Anastasia

“For the first time, transgender representation beyond community spaces is being advocated for”

ANASTASIA

KYIV, UKRAINE

Anastasia knows that visibility is key to the strength and unity of the transgender community. A passionate advocate for the rights of transgender people and those affected by HIV in Ukraine, Anastasia uses her first-hand experience of the challenges faced by her community to help and champion others.

Anastasia works on advocacy, awareness, and community mobilisation projects and while the war in Ukraine has posed challenges, she has made progress for transgender rights while working at her NGO, Cohort. Moving forward, she would like to help achieve more of a focus on prevention services to improve outcomes for the transgender community.

Anastasia’s story

Kyiv, Ukraine

For transgender people in Ukraine, visibility comes with many risks. As in many countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, transgender people are subjected to violence and discrimination at extraordinary rates.¹

Anastasia and her team at Cohort have been involved in the RADIAN funded Trans* Map project. The project has driven awareness and is helping support the creation of a more enabling environment for transgender people in Ukraine. Recently as part of the Trans* Map project, Anastasia, successfully lobbied the Ministry of Health for the inclusion of transgender people as a key population affected by HIV in Ukraine's health policy.

“Many European organisations consider transgender people to be a key population in relation to HIV, but this has not the case in Ukraine until recently. We have worked very hard to ensure that we were included as a key population and, at the end of 2023, we achieved this important feat. Now, transgender people are the seventh key population officially included in the order of the Ministry of Health.”

Being part of the transgender community herself, Anastasia began her own transition later in life. She faced numerous barriers through her transition journey, including from state officials and doctors, but she used her experiences to guide others and takes pride in continuing to do so.

“At the time of my transition, there were no organisations, like there are today, that could help me. Therefore, to support the broader transgender community, I documented my learnings through my social networks. But people are different, and I realised soon that there were more complicated situations than my own, and it was even more difficult for others to get to where they needed. These people need to be supported too.”

As part of their wider activities with Trans* Map, Anastasia and her team ran a forum theatre where they performed skits starring transgender individuals to bring their real-life experiences to others. The campaign saw great success in shedding light on the various challenges faced by transgender people and has improved representation of transgender people in the media.

However, the ongoing war in Ukraine poses significant challenges to the work Anastasia does, with Cohort losing a quarter of its employees at the start of the war, and many transgender activists leaving the country. Destruction of health infrastructure in front-line regions of the country have put a strain on the health of the population, with many transgender people having never been tested for HIV, and those who have been tested often not receiving the services they need.

Previously, there was a very narrow view of transgender people in the media. But now, it’s no longer just about drag queens or sex workers. Now there is such a diverse representation in the media including non-binary, transgender men, transgender women, and gender non-conforming individuals.

“Traditionally, members of the transgender community faced challenges in ongoing monitoring of their health. They would start hormone therapy, and then never return to the doctor. However, we now have an opportunity to support them undergo health tests and this is changing.”

Despite these challenges, Anastasia remains committed to her advocacy work. Her current goals include advocating for a package of HIV services specifically for transgender people, launching another media campaign around appropriate use of hormonal medications, and continuing to promote the issues of the transgender community.

“Now there are still difficulties, very big difficulties, with gender transition in Ukraine due to the war. It has practically stopped, a challenge that we simply did not expect.”

Impact of RADIAN on Anastasia’s work

RADIAN has played a pivotal role in enhancing Anastasia's work. The RADIAN-funded Trans* Map project has provided opportunities for Anastasia to represent the transgender community at key events and medical conferences. For example, at a recent meeting for healthcare professionals, Anastasia was able to contribute to a collaborative development of a trans-competent medical care training module.

The Trans* Map project has been particularly impactful in galvanising the transgender community in Ukraine through activist schools and raising awareness around transgender rights through live meetings, forum theatres, and a successful media campaign. The Trans* Map project has also allowed for the professional development of members of the transgender community, boosting the capabilities of Anastasia’s team, opening new opportunities for them such as grant writing, project management, monitoring and evaluation, and reporting.

References

^1.
ECOM. Invisible Voices: Regional report on violations of the right to health of LGBT people in the region of Eastern Europe and Central Asia in 2022 https://ecom.ngo/library/regional-report-violations-right2022 [Accessed: June 2024]