- Conference
- 2022 National LGBT+ Conference
- Date
- 27 July 2022
- Decision
- Carried
LGBT+ people in the context of the war in Ukraine, like everyone, have many reasons to stay in Ukraine or to leave the country. Like their fellow citizens, LGBT+ people are staying, supporting each other, providing mutual aid, and fighting against the Russian invasion. LGBT+ people, however, face additional barriers to fleeing the country, including structural homophobia and transphobia.
Under martial law, all Ukrainian citizens with a male gender marker on their identity documents, including men – cisgender (cis) and transgender (trans) – and some trans women and non-binary people, are not allowed to leave the Ukraine. While some trans people are serving in the armed forces, being professional soldiers or having taken up weapons to defend the country in the current war, others are not in a position to do so, either because of general (mental) health problems making them unfit to fight, or because the threat and/or experience of transphobia, discrimination and violence in the military.
With certain diagnoses, such as personality and emotional disorders, eating disorders, non-addictive substance disorder, confirmed by the Military Medical Commission, men over 27 can also receive a white ticket allowing them to leave the country. LGBT+ organisations in the Ukraine report that gay, bisexual, trans and intersex men are scared to seek such a diagnosis that would ensure them the white ticket to leave the country based on their mental health status, as they are afraid of discrimination and rejection based on homo- and transphobia from the Military Medical Commission.
Trans women face a unique obstacle in that, due to lack of access to legal gender recognition (LGR), they have legal documents not matching their gender identity and the male gender marker in their documents means they are falling under the martial law and refused to leave the country, in a clear display of discrimination on the grounds of gender identity. The fact that trans women are facing severe restrictions while cisgender women can cross the border without restrictions, is a discrimination against trans people. This provision indicates that Ukraine does not accept the right to self-determination and gender identity.
Pathways to access LGR for trans people have been largely non-functional since early 2020. Given that the only way for a trans woman to flee legally is to have had her legal gender change via LGR. They also need to obtain a diagnosis of “gender identity disorder” and all trans women with a male gender marker are also required to present to the Military Medical Commission who do an assessment without any expertise in trans healthcare.
Conference therefore asks the national LGBT+ committee, working with the national executive council and international department to:
1. Seek appropriate ways to show solidarity with LGBT+ Communities in Ukraine;
2. Lobby the Government to make explicit provision for LGBT+ Ukrainian government resettlement schemes;
3. Liaise with Transgender Europe (TGEU) with their work in Ukraine;
4. Work with Labour Link to raise these issues with the Labour Party.