LGBT Community Finding Shelter in the Ukraine Crisis
starobserver.com.auMore than four months since Russia first invaded Ukraine, over 9.6 million refugees have since left Ukraine, and an estimated 8 million people had been displaced within the country by May 3.Trans women and trans men have faced difficulties while trying to leave Ukraine, with a shortage of medical services and supplies including necessary hormone therapy drugs and HIV medication.
Trans women have also been turned back at the border due to personal identification documents failing to match their gender or physical examinations by border officials who have declared them to be men.
When Russia first moved troops towards the border, The Kyiv City Council posted a map that indicated the nearest shelters that people could find in the event of bombings or assault.
Shelters have since been open for stray animals, blind people and LGBTQI+ identifying people.Grassroots organisation SAFEBOW, has helped more than 4,000 refugees from marginalised groups – including LGBTQI+, disabled, and elderly people and international students who were studying in Ukraine – leave Ukraine since Russia’s invasion began.
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