Lesbian rights in Ukraine: Anna Sharygina's testimony

Profile of Anna Sharygina

Anna Sharygina is a Ukrainian human rights activist and psychologist. A graduate of the Docudays human rights school in 2006, she founded the organization “Sphere” in Kharkiv, dedicated to defending the rights of lesbian women in Ukraine.

Her journey illustrates the courage required to fight for lesbian visibility in a country where the issue remains largely taboo. As a psychologist, she also supports women going through the difficult process of accepting their sexual orientation in a hostile environment.

“I don't have a husband, I have a female partner”

This simple yet powerful statement sums up the daily life of Anna Sharygina and many lesbian women in Ukraine. In a society where the question “Are you married?” is routinely asked, answering honestly is an act of bravery.

For Anna, visibility begins with language. Every time a woman dares to say “I have a female partner” rather than pretend to be single or invent a male partner, she helps normalize a reality that Ukrainian society prefers to ignore.

“Today, I am not prepared to deny who I am.” — Anna Sharygina

This sentence, spoken by Anna, resonates like a personal manifesto. Denying who they are is exactly what society asks of lesbian women: to deny their identity, conform, and disappear into the heteronormative mold. Anna refuses.

Violence against lesbians

Anna's testimony highlights specific cases of violence against lesbians in Ukraine.

The story of Galina Kornienko and Natalia

Galina Kornienko and Natalia were a lesbian couple. They were violently assaulted because of their sexual orientation. When they tried to file a complaint, the police refused to intervene. Law enforcement took no action to protect the victims or prosecute the attackers.

Unfortunately, this case is not an isolated one. The lack of police protection creates a climate of impunity that encourages homophobic violence and reinforces the invisibility of victims, who give up on reporting assaults.

The case of Agata Vilchik

Agata Vilchik attracted attention when she appeared on the television program Voice of the Country (Voice of the Country). Her media visibility prompted mixed reactions, illustrating how difficult it is for lesbian women to occupy public space in Ukraine without exposing themselves to hostility.

Triple discrimination

One of the major contributions of Anna Sharygina's testimony is its description of the triple discrimination experienced by lesbians in Ukraine:

1. Discrimination as a woman

Ukraine remains a deeply patriarchal society where women face pay inequality, limited access to decision-making positions, and persistent sexist prejudice. This first layer of discrimination affects all women, but forms the foundation upon which specific forms of discrimination are added.

2. Discrimination as a gay woman

The second layer is homophobia. Lesbian women are doubly marginalized: they fit neither the model of the submissive woman dependent on male approval nor the heteronormative model of Ukrainian society. This dual marginalization makes them particularly vulnerable.

3. Discrimination within the LGBT movement

The third layer is perhaps the most painful: discrimination within the LGBT movement itself. Anna describes how lesbian voices are often minimized within LGBT organizations dominated by gay men. Issues specific to lesbian women – motherhood, domestic violence, economic insecurity – are relegated to the background.

Furthermore, trans women sometimes claim that their situation is worse, creating a hierarchy of suffering within the community itself. This competition over victimhood fragments the movement and undermines the solidarity it needs.

A nonexistent lesbian movement

Anna Sharygina is unequivocal: there is no lesbian movement in Ukraine. In her view, a genuine movement can emerge only when a woman can publicly say “I am a lesbian” without risking the loss of her job, family, or safety.

The few existing initiatives remain fragile, isolated, and lacking in resources. The organization “Sphere,” founded by Anna in Kharkiv, is one of the few organizations in the country specifically dedicated to lesbian women.

“There is no lesbian movement in Ukraine. There will only be one when people can safely say ‘I am a lesbian.’” — Anna Sharygina

Gay movement and lesbian movement

Anna draws a revealing comparison between the gay movement and the lesbian movement in Ukraine. Although itself fragile, the gay movement has significantly greater resources and visibility. Its activities fall into four main areas:

• Education – awareness and training programs
• Publicity – visibility campaigns and media presence
• Legislative work – lobbying for anti-discrimination laws
• Entertainment – social spaces and cultural events

The lesbian movement, by contrast, has none of these areas organized in a structured way. Lesbian women have no recognized spokespeople, no dedicated spaces, and no specific lobbying efforts. Their struggle merges into – and is drowned out by – that of the broader LGBT movement, where their concerns are marginalized.

The economic barrier

Anna Sharygina emphasizes an often-overlooked aspect: the economic dimension of discrimination against lesbians. Since women earn less on average than men in Ukraine, female couples have lower incomes than gay male couples. This relative economic insecurity has tangible consequences:

• Less ability to fund activist organizations
• Difficulty accessing independent housing in which to live as a couple
• Greater economic dependence on family, which may exert pressure to conform

A concrete example illustrates this inequality: in gay clubs in Kharkiv, women paid a higher admission fee than men. This practice, which may seem anecdotal, reveals systemic discrimination even within the LGBT community, where spaces intended to be inclusive reproduce society's gender inequalities.

Context in 2026

Since Anna Sharygina's testimony, the situation in Ukraine has been profoundly transformed by the armed conflict triggered by the Russian invasion of February 2022. Several major developments should be noted:

• Impact of the conflict on the LGBT community – The war has both displaced millions of people and created new forms of solidarity. Members of the LGBT community are fighting on the front lines, which has helped change some perceptions
• Kharkiv, a front-line city – The city where Anna founded “Sphere” has been severely affected by shelling, dispersing the local lesbian community
• Closer ties with Europe – The European Union accession process is pushing Ukraine to align its legislation with European standards on fundamental rights, including protection against discrimination based on sexual orientation
• Civil partnerships – Discussions on the legal recognition of same-sex couples have progressed in the Ukrainian public debate, driven in particular by couples separated by the war who have no legal rights with respect to one another

Anna Sharygina's fight for lesbian visibility in Ukraine has taken on an additional dimension today. The war has shown that the contribution of LGBT people to the country's defense can no longer be ignored. Through its mandate with the UN ECOSOC, the CGLQ continues to monitor the development of LGBT rights in Ukraine and advocate for their strengthening.

In March 2026, the debate on civil partnerships between same-sex couples reached an important milestone. Several members of the Verkhovna Rada introduced a bill aimed at granting minimum legal rights to same-sex couples, prompted by the accounts of LGBT soldiers separated from their partners without any legal recognition. International human rights organizations, including the CGLQ, support this legislative initiative by providing comparative expertise based on Canadian and Quebec experience. The Quebec lesbian community, which benefits from comprehensive legal protections, is an inspiring point of reference for Ukrainian activists. Meanwhile, the rebuilding of Kharkiv's LGBT community continues on a modest scale, with the emergence of new online support groups for lesbian women displaced by the conflict. For people wishing to discover Ukraine, it is important to understand the current social context and the realities experienced by local LGBT communities.