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What does it mean to be a 20-year-old lesbian in Ukraine? What are the dangers because of your different identity? This is a story of a girl Daria Feldman, who dared to come out and tell her story.
Dateline: Kiev, Ukraine - 18/06/2017
Source: ATN television company www.atn.ua
www.openmediahub.com
“This production was supported by OPEN Media Hub with funds provided by the European Union”
What does it mean to be a 20-year-old lesbian in Ukraine? What are the dangers because of your different identity? This is a story of a girl Daria Feldman, who dared to come out and tell her story.
ITV Daria Feldman
Various gay pride march in Kiev.
ITV: Daria Feldman, LGBT activist
“Being a 20-year-old lesbian in Ukraine is just being yourself, being aware of one of your identities, and accepting it.
Probably the most difficult coming out was just for myself. Because it is the first coming out that a person does. At some point, I realized that I was in love and experienced some amazing feelings, which had never happened before in my life. These feelings I had for a beautiful girl.
Being 20-year-old is to have great courage to do what you want, make mistakes and try again.
Being openly a gay or lesbian, or any other representative of the LGBT community in Ukraine is a huge risk actually.
There is a gay club in Kharkiv. There was a wonderful DJ, who was simply brutally murdered. The man who, came to his apartment on a date, just stabbed him with knife.
He got a minimum penalty and he openly said in the court: “I killed him, because he was gay”. Instead of being perceived as a hate motive, which means an aggravating circumstance, the court took this as a mitigating circumstance.
I dream that people of my age and of any age, gender, and self-identity, could be free and happy in their country. Not wanting to leave it, not seeking a better life abroad”
20 June 2017
