I want the country to protect me, how I protect it – how civil partnerships legalize the relationship of same-sex couples in Ukraine

Pavel Lagoida, 21. From the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the boy defended the country near Odesa, Mykolaiv, Kherson and Donetsk region. He is an anti-aircraft gunner of the 406th artillery brigade and is openly gay. His lover, Vladyslav, is also in the ZSU. The guys have been together for more than a year, although they spent most of the time separately, defending the country on different front lines. They recently got engaged, however, legally before the state, a couple to each other – no one.

“Our lives are under threat every day. I just want my Vlad to be by my side in any situation. But according to the law, he will not be able to take my body or come to visit me in the intensive care unit,” the boy explains.

Paul’s story is not unique. In the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people serve side by side with heterosexual military personnel. They have their own association “Ukrainian LGBT military for equal rights” and a chevron with a unicorn. Same-sex couples in Ukraine cannot officially seal their relationship before the state, and people resort to tricks to protect their rights.

In November, Leda Kosmachevska published a post on Facebook where she announced her engagement. But she promised to marry not her real partner, but a childhood friend who has been serving in the Armed Forces of Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale invasion and has a partner of the same sex. In the fall of 2022, he proposed to the girl, since he has no first-degree relatives, and in case of death, his partner will not have the right to dispose of his body.

“I understood that this proposal was about the legal aspect. When we were discussing our marriage with a friend, he told us that before going on rotation, most of the men in his company wrote marriage reports. That is, they can do it quickly, but he cannot,” concludes Kosmachevska.

Soon the situation may change. In March, the Verkhovna Rada registered a draft law on civil partnerships — a civil marriage format for same-sex and opposite-sex couples. Registered civil partners will be equated to close relatives and will have similar rights and obligations. For example, they will be able to jointly own property, inherit it, visit each other in intensive care, make decisions in medical facilities and dispose of the body in the event of death. The main difference between a partnership and a marriage is that they will have a simpler registration and termination procedure, and the partnership does not include any rights and obligations regarding children. Legislators deliberately bypassed this issue.

The co-author of the bill, a member of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Inna Sovsun, says that this initiative is a reaction to the appeals and stories of LGBT military personnel.

“We must correct this discrimination and show that we value people equally, regardless of whom they love,” says the deputy.

Sociological polls show that every year Ukrainians are becoming more tolerant towards representatives of the LGBT community. If in 2016, 60.4% of people did not perceived same-sex couples, in 2022 there were already 38.2% of them.

This year’s study by KMIS and the National Democratic Institute showed, that 56% of respondents support civil partnerships for LGBT couples. This initiative is also public supported embassies of 15 countries and the EU Representation in Ukraine. Against expressed The All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations, which believes that same-sex marriages are being legalized in Ukraine under the guise of registered partnerships.

Sovsun explains that there is currently no question of same-sex marriages. After all, in order to allow same-sex couples to marry, it is necessary to change the Constitution, and this cannot be done during martial law. However, according to the deputy, this is an important step on the way to equality. As the experience of other countries shows, partnership can be both a separate tool for couples who associate marriage with church ideas, and a transition to the recognition of marriage equality for same-sex and opposite-sex couples.

“There are different models, but the world is moving towards equalizing the rights of same-sex and heterosexual couples. In which format — whether with parallel preservation of the two institutions of partnerships and marriages, or transitioning only to marriages — different countries evolved in different ways. But in any case, the tendency to equalize rights is present, and I am sure that it will not bypass Ukraine, which has also chosen the European course of development,” says Sovsun.

On June 1, the European Court of Human Rights satisfied lawsuit of a gay couple against Ukraine and recognized that the impossibility of legalizing same-sex relationships is discrimination and violates the European Convention on Human Rights. Now, on the way to European integration, Ukraine is obliged to correct this. Sovsun believes that this decision will significantly affect the support of the bill in the parliament, which, she explains, is more conservative than Ukrainian society.

“They cannot argue with the decision of the European Court of Human Rights. I want to see how the deputies will explain why it is not possible to adopt a law when the ECtHR directs it in the conditions, especially when we are actively working on European integration,” says Sovsun.

At the same time, the legislator advises to be patient – since the bill is voluminous and includes a very wide list of changes, even under the most favorable circumstances, its consideration will take at least six months.

“I have no doubt that the draft law on civil partnership will be adopted, but we have to prepare for a marathon. As with the certification of the Istanbul Convention, it was a ten-year battle that we won,” says the deputy.

Pavlo is waiting for the decision of the deputies at the front. The guy is sure that now is a good time to raise this issue, because he, in particular, fights for the values ​​of equality and non-discrimination.

“People don’t understand why we raise this topic during the war. Because before the war we were seen, but we were not heard. And now we want to be seen, to be heard, that we also want to live freely in a free country. I am participating in this war and I want my country to protect me as I protect it,” the boy explains.

In addition, Lagoida believes, the war clarified a lot for every Ukrainian and now society is ready to take responsibility for the introduction of equality. The boy explains it using the example of his mother.

“Before the war, we had very strained relations. She knew about me, but we hardly talked about it. Now she reacts to it calmly. Earlier, she had the priority of raising me the way she wanted, but now – whoever you want, the main thing is to come back alive.”