Are representatives of the LGBTK+ community in the Armed Forces (video)

In the ranks of the Ukrainian army, along with heterosexuals, representatives of LGBTK+also serve. They serve like everyone else, but there is no equality.

The law still does not guarantee it. DW not only tells about this.

Roman Abrashin, 25-year-old Mavika operator in the 39th separate brigade of the Armed Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, says: “I have been talking about my orientation all my life.” Roman made a camming out at the age of 15. Then he was supported by friends, parents and two brothers, one of whom now serves in the same platoon with Roman.

In April 2024, Roman decided to sign a contract with the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Over the year of service, he almost did not encounter prejudices, condemnation or discrimination. Speaking, he laughs:

“There were skirmishes on the basic combined -arms training – they said, they say, they would knock out my teeth. But I can also knock out my teeth.”

Subsequently, when the colleagues learned about his sexual orientation, they reacted mainly neutrally. The one of the novel is worried that representatives of the LGBTK+ community (and they are, in total, several hundred) do not have the same rights as heterosexual fighters:

“We have no equal rights. Recently, I began to meet with a guy – civilian. But it is impossible to legally formalize the same -sex partnerships in Ukraine. If I want to legitimize my relationship, then I can’t do it. My partner has no right to my body or payment (in case of death). If I am in intensive care, he is unjust. We are not at a level with everyone, but we have no equal rights.”

The bill on registered partnerships, which has been under consideration in parliamentary committees for more than two years, is one of the key requirements of the LGBTK+ community in Ukraine. In the draft law, we are not talking about same -sex marriages. Nevertheless, the innovation would allow partners to draw up a relationship legally: in particular, to get the right to access medical information, inheritance, social guarantees and compensation in the event of the death of a partner.

The initiator of the bill, the deputy from the Opposition faction “Voice” Inna Ossun, explains that the document is blocked by the Committee on Legal Policy:

“He slowed down for obvious reasons: because there are very conservative people in parliament.”

According to the people's chosen one, less than a third of the deputies are categorically against the registered partnerships for the LGBTK+ community, they are more than a third of will be ready to support, and the rest are hesitating, worrying about the reaction of society and colleagues, or do not have a position on this issue:

“Sooner or later, we will accept the Law on Partnership for same -sex couples. This is a matter of time. Unfortunately for the military, which are representatives of the LGBTK+community, this, in particular, is the question of whether they will have time because their life is under threat.”

19-year-old Dmitry has been in the power of defense of Ukraine for about a year. He defines himself as an asexual, who is interested in both guys and girls, but he strives for romantic, not sexual relations. When Dmitry was learned about the sexuality in the first team, to which he joined, the guy began problems: “They began to threaten physical reprisal, physically depleted.”

In the correspondence, which the military man showed DW, the colleague advises him to “look for another unit” and threatens to “explain more accessiblely” why: “To be remembered for a long time.”

After bullying, Dmitry got to treatment and tried to commit suicide, but he was saved by the doctors. Subsequently, he reported threats and bullying to the police: “As of today, there was no answer to date.” In the end, he managed to transfer to another brigade. The guy says that he knows about cases in other units, when the command, on the contrary, tried to quickly transfer such a fighter to another place of service after recognizing his orientation.

Dmitry admits that although conservative people will always be in the army and in society, both areas are gradually changing. He had a positive experience in military service:

“In one of the brigades, the platoon commander learned about my sexual orientation. He supported, said that he would never give offense, that there would be no discrimination, but we must all understand that we are a family and no one should stand out. I agreed with this opinion.”

In addition to the bill on registered partnerships, the LGBTK+ community insists on criminal liability for crimes on the basis of intolerance, in particular, homophobia.

“If a person will beat me now, he will receive 137 hryvnias of a fine,” says Dmitry, explaining that most often attacks on LGBTK+ representatives are qualified as hooliganism and are punished too gently. The bill allocating crimes on the basis of hatred for the LGBTK+community has been registered in parliament since 2021, but is still being finalized.

Veteran and head of the NGO “Military LGBTK+ for equal rights” Viktor Pilipenko is one of the first open gay-ears in Ukraine. He urges deputies not to hesitate with the adoption of bills in support of the LGBTK+community. Pilipenko says that he hears the argument of politicians that Ukrainian society is not ready for changes, but does not understand it.

The activist recalls that, according to surveys, the support of LGBTIC+ representatives is growing. The study of the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KMIS) in June 2024 showed: more than 70% of Ukrainians believe that representatives of the LGBTK+ community should have the same rights as all other citizens. According to the same survey, 14% of respondents relate to them positively, 47% are neutral, and 32% are negative. The last indicator has been steadily reduced since 2015.

At the same time, a charitable event from the Kyivprada organization in early June was accompanied by familiar, but considerable protests. Activists held an event near the Foreign Ministry building in Kyiv, where they reminded the rights of representatives of the LGBTK+ community and collected money for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Fans of traditional values ​​gathered next to rainbow flags and posters. The Orthodox Church of Ukraine subsequently drew attention to the fact that the event in support of the LGBTK+ held near the Mikhailovsky Cathedral and called it “anti -church provocation.”

How many military representatives of LGBTK+ in Ukraine? The organization “military LGBTK+ for equal rights”, led by Viktor Pilipenko, united more than 600 military and veterans. According to this community, at least 59 divisions of the Ukrainian army are gays, lesbians, bisexuals, trans-, Quir- or asexual people. It is impossible to accurately determine their number, because many do not talk about their orientation or identity.

According to approximate estimates, given the share of LGBTK+ representatives in societies of different countries, they can be from 5% to 10% in the army, the first complex study of the military provisions, which are representatives of the LGBTK+ community in Ukraine, conducted by the Pilipenko organization with the support of the Netherlands Embassy.

The study notes that the attitude to representatives of LGBTK+ in the army affects its combat effectiveness. Pilipenko says:

“Speaking about any effective, and not a” meat “army, we are talking about a team spirit. If a soldier hates another soldier, there is persecution, then the command spirit is lost, and this directly affects the effectiveness of the implementation of combat missions. The team should work, despite everything else.”

The veteran adds that the Ukrainian army “lacks anti -discrimination instructions that would complement the armed forces and defend not only LGBTK+, but in general the rights of the personnel of the army.” He hopes that the situation will improve due to the emergence of the Institute of Military Ombudsman.

The Mavika pilot Roman Abrashin believes: the more representatives of LGBTK+ will talk about themselves and their problems, the faster changes will happen: “This is important, even if there is a Hayit wave.” Military Dmitry agrees with this opinion. At the same time, both he and the majority want, first of all, first of all, to end the war, this is the main thing: “I just want my brothers, close people, civilian people and children to stop dying.”

Are there any representatives in the Russian army? There is no doubt, but who will say about this openly:

Source link