GOAL 4

THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS 3

GOAL 4. ENSURE INCLUSIVE AND EQUITABLE QUALITY EDUCATION AND PROMOTE LIFE-LONG LEARNING OPPORTNUTIES FOR ALL

Target 4.1. Ensure access to quality school education for all children and adolescentsTarget 4.4. Improve the quality of tertiary education […]

Target 4.7. Create a modern learning environment in schools, including inclusive education, through innovative approaches

HOW LGBTQI PEOPLE HAVE BEEN LEFT BEHIND:

According to p. 2 art. 3 of the Law of Ukraine «On Education», equal opportunities for access to education are created in Ukraine. No one can be restricted in their right to obtain education.

At the same time, list of grounds regardless of which the right to education is guaranteed, DOES NOT include SOGIESC.

Although the list is open (ending with «other circumstances and characteristics»), other protected grounds are explicitly mentioned in it (age, sex, race, health status, disability, nationality, ethnic origin, political, religious or other views, skin colour, place of residence, language, origin, social and material position, criminal record).

Absence of effective mechanisms for preventing and combatting bullying.

• most LGBT students (88,5%) encountered verbal harassment at school (slurs or threats)

• 50,3% out of those, who experienced negative remarks about their gender, reported that they heard these types of remarks from teachers and other school staff

• 53.5% of LGBT students had been targets of physical violence at some point during the past year

• 65.8% of LGBT students who had been victimized had never reported it to school staff members because they were convinced the personnel would not interfere or their interference would not be effective 1

Definition, typical characteristics and the procedure of responding to bullying cases and the responsibility of persons involved in are defined by the legislation of Ukraine only since January 19, 2019, as a result of the entry into force of the Law of Ukraine «On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine on Combating Bullying».

Only in February 2019 Ukrainian court upheld the first decision on bullying case (yet the case is not related to bullying based on the basis of SOGIESC grounds).

1 National School Climate Survey, NGO Fulcrum UA, 2017. Available at: https://issuu.com/fulcrumua/docs/doslidzhennya

THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS 4

Inclusive education

Since 2017 р. Ukraine has launched inclusive education. However, by definition, inclusive education does not include SOGIESC component, but focuses solely on persons with disabilities (in accordance with the provisions of the Law of Ukraine «On Education»).

At schools, teachers represent SOGIESC and LGBTQI topics only in negative context or these topics are never mentioned at all.

Compulsory vocational training of school teachers does not include topics on SOGI- ESC and LGBTQI.

National Action Plan for the prevention and combatting of bullying is not adopted.Schools do not have local Action Plans to prevent and combat bullying.

Although the church and religious organisations in Ukraine are separated from the State, and the school – from the church (art. 35 of the Constitution of Ukraine), in reality the church and religious organizations continue to have a significant impact on the educational system. Since 2008, Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine operates a Council for Cooperation with Churches and Religious Organizations 2 .

According to the report LGBTQI Inclusive Education Index, developed by International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer & Intersex Youth and Student Organisation (IGLYO) on basis of data provided by LGBTQI organizations from participating countries, on inclusiveness of education sphere for LGBTQI, Ukraine holds the last place among countries located in Europe, together with Azerbaijan, Armenia, Latvia, Poland, Russian Federation, Turkey etc 3 .

CaseIryna, 19 y.o.

During the break at the university, somebody from the group took her personal notebook, in which drawings and love confessions for her female friend were written. Students started passing the notebook and laughing, making fun of Iryna’s feelings. The victim asked them to stop and to return the notebook to her, but students ignored her request. Then the professor came in, took the notebook, got acquainted with its contents, and said that «such abominations should have no place in the educational institution» and called for the protection of traditional values in front of all.

The content of the notebook was devoted to the same-sex love, which caused aggression and irritation of the other students and the teacher.

Iryna sees this is an outing. She feels stressed and is in fear that the incident can have a negative impact on her studies, the attitude of the group towards her, and that the information about it can reach her parents.

2 https://mon.gov.ua/ua/ministerstvo/pro-ministerstvo/doradchi-organi/gromadska-rada-z-pitan-spivpra- ci-z-cerkvami-ta-religijnimi-organizaciyami?fbclid=IwAR2Ew3Pc69L9xXxOaoeWqTwRmDB0acWisIFIt-5SMKFN- 7fW0F1nTaZyIcEE

3 LGBTQI Inclusive Education Index, Preview. IGLYO. Available at: https://www.iglyo.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/LGBTQI-Inclusive-Education-Index-Preview.pdf

THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS 5

RECOMMENDATIONS. THE WAYS TO CREATE SAFE AND HEALTHY SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT FOR ALL STUDENTS, INCLUDING LGBTQI

Making schools a safe space for young people should be a priority not only for their families but for policy-makers and educators nation-wide. Such persisting in Ukrainian schools practices towards LGBTQI students as bullying, mobbing, harassment, hate speech lead to students feeling insecure, miss school, avoid bathrooms, and their educational results and general well-being decline tremendously. While there is no fast and simple solution, some basic steps can be taken to help students from all vulnerable groups achieve their full potential fairly and safely.

1. Ensure adoption and implementation of comprehensive and effective antibullying policy in all schools. Since January 2019, Ukrainian schools are legally obliged to have such policies, however, it is essential that these policies a) include all kinds of discrimination and oppression grounds and do not result exclusive for some of the groups, such as LGBTQI children; b) are clearly explained and delivered to all staff members; c) are explained to all the parents. Parents should be well informed of what measures they can take and where they can appeal in case if their children feel discriminated, bullied or oppressed. Teachers and staff should understand legal implications that not fulfilling anti-bullying policies may have for them.

2. Education for educators. As existing research shows, often inefficient actions of teachers and school administration regarding issues LGBTQI students face are related to lack of knowledge and adequate education. It is strongly recommended to introduce trainings for school staff that would clarify the concepts of discrimination, sexual orientation, gender identity, human rights, and other relevant information. The trainings should include practical exercises and real-life cases.

3. Awareness raising among parents and students. Ukrainian population in general is poorly informed on such issues as basic human rights, discrimination, bullying, not to mention homosexuality, homophobia, and related issues. Not surprisingly very often victims of bullying or discrimination do not understand that their human rights are being violated and blame themselves for what is going on with them. To raise general awareness of the population it is necessary to have a large media campaign across the regions that would clarify these basic issues to the population. It can include posters, short videos/social ads, interviews with experts, and informative articles.

4. Education materials evaluation for heteronormative and gender-normative bias. Majority of educational materials in use in Ukraine were produced without paying attention to heteronormative bias and by themselves promote and reaffirm homophobia and discrimination of non-heterosexual groups. There is a need of an expert commission to make a comprehensive analysis and reveal the cases of at least the strongest heteronormative bias and to replace them with materials promoting diversity and inclusivity.

THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS 6

5. Psychological consulting and support. According to existing data, vast majority of victims of bullying in Ukrainian schools did not have any responsible adult person to reach out for help. A quick solution to this is to establish and to promote nation-wide an anonymous phone hotline and online psychological support for LGBTQI students. A long-term sustainable solution is a) to include materials on psychological support of LGBTQI people into curricula of departments preparing school teachers and, especially, school psychologists and social workers; b) to introduce mandatory trainings for school psychologists and social workers that would include modules on work with LGBTQI students and their families.

6. Introduce sexual education and education on topics such as human rights, non-discrimination, inclusivity, diversity into school’s curriculum. For now, Ukrainian schools completely overlook these topics (as well as most of the universities). Presenting them to the students and engaging with them into meaningful discussions would allow to solve the problem from inside.

7. Conduct every 2-3 year a national school environment research that would allow to trace the effects of policies introduced and adjust proposed solutions to the actual context. Until today, only one such research has been done in Ukraine and this prevents policy makers from objective assessment of the reality and limits the possibilities of introducing efficient tools for bullying prevention and elimination.