Athens, April 6, 2022

PRESS RELEASE

Subject: «The GTSA has submitted a letter to the LGBTI Intergroup of the European Parliament to the Council of Europe and the OSCE, with the aim of taking measures to protect trans persons in Ukraine»


The Greek Transgender Support Association (GTSA), is a voluntary non-governmental organization that promotes the rights and freedoms of trans, gender-diverse, intersex and LGBTQI persons in general, as well as sex workers, with this press release, informs about a letter submitted to the LGBTI INTERGROUP (Group of MEPs on LGBTQI Rights), the Council of Europe (CoE) and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), with the aim of taking immediate measures to protect our trans people in Ukraine.

As reported in our Press Release dated 30.03.2022 , issued on the occasion of International Transgender Day of Visibility, trans people in Ukraine are trapped in a war waged with complete contempt for human life and dignity and who are experiencing its devastating impact. Especially to trans women who cannot flee and are trapped in Ukraine due to the inconsistency of their public documents.

In particular, hundreds of trans women were not allowed to leave the Ukrainian border while trying to flee the country, because their passports still have the name and gender with which they were registered at birth. The current martial law imposed on Ukraine due to the Russian invasion forbids all males between the ages of 18 and 60 who were registered at birth to leave the country and this automatically means that any person of that age who passport states “male name and gender”, prohibited from going out of the border. Among these persons and trans women to whom their documents have not been changed due to the restrictive legal framework, as a result of which both their physical integrity and their own lives are endangered.

For this reason, the GTSA, on March 30, 2022, submitted a Letter to the European Parliament and specifically to the LGBTI INTERGROUP (Group of MEPs for LGBT Rights), the Council of Europe (CoE), and to the Department of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI Unit) of the CoE, taking into account the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), which calls on them to:

  • Mobilize all forces within the European Parliament to raise awareness of the humanitarian tragedy facing the subgroup of trans women in Ukraine,
  • Act with all contacts or establish the necessary links with the Ukrainian Government or other institutions so that trans women wishing to flee as refugees have the opportunity to do so at the border,
  • Act in conjunction with other European and international institutions, such as the United Nations, the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, to ensure or minimize the risk faced by trans women in Ukraine, and to achieve the above objectives.

The Greek Transgender Support Association is ringing the alarm bell, declaring the full and self-evident solidarity, its availability in case some of our trans people can escape the hell of war, want to be hosted in our country, is ready to respond to their care, both for housing, psychological support, and their needs in general.

THE BOARD OF MEMBERS

GREEK TRANSGENDER SUPPORT ASSOCIATION

79 Sygrou Street, 3rd floor, Athens, 11745

Tel. 210.9210697

Office hours: Monday to Friday 11.00-15.00

http://tgender.gr – http://www.transgender-association.gr/

syd.secretary@gmail.com – transgender.support.association@gmail.com