On 20 November 2010, a peaceful gathering jointly organised by NGO Insight and the Visual Cultural Centre to mark Transgender Day of Remembrance in Kiev was attacked by a number of unknown persons.

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The organisers planned to host a film screening, discussion on transgender issues, and hold a candle light vigil. The Transgender Day of Remembrance was held in memory of those who have been killed due to anti-transgender violence.

On 20 November 2010, a group of ten men wearing masks to hide their identitiesattempted to break into the Visual Cultural Centre room where the film 'Boys Don't Cry' was being screened; however they were stopped at the entrance by the organisers, including Mr Timur Lysenko, coordinator of the transgender programme with Insight, who was then attacked and beaten.

Before they fled the scene, the attackers sprayed tear gas at Timur Lysenko, his colleague Ms Anastasia Medco from NGO Fulcrum, and others attending at the film screening. As a result, those present were severely poisoned; Mr Lysenko was hospitalised and diagnosed with internal injuries and facial chemical burns.

The police stated that the attack merely amounted to “hooliganism” and failed to note that the attack carried all the hallmarks of being planned with the intention of disrupting the LGBTI event. To date the police have received numerous complaints regarding the attack, urging them to consider it as a hate crime and not merely as hooliganism. However in Ukraine there is a reluctance by law enforcement agencies to classify such attacks as hate crimes and as a result the problem of hatred based violence remains undocumented.

The number of attacks on peaceful LGBTI gatherings has increased significantly over the past two years. In May 2010 two men tried to bring a smoke bomb into a cinema during a film screening during the LGBTI Festival Queer Week.

In September 2009 at similar events in Lviv and Kiev, participants were attacked and beaten by unknown attackers. On 30 September 2009, the Kiev Art Gallery was burned down following a discussion on attacks of queer anthology presentations.

Front Line is concerned for the human rights defenders working in the area of LGBTI rights in Ukraine, considering the level of violence used against them, and the lack of intervention from law enforcement agencies, who fail to recognise that the root cause of violence is xenophobia, and not hooliganism.