Narratives in Ukrainian politics about the LGBT+ community

Thus, an analysis of the election programs of the political parties that won the majority of seats in parliament in the 2019 elections showed that advocacy for the LGBT+ community was neither a priority nor a separate area of work for any of the parties. It is worth noting that we found no overtly homophobic statements or positions in the programs analyzed. Some referred to implementing the principle of social justice and equality of all social groups in Ukraine. However, these ideas were presented as value guidelines rather than priority work areas with a specific mechanism of action.

The existence of such references, albeit only at the ideological level, is undoubtedly better than the absence of any. However, it would be much better to specify the problem of discrimination against the LGBT+ community and actualize the issue of proper protection as a separate item in the program.

It is quite clear why naming the problem of discrimination is necessary: as long as the problem is not stated and “highlighted,” it remains invisible to the majority of society. As long as the challenges posed by no legal recognition of homosexual couples as families are not being discussed, most of society does not even notice them. Accordingly, problems that are not verbalized and actualized cannot be solved.

Membership of Ukrainian political parties in international liberal democratic associations

The affiliation of a political party with international political associations, alliances, or organizations is one way, but definitely not the only way, to assess its ideological and value orientation. It is an indicator allowing us to evaluate whether a party is friendly towards the LGBT+ community, at least declaratively. One such association is the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE), a European transnational political party that adheres to liberal democratic values and unites parties that share them.

The Ukrainian political party Holos joined ALDE in 2020, the first parliamentary party of this Verkhovna Rada convocation to do so. According to Holos, to become a member of this association, a party must prove that it shares the values of liberal democracy, rule of law, tolerance, human rights protection, and the principles of a market economy. For its part, membership in ALDE provides access to networking with European parties with similar values and a European political elite.

The Servant of the People (SP) party was the second Ukrainian political party to join the Alliance, in 2022. According to Olena Shulyak, the party’s chairperson, this decision was not spontaneous: “Joining the ‘political family’ of the ALDE party as a full member is one of the key priorities for the Servant of the People in international politics.” The issue of accession became especially relevant after Russia’s full-scale invasion. In addition to being an indicator of shared values and beliefs, membership in the association is now seen as an important political step that promotes better integration into the European political community.

In addition to the fact that the ALDE’s unequivocal support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and integrity strengthens our country’s position in the international arena, the membership of two Ukrainian parties in ALDE also impacts decisions made within the Ukrainian political arena. For example, on May 28, 2023, ALDE adopted a resolution supporting the legislative initiative of Holos and SP MPs to submit a draft law on civil partnerships. This was the first international statement of this level calling for support for the draft law.

Although this resolution does not de jure impose any obligations on Ukraine and is only advisory, de facto, it could influence the adoption of the draft law. The European community’s call to support registered partnerships for same-sex and different-sex couples demonstrates the importance of this issue for the Alliance and the European political community, which observes liberal democratic values. This Alliance position also legalizes the significance and relevance of this issue in Ukrainian society. For Ukraine, which is fighting for its place in this community, adopting the draft law is a logical and expected step for implementing European legislation into Ukrainian national legislation.

Homophobic statements and legislative initiatives of individual party representatives

Despite the fact that the programs of the above-mentioned political parties do not contain overtly homophobic positions, and some of the parties belong to liberal democratic associations, the positions of individual party representatives sometimes contrast. This is manifested in their homophobic statements, legislative initiatives, or unwillingness to support bills aimed at improving the situation of the LGBT+ community.

Two draft laws submitted by SP MPs Heorhiy Mazurashu and Olena Lys on July 22, 2020, are vivid examples of how the positions of the party and its representatives diverge sharply. The first draft law proposes amending certain legislative acts on protecting the family, childhood, maternity, and paternity. In the draft, the authors define “homosexuality, pornography, sexual products, transgenderism” and introduce the concept of “propaganda of homosexuality or transgenderism,” although they do not yet define it. In addition, the authors propose replacing the word “gender” with “equality of rights and opportunities for women and men” throughout. In the explanatory note, the authors justify their proposal with the “danger” that “gender ideology” allegedly poses.

The second draft law proposes amendments to the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses regarding liability for propaganda about homosexuality and transgenderism. In the explanatory note to the draft law, the authors express concern about “aggressive propaganda of homosexuality and transgenderism aimed at destroying the family institution” as one of the “immoral threats of our time” as a justification for its adoption. In the note, they also misinterpret the concepts of gender and gender equality and view them as inherently “explicit or implicit propaganda of homosexuality and transgenderism.”

At the same time, in his comments to Suspilne, co-author of the draft law Heorhiy Mazurashu notes that, generally, he is “far from thinking that they [transgender people and the LGBT+ community] should be treated in any way biased, or subjected to any discriminatory actions.”^[2] Commenting on the draft law to Radio Liberty, he reiterates his “calm and civilized attitude towards people with different sexual orientations and gender identities.”^[3] Mazurashu explains that he is concerned about the risks of “propaganda of homosexuality or transgenderism.” Therefore, he and his colleague propose introducing a fine of 1,000 tax-free minimum incomes (UAH 17,000) for individuals and 3,000 tax-free minimum incomes (UAH 51,000) for legal entities.

Another draft law initiated Heorhiy Mazurashu proposes amendments to the Budget Code of Ukraine to prevent spending budget funds on promoting pedophilia, homosexuality, and transgenderism. In addition to Mazurashu, the group of initiators of the bill includes other members of the SP party Anatoliy Drabovsky, Serhiy Kuzminykh, Artem Kultenko; and non-partisan MP Viktor Myalyk.

health,” leads to “violation of the right to freedom of scientific research,” and “violation of the right to freedom of expression and freedom of religion.” In conclusion, the authors argue that “homosexuality, transgenderism, and pedophilia destroy public morality.” As a solution, the MPs propose a draft law that would potentially strengthen protection of family, childhood, maternity and paternity and prevent budget expenditures promoting “pedophilia, homosexuality, and transgenderism.”

In the comparative table to this draft law, the authors define what they mean by “pedophilia, propaganda of pedophilia, homosexuality, propaganda of homosexuality, transgenderism, propaganda of transgenderism.” They consider the production, distribution, and/or public use of products containing LGBT symbols to be a kind of “propaganda of homosexuality.”

All of these draft laws were withdrawn from consideration. Human rights defenders note that their content is very similar to the narrative from Russian legislation, which considers “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations” a crime and introduces a fine for it.^[4] In particular, the human rights NGO Our World commented on the above-mentioned legislative initiative as “support to Russian policy” and a willingness to “stand under the banner of the Russian-led movement for traditional values.” Although they believe that the real chances of passing this law, even at the time of its submission, were close to zero, the very existence of such legislative initiatives poses certain risks. These narratives are inconsistent with the ideological guidelines declared by the party in its election program and with the basic principle of non-discrimination enshrined in national law. Such initiatives go against the European integration process and Ukraine’s international obligations to ensure equality of rights and freedoms and combat xenophobia and intolerance.

In addition to the human rights community, some national public figures and institutions criticized the draft law. In particular, the office of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights commented that the initiative of the draft law on fines for “propaganda of homosexuality and transgenderism” contradicts constitutional norms and international legal standards and “aims to discriminate against members of the LGBTI community and violate their right to respect for honor and dignity.”^[5]

In response to this draft law, MP Inna Sovsun submitted an alternative one that proposes including in Ukrainian legislation a ban on funding programs and activities that contain signs of direct or indirect discrimination or intolerance against individuals and their groups, depending on the characteristics that such individuals or groups possess. In justifying the need to adopt the draft law, the author also mentions that her colleague’s draft law contains outdated, incorrect terms and promotes stigmatization and discrimination against people based on their sexual orientation and gender identity. However, this draft law was withdrawn from consideration like the previous ones.

(Non)support for the draft law on civil partnerships

Another way to check whether the actions and positions of party members are consistent with the party’s official position is to analyze their (non)support for draft laws aimed at protecting the rights of the LGBT+ community. The latest and probably one of the most visible draft laws in the field LGBT+ rights protection is the draft law on registered civil partnerships. Our previous publications have already discussed the importance of adopting this draft law and the opportunities the LGBT+ community may gain (Zavhorodnia’s first text for ERIM). In this article, we will consider in more detail Ukrainian politicians’ reaction to the draft.

After a petition demanding to “legalize same-sex marriage” on the website of the President of Ukraine gained 25,000 signatures, MP Inna Sovsun of the Holos party registered a draft law on civil partnerships for same-sex and different-sex couples. The list of initiators includes 18 MPs: 7 from Holos and 11 from SP, including Oleksandra Ustinova, head of the Holos parliamentary faction, and Olena Shulyak, head of the SP party. At the time the draft law was registered, its author, assessing the chances, noted that “given the support of the two factions, adoption of the draft law is quite realistic.”^[6] She also expressed special gratitude to Dmytro Gurin, a Servant of the People party member, who helped collect signatures from his faction’s MPs. The petition in support of the bill quickly gained 25,000 signatures.

After considering the draft law at a Youth and Sports Committee meeting on March 7, 2023, the majority of committee members decided to support the draft law. The committee considered creating a new institution of civil partnerships as an important step towards European integration, so it recommended that the Verkhovna Rada adopt the draft law. A report by the Our World Human Rights Center notes that it was entirely unexpected that the committee chair, Andriy Kozhemiakin, a member of the Batkivshchyna faction, would support the draft law.^[7] The report states that at the committee meeting, the MP said that although he supports Christian values, he perceives this draft law as an opportunity to “do something to move away from Russian bonds” and therefore supported this decision.

The Committee on Ukraine’s Integration into the EU was the second to consider the draft law at a meeting and unanimously supported it. Among the MPs who voted for it were representatives of different political factions: Mezentseva (SP), Halaychuk (SP), Vintoniak (SP), Nalyvaichenko (Batkivshchyna), Klympush-Tsintsadze (European Solidarity), and Liubota (SP).

The Committee on Digital Transformation was the next to support the draft law. In its expert conclusion, the Committee provided several recommendations for finalizing the draft and improvements for its implementation. The draft’s author, Inna Sovsun, expressed willingness to participate in further discussions on this issue.

The Committee on Social Policy and Veterans’ Rights also supported the draft law. Among those present at the committee meeting who voted in favor were Tsyba (SP), Nikorak (European Solidarit), Strunevych (SP), Arseniuk (SP), and Babenko (Bila Tserkva Razom). In contrast, First Deputy Chair of the Committee Tsymbaliuk (Batkivshchyna), committee member Tymoshenko (Batkivshchyna), and subcommittee chair Ostapenko (European Solidarity) abstained.