Lawmakers have rejected legislation that would have made Kosovo the first Muslim-majority country in the world to legalise same-sex civil unions.
Kosovo wants to join the European Union, and the bid to introduce same-sex marriage was part of modernising efforts by prime minister Albin Kurti’s government, which also tried to introduce other rights for minorities and business reforms
But after hours of debate, just 28 out of MPs out of 120 voted in favour of the motion with some members of Kurti’s Vetevendosje party voting against it, according to Euractiv. Many against the draft code cited religious beliefs and “family values”.
Vetevendosje representative Labinote Demi-Murtezi said during the debate that she only “sees as acceptable the marriage of persons of opposite sex”.
She added: “Any connection outside of this combination is considered depravity and moral degeneration.”
LGBT+ and human rights groups were devastated by the news, and protesters took to the streets of Kosovo’s capital Pristina on Thursday (17 March).
According to Balkan Insight, they chanted, “homophobes, you have no place in parliament” and “love is resistance; we also are part of the family”.
After the legalisation of civil unions was snubbed, Human Rights Watch sent a letter to Kurti, as well as Kosovo’s president Vjosa Osmani and minister of justice Albulena Haxhiu, urging them to go further and push for full marriage equality.
“We believe that extending marriage to same-sex couples is the most rights-respecting option for Kosovo to pursue,” the human rights group wrote.
“Partnership recognition is a step forward – any protection is better than none – but civil union is unlikely to protect people’s rights to the same extent as equal marriage, and indeed, can signal continued inequality…
“We hope that the Kosovo government will work to ensure that same-sex couples have the same rights as other couples, and to eradicate discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in family law.”
Google Play Store has removed a conversion therapy app developed by the Malaysian government that claimed to help LGBT+ people “return to the right path”.
Google has now pulled the controversial conversion therapy app from its store for violations against the digital giant’s policies. Under Google’s guidelines, apps cannot “attempt to deceive users” or “enable dishonest behaviour including but not limited to apps which are determined to be functionally impossible”.
Google toldthe Guardian: “Whenever an app is flagged to us, we investigate against our Play Store policies and if violations are found we take appropriate action to maintain a trusted experience for all.”
Hijrah Diri Homoseksualiti claimed in its description on the Google app store that it would offer “suggestions, ideas, explanations and interpretations” to help users “overcome the problem of homosexuality”.
JAKIM said in a follow-up tweet that the app allegedly contains an “eBook that refers to the true experience of a gay man who migrated during Ramadan to abandon homosexual behaviour”.
Rachel Chhoa-Howard, Malaysia researcher for Amnesty International, told the Guardian that conversion therapy is a “deeply discriminatory” and “harmful practice” that cause cause “long-lasting damage to those who are subject to it”.
“It has been criminalised in many countries,” Chhoa-Howard said. “We call on the Malaysian authorities to immediately abandon its use of Hijrah Diri, and instead ensure respect and protect LGBTI rights in the country.”
The conversion therapy app was hugely concerning for human rights activists as LGBT+ people in Malaysia face execution, torture and decades in prison for living their truth.
Malaysia’s penal code criminalised sex between same-sex partners, which it described as “carnal intercourse against the order of nature”, with up to 20 years in prison and whipping.
According to Human Dignity Trust, there was a “serious crackdown” on the LGBT+ community after the new government came into power in 2018, resulting in a spike in arrests and assaults against LGBT+ people.
Human Rights Watch has denounced the Malaysian government for not acting on “discrimination against LGBT+ people”, adding it “remains pervasive and appears to be on the rise”.
The nonprofit warned that authorities have proposed a “range of changes to Sharia (Islamic law) regulations” that would harm the LGBT+ community including “harsher sentences for same-sex conduct and gender expression”.
Nur Sajat, a trans social media personality and businesswoman, made headlines after she fled Malaysia to escape persecution and charges of “insulting Islam”, which carries a prison sentence of up to three years.
Saturday March 26 @ 7 pm. Abby Gabrielson with Laurie Hartmann at Occidental Center for the Arts. Join us for a delightful evening of classical music with pianist Abbie Gabrielson, who will perform selections by Brahms, Mozart and Lili Boulnager, as well as a special set with vocalist Laurie Hartmann (Fauré). Tickets are $20 for OCA members, $25 for non-members @ www.occidentalcenterforthearts.org. OCA is following current Sonoma County Health guidelines for masking and capacity. Fine refreshments including wine and beer available. Art Gallery exhibit will be open for viewing. OCA is a non profit performing and fine arts center accessible to persons with disabilities. Become an OCA Member and get discounts/free admission. Occidental Center for the Arts, 3850 Doris Murphy Ct. Occidental, CA. 95465, 707-874-9392.
Disney employees are staging a week of walkouts over CEO Bob Chapek’s response to Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill.
Disney has faced stiff criticism for its muddled response to the bill, which would ban the discussion of LGBT+ lives in classrooms. Disney initially refused to make a public statement and defended its political donations to Republicans who helped push the bill through before apologising and pausing donations.
Organising as the Disney Do Better group, LGBT+ people and allies working for the company are urging bosses to do more, including by ending all donations to lawmakers who supported the law indefinitely.
“By supporting the politicians who brought this legislation and not taking a public stand against it, Chapek and [The Walt Disney Compant] leadership have made it clear they are more than willing to sacrifice their employee’s health and wellness in service of the bottom line,” the group wrote in an open letter.
“We will stand for this anymore.”
From Tuesday (15 March) to Monday, employees will stage “break” walkouts from 3pm and 3:15pm, culminating in a full-day walkout next Tuesday.
Including more than 10,000 words worth of testimony from staff, organisers say they want to make it clear Disney has “utterly failed” in its response to the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill, according to their website WhereIsChapek.com.
Organisers are demanding that Disney put pressure on Florida lawmakers by stopping all investment and construction in the state – where it employs more than 77,000 people – “until hateful legislation is repealed”.
It must also stop “any efforts to move employees to Florida office location” and guarantee that no employee will be fired as a result of denying relocation, the group demand.
Disney Do Better is also calling for the entertainment giant to improve LGBT+ representation in its content, with a dedicated brand to be created “focusing on LGBTQ+ creators and underrepresented voices”.
Disney is also being urged to reaffirm its committment to protecting and advocating for LGBT+ staff, and to “take responsibility for their inaction to protect the rights of LGBTQIA+ children and their families by making substantial contributions to The Trevor Project and other human rights advocacy groups”.
Employees taking part in the action work for Disney’s corporate offices, Lucasfilm, Pixar, Bento Box, Disney Television Animation the Disney Animation Studio, and more, according to Disney Do Better.
Disney demonstrators ‘ashamed’ to work as ‘hypocritical’ company
News that Disney had donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to lawmakers backing the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill was followed by silence, then clumsy statements that ignited outrage both within and outside of the company.
CEO Bob Chapek eventually apologised for the company’s response, saying he has temporarily paused all political donations and would donate $5 million to the Human Rights Campaign. The LGBT+ charity refused the donation until Disney takes “meaningful action” against the bill.
Chapek admitted that he “let [the company] down” in his response in a memo.
“I missed the mark in this case,” he wrote, “but am an ally you can count on.”
Previously, the CEO had suggested that telling “diverse stories” was far more impactful than a statement publicly denouncing the law. Corporate statements “do very little to change outcomes or minds”, he said.
Disney Do Better said this statement amounted to an attempt to “placate the LGBTQIA+ community with subpar representation”.
“You cannot fix this with educational seminars or token background characters — even organizations like [the Human Rights Campaign] refuse your money until action is taken.”
“Those statements have indicated that leadership still does not truly understand the impact this legislation is having not only on cast members in the state of Florida but on all members of the LGBTQIA+ community in the company and beyond”.
While it remains unclear exactly how many staff are taking part in the protests, the Disney Walkout Twitter has more than 1,200 followers.
Ahead of Tuesday’s first protest, the account shared statements from employees about why they are walking out.
“I am ashamed to work for a company that boasts about inclusivity and yet supports states and politicians that put lives, education, livelihoods and overall wellbeing of our LGBTQIA+ selves, siblings and families in jeopardy,” wrote one employee.
“Enough hypocrisy, it’s time for authenticity and transparency.”
Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill has been approved by both houses and is on the desk of governor Ron DeSantis, who has indicated his support.
With Ukraine defending itself from Russia’s brutal war of aggression, the country’s LGBT+ activists have found themselves playing a new role.
War is an equaliser, Kyiv Pride director Lenny Ensom tells PinkNews. “The bomb doesn’t ask you what is your identity, the bomb just falls,” he explains.
He hasn’t been able to get much sleep since the invasion started, as the sound of shelling is never far away. On Tuesday night (15 March), a building in his district was hit.
“It’s like Russian roulette. They just hit and you don’t know where the bomb will land.”
As director of Kyiv Pride, he’s dedicated much of his life to making things better for Ukraine’s LGBT+ community. In the last few weeks, the focus of his work has changed dramatically and suddenly, away from advocacy and toward helping the community access food and housing as the war rages on.https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=PinkNews&dnt=true&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=eyJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2hvcml6b25fdHdlZXRfZW1iZWRfOTU1NSI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJodGUiLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3NrZWxldG9uX2xvYWRpbmdfMTMzOTgiOnsiYnVja2V0IjoiY3RhIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19zcGFjZV9jYXJkIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9mZiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9fQ%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1502330256107216901&lang=en-gb&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pinknews.co.uk%2F2022%2F03%2F17%2Fukraine-lgbt-kyiv-pride-2%2F&sessionId=ee749e993fa9f51c606f5e5f9999ff7e269c4e1a&siteScreenName=PinkNews&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2582c61%3A1645036219416&width=500px
Kyiv Pride is working to help Ukraine’s LGBT+ community stay afloat through the war
Right now, the many queer people who remain in Ukraine are just focusing on staying alive and fighting for their freedom in whatever way they can.
But discrimination and inequalities still exists – there have been widespread reports of racism targeted at Black and brown people trying to flee the country, and of trans people (women, in particular) being unable to leave Ukraine or pass internal checkpoints because of inaccurate documents.
Security is paramount, Lenny says – there are far-right actors in Ukraine who are still targeting the LGBT+ community even as war rages.
“They’re still attacking LGBT+ people during the war and during the invasion and this is absolutely disgusting,” Lenny says. “We are not only fighting Putin, we’re fighting our inner homophobic forces.”
While Lenny’s not getting much rest, his days continue to be busy. Kyiv Pride has set up a secure chat for queer Ukrainians, has created a database of safe places people can stay abroad, and is circulating an easy-to-complete form so that it knows who needs help.
They’ve partnered with Gay Alliance Ukraine to support LGBT+ people who have been evacuated from surrounding areas to access emergency accommodation.
Kyiv Pride is also helping the local LGBT+ community to access mental health support during the war. They’ve put together a psychological support group, and volunteer psychologists are working around the clock to make sure queer people stay afloat.
“We’re answering the community’s demands,” Lenny says.
Much of the international media attention has focused on the huge number of Ukrainian people that have fled their home country in search of safety. Around three million have now left Ukraine, but Lenny points out that more than 40 million remain.
“We need to understand that, if we want to stop this war, we cannot evacuate the entire population of Ukraine,” he says. “Unfortunately, it’s not possible. I’d say the community understands that a lot.”
Many of Lenny’s colleagues and friends have actively chosen to stay behind. Some of his friends have joined the military and territorial defence units.
“I really appreciate them doing this,” he says. “Our country needs us right now and we will win if we stay here and we will fight back against Russian aggression. If we just flee from war, nothing will stop the Russians then.”
People in Ukraine woke to the sounds of war three weeks ago
Lenny’s resolve has remained firm ever since he woke up to the sound of his city being shelled – it’s how he discovered Ukraine was being invaded.
“People did not read the news, they just ran away or to the bomb shelter,” he says. “We did not believe it – how on earth can you believe in such a thing as stupid as a ground war in the 21st century? It’s like to believe that aliens will come to earth right now. This is a barbaric way of having a war.”
As Lenny sees it, this isn’t about Russia versus Ukraine – it’s about Russia versus the world. He doesn’t think the world expected Ukraine “to fight back so successfully – and I think right now, when we continue to fight, it’s absolutely clear that Ukraine needs more help and then we will win”.
The situation is terrifying, but there is optimism. “We really believe in our military, our Ukrainian army,” Lenny says. “We have the spirit behind us, and this is keeping us going.”
Part of that means rallying together “to show the community that we’re here to support them”.
“We’re here altogether, and together we will win.”
LGBT+ activist Vira Chernygina had to flee Kharkiv as the war ravaged her city
Vira Chernygina, president of lesbian organisation WA Sphere, was living in Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine when the invasion started. The city has been one of the worst affected by the war.
She stayed there for 10 days before she made the difficult decision to flee to Lviv in the west. Vira had been trying to keep working in Kharkiv, but she found it impossible to focus as the fear for her safety became all consuming.
“Your brain can’t work when there are explosions,” she tells PinkNews. “I tried for 10 days and it’s impossible.”
A liberal group that helped push EMILY’s List to cut ties with Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) over her opposition to changing Senate rules has a new target in its pressure campaign: the Human Rights Campaign.
The Arizona Coalition to End the Filibuster has helped organize an open letter to the LGBTQ organization, which was first shared with POLITICO, urging it to withdraw financial support from Sinema until she reverses her position and supports eliminating the filibuster. The letter also calls for donors to HRC to stop funding the group unless it backs away from the senator.
“The toll of Sinema’s obstruction — which HRC continues to tacitly support and thus enable — for your constituents is growing each day,” the letter reads, “with the filibuster blocking popular legislation, backed by all or nearly all Democrats, to address the urgent issues of reproductive justice, immigrant rights, gun violence, police reform, workers’ right to organize, raising the minimum wage, and more.”
Signed by more than 100 Arizona-based LGBTQ activists and national supporters, the letter also charges that Sinema’s position on the filibuster is preventing the Equality Act from passing. The civil rights legislation would give legal protections to LGBTQ people, which Democrats said is even more urgent in the wake of Republican-controlled states passing laws such as Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
The campaign against HRC is the latest example of Sinema and her supporters coming under fire by Democratic activists, donors and lawmakers because she has stood by the filibuster, which effectively requires 60 votes to pass most bills. EMILY’s List, formerly one of Sinema’s largest financial backers, said in January that it would cut her off unless she got behind ending the filibuster.
The abortion rights group NARAL, as well as liberal groups such as Latino Victory Fund, League of Conservation Voters and Black Voters Matter Fund, have taken similar positions.
In a statement, an HRC spokesperson pointed out a blog post by the group’s staff in February that said it was disappointed with Sinema and had pushed her to support changing Senate rules in order to pass voting rights legislation.
“HRC remains committed to passing the Equality Act, as well as working to stop the onslaught of bills in states across the country that are attacking the LGBTQ+ community,” the person added. “More than 350 bills specifically targeting transgender people — largely transgender youth — have been filed since 2020, including 130 such bills this year and 20 in Arizona alone.”
“If we had the federal protection in the Equality Act, the states wouldn’t be able to be jamming through all of these hateful bills,” said Gina Griffiths, an Arizona-based mother of a transgender 19-year-old woman who signed onto the letter. “The HRC needs to no longer support [Sinema]. … She’s letting the entire LGBTQ community down, and my daughter is not as safe as other people because of it.”
Charlotte Clymer, a former press secretary of rapid response for HRC, also signed the letter.
“There are a lot of great people at the Human Rights Campaign doing amazing work. I admire them,” Clymer told POLITICO. “But the leadership of the Human Rights Campaign needs to wake up and understand the stakes here, and I don’t think they do.”
A spokesperson for Sinema declined to provide comment for the story.
US basketball icon Brittney Griner’s detention has been extended for another two months, according to a state news agency.
The Olympic gold medallist and Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) star has been held in Moscow since February when customs officials allegedly found vape cartridges containing hashish oil in her luggage.
Major Russian state-owned news agency TASS reported that the Khimkinsky court in the Moscow region had “granted the request of the investigation” and extended Griner’s custody for an additional two months.
The WNBA star faces up to 10 years in prison if found guilty by the Russian court.
Ekaterina Kalugina – a member of the Public Monitoring Commission, which is a semi-official body that can access Russian prisons – told TASS that the basketball star was sharing a single cell with two other women, who had no previous convictions.
According to Kalugina, Griner’s main issue with her imprisonment was that the prison beds are too small for her tall frame.
Griner is among a dozen WNBA stars who played in Russia or Ukraine this past season, with Griner playing professional basketball in Russia for the last seven years.
Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton has joined the growing number of people calling for Griner’s release, tweeting “Free Brittney” on Wednesday (16 March).
WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said that the league is working with other agencies to bring the Phoenix Mercury star centre home, according to theAssociated Press.
“Everyone’s getting the strategy of say less and push more privately behind the scenes,” Engelbert said.
“It’s the strategy you get from the State Department and administration. It’s our number one priority in talking with her agent and strategists.”
US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said the government agency is “doing everything we can to support Brittney Griner” and her loved ones as well as to “work with them to do everything we can, to see that she is treated appropriately and to seek her release”.
After its most prodigious grant application period to date, national tech grantor PowerOn is awarding 32 LGBTQ+ organizations with technology through the program’s 2022 Mobile Mini Grant. These laptops, tablets, and cell phones will enable the recipients to serve marginalized LGBTQ+ community members, providing mental health care, emergency food services, and crucial social support, among many other life-saving services. This grant is just the first that PowerOn will offer in 2022.
LGBT Tech, PowerOn’s parent organization, launched the Mobile Mini Grant last year with backing from T-Mobile in response to the outcry for additional resources from LGBTQ+ organizations to serve their clients during the COVID-19 pandemic. This year T-Mobile has expanded their support, greatly increasing PowerOn’s ability to accept more organizations in need. Compared to the previous grant cycle, nearly three-times as many organizations applied for the Mobile Mini Grant, underscoring the growing need for technology within anchor institutions like LGBTQ+ community centers for operations and community support.
“We were thrilled by the sheer number of applications we received this year. We feel that it definitely reflects the need for this technology by these crucial community institutions,” said Ellie Bessette, Director of Programs for LGBT Tech.
PowerOn is granting 141 devices to this year’s grantees. Through the Mobile Mini Grant and other grants, PowerOn has partnered with 75 LGBTQ+ organizations across the United States since the program’s inception in 2015.
“T-Mobile understands how important it is for LGBTQ+ youth to have access to life-affirming services and means to connect with their communities,” said Clint Odom, VP of strategic alliances and external affairs at T-Mobile. “By partnering with organizations like LGBT Tech, we’re working to put important connectivity tools and technology into the hands of those that need it most.”
PowerOn has been committed to empowering the LGBTQ+ community by removing barriers to connectivity since 2015. The program recognizes the unique needs of the LGBTQ+ community when it comes to access to technology and connectivity as well as the specific obstacles that the community often faces in gaining this access. Many LGBTQ+ people depend heavily on the internet for access to reliable information, resources, and safe spaces. LGBTQ+ people also face high rates of economic instability and social/familial isolation, which often leads to hardships such as homelessness. To date, PowerOn has distributed nearly 1,000 devices to the community, giving over 55,000 people access who otherwise wouldn’t have it.
Two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for technology to participate in almost all aspects of life, whether it be education, work, or social life, is undeniable. This is especially true for organizations like PowerOn’s partner grantee centers, who provide crucial services and resources to support the LGBTQ+ community across the country. The quick need to adapt to life within the pandemic has brought a rush of technological innovations, such as an expansion in telehealth services and online community spaces, all of which are likely here to stay. While the pandemic has been universally devastating, these advancements have opened new doors of opportunity which transcend geographical restrictions– a trans person in a rural area may now have access to trans-affirming healthcare from a provider hundreds of miles away via telehealth, or an LGBTQ+ community center may be able to expand services to those who do not live locally.
“Even before the pandemic, the lack of connectivity, access to resources, and digital inequality has always been a reality for many within the LGBTQ+ community but the pandemic put a spotlight on just how important that connectivity is,” said Chris Wood, Executive Director and Co-Founder of LGBT Tech, “but even as pandemic restrictions begin to lift, we must continue to meet our community members where they are and ensure that any LGBTQ+ community or individual that wants access has it. Access to the Internet is crucial to an individual’s success much like other basic needs; the pandemic has proven that to all of us and LGBT Tech will be working to continue to raise awareness, provide technology grants and answer that call.”
As the PowerOn program expands its network, it empowers the LGBTQ+ community through its partner grantee centers by providing access to connectivity.
The following organizations are the recipients of the 2022 Mobile Mini Grant, supported by T-Mobile:
The head of an LGBTQ rights group in Ukraine has fled the country’s capital.
Insight Chair Olena Shevchenko on March 10 left her home in Kyiv and evacuated to Lviv, a city in western Ukraine that is close to the country’s border with Poland.
Shevchenko on Tuesday told the Washington Blade that she fled Kyiv because of the “bombings, the absence of working possibilities, medicines and some food as well.” Shevchenko said she continues to work to help LGBTQ Ukrainians who remain trapped in Kyiv and in other cities that Russian forces continue to attack.
“(It’s) pretty hard,” Shevchenko told the Blade. “I think I’m almost at my limits.”
Shevchenko wrote an op-ed that the Blade published on Feb. 24, the same day that Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine.
“Our activists from the LGBTQI+ communities are staying and keep working, providing support to the most marginalized ones,” wrote Shevchenko. “Honestly, I don’t know how long we will be able to resist, but we will do our best for sure.”
Shevchenko in her op-ed acknowledged concerns that Russia may target LGBTQ Ukrainians and other groups if it were to gain control of the country.
Magomed Tushayev, a Chechen warlord who played a role in the anti-LGBTQ crackdown in his homeland, died on Feb. 26 during a skirmish with the Ukrainian military’s elite Alpha Group outside of Kyiv. A White House official the day earlier told the Blade that the Biden administration has “engaged directly” with LGBTQ Ukrainians and other vulnerable populations.
Fox News cameraman Pierre Zakrewski and Oleksandra Kuvshynova, his Ukrainian colleague, died on Monday outside of Kyiv when their vehicle was attacked. The same incident left Fox News reporter Benjamin Hall injured.
Brent Renaud, an American journalist and filmmaker, died in the Kyiv suburb of Irpin on Sunday after Russian forces attacked his car and shot him in the head. The New York Times reported the same attack left Juan Arredondo, a photographer and professor at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, injured.
LGBTQ groups continue to raise funds for Ukraine counterparts
Shevchenko on Tuesday told the Blade that Insight has raised $51,000 since the invasion began.
OutRight Action International on its website says the fund it launched to support LGBTQ rights groups in Ukraine has raised more than $525,000.
Pride organizations across Europe have donated $54,862.45 (€50,000) to Ukrainian advocacy organizations. Prague Pride has worked with Alturi, a group that promotes global engagement on LGBTQ issues, to raise more than $12,000 to support groups inside Ukraine and to provide assistance to LGBTQ Ukrainians who reach the Czech Republic.
“While the situation is grim we can offer hope to our LGBTI family in Ukraine,” says Alturi on its website.
Putin’s war in Ukraine is part of a mission to turn back the clock to the Soviet era – a prospect that terrifies LGBT+ Russians.
Maria, an LGBT+ activist in Russia whose name has been changed to protect her identity, says queer people have been fleeing her country since Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine – which many agree is all part of a terrifying quest to bring Russia back to its former dominance.
That vision, she says, does not include LGBT+ people.
When Maria speaks to PinkNews over Zoom, she’s quick to describe Russia’s actions in Ukraine as a war. That shouldn’t come as a surprise – it is a war, but Russia has remained adamant that it’s a “special operation”. The government is so committed to that lie that it’s even made calling it a war a crime punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
“According to Russian law, we are required to call it a ‘special operation’,” Maria says with palpable anxiety. “If we talk about real human casualties, it’s treason.”
That’s why Maria doesn’t want to use her real name. She knows that speaking out is the morally right thing to do, but she also knows that queer Russian people are counting on her to be there to help them. She needs to protect herself.
Russia banned what it called “gay propaganda” in 2014, which prohibits the “promotion” of homosexuality. It wasn’t the first – or last – government attack on LGBT+ people. In 2020 Russia attempted (but failed) to legally erase trans people. The following year it solidified a ban on same-sex marriage. Violence against LGBT+ people is widespread, and Russia has been complicit in the so-called gay purges in Chechnya, in which dozens have been abducted, tortured and killed.
Still, activists like Maria have stayed put, working hard to change society and to bring about a better tomorrow for queer Russians.
“I think LGBT+ people recognise that, if the system is getting oppressive, that probably means they’re going to come after minority groups, vulnerable groups,” Maria explains. “We don’t know if tomorrow we’re going to wake up in a world where it’s back to before the 90s where LGBT+ relations are punishable by the law and criminal again. I think people are fearful of that and that’s why they’re leaving.”
The problem is that many are leaving in a state of panic, meaning they’re not putting in place the right supports beforehand.
“They don’t know that, for example, once they leave Russia, their Russian bank cards are not going to work, so they’re without money and they’re away from their financial resources and they don’t know where to go,” Maria explains. “Even if you leave the country, if you have no registration someplace else, if you have no nationality of another country, the most you can stay someplace is three months, half a year – what’s next?”
The situation has become so bad that Maria is considering setting up a shelter for LGBT+ Russians who are fleeing the country abroad – however, most of her efforts right now are focused on helping LGBT+ Ukrainians.
She’s starting to wonder how she can continue her work in Russia and how she can continue to advocate for her community in a country that is increasingly oppressive.
“At times I feel desperate because I don’t believe it’s possible to be an LGBT+ activist in Russia anymore,” she says.
She knows other activists who have already fled because their partners are male and they fear that they could be drafted to fight in a war they oppose. “They felt it necessary to leave the country so they don’t serve the aggressive regime.”
Russian propaganda is obscuring the truth about Ukraine
The entire thing is made even more complicated by just how sophisticated Russian propaganda is. The free media has been stifled in the country, and most people take at face value the state-sanctioned information they’re receiving.
The country has now been blocked from accessing Facebook and Instagram, meaning reliable information is even harder to come by for Russian people. Because most people are consuming propaganda, many are under the illusion that Russia is “protecting” the Ukrainian people, Maria explains.
“Most of the Russian population thinks that we’re not harming anyone who’s peaceful, that there are no human casualties, that the Russian military is only targeting military objects in Ukraine and that this is all with the good intention of ‘freeing’ the people of Ukraine of ‘nationalistic’ and ‘pro-Nazi’ people,” she says. “It sounds so twisted it’s almost unbelievable, but that’s what people think.”
While Maria was shocked by the invasion – most people were, she says – with hindsight, she can see that it’s been a long time coming. For years, the Russian government has been working to bring the country back to a bygone era. The goalposts were clearly set when Russia banned “gay propaganda”. The government’s commitment to “traditional values” is intrinsically inked to Putin’s view that Russia has a rightful claim to Ukrainian territory.
“It’s this idea of, we are our own people, we have our own values, and we don’t need your values and democratic institutions. Going against International norms and regulations in this war against Ukraine is also part of it,” Maria continues. “Russia doesn’t care anymore – it has its own rules.
“The Kremlin is building this Russian values rhetoric, this anti-western rhetoric, and to set it apart from the rest of the world – to say, we’re different from the west, we follow our own values, we don’t have to be like the rest of them.”