On 25 February 2026, a training session for prosecutors, investigators, lawyers, and human rights defenders took place in Dnipro, focusing on advancing victim-centered justice approaches and building cases on crimes committed against the LGBTQI+ community. This was the sixth training in a series conducted by the NGO PROJECTOR within a grant provided by the EU Project EU Project Pravo-Justice.
The topic of the training was shaped by the real challenges faced by members of the LGBTQI+ community in Ukraine: cases of discrimination remain widespread, creating additional barriers to the effective investigation of crimes committed against representatives of this community. These difficulties are particularly acute when it comes to crimes committed in temporarily occupied territories, where access to justice is limited and victims are often afraid to seek assistance.
Vitalii Matvieiev, Chair of the Board of NGO PROJECTOR and attorney, addressed the participants:
“Ukraine is on the path toward European integration and has obligations to the European Union, including compliance criteria. This means real changes in the field of justice, not merely reforms on paper. Every person who has suffered from crime must feel that Ukraine hears and protects them. We are working to ensure that access to justice becomes available to all victims, without exception.”
During the training, law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and civil society representatives worked on building cases concerning war crimes and other international crimes committed against the LGBTQI+ community. The sessions were facilitated by highly qualified trainers: Vadym Barskyi, Associate Professor at Odesa I. I. Mechnikov National University and Candidate of Legal Sciences; Karolina Palaichuk, attorney, human rights defender, and Board Member of NGO PROJECTOR; Mykola Pashkovskyi, Senior Research Fellow at the Academician V. V. Stashis Research Institute for the Study of Crime Problems of the National Academy of Legal Sciences of Ukraine, Candidate of Legal Sciences; and Vitalii Matvieiev, attorney and Chair of the Board of NGO PROJECTOR.
Training participants deepened their knowledge of SOGI, learned about the origins of the LGBT acronym, why gender does not always equal a person’s biological sex, what constitutes gender-based violence, and the specific features of documenting crimes against members of the LGBTQI+ community for international judicial bodies, among other topics. Special attention was paid to the use of open-source intelligence (OSINT) to enhance the effectiveness of investigative actions.
With the support of the EU Project Pravo-Justice, NGO PROJECTOR will continue conducting similar trainings. Previous sessions have already been held in Odesa, Mykolaiv, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, and Kyiv, with more planned in other cities across Ukraine. Follow announcements on the organization’s website and social media pages.
This publication was prepared by NGO PROJECTOR within a grant provided by the EU Project Pravo-Justice, implemented by Expertise France. Its content is the sole responsibility of NGO PROJECTOR and does not necessarily reflect the position of the European Union.