Introduction There are many fronts in the universal struggle for gay rights and LGBT equality. Some of these fronts are violent, some are passive, some are out and proud and colorful while others are underground. All of them involve courage, stealth, strategic planning, public relations, political lobbying and greater or lesser amounts of money. In
In Ukraine homosexual sex was legalised and the age of consent equalized in 1991 but there is no recognition with respect to gay marriage or civil unions and there are no anti-discrimination laws. For better or worse, gay Ukrainians have been ignored by the political establishment. The country is conservative, mainly Orthodox Christian. The Constitution states that citizens are equal before law, but sexual orientation is not specifically mentioned. However, the list of grounds of discrimination includes an “on other basis”, which could be used for gay protection, but it has never been tested in court. In June 2008 three leading gay and lesbian organizations in the Ukraine formed the Union of Gay Organizations of Ukraine (UGOU). The groups’ purpose was to unite activists in three main areas: advocating rights and freedoms of gay people, mobilizing the gay community and improving the effectiveness of HIV-infection prevention among homosexuals. The Gay Alliance, Gay Alliance Cerkasy, and Nash Mir Gay & Lesbian Center provide an even wider range of information, advocacy, social, and health protection services.
For LGBT citizens in the southern peninsula of Crimea everything changed in 2014 when Russia forced its way into the area and then imposed a referendum that was approved by most people (ethnic Russians) to become a province of Russia. This meant that the existing laws of Russia came into force including the highly discriminatory anti-gay propaganda law which forbids any public advocacy or portrayal of LGBT life or rights. The quiet tolerance of gay citizens became an intolerance and many gay Crimeans moved away to the Ukrainian mainland where they could at least breathe more freely without police intervention in their lives. A recent report in Time magazine described how the last gay venue–Qbar in Sebastopol–closed and the owners, a gay male couple and their son, moved to Kiev.
Name: Ukraine
Population: 46180000
Capital: Kiev - Pop. 2700000
Area: 603628 sq. km/ sq. miles
Language: Ukrainian
Religion: Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Status of Homosexuality: Legal
Telephone Country Code: 380
Thousands attend Ukraine’s first major LGBT Pride event despite far-right threats of ‘rivers of blood’, 2016/Jun/12
‘I’m gay in Ukraine and my country despises me’, 2015/Nov/27
Gay Pride March Attacked In Kiev, 2015/Jun/06
Kiev Activist: Life ‘Dangerous’ for LGBT Ukrainians, 2014/Jul/09
Ukrainian LGBT advocates cancel march, 2014/Jul/07
Foreign gay tourist brutally murdered in Crimea, 2014/Jul/03
Crimea: Gay woman ‘fearful’ of life under Russia, 2014/Apr/10
Comment: With all eyes on anti-gay Russia, there are three countries with a shocking need for coverage, 2013/Sep/03
Anti-gay groups mount attacks in Ukraine, 2013/Aug/31
LGBTQ Ukrainians advance democracy, 2013/May/27
Ukraine gay rights activists hold first ever march, 2013/May/25
Court cancels Ukraine’s first gay pride rally, 2013/May/23
Ukraine’s Gay Pride Rally Canceled By Court, 2013/May/23
Ukraine: new report reveals pervasive homophobia, 2013/May/16
Gay Pride in Ukraine’s struggling democracy, 2013/May/02
Ukraine: Reject Discriminatory LGBT Laws, 2013/Apr/16
Ukraine: ‘Read Oscar Wilde? 5 years in prison’, 2013/Feb/06
Anti-gay bill in Ukraine calls for banning rallies, movies, TV shows depicting gay people, 2012/Jul/24
Ukraine Postpones Vote On ‘Gay Gag Rule’, 2012/Jul/06
A Host Unable to Kick Its Tattered Reputation, 2012/Jul/02
Vandals attack LGBT photo exhibit in Kiev, 2012/May/22
MEPs support ‘free speech’ after Kiev pride violence, 2012/May/21
Kiev Will Hold Gay Pride Events in 2012, 2011/Dec/05
Gay Ukraine News & Reports 2010-11, 2010/Feb/17
Gay Ukraine News & Reports, 2009/Jan/01