COUNTRY CONTEXT ANALYSIS of LGBT PEOPLE SITUATION in UKRAINE Abridged Version Kyiv, December 2016
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COUNTRY CONTEXT ANALYSIS OF LGBT PEOPLE SITUATION IN UKRAINE 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. Constitution of Ukraine .......................................................................................................... 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 .............................................................................................................................................