Ukrainian transgender women – biological males who believe they are female – are reportedly being prevented from fleeing the war in Ukraine because of a law that bars military-aged men from leaving the country, according to multiple reports.
Reports say transgender women who have not changed their legal documents to reflect their condition are being stopped at Ukraine’s borders and are ultimately sent back, as their passports or identification documents show that they are, in fact, biological males.
Activists have noted that the problem is occurring with both transgender males and females, but mostly impacts the biological males who believe they are women.
“The situation is very hard because the LGBTQ+ community was feeling marginalised and discriminated against before the war began,” said Igor Medvid, a coordinator for HPLGBT.
Critics blame the situation on “lawful transphobia” supported by the Ukraine government.
“Many people say that when they attempted to cross the border, the border police and the border guards are making their decision based on the gender marker in the passport,” said one person, “We consider this as another example of lawful transphobia.”
Some have resorted to intentionally “losing” their identity documents and other extreme measures to flee the war.
Years of war in eastern Ukraine brought with it specific dangers for the country’s LGBTQ+ community, and in particular transgender people
The persecution continues as dozens of trans women are reportedly mistreated and pushed back at the border https://t.co/TKpPTOiFxr
— Jack Losh (@jacklosh) March 22, 2022
“There are two trans organisations in Ukraine, and we are both advising people to not lose their documents,” said Anastasiia Yeva Domani, the CEO of the NGO Cohort. “And to not use these illegal methods, such as bribing because people are just getting caught and jailed.”
“It makes the situation worse. Because if your documents are put in the database as lost, it will just create further problems for you.”
A separate report details an experience that one trans woman named “Judis” had with the Ukrainian border security.
“Ukrainian border guards undress you and touch you everywhere,” Judis said. “You can see on their faces they’re wondering ‘what are you?’ like you’re some kind of animal or something.”
“Martial law says all males are obliged to serve in the military, so they can’t leave the country,” said Olena Shevchenko, the chair of a Ukrainian LGBT organisation.
🇺🇦 Members of Ukraine's transgender community are having trouble fleeing Russia's bombardment of the country, activists have told. Euronews. https://t.co/awFN5Q3oF9
— euronews (@euronews) March 22, 2022
“Technically, the law applies to trans people as well, including both certified trans men and trans women who had not changed their documents,” she said.
Shevchenko suggested that Ukrainian border guards are preventing men who believe they are women from fleeing, even despite having identification that says they are supposedly females, for reasons apparently unknown.
“But it sounds like Ukrainian border guards are preventing even trans people with a valid certificate reflecting their new gender from leaving Ukraine, and nobody knows why,” she said.
Ukraine is defending itself from Russia’s “special military operation” it launched last month following a years long standoff over the disputed Donbass region. Russia claims it launched its “special military operation” to defend ethnic Russians from Ukrainian state violence, while Ukraine and much of the international community claim the invasion was unprovoked.
