Back Strengthening access to justice for LGBTQI people in Ukraine

Strengthening access to justice for LGBTQI people in Ukraine

The NGO Insight from Ukraine is implementing until April 2022 a project aiming at combating discrimination and hatred against LGBTI people in Ukraine through litigation, providing access to support services and informing victims about the possibilities to get assistance. This project is carried out with the support of the European Union/Council of Europe joint programme Partnership for Good Governance II, and its regional project “Strengthening access to justice for victims of discrimination, hate speech and hate crimes in the Eastern Partnership.”

The organisation Insight will:

  1. provide access to support services (legal and psychological counselling) for LGBTQI people (in particular people who are subject to multiple discrimination) victims of discrimination, hate speech and hate crimes.
  2. combat hate crimes and discrimination against LGBTQI people through litigation (including strategic litigation).
  3. inform LGBTQI people when they are victims of discrimination on possibilities of getting assistance and relevant actions.

LGBTI people are still exposed to high levels of discrimination, hate crime and hate speech in Ukraine and the investigation of hate crimes on the grounds of homophobia or transphobia remains largely unsatisfactory. LGBTQI people have limited access to psychological and legal assistance, as well as judicial protection due to lack of financial resources and lack of friendly professionals. The pandemic has had an even more negative impact on LGBTQI people access to help, as many have lost their jobs and some have even become homeless. To ensure equality, it is important to improve LGBTQI people access to psychological and legal assistance and to inform them about these possibilities.

This is one of the six civil society projects supported by our regional project on anti-discrimination, in Armenia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine aimed at increasing access to justice for groups that experience discrimination, hate speech and hate crime.

This activity is implemented in the framework of the regional project “Strengthening access to justice for victims of discrimination, hate crime and hate speech in the Eastern Partnership,” funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe in their Partnership for Good Governance II 2019-2022.

Ukraine 11 December 2021
  • Diminuer la taille du texte
  • Augmenter la taille du texte
  • Imprimer la page
Strasbourg, France Strasbourg, 1-2 July 2024
  • Diminuer la taille du texte
  • Augmenter la taille du texte
  • Imprimer la page
  • Imprimer en PDF
Addressing hate speech and hate crime: regional gathering of the network of Equality Bodies from the Western Balkans and the Eastern Partnership Region

A two-day workshop on addressing hate speech and hate crime took place at the premises of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, involving Equality bodies from the Western Balkans and the Eastern Partnership regions.  The event supported by the EU and Council of Europe, gathered 50 representatives from both regions who discussed and exchanged on the best practices, measures and common challenges when addressing hate speech and hate crime. Through monitoring and reporting, policy advocacy, raising awareness and supporting victims equality bodies play a fundamental role in protecting human rights and ensuring that all individuals are treated equally.

In her opening remarks, Angela Longo, Head of Anti-discrimination Co-operation Unit, Council of Europe, underlined the significant progress in engaging with Equality Bodies through this network, regularly exchanging best practices and addressing the challenges of hatred and intolerance in societies. She highlighted that this new chapter of discussion delves into the grey area between hate speech and hate crime, addressing issues of incitement and biases,

Representatives from Equality Bodies had the opportunity to discuss and enhance their knowledge on the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers Recommendation to member States on combating hate crime, adopted on 7th May 2024, as well as gain a clearer understanding of EU standards in the field of hate crime. Moreover, participants engaged in exchanges with peers from the Spanish Observatory on Racism and Xenophobia (OBERAXE), who shared insights on addressing hate speech in the public discourse. The National Office Against Racial Discrimination (UNAR) in Italy provided practical examples for developing counter-narratives and raising awareness initiatives.

They also explored opportunities to advocate for legislative reform, foster multisectoral co-operation, enhance data collection, and overall improve national mechanisms to counter hate crimes.

This seminar was organised within the action “Promoting equality and combating racism and intolerance in the Western Balkans” and the project “Promoting equality and non-discrimination: towards more resilient and inclusive societies” – co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe, and implemented by the Council of Europe  under the joint Programmes “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye” and “Partnership for Good Governance”.

Follow us on social media