cabinet of Ministers for review MES affecting the freedom of peaceful in line with the relevant international standards so that to ME66 assembly take account of the specifics of controversial public events SSU (upon consent) including those held by LGBT community EU Advisory Mission Ukraine (upon consent) Non-governmental organisations (upon consent)

[Package 9.] Ensure the right to employment and social protection Create opportunities for maintaining adequate standard of living and social protection

51. Ensure the right to work and join 1) Consider ratifying the ILO Convention No. 88 concerning A proposal on ratifying the Q2 2016 Ministry of Social Policy the trade unions the organization of the employment service and ILO Conventions submitted to the Cabinet of Ukraine Convention No. 181 concerning the private employment of Ministers of Ukraine agencies and submit relevant proposals [this document directly bans discrimination based on sexual orientation]

[Package 11.] Ensure the right to health care Ensure equal access to high quality medical aid, disease prevention, early diagnosis and efficient treatment

64. Ensure equal access to high 2) Develop and approve the Procedure for providing A work group comprising national and 2018 MoH quality medical aid and social medical aid to persons requiring sex reassignment international specialists established to

65 Cabinet of Ministers’ Order: http://www.kmu.gov.ua/control/uk/cardnpd?docid=248740679. 66 Disbanded and replaced with the State Emergency Service of Ukraine (SES). Country Context Analysis of LGBT People Situation in Ukraine 51

Expected Result (as per the Action Designed to Achieve the Expected Result Success Indicator Timeframe Responsibility National Strategy)

service to drug-addicted persons, surgery, to clearly define medical and legal aspects and monitor the situation in the country people living with HIV, ensure that the sex reassignment procedure is in line with and review/draw on relevant tuberculosis and other socially the recommendations of the Council of Europe and UN international practical experience; transmitted diseases Human Rights Committee Monitoring conducted as required Draft Procedure for providing medical aid to persons requiring sex reassignment surgery developed and submitted for approval Ministry of Health Order of 3 February 2011 No. 60 on Ensuring Enhanced Medical Aid to Persons Requiring Sex Reassignment Surgery abolished

[Package 18.] Prevent and Counteract Discrimination Establish an efficient system to prevent and counteract discrimination

105. Ensure that a comprehensive 1) Develop and submit to the Cabinet of Ministers the draft The draft law submitted to the Cabinet Q1 2016 Ministry of Justice and consistent legislative law on amending the Law of Ukraine on the Principles for of Ministers for review Ministry of Social Policy framework is in place to prevent Preventing and Combating Discrimination in Ukraine to Verkhvona Rada and counteract discrimination, bring the list of prohibited grounds for discrimination in line Commissioner on Human implement relevant and timely with the EU legislation and include sexual orientation and Rights (upon consent) positive interventions at the gender identity in this list, expand the list of forms of Verkhovna Rada national and local level to prevent discrimination (to include victimization), address and ban Committee on Human and counteract discrimination, multiple discrimination and discrimination based on Rights (upon consent) ensure effective and timely association, clarify the law’s scope of application; response by the state to new Amend provisions pertaining to special legal actions that challenges cannot be considered discriminatory (exclusions)

3) Develop and submit to the Cabinet of Ministers the draft The draft law submitted to the Cabinet Q2 2016 MIA law amending the Criminal Code of Ukraine to remove the of Ministers for review Ministry of Justice provision regarding criminal responsibility for discrimination MoH (direct or indirect restriction of rights or direct or indirect Ministry of Social Policy grant of privileges based on certain grounds) and amend Verkhvona Rada appropriately the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Commissioner on Human Offences and Civil Code of Ukraine to specify a system of Rights (upon consent) penalties, remedies etc.; Verkhovna Rada Ensure that hate crimes based on race, skin colour, religion, Committee on Human sexual orientation, trans-sexuality, disabilities, language Rights (upon consent) are prosecuted and convicted (amending Clause 3 of Article 67, Part 2 of Articles 115 [“Wilful Homicide”], 121 [“Wilfully Causing Severe Body Injury”], 122 [“Wilfully Causing Moderate Body Injury”], 126 [“Blows Causing Injuries”], 127 Country Context Analysis of LGBT People Situation in Ukraine 52

Expected Result (as per the Action Designed to Achieve the Expected Result Success Indicator Timeframe Responsibility National Strategy)

[“Torture”], 129 [“Homicidal Threats”], and Article 293 [“Public Order Offence by a Group of Persons”]); Decriminalize HIV and other contagious diseases (Articles 130 and 133 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) and remove them from the Criminal Code provisions specifying other forms of health damage; Ensure consistency of terms and definitions used in the Criminal Code of Ukraine to characterize various forms and signs of intolerance; Unify terminology used to describe intolerance

6) Develop and submit to the Cabinet of Ministers of The draft law submitted to the Cabinet Q2 2017 Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine the draft Law on Legalizing Registered Civil of Ministers for review Ukraine Partnership for opposite-sex and same-sex couples to Other stakeholder parties detail all property and non-property rights including the right in the state governance to own, possess and inherit property, either partner’s system responsibility to support another one who loses the ability to work, constitutional right not to be a witness against the partner

7) Amend the MoH Order of 20 August 2008 No. 479 to end MoH Order of 20 August 2008 No. 479 Q4 2016 MoH discriminatory ban on child adoption by HIV-positive amended Ministry of Social Policy persons, people with disabilities and transgender persons

8) Establish a work group comprising international Work group established Q1 2016 MoH specialists to draft the Procedure for changing personal MIA documents to persons diagnosed with trans-sexuality Insight NGO (upon and formulate proposals on amending appropriately other consent) regulations

9) Draft the Procedure for changing personal documents Relevant regulations adopted Q2 2016 MoH to persons diagnosed with trans-sexuality and formulate MIA proposals on amending appropriately other regulations; Ministry of Justice Formulate proposals on amending the MoH Order of 3 Insight NGO (upon February 2011 No. 60 “On Ensuring Enhanced Medical consent) Aid to Persons Requiring Sex Reassignment Surgery” and Section 2 of the Rules for Correcting, Altering, Updating, and Nullifying Civil Registry Entries approved by the Ministry of Justice Order of 12 January 2011 No. 96/5

11) Amend/update the list of diseases and medical Amendments/revisions made as Q2 2016 MoH restrictions for blood donations and risk behaviour types, required Country Context Analysis of LGBT People Situation in Ukraine 53

Expected Result (as per the Action Designed to Achieve the Expected Result Success Indicator Timeframe Responsibility National Strategy)

Annex 3 to the Medical Examination Procedure for Blood Donors approved by the MoH Order of 1 August 2005 No. 385 “On Donated Blood Safety” to remove Clause 1.3 [“Risk Behaviour Forms” list which includes, inter alia, homosexual relations]

106. Implement the public 2) Develop and distribute among the police units and first Information posters distributed and Q2 2016 MIA awareness raising programme on medical stations information posters for hate crime victims placed in visible locations at the police MoH preventing and counteracting [including hate crimes based on homophobia and units and first medical aid stations General Prosecutor’s discrimination transphobia] Office of Ukraine (upon consent) Relevant NGO’s and international organisations (upon consent)

107. Ensure unimpeded access to 5) Develop, jointly with the international experts and civil Training course developed with the From Q1 MIA justice and right to effective society representatives, an antidiscrimination training involvement of international experts 2016 onward remedy against discrimination, course on preventing discrimination and ensuring that law and civil society representatives introduce and maintain the enforcement officers treat vulnerable groups without Specialised training received by 20% principle of non-discrimination and discrimination [including, obviously, LGBT] of law enforcement officers and 50% respect for diversity, take actions 6) Include a special antidiscrimination training course to the of prosecutors to overcome societal stereotypes training and skill development curricula for law enforcement underpinning discrimination officers

9) Develop and introduce social performance standards for Relevant standards developed and 2018 MES school psychologists and social care teachers dealing with approved Ministry for Youth and teenagers and young people representing migrants, Sports Affairs refugees, ethnic minorities, internally displaced persons and Other relevant executive LGBT and ensure that they receive required social authorities adaptation and psychological services

109. Ensure that hate crime 1) Develop and approve a protocol/guidance on how to file A relevant protocol/guidance Q3 2016 MIA offences committed on the basis and report a hate crime offence based on motive identified developed and approved Other relevant authorities of race, ethnic origin, religion etc. by a victim [including, inter alia, homophobia and NGOs (upon consent) are investigated and prosecuted transphobia] effectively

2) Develop and include in the law enforcement officer A relevant training course developed Q4 2016 MIA training and skill development curricula a specialized and included in the training curricula Other relevant authorities training course on the effective investigation and Verkhvona Rada prosecution of hate crime offences [including those based Commissioner on Human on homophobia and transphobia] Rights (upon consent) Country Context Analysis of LGBT People Situation in Ukraine 54

Expected Result (as per the Action Designed to Achieve the Expected Result Success Indicator Timeframe Responsibility National Strategy)

NGOs (upon consent)

3) Develop and approve a unified guidance, to be adopted A unified guidance for MIA and Q4 2017 MIA and used by MIA and General Prosecutor’s Office of General Prosecutor’s Office of Other relevant authorities Ukraine to investigate hate crime offences [including those Ukraine approved Verkhvona Rada based on homophobia and transphobia], to be aligned Commissioner on Human with the OSCE methodology Rights (upon consent) NGOs (upon consent)

4) Develop and issue the order on appointing in each region A relevant order issued Q4 2018 MIA specialized prosecutors and investigators responsible for Other relevant authorities supervising hate crime investigations [including hate crime Verkhvona Rada offences based on homophobia and transphobia] Commissioner on Human Rights (upon consent) NGOs (upon consent)

111. Prepare and produce statistic 6) Maintain the collection and reporting of hate crime Relevant statistic data collected and Q1 2016 MIA reporting data on the statistics processed Other relevant authorities antidiscrimination law offences SSU (upon consent) and sanctions applied to prosecute offenders

Country Context Analysis of LGBT People Situation in Ukraine 55 APPENDIX 2.

Legal proceedings regarding the right on freedom of peaceful assembly for LGBT

KYIV 1. The Kyiv City State Administration received the letter dated 19 April 2013 from a member of the Organizing Committee of the Kyiv Pride 2013 International LGBT Forum and Festival, notifying that the Human Rights Equality March is planned to be held on 25 May 2013 from the Arena Shopping Centre along Velyka Vasylkivska Street to Leo Tolstoy Square. Kyiv City State Administration filed a lawsuit with the Kyiv District Administrative Court to limit the right of peaceful assembly (picketing, marching, demonstrations and meetings) and impose a ban on public events planned to be held on 25 May 2013 in downtown Kyiv including Velyka Vasylkivska and Bohdan Khmelnytsky Streets and Leo Tolstoy Square. By it resolution of 23 May 2013 on Case No. 826/7505/13-а, Kyiv District Administrative Court sustained the lawsuit filed by Kyiv City State Administration and imposed the restriction on the right of peaceful assembly (picketing, marching, demonstrations and meetings). Kyiv Administrative Appellate Court upheld the trial court decision on 24 July 2013. On 26 March 2014, the Superior Administrative Court of Ukraine reversed the lower court decisions and denied the lawsuit filed by Kyiv City State Administration. LVIV 2. On 17 March 2016, the Insight NGO officially notified the Lviv City Mayor about its intent to hold public events on 19 March 2016 from 15:00 to 18:00 and on 20 March 2016 from 16:00 to 19:00. The Lviv City Council Executive Committee filed a lawsuit with Lviv District Administrative Court to impose the restrictions on the right to conduct public events in Lviv. On 19 March 2016, Lviv District Administrative Court issued the resolution No. 813/916/16 in favour of the Lviv City Council Executive Committee to ban the Insight NGO and other entities from organizing and holding public events in Lviv on 19 and 20 March 2016. By issuing this resolution, the Court not only banned peaceful public events but also cancelled all other activities planned as part of the 2016 Equality Festival (panel discussions, video presentations, a concert) which cannot be classified as peaceful public events from the perspective of provisions set out in Article 39 of the Constitution of Ukraine. As a result of the appellate proceeding, Lviv Administrative Appellate Court revoked the court decision of 19 March 2016 but the Lviv City Council Executive Committee filed a cassation and final decision is still pending. MYKOLAIV 3. On 16–17 May 2008, the information event and flash mob were planned to be held in Mykolaiv on the occasion on the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia (May 17). On 16 May 2008, the leaders of the Mykolaiv Association of Gays, Lesbians and Bisexuals “LiGA”67 received a written notice of 16 May 2008 No.5656/05-14-15 on the Ban of any Public Events in Mykolaiv on the Above Mentioned Dates. The LiGA Association filed a lawsuit with the Central District Court in Mykolaiv to remove the ban on the planned flash mob event. This case was not heard by the Court in 2008; with no documents issued and no hearings held by the Court that year. The leaders of the LiGA Association filed a complaint against the unreasonable delay in trial with the State Judicial Administration of Ukraine, High Council of Justice of Ukraine, Minister of Justice of Ukraine, Chief Justice of the , and Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Commissioner on Human Rights. After the complaint had been processed, the LiGA Association received a letter notifying that the complaint authorities found no grounds for initiating disciplinary proceedings against the judge appointed to handle the lawsuit. On 28 October 2009, the Central District Court in Mykolaiv denied the lawsuit filed by the LiGA Mykolaiv Association of Gays, Lesbians and Bisexuals to recognize the ban imposed by the Mykolaiv City Council Executive Committee as unlawful. The decision issued by Odesa Administrative Appellate Court on 22 December 2010 modified the decision issued by the Central District Court in Mykolaiv on 28 October 2009 to remove a statement that the Court dismissed the Plaintiff’s claim because the Plaintiff had no right to hold the flash mob event. 4. On 6 May 2009, the LiGA Association officially notified the Mykolaiv City Council about its intent to hold the Rainbow Spring LGBT Pride Festival and provided a programme of Festival’s events.

67 In 2014, changed its name to become the LiGA LGBT Association Non-Governmental Organisation. Country Context Analysis of LGBT People Situation in Ukraine 56 On 8 May 2009, the Mykolaiv Office of the Mayor asked the Central Administrative Court in Mykolaiv to issue a decision banning the planned pride festival in Mykolaiv and the Court ruled in favour of the Office of the Mayor on 14 May 2009. By its resolution of 10 November 2010, Odesa Administrative Appellate Court sustained the appeal filed by the LiGA Mykolaiv Association of Gays, Lesbians and Bisexuals against the decision of the Central District Court in Mykolaiv of 14 May in Case No. 2-а-5-4406/09. 5. On 5 August 2015, the LGBT Association ‘LiGA’ NGO officially notified the Mykolaiv City Council Executive Committee that it plans to hold a peaceful public event in the form of a bicycle ride from the Chess Club along Naberezhna Street to the Council of Europe Public Garden on Sadova Street, to include about 30 participants. The Mykolaiv City Council Executive Committee asked Mykolaiv District Administrative Court to ban the bicycle ride along Sadova Street on the planned date (5 September). On 4 September 2015, Mykolaiv District Administrative Court issued the resolution denying the lawsuit No. 814/3525/15 filed by the Mykolaiv City Council Executive Committee. KHERSON 6. On 18 April 2016, Yevhen Rudenko, Human Rights Non-Governmental Initiative Leader, officially notified the Kherson City Council Executive Committee about the planned public event in the form of public march intended to support the ideas of personal and societal security, human rights and non-discrimination on the occasion of the International Day to Fight Homophobia, to start at 18:00 on 17 May 2016. The planned event aimed to draw attention of Kherson citizens to the discrimination and human rights issues. The organizer indicated that about 100 people would take part in the event. The Kherson City Council Executive Committee filed an administrative lawsuit with Kherson District Administrative Court to restrict the right to peaceful assembly. The Court issued the resolution of 16 May 2016 No. 821/665/16 denying the lawsuit filed by the Kherson City Council Executive Committee.

Country Context Analysis of LGBT People Situation in Ukraine 57 APPENDIX 3.

Examples of proceedings in cases of hate crimes and discrimination against LGBT

1. Investigation into the Zhovten Cinema Fire The fire began during the screening of the gay-themed movie as part of the Sunny Bunny LGBT programme of the Molodist International Film Festival. According to eyewitness evidence, a gang of young people entered the cinema hall during the screening. They started smoke flares, threw them into the audience and set fire. All people were timely evacuated, no one was injured, but the building of the cinema was destroyed. The Holosyivsky District Court in Kyiv issued a guilty verdict on 5 October 2015 in the criminal case No. 752/1463/15-к for both accused persons and sentenced one to 2 years and one to 3 years in prison under Article 293 “Illegal Handling of Weapons, Munitions and Explosives” and 296 “Hooliganism” of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The Court further ruled as follows: However, considering the circumstances, severity of offence, mitigating factors and absence of aggravating circumstances and characteristics of the accused, the Court considers that the correction of PERSON_1 and PERSON_2 is possible without them being isolated from the society and they should be therefore released on probation under Article 75 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The Court trial in fact ended with the accused avoiding jail and receiving a 2-year probation sentence each. It appears from the text of the court verdict that no hate crime charges were made based on bias against LGBT (i.e. based on homophobia). The attackers were charged with simply hooliganism. 2. The Murder of a Gay in Kharkiv A man R. who worked as a deejay at a night club was found murdered in the apartment he rented. The murder was reported by a friend of the victim who found his body without any signs of life (the friend himself has a solid alibi because he was at work at the time of the crime). Police officers arrived to the crime scene and found a 26-year old man with multiple severe stab wounds to chest. A 17-year old suspect, a student of one of Kharkiv universities, was detained several days later. Material evidences and murder weapon were taken from the suspect who finally confessed to the crime. By its decision of 10 November 2015 in the criminal case No. 646/5385/15-к, the Chervonozavodsky District Court in Kharkiv sentenced the murderer under the Criminal Code of Ukraine Article 115 (Part 1) and Article 185 (Part 1) to eight years in prison. The Court did not find any aggravating circumstances; in fact, the aim of the murderer’s contact with the victim was qualified as a mitigating circumstance. The Court specifically stated that: Considering information about the accused, his young age, absence of aggravating circumstances, and attitude of PERSON_3 to the crime, his initiative and aim of contact with the victim, amount of physical injuries inflicted to PERSON_6 and consequences of the crime, the Court sentences the offender to a minimal term of imprisonment specified in Part 1 of Article 115 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. 3. Attack on the Equality March Participants in Kyiv on 6 June 2015 The OZON civil observation group in its report emphasized that the organizers of the Equality March rally did not commit nor did they call to any violent acts. The peaceful rally was organized in Kyiv alongside the Obolonska Embankment section between Building Nos. 20 and 75. Overall, the Equality March was attended by about 300 participants. Nine police officers were injured in scuffles during the March. The Ozon observers also reported that three rally participants were injured by the attackers because they arrived too late to get inside the security zone established by the police. The first court hearing took place on 8 June 2015 at the Obolonsky District Court in Kyiv to decide whether the pre-trial restrictions should be imposed on seven persons accused of attacking the Equality March participants. The Court decided that one accused should be kept in custody, four persons were to remain under house arrest, and two persons were released on bail pending trial. On 8 April 2016, the Obolonsky District Court in Kyiv completed the trial of the criminal case No. 756/16243/15- k and released a guilty verdict for four offenders accused of committing a criminal offence qualified as hooliganism pursuant to Parts 3 and 4 of Article 296 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. All offenders were sentenced to 2 years’ probation. The court verdict became effective on 10 May 2016

Country Context Analysis of LGBT People Situation in Ukraine 58 APPENDIX 4.

Table 1. UPR Recommendations to Ukraine, their Status and Comments

Recommending Recommendation Status Comments State

97.18. Reject any proposed legislation that Slovenia, would restrict freedom of expression relating Norway to sexual orientation

Draft laws on prohibition and 97.19. Withdraw its draft legislation establishment of responsibility for criminalizing the promotion of the so-called promotion of Australia homosexuality, and refrain from adopting homosexuality (№№ 8711, 0945, any other legislation that restricts freedom of Not 1155) were recalled, rejected or expression accepted revoked due to other objective 97.73. Increase efforts to improve the circumstances rather than in effective protection of LGBT persons, response to UPR abandon legislation work on draft law no. recommendations Germany 8711 on so-called "propaganda of homosexuality" and refrain from other legislation infringing on the human rights and fundamental freedoms of LGBT persons

97.30. Adopt a comprehensive anti- A comprehensive discrimination law that addresses the antidiscrimination law has been Portugal worrying trend of incidents based on gender, adopted. There is a still sexual orientation, racial and ethnic outstanding issue which relates discrimination to the harmonization of the national system of laws to ensure the implementation and effective application of the law. Just adopting the law is not enough; among other things, it Partly sets out responsibilities of state accepted and local authorities on 97.56. Remove from the legislation preventing discrimination and discriminatory provisions based on race, sex Canada provides a framework for or sexual orientation, and adopt developing and implementing comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation positive actions. The law does not ensure protection against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, ender identity, health conditions, conviction, trade union membership etc.

97.57. Step up the efforts to fight against discrimination by refraining from There is no explicit contradictory legislation and by amending references to sexual Not Finland the anti-discrimination legislation to include orientation and gender accepted explicit references to sexual orientation and identity in the gender identity as possible grounds of antidiscrimination law. discrimination Country Context Analysis of LGBT People Situation in Ukraine 59

97.59. Continue its effort to combat discrimination and promote equality in accordance with international treaties establishing guarantees of fundamental human rights and freedoms, and equality in A formal discrimination Brazil the enjoyment of such rights, without grievance procedure is still privileges or restrictions based on race, lacking. colour, political, religious or other belief, gender, sexual orientation, ethnic or social origin, property status, place of residence, language or other grounds Accepted There is no national action plan to consolidate efforts of all law 97.69. Respect its international enforcement authorities toward commitments on fundamental rights related preventing hate crime offences. to non-discrimination, prevent the adoption The police and prosecution of a law prohibiting freedom of expression authorities only cooperate with France with regards to homosexuality and raise each other on separate awareness of civil society on combating all occasions while systemic forms of discrimination, including approach is required to include discrimination based on sexual orientation training and awareness raising and gender identity programmes for law enforcement officers.

97.25. Enact legislation that explicitly protects LGBT persons from discrimination Ireland and ensure that laws that contain discriminatory provisions against LGBT The antidiscrimination law persons are amended does not include explicit reference to SOGI. While the 97.44. Apply the Yogyakarta principles in government declares its Slovenia policy development willingness to include reference to SOGI to the new 97.70. Take an active stance to stop any Labour Code, the current draft Sweden actions or laws that constitute an submitted to the Parliament for infringement of the rights of LGBT persons review does not mention it. The Yogyakarta principles Not 97.71 Implement the recommendation have not been integrated in accepted issued in 2010 by the Committee of the development policy and Switzerland Ministers of the Council of Europe on the policy itself is yet to be measures to combat discrimination based on formulated to include sexual orientation or gender identity antidiscrimination measures. Recommendations made by the Council of Europe on 97.72. Adopt legislative and other measures taking steps to prevent to correct and prevent discrimination based discrimination based on sexual Uruguay on sexual orientation, and to ensure full orientation and gender identity respect for freedom of expression and have not been implemented. association of LGBT persons