By Joseph R. Castel
It’s been quite unconceivable how Russia is just plowing through an independent country and violating human rights left and right. The bombings of Ukraine’s maternity hospital, theatre and schools are headline news. What hasn’t made the headlines are the stories about the LGBTQ individuals trapped or fleeing their country and how many of those individuals are turning to LGBTQ organizations within Ukraine, its surrounding nations, and even the United States for assistance.
One of those organizations is Outright Action International, a New York City based LGBTQ organization that since 1990, has worked alongside LGBTIQ activists and organizations, diplomats and policymakers to find community-focused solutions to create lasting legal and social transformation. In collaboration with these individuals and organizations, they combat the systemic violence, persecution and discrimination that LGBTIQ people face around the world.
To date, Outright has raised more than $500,000 to financially assist LGBTQ organizations and activists that are helping LGBTQ individuals trapped in and fleeing Ukraine. In late March, Outright supporters raised $12,000 for Ukraine in the Los Angeles Half Marathon.
One of those runners was law school professor and former West Hollywood Council Member John Heilman, who sits on the board of directors for Outright. Heilman spoke to Adelante on what his organization has accomplished during this crisis.
Adelante: Can you give me an update on how Outright’s financial assistance is supporting LGBTQ organizations that are directly helping people?
Heilman: So far OutRight has distributed over $400,000 to groups mostly inside Ukraine but also some groups in neighboring countries like Moldova, Hungary and Romania. The needs include financial assistance for food and medicine including hormone therapy and HIV medications as well as running and transporting people to safe houses. We continue to raise funds knowing that support will be needed for many months to come.
We will need to continue to provide support to both people who are still inside the country as well as those who are leaving. We know from experience that LGBTQ people are too often excluded or don’t have their needs met in a crisis and so we are prepared to provide support for at least the next 6 months. In addition, there is a significant need for psychological assistance to deal with the impact of displacement.
Adelante: Does your organization help LGBTQ Russians in Russia? And how?
Heilman Russia passed a series of anti-LGBTQ laws which makes it extremely difficult for LGBTQ organizations to operate in Russia. But OutRight continues to provide support to activists. When we provide support in some places, we need to be careful about doing anything which might jeopardize the safety of people on the ground.
OutRight is currently running a campaign linked to the documentary Welcome to Chechnya and we distribute funds to two Russian groups as part of this effort. For more info, visit:
https://www.welcometochechnya.com/savelives
Adelante: Do you know of any personal stories about individuals, what they are doing inside of Ukraine? What are they saying?
Heilman: We are supporting several safe houses for trans women who still have a male gender marker in their passports and so are not allowed to leave the country. We hope there will be a way for them to leave for safety.
Below are two quotes from some of Outright’s partner organizations and grantees:
“Thank you for your help in such a difficult time, we appreciate it and express gratitude from the trans* people of Ukraine. For the second week now, we have been using the funds of OutRight Action International to help, and this is very timely. In addition to direct financial assistance to trans people’s bank cards, we also help pay for mobile communications, food, water and hygiene products, all that is still left in our stores. We really need hormonal drugs, but you can’t find them in pharmacies. In the western cities of Ukraine, trans people and cis women have already sold out of all the hormones.”
Another Outright partner organizer wrote:
“Ukrainian LGBT+ people, like the entire Ukrainian people, have been suffering for two weeks now from this war. I think the LGBT+ community will be at the top of the list of the most vulnerable groups under Russian occupation. The fact is that Ukraine, especially after the Revolution of Dignity in 2014, was developing as a democratic European country and the LGBT+ community, especially the younger generation, has already become accustomed to the relative and growing freedom in Ukrainian society. It is hard to imagine that we will have to come to terms with the so-called “Russian world”, its laws and morality, which are aimed against LGBT+ people. It is very likely that LGBT+ activists will end up on the lists for concentration camps or extermination.
The office of our organization, where 4 people lived, was attacked twice, after which our friends/colleagues were forced to leave their home and move to a safer shelter. Someone with homophobic motives provoked the attack. Our friends/colleagues were beaten, robbed and subjected to severe psychological pressure. But, fortunately, everyone survived. But as you can imagine, each of them has its own terrible story. It is absolutely necessary to add and underline that none of this would have happened if Putin had not unleashed a war against peaceful Ukraine. The situation is very complex and it can change every hour.
Our task now is to survive and protect our land. But we hope and are confident in the victory of Ukraine in this war. It simply cannot be otherwise. And after the war, we will definitely return to our daily work – to promote LGBT+ rights to make our country a better place. Please send appeals to your government so that the entire civilized world will help and support Ukraine in this our fight against the forces of evil, including homo- and transphobia, which are blowing at us from Russia! Please, if you can, spread our message among your readers and friends. We want as many people in the world as possible to know the truth about what is happening right now in Ukraine.”
Outright is still accepting donations for Ukraine and LGBTIQ organizations in surrounding countries at www.outrightinternational.org/ukraine. Outright also welcomes general donations to support ongoing programs to fight for human rights and equality for LGBTIQ+ people everywhere, at www.outrightinternational.org/donate.