On 23-25 of April 2018 in Kyiv, Ukraine International Conference “Transgender issues: challenges and perspectives in modern Ukraine and world” will take place.

Co-organizers

• Insight public organization

In cooperation with:

• Ministry of Health of Ukraine
• Coalition against discrimination in Ukraine
• Secretariat of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights
• Post Soviet Trans*Coalition

Context

The transgender phenomenon is comprehended in the context of many discourses — medical, sociological, political, cultural, religious, philosophical, etc. The multilevel character of this phenomenon in combination with the inability of specialists and groups to go beyond the boundaries of definitions and categories, legitimized in certain fields, leading to the lack of understanding among human rights activists, medical professionals, public institutions, scientists and transgender people themselves, which complicates the situation of trans people in many countries of the world. Medical pathologization, the rejection of gender nonconformity in societies, discrimination at the state level, the high level of xenophobia and violence against transgender people make them one of the most vulnerable social groups in the modern world.

In Ukraine, we are going through the transformation and reforms on every level, including forming new values of humanity and non-discrimination attitude to different stigmatised social groups. In 2016, Ukraine adopted a new procedure of legal gender recognition for trans people, which allowed them to access legal gender recognition without compulsory sterilisation and other harmful and inhuman practices.

But this procedure is still restrictive for many trans people who can’t get access to proper health care and services, who can’t take hormones or don’t want to, who are forced to wait for months or even years to obtain a diagnosis required for recognition. There is a huge number of discriminatory attitudes and practices from governmental institutions towards trans people as well as increasing level of violence based on transphobia and homophobia. The ability of transgender people to affirm their identities and to integrate into the society remains limited.

Our goal

The Conference aims to become a platform for communication, exchange of experiences, best practices and finding a common language between medical experts, government agencies, human rights defenders, researchers and trans* activists from different countries and different contexts. Our focus is at the juncture of human rights and medical discourses — as well as the phenomena of gender diversity. We want to create a space for bringing together people and institutions seeking to provide qualified medical services, ensure the implementation of civil and human rights for trans* people and protect them from discrimination and violence.