Vitalina Kowal

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Witalina Kowal (Вiталiна Коваль, born 1990, in Uzhhorod , Ukraine ) is a Ukrainian LGBTIQ and women's rights activist .

Life

Kowal is openly lesbian and works to coordinate a community center for LGBTI people. She is active on various social media sites, such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

activism

Vitalina Koval helped set up a community center for LGBTI people.

In March 2017, she was attacked and verbally abused by around twelve men during a demonstration on International Women's Day .

On March 8, 2018, she again took part in the Women's Day demonstration in Uzhgorod . Although the police promised to protect the protesters, they were attacked again. Towards the end of the event, members of the radical right-wing group Karpatska threw themselves Vitalina with red paint. She suffered chemical burns to her eyes but did not suffer any permanent damage. After the hospital stay, Vitalina Koval went to the police, where the attackers were present and within earshot when they gave their personal data (including home address). In the weeks that followed, she and her friends were harassed and persecuted.

Amnesty International strongly condemned the attack and called for the acts to be classified as hate crimes. Amnesty International also condemned the failure to provide assistance by the police and called for a change in the guidelines governing police behavior during demonstrations.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Amnesty International, Queeramnesty, Topic Coordination Group 2918: Ukraine: Protection for LGBTI activist Vitalina Koval - Queeramnesty. Retrieved on October 23, 2018 (German).
  2. ↑ Activist Vitalina Koval: "There are ultra-right people in Ukraine who hunt LGBTI people". Accessed January 31, 2019 .
  3. ↑ Vitalina Koval, LGBTI activist from Ukraine. Retrieved January 30, 2019 .
  4. ↑ Vitalina Koval: I was attacked with paint and chemically burned because I'm gay. In: Metro. December 10, 2018, accessed January 31, 2019 .
  5. ↑ Amnesty International, Queeramnesty, Topic Coordination Group 2918: Ukraine: Protection for LGBTI activist Vitalina Koval - Queeramnesty. Retrieved on October 23, 2018 (German).
  6. ↑ UKRAINE: Protection for Vitalina . In: Amnesty International Austria . ( amnesty.at [accessed on October 23, 2018]).
personal data
SURNAME Kowal, Vitalina
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Ukrainian LGBTIQ and women's rights activist
DATE OF BIRTH 1990
PLACE OF BIRTH Uzhhorod , Ukraine