LGBT+ rights groups have filed a lawsuit against far-right French presidential candidate Éric Zemmour who say he denied gay Holocaust victims.
Zemmour, who is Jewish, is being sued by six LGBT+ organisations in the country: Inter-LGBT, SOS Homophobie, Stop Homophobie, Adheos, Quazar and Mousse.
The lawsuit stems from Zemmour’s latest book La France n’a pas dit son denier mot (“France has not said its final word”). The complaint highlights that a portion of the book claimed that the deportation of gay people in France due to their sexual orientation is a “legend”, NPRreported.
The lawsuit is the first time legal claims have been filed against an individual for denying that queer people were rounded up and deported during France’s occupation in the Second World War, according to a statement by the groups’ attorney Etienne Deshoulières.
The groups said the case against Zemmour is an “opportunity for LGBT+associations and historians” to form a front against the “denial of violence committed against homosexuals”.
“Éric Zemmour falsified history to justify his homophobic positions,” the statement continued. “He will have to answer for it before the French courts.”
However, representatives for Zemmour told France 24 that he was merely presenting another politician’s ideas, arguing “it is not Zemmour’s words that are cited in the book”. They described the lawsuit as an attempt to smear the far-right presidential candidate ahead of the first round of voting in the presidential election on 10 April.
According to the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 men who were accused of homosexuality were deported to concentration camps. The UK-based charity reported that “most died in the camps”, “many were castrated” and some were “subjected to gruesome medical experiments”.
At least 500 men accused of homosexuality were arrested in France during the country’s occupation in World War II, according to academic research cited in the LGBT+ groups’ lawsuit. The research found that at least 200 men were deported during the German occupation.
This is not the first time that Éric Zemmour has been taken to court.
Zemmour has been convicted two times for hate speech and is appealing a third, the Guardian reported. The most recent conviction against him came in January after he said that child migrants were “thieves, killers” and “rapists”, adding “we should send them back”.
A trans teenager was shot and killed by her own father in Georgia, United States, in what has been described as a “horrific tragedy”.
Kathryn “Katie” Newhouse, 19, was killed on 19 March, according to officers at Cherokee County Police who found both her and her father, Howard Newhouse, 57, dead in their home.
According to Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents, who wrote a blog post about Newhouse’s death, the teen was a “Minecraft and UberSpire enthusiast, an advocate for trans rights” and “had a bright smile”.
The blog post continued: “A native of Illinois, Kathryn was most recently living with her family in Canton, Georgia.
“Kathryn was a Minecraft and UberSpire enthusiast, an advocate for trans rights, had a bright smile, enjoyed changing up her hairstyles, and attentive to world events.”
“She enjoyed hiking and sightseeing. She was proud of her AAPI [Asian American and Pacific Islander] heritage; she was of Filipino heritage…
“Kathryn’s death is a horrific tragedy and she deserves to still be here with us.”
Newhouse’s brother Chris explained to CBS46 news that his sister was autistic and had lived with mental health issues.
“A tragic culmination of all of these different mental health issues that kind of compounded and led to such a, escalated to a situation that – it shouldn’t have happened, but it happened,” he said.
At least six other trans, non-binary and gender-conforming people have been violently killed in the US in 2022 so far, according to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), which has been monitoring the wave of brutality since 2013.
It comes after last year’s record-breaking death tally of at least 57, many of them Black trans women. The record continues to climb even months after the year’s end, as more victims’ deaths are discovered by grassroots activists combing through local news reports and talking to relatives.
HRC said in a statement: “HRC works to shed light on this epidemic of violence in order to ensure victims’ lives are remembered with dignity, and to work to end the stigma that so many trans and gender non-conforming people face…
“While the details of these cases differ, it is clear that fatal violence disproportionately affects transgender women of colour – particularly Black transgender women – and that the intersections of racism, sexism, homophobia, biphobia, transphobia and unchecked access to guns conspire to deprive them of employment, housing, healthcare and other necessities.”
A gay teacher in Ohio, United States, has spoken out after being fired for giving Pride bracelets to students, saying: “There is room at the table for everyone”.
According to NBC15 News, Jay Bowman, who has worked as a teacher for 30 years, was wearing a rainbow-coloured Pride bracelet when several students asked about it.
Speaking in an interview, Bowman said: “If a kid has questions, if a kid wants honesty, I don’t think I should be forbidden from providing that.
“I don’t try to recruit anyone. The parents are responsible for the kids. The parents are the ones who need to teach their kids right and wrong.
“I think the reaction to my violation when compared to other instances in the school where certain things are tolerated was unfair.”
He added: “My catchphrase has become, ‘There is room at the table for everyone,’ and there is.”
The school district argued that Bowman broke school policies by discussing “political” and “personal” beliefs with students, as well as giving a student a Pride bracelet.
“Our board policies restrict staff from discussing with students certain subjects, including political, religious and personal beliefs,” the school district said in a statement.
“This past week, we received reports with specific concerns about possible violations of those policies by a substitute teacher in the district.
“As a result of his violation of board policies, the district decided his services as a substitute would no longer be utilised. While we recognise there are diverse points of view on this matter, this policy exists for the purpose of ensuring all students feel comfortable in the classroom.”
NBC15 News reported that some community members will ask the “school board to reconsider its policies” at a board meeting on 11 April.
The bill, which has faced fierce criticism not only from LGBT+ activists, but from US president Joe Biden, also mandates that school staff must out students to their potentially unsupportive families. The only exception is “if a reasonably prudent person would believe that disclosure would result in abuse, abandonment, or neglect”.
Now that it has been signed, the bill will come into effect on 1 July 2022.
Following the signing of the bill, Amit Paley, CEO of LGBT+ charity The Trevor Project, said in a statement: “LGBTQ youth in Florida deserve better. They deserve to see their history, their families, and themselves reflected in the classroom.
“While I am saddened to see this harmful bill signed into law, I am inspired by the outpouring of support for LGBTQ students we have seen from parents, teachers, celebrities, and their peers.
“Social support is vital for suicide prevention, and I want to remind LGBTQ youth in Florida and across the country that you are not alone.”
A group of determined New Jersey students defiantly staged a walkout in protest against a new policy that stops them from flying an LGBT+ Pride flag.
About 40 students, some wearing kaleidoscopic coloured items, in Passaic, New Jersey, took to the streets on Monday (28 March) for the right to fly the Pride flag, NJ.comreported.
The Passaic board of education recently enacted a policy that bans flag displays on school grounds with exceptions for the American flag, New Jersey state flag and school flags.
But students want to be able to raise the LGBT+ Pride flag. Several stood in front of the city’s three high schools and chanted “walk out” to encourage others to join in the protest against the new policy.
The brave students also called on school officials to allow them to “raise our flag”. The protest eventually moved from the schools to City Hall and then the board of education building.
Amari Gawthney led the group down to City Hall and declared “we’re not going to stop until we get what we want”.
“We put up the flag last year with no problem,” Gawthney said. “Then this new policy came from out of the blue, and they pushed it under the rug, actually.”
Last June, students in Passaic were allowed to raise the LGBT+ flag on school grounds for the first time to celebrate Pride Month. Flag displays were permitted until November when a group of community members questioned the school board on why the Pride flag was allowed to fly.
The board’s vice chairman L Daniel Rodriguez said it was easier to enact a blanket ban because it was “one of those issues [where] we want to make sure we were fair to everyone”, NJ.comreported.
Camila Perez, a freshman in Passaic, wore a rainbow flag as she spoke before trustees at a school board meeting last week. Perez argued the blanket ban is “unfair” and “discriminates” against the queer community.
“It bothers me, and it bothers the whole community,” Perez said.
The students at the protest called on the school board to rescind the policy and allow them to fly the LGBT+ flag in time for Pride Month, just two months from now.
Jaylie Barrett, a senior at Passaic PREP, argued the board “disrespected us as a community” and “won’t tell us why” they changed the policy.
Students across America have staged mass walkouts in protest of LGBT+ hate in the education system, discrimination against queer students and increasing restrictions on displays in support of the LGBT+ community.
Students across America are staging mass walkouts to protest LGBT+ hate in the education system, and schools are finding them harder and harder to ignore.
A short while later, hundreds of students in Texas marched out after a lesbian teacher was allegedly escorted off campus amid a row over stickers used by educators to show their classrooms were a ‘safe space’ for LGBT+ students.
Recently, the student organiser of massive school walkouts across Florida was suspended for distributing Pride flags during protests against the state’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill.
Jack Petocz, a junior at Flagler Palm Coast High School in Florida, said he was “proud of who I am” and proud of all those who are “protesting these regressive bills”.
He called on students to “let our politicians know that no matter how hard they try, they cannot suppress our identities or silence our voices”.
“Gen Z will not stand idly by as our rights are stripped from us,” Petocz said. “It is now up to you to decide which side of history you will be on, the side that empowers us or the side that seeks to erase us.”
Former staffers of animation studio Blue Sky have claimed they were pressured by Disney into censoring an LGBT+ scene from the movie adaptation of Nimona.
Nimona was originally published as a webcomic by ND Stevenson – the trans writer, cartoonist and animation producer behind acclaimed projects like She-Ra and the Princesses of Power and Lumberjanes.
The fantasy comic about a shape-shifter named Nimona was eventually published as a graphic novel by HarperCollins and won an Eisner award in 2016. Nimona was picked up by Disney-acquired Blue Sky and was set to become a film before Disney closed the animation studio in 2021.
Three ex-Blue Sky workers told Business Insiderthat Disney didn’t fully approve of the film because it contained LGBT+ characters and themes.
The anonymous staffers said Disney executives particularly pushed back against one queer scene featuring a same-sex kiss in the movie during a meeting in mid-2020 between leadership teams.
The same-sex kiss in the movie would have been between villain Lord Ballister Blackheart and the supposedly heroic Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin, who have a romantic relationship in the comic.
Blue Sky’s leadership apparently “felt enough pressure” on them to remove the kiss from further pitch presentations to Disney, according to the workers.
But the sources told Insider that the animation studio apparently hoped to ultimately include the kiss in the final film.
Disney did not respond to Business Insider‘s request for comment on the allegations. PinkNews has also contacted Disney for comment.
The news comes after a group of LGBT+ Pixar staff accused Disney of cutting “nearly every moment of overtly gay affection” from their projects. The accusation, which was released in an open letter, claimed that animators were “being barred from creating” LGBT+ content by Disney despite fierce protests from “both the creative teams and executive leadership at Pixar”.
The letter called out the Disney’s delayed response to Florida’s reviled ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill, which would ban classroom discussion about LGBT+ identities in the state’s primary schools.
The three ex-Blue Sky members said that Nimona experience similar pressure from Disney’s top leaders and ultimately caused a rift in the formerly “tight-knit” workplace.
The workers told Insider that omitting the same-sex kiss caused “confusion” within the studio, which they described as akin to a “family”. One staffer said it “caused a weird atmosphere” at Blue Sky, especially among LGBT+ workers, that was completely different from his experience at the company.
Another worker said the group had come forward to not only highlight the need for “more queer stories” but to also “call out how nefarious it is when you don’t tell queer stories”.
“When the biggest entertainment company in the world creates content for children and systematically censors queer content, they are pushing queer children to dark places,” the worker said.
The third former worker called Nimona a film that they truly “believed in” and “loved”, and they “thought people needed to see” the movie.
Nimona was planned to be released in January 2022. Several Blue Sky employees told BuzzFeed Newslast year that the film was about 75 per cent complete – with only a couple more months of work left to finish the movie – when the studios were closed.
One of the former workers said they “personally didn’t see the support from Disney” while they worked on Nimona. They added that they didn’t think Disney had a “great track record of making queer-inclusive media”.
The Metropolitan Police made assumptions about “the lifestyles of gay men” in investigating the crimes of Stephen Port, according to a leaked report from the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC).
The unpublished report, seen by Channel 4 News, states that “the public cannot be satisfied that police are making decisions based on evidence and fact” because of the assumptions made in the investigation into Port, who murdered four gay men.
Port, known as a the “Grindr killer”, murdered Anthony Walgate, Gabriel Kovari, Daniel Whitworth and Jack Taylor over a 15-month period in 2014 and 2015.
He approached his victims via dating apps before giving them fatal doses of the date rape drug GHB, and was finally sentenced to life in prison in 2016.
Last year, following a lengthy inquest, a jury ruled that there had been police “failures” in investigating Port’s crimes and, had they been avoided, some of his victims may still be alive.
But the leaked IOPC report tells a different story.
It states that officers made assumptions about “the lifestyles of gay men”, and adds: “The investigations into the four deaths reveal that assumptions were made and could have been based, consciously or unconsciously, on discriminatory views.”
The families of Stephen Port victims want an inquiry into whether there is institutional ‘homophobia’ within the Met
Although the idea that homophobia could have allowed Stephen Port’s murder spree to continue is reprehensible, it could come as some relief for the families of his victims.
A petition launched by the families, which has been signed by more than 42,000 people, is calling for an inquiry into homophobia in the Met, and for officers involved in the investigation to be harshly punished.
During the recent inquest, it was revealed that five police officers who were reprimanded for “performance failings” have since been promoted to more senior roles.
Furthermore, following Port’s arrest, nine detectives were told by the IOPC that their performance had “fallen below the standard required”.
Yet not a single officer was fired.
The petition reads: “We need justice for Jack, Anthony, Gabriel and Daniel.
“The families need justice. The officers need to be held accountable. They should not be in the positions of authority they currently hold.
“There is widespread homophobic and gender-phobic discrimination in the police forces, a full public inquiry should be launched to fully investigate the police failings and make an example of those who let down the families of Stephen Port victims.”
In December, a group of 18 MPs wrote a letter to then Met Police chief Cressida Dick to demand a public inquiry into whether the Met Police is “institutionally homophobic”.
They said: “The key question everyone is asking is yet to be answered – whether institutional homophobia in the Met played a role in these investigations… It is imperative that a public inquiry takes place urgently to consider if institutional homophobia played a role in this case.”
In a statement to Channel 4 News, a spokesperson for the Met Police said: “In an organisation of more than 44,000 people, we have already acknowledged there will be a small number with attitudes and beliefs that are not welcome in the Met; we will challenge, educate and discipline as appropriate.”
“We are concerned to hear that, anecdotally, the IOPC has learned some of our LGBT+ advisers have experienced discrimination from colleagues,” they added.
“This is a serious matter and we will be exploring this further.”
PinkNews has contacted the Met Police and the IOPC for comment.
A body found on the shore of Lake Michigan in a suburb of Chicago has been identified as trans rights activist Elise Malary.
Malary was last heard from on 9 March, and on 11 March she was reported as a missing person.
Although she was missing and her apartment had been left unlocked, police initially said there was no indication of foul play.
On Thursday, 17 March, a body was discovered by 19-year-old Tristan Lambach on the lakefront in the Chicago suburb of Evanston, Illinois. Policy later confirmed that it was Malary. She was just 31 years old.
Malary was a passionate activist who worked tirelessly for the LGBT+ and BIPOC communities in Chicago.
She was a board member for the Chicago Therapy Collective, which “promotes city-wide accountability and action to alleviate LGBTQIA health disparities” and works to advance “collective health and wellbeing through education, therapy, advocacy and the arts”.
Elise Malary was a tireless activist. (Facebook/ Chicago Therapy Collective)
The collective described her as a “key player for the #HireTransNOW initiative”, which combats anti-trans hiring stigma and employment discrimination.
She was also a member of the community advisory group for Equality Illinois, extensively fundraised for various community groups, and worked with the Illinois attorney general’s Civil Rights Bureau.
Maria Hadden, alderwoman for Chicago’s 49th ward, announced the news on Twitter: “There’s no easy way to say this – I’m heartbroken to share that Elise is no longer alive and with us.
“She has been identified and now her family, friends and our community begin to process her loss and our grief. Elise Malary will be missed terribly.”
The governor of Illinois described the loss as “heartbreaking”, while the Illinois attorney general’s office released a statement: “Today is a devastating day for the Office of the Attorney General. After hoping for several days that our friend and colleague Elise Malary would be safely reunited with her family, friends and loved ones, we have received confirmation of the unthinkable.
“Elise was a valued member of our Civil Rights Bureau who, as a tireless advocate for the LGBTQ community, was passionate about her work. Her kindness and infectious smile will be missed by those who worked with her.
“The Attorney General’s office has lost a member of our family, and as an office, we are heartbroken.
“I extend my deepest condolences to Elise’s family and friends. May Elise’s memory inspire all of us to live authentically and have humanity toward all.”
Brave Space Alliance, a Black and trans-run LGBT+ centre in Chicago, has created a fund to help cover Malary’s funeral expenses.
In a statement, the alliance said: “Brave Space Alliance is devastated to learn that missing trans liberation leader, and beloved Chicago trans community member Elise Malary was confirmed dead today by the City of Evanston Police Department. Elise was a pillar of our community, a friend and accomplice to many, and a shining example of Black Trans Excellence.
“Elise’s work to advance the interests of trans people in Andersonville with the Chicago Therapy Collective has touched countless lives, and helped make Chicago a better place for trans people to live, work, and thrive.”
The funeral fund, the group said, “will be working with Elise’s family to ensure that she receives a memorial deserving of her dedication to Black Trans Liberation”.
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”.
Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti. (Anadolu Agency via Getty / Ali Balikci)
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.”
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.”
Disney CEO Bob Chapek. (Jeff Gritchen/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images)
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.
Lenny Ensom (C) with other activists involved with Kyiv Pride. (Provided)
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”.
A participant holds a placard which says Love is love during the Equality March KyivPride 2021 of the LGBT community. (Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty)
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.”
