A country in crisis: KyivPride and our Ukrainian LGBTQ population
It’s no secret that all Ukrainians need help right now. As Putin continues to disregard international sanctions placed on both him and his country of Russia in the wake of his invasion of Ukraine, the situation grows more and more dire each day. Approximately 2 million Ukrainians are now considered refugees as they fled from the violence, while millions more have stayed behind, only to endure an endless barrage of unprovoked, violent attacks on civilians and structures.
As an LGBTQ+ publication we looked to the queer population in Ukraine and the situation they find themselves in under this new turn of events. The LGBTQ+ community has come a long way in Ukraine in recent times, but if Putin manages to set up an occupation of the country, things could become dire very quickly.
In Russia, under Putin’s regime, LGBTQ+ people are persecuted. In 2013, Russia passed a law that banned what they called “gay propaganda”, which essentially made it illegal to promote gay rights, break for equality, and even made it illegal to classify same-sex relationships as the same as their heterosexual counterparts. As recently as 2021, Russia banned same-sex marriage.
Despite the fact that same-sex marriage is yet to be legalized in Ukraine too, the country has enjoyed a prosperous decade of hard work for its LGBTQ community. They are a country that has fostered a healthy tradition of pride parades and the ability to live freely and express oneself. Many believed Ukraine was on the verge of changing its marriage equality laws.
Should Putin gain control of the country, the livelihood of the Ukrainian people will be compromised even more than has already occurred, especially minority populations such as the LGBTQ people.
The KyivPride Center is a legitimate Ukrainian NGO that, prior to Putin’s invasion, was working tirelessly to advance the lives of all Ukrainian LGBTQ people across the country. They are the organization responsible for Pride Week in Kyiv, and they’ve been working diligently to advance the LGBTQ agenda in both social and political spaces.
If you’re like us, sitting here hundreds of miles away, watching this atrocity unfold on your television sets wondering how to help, we’ve got you covered. We reached out to KyivPride and asked what we, as regular members of the community, can do to help our Ukrainian community members right now.
And the answer was clear: please donate. As Ukraine continues to be decimated by Putin, the Ukrainian people need all the resources they can to continue to serve the people. In the face of massive instability, the fate of the LGBTQ community (and the entire country) hangs in the balance.
You can donate to KyivPride here!
The organization is currently accepting donations in Euros, USD, and their local Ukrainian currency (UAH). One USD right now converts to 29.40 Ukrainian hryvnias. One Euro converts to 39.39 Ukrainian hryvnias. A little goes a long, long way. If you can’t donate, we ask that you at least share this post so that it can eventually reach the eyes and hands of those able to do so.
