UKRAINETT and the Norwegian Helsinki Committee are pleased to invite you to an open breakfast seminar on LGBTQ Rights and Anti-Gender Politics in Wartime Ukraine with Maryna Shevtsova (KU Leuven).
Over the past decade, Ukraine has witnessed significant advances in LGBTQ visibility and rights, even as anti-gender movements and conservative actors have mobilized against them. The Russian full-scale invasion has accelerated this tension. This seminar explores how wartime conditions have transformed both LGBTQ activism and anti-gender politics in Ukraine, reshaping public debates on citizenship, family, and “European values.” Based on empirical research conducted before and during the war, the lecture situates Ukraine within broader regional dynamics while highlighting its distinct wartime trajectory. The talk discusses what these struggles tell us about democracy, human rights, and geopolitical belonging under conditions of armed conflict.
Coffee and a light breakfast will be available before the seminar, with doors opening at 08:30.
Further information regarding the programme will be provided.
WHEN: 25 February, 09:00 – 10:00 (CET)
WHERE: Pilestredet 48, Eva Balkes hus S141, Gerd Wangs auditorium (P48P48-S141)
Registration
For in‑person attendance, please register using this form. For digital participation, no registration is required.
Maryna Shevtsova is a Senior post-doctoral FWO Fellow at KU Leuven. She holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from Humboldt University, Berlin. Before starting her work at KU Leuven, she was an MSCA EUTOPIA Fellow at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. Her publications include the book, “LGBTI Politics and Value Change in Ukraine and Turkey: Exporting Europe?” (Routledge, 2021) and an edited volume, “Feminist Perspectives of Russia’s War in Ukraine: Hear Our Voices” (Lexington Books, 2024). Her research interests include LGBTQ+ activism in Eastern Europe and Southern Caucasus, queer migration and anti-gender movements.