Insight history
2007
A video memory. The history of Insight — through the eyes of the people who made it.
A video memory. The history of Insight — through the eyes of the people who made it.
2008
Official registration. Insight becomes a registered civil society organisation.
The start of trans advocacy. We take on the reform of the outdated “sex change/correction” procedure (Ministry of Health Order No. 57 of 1996 required forced sterilisation and 30 days in a psychiatric inpatient unit) and open a dialogue with the Ministry of Health about lifting these restrictions.
2009
The transgender track. Insight becomes the first Ukrainian LGBTIQ organisation to work systematically in the interests of transgender people.
The second Queer Week. It launches the tradition of an annual queer festival, which in 2014 would grow into the Equality Festival.
2010
The first study on trans people. We publish “The Situation of Transgender People in Ukraine” (S. Ivanchenko) — the country’s first sociological study of the situation, needs and problems of transgender people.
Feminist Ofenzyva. In the autumn, Olena Shevchenko and Insight members co-found an independent feminist initiative which, from 2011, organises the Kyiv 8 March marches and the conference “Feminism: Assembly Point”. We also take part in the street action “AntiYolka” on Maidan Nezalezhnosti.
2011
Research on LGBTI+ families. Ukraine’s first collection of research texts, “LGBT Families in Ukraine: Social Practices and Legislative Regulation” (ed. H. Yarmanova), is published.
A partial win at the Ministry of Health. A new Ministry of Health Order No. 60 regulating the gender reassignment procedure is issued; the amendments partly reflect Insight’s proposals.
A video memory. The history of Insight — through the eyes of the people who made it.
2012
Against censorship and homophobic laws. We take part in the “For Freedom from Censorship” action against draft laws No. 7132 and No. 8711, which sought to criminalise “propaganda of homosexuality”.
Art under attack. We organise photographer Yevgenia Belorusets’ exhibition “A Room of One’s Own” about same-sex families in Ukraine — the show was attacked by far-right radicals.
Court pressure and KyivPride. We hold the action “Say a firm ‘NO’ to human rights!” despite a court ban; an administrative report was filed against Olena Shevchenko. That year Insight joins the organising committee of KyivPride and the Equality March.
2013
Onto the international stage. At the 108th session of the UN Human Rights Committee in Geneva we present a shadow report on violations of the rights of LGBTIQ people; following the UPR, Ukraine received 6 recommendations on SOGI.
A complaint to the ECtHR. We file a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights over the Kyiv City State Administration’s ban on holding the first Equality March in central Kyiv.
GogolFest and Euromaidan. The queer exhibition “Rainbow Kurin” enters the GogolFest programme for the first time; members of the organisation take part in the Euromaidan protests.
2014
The first shelter in Ukraine. After the annexation of Crimea and the invasion of Donbas, Insight opens Kyiv’s first temporary shelter for LGBTI+ displaced people (it operated until 2019).
Education. We publish the illustrated guide “The ABC of LGBT Rights” and the booklet “Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity: Questions and Answers”.
The first Equality Festival. Kyiv hosts the first Equality Festival under the motto “Art is a driving force of social change”.
2015
Regional development. Insight’s large-scale regional programme begins; the first offices open in Lviv and Zaporizhzhia.
Court victories for trans people. We win two consecutive cases (lawyer Oksana Huz) against the Ministry of Health Commission, which had been unlawfully refusing to issue medical certificates to transgender people.
An international trans conference. Together with partners we organise the conference “Transgender Issues in Social and Medical Contexts” — around 150 participants from 15 European countries.
2016
Reform of gender transition. An order approving the unified clinical protocol “Gender Dysphoria” is issued — the transgender transition procedure is finally changed.
The first Trans March in Ukraine. For the International Day of Action for Trans Depathologisation, Insight holds the first street march dedicated specifically to the rights of trans people.
New offices and media. Branches open in Dnipro and Chernivtsi, the nationwide Equality Festival tour begins, and the youth portal “Update” is founded.
A video memory. The history of Insight — through the eyes of the people who made it.
2017
The Psychological Service. We create Insight’s Psychological Service, bringing together friendly specialists across Ukraine, and launch the first year-long training programme for psychologists.
Legal and medical services. We officially launch the legal service, start the “Friendly Doctors Database” and regular trainings for medical professionals.
A shadow report to the UN. We prepare a report for the UN committee on the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.
2018
The birth of the Women’s March. A coalition of organisations led by Insight holds the first Women’s March under the slogan “Enough is enough!” — several hundred participants.
The second Trans Conference. We hold the large-scale conference “Transgender Issues: Challenges and Prospects in Contemporary Ukraine and the World” with 150 experts and doctors taking part.
Advocacy at the OSCE. Olena Shevchenko takes part in the OSCE meeting in Warsaw devoted to monitoring respect for human rights.
2019
The Women’s March draws 2,000 people. The Kyiv march goes ahead under a slogan of solidarity against violence.
The second European Lesbian* Conference in Kyiv. Insight hosts EL*C, bringing 350 participants from 40 countries to the capital.
The Trans March and UN monitoring. Despite threats, the police secure the Trans March; the UN Independent Expert on SOGI, Victor Madrigal-Borloz, visits Insight’s office.
2020
The Women’s March draws over 3,000 people. The central demand is ratification of the Istanbul Convention.
A court victory for trans women. The Mykolaiv District Court sides with the claimant, ordering the civil registry office to amend the record without surgery — citing Article 8 of the Convention on Human Rights.
The pandemic and online formats. We open an office in Kramatorsk; the Contemporary Family Forum and the Trans Conference move online.
2021
A record Women’s March. Despite the pandemic, the Kyiv march draws over 4,000 people; events are also held in 15 other cities, and Lutsk hosts the first feminist LGBTI+ march in western Ukraine.
A legal precedent in Lviv. For the first time, the Halytskyi Court officially records a homophobic motive for a crime in its verdict, sentencing the attacker of a poet and musician to 4 years in prison.
The Trans March under the sign of ICD-11. The march demands that the Ministry of Health adopt the new classification of diseases in order to officially remove transgender identity from the category of mental disorders.
2022
The humanitarian front. After the full-scale invasion, Insight radically changes its priorities: over the year more than 25,000 parcels with medicines, food and hormone therapy are sent to LGBTI+ people and vulnerable women.
Shelters and relocation. Together with the Women’s March we open shelters for LGBTI+ people and internally displaced women in Lviv and Chernivtsi, and launch the “Rainbow host families” programme.
The Women’s March becomes an organisation. The initiative scales into a separate charitable organisation (co-founders — Olena Shevchenko and Anastasiia Herasymenko), remaining a strategic partner of Insight.
A video memory. The history of Insight — through the eyes of the people who made it.
2023
Recognition by TIME. Insight’s Chair Olena Shevchenko is named on TIME magazine’s “Women of the Year” list for her human rights work during the war.
Advocacy for partnerships. We run a nationwide campaign for draft laws No. 9103 (registered partnerships) and No. 5488; we launch a Telegram bot to coordinate flash mobs.
The pogrom in Lutsk. Far-right radicals wreck Insight’s community centre; the police detain the attacker but investigate the case as ordinary “theft”. Even so, more than 31,000 humanitarian parcels are sent over the year.
2024
Regional renewal. We open an office in Poltava; the regional programme and community work are merged into a single track, co-coordinated by Yana Lys and Olena Hryhoriak.
Public broadcasting. Insight’s human rights struggle during the war becomes the subject of Suspilne’s documentary series “Knights of Human Rights”.
2025
A historic victory at the ECtHR. In the case of “Sverdlova and Shevchenko v. Ukraine”, the European Court finds that the state violated the right to peaceful assembly by banning the 2013 march, and awards the activists compensation.
A same-sex couple recognised as a family. The Desnianskyi District Court of Kyiv (lawyer Oksana Huz) establishes, for the first time in Ukraine’s history, the fact that a same-sex male couple lived together as one family.
The first Ukrainian Lesbian Conference. We bring 180 participants from Ukraine and European countries together in Kyiv; in parallel we launch the campaign “We’ve Already Met” with a glossary of LGBTI+ terminology.
A video memory. The history of Insight — through the eyes of the people who made it.
The story continues —
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Insight’s history is the story of people who did not wait for rights to appear on their own — they fought for them. And it is not over.
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Insight NGO is one of the oldest and largest LGBTQI+ organizations in Ukraine. Founded in 2007 in Kyiv, it has grown from defending the rights of lesbian and bisexual women into systemic work with the entire LGBTQI+ community: trans advocacy, psychological, legal and medical services, regional offices and the Friendly Doctors Directory.
Over the years, Insight has held the country’s first queer festivals and Trans Marches, won strategic cases in Ukrainian courts and the ECHR, reformed the gender transition procedure, and during the full-scale war launched a major humanitarian program and a network of safe spaces. This timeline is a record of every step in this fight for equality, dignity and human rights.