Author: Tetiana Palamar

Oksana turned to the REAct documentator with a request to provide advice and help in obtaining medical assistance. The woman explained that in the radiologist’s office, the doctor offered her to make a so-called “charitable monetary contribution” for the service received.

The client refused and said that she did not have cash. To which the doctor suggested withdrawing the money and bringing it to her because only then will she be able to give the fluoroscopy picture. Oksana refused, after which the doctor started cursing and insulting the woman. Oksana left the office and left the hospital.

The REAct documentator visited the medical facility, where the radiologist silently handed the X-ray picture to the client and closed the door. After that, the documentator visited the chief doctor, because this was not the first case on the part of this doctor. The woman systematically demands money from clients for X-ray pictures under the guise of charity. After the chief doctor’s promise to look into this issue, Oksana was given the necessary help, registered and prescribed medication.

The documentator of the REAct project was contacted by a client of one of the partner NGOs. The woman said that her child comes home from school in tears and says that her peers bully and make fun of her, arguing that her mother is a drug addict and will soon die. Moreover, the class teacher also repeatedly insulted the girl, calling her a “drug addict bastard” and predicting that she would be just like her mother.

The client’s daughter was terrified. Because of this, the girl did not want to go to school, was psychologically depressed, and asked her mother to move somewhere where no one would know about her past. No one supported the child in this school. Instead, they even hated her, because they constantly tried to insult and humiliate her. The woman was in despair and did not know how to find a way out of this situation.

The REAct documentator from the partner organization Club “ENEY” instantly reacted to this case and immediately consulted the client. Currently, the woman is provided with psychological support from the organization’s psychologist. Also, together with the documentator and the organization’s lawyer, a complaint was submitted to the school management, but, unfortunately, there were no response results from the administration. After that, the client, accompanied by NGO specialists, filed a complaint with the education department of the district administration, where the reaction was immediate. The class teacher was deprived of the functions of class leadership, and the director of the educational institution was reprimanded. Moreover, the specialists of the Department of Education helped to transfer the girl to another school, where she now studies with pleasure and also visits a school psychologist to overcome the previous consequences of bullying.

This case is a vivid example of how children of representatives of key groups can be stigmatized even by teachers who seem to have a high moral culture. However, the reality is cruel. Therefore, liability for stigmatization and discrimination must be effective.

Ruslan turned to the REActor. He was confused. From the first days of the war, the man volunteered in the Armed Forces. He had no health problems because he diligently accepted ART treatment. His wife has known about her husband’s status for a long time and regularly undergoes examinations. However, there was a crisis in their relationship.

When Ruslan returned home for a short vacation, his wife, without explaining, did not let him into the house, threatened to call the police, and publicized his status to all neighbors and colleagues. The woman began insulting Ruslan, calling him a “spidoznyi” and emphasizing that he threatened her health.

The man did not understand the reason for this behavior, because the woman regularly underwent counseling and has information to feel safe. Most of all, he was upset that while defending his close ones in the war, he himself experienced stigma and discrimination from them. The man needed legal help to somehow protect himself.

Thanks to the already-established forwarding mechanism, Ruslan contacted the Khmelnytskyi Ukrainian Helsinki Union for Human Rights lawyer, who provided him with high-quality advice. Now the man feels confident and protected, knows how to act in similar situations, and, most importantly, understands that he is not alone in this difficult time.

Victor is a serviceman of the Armed Forces of Ukraine who hid his HIV-positive status before signing the contract and did not undergo the appropriate examination. Already being in the military unit, his well-being significantly worsened. The condition became so complicated that the man’s teeth began to fall out. Because he did not have constant access to ART, the old supplies ran out, and to get new drugs, he had to disclose his status in the department and explain why he needed to go to a specialized institution. Because of the fear of revealing his position, he did not say anything, and therefore could not leave the part on his own, and was left without the necessary treatment.

When Victor became completely sick, he still told everything and was brought to a medical institution in a few days accompanied by the head of the medical and sanitary department. According to the client, after opening the status, they started treating him very negatively, because of which he lost his psychological balance and started drinking alcohol. The attendant at the medical institution did not want to leave the doctor’s office when the appointment was taking place, saying that he knew everything and that he considered such a person dangerous for those around him, especially for the military.

On the same day, the client made an appointment for the next day to receive the medication, but he was not brought on the required day. He asked the REAct documentator for help in solving this situation. They did not want to take Victor to an outpatient clinic for the treatment of HIV-positive patients and did not provide the necessary therapy, which later resulted in constant obsessive thoughts about suicide.

With the support of the Project Coordinator, the documentator turned to the technical leadership of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from the medical unit, from there to the leadership of the unit where the client was, and the very next day he arrived at the medical facility and received medicine. Currently, the client is undergoing a military medical examination because he cannot continue serving in the army due to his health. In addition, a psychologist works remotely with the husband and solves the most critical issues.

The REAct documentator was contacted by Natalia. The woman has had a positive HIV status for quite a long time. She is receiving the necessary treatment and has an undetectable viral load.

The client chose the family doctor for the conclusion of the declaration using the help of the “VONA” organization. When the war started, the doctor took in a new nurse, because the previous one had to go abroad. Unfortunately, as Natalia found out after, the new nurse was intolerant of representatives of vulnerable groups. Moreover, she was too aggressive in this matter.

As it turned out later, Natalia, after all, also lived with her in the same house. Therefore, when the woman began to see letters with threats and insults on her door about her diagnosis, she rightly blamed the new nurse who had access to such information. Later, the nurse personally admitted that she did not want to cooperate with HIV-infected people.

The REActor provided Natalia with contacts of lawyers from free primary legal aid who are familiar with the specifics of working with representatives of vulnerable groups. After that, the documentator helped the client in drawing up an application in the name of the head of the Primary Health Care Center. Later, the nurse was fired for being unfit for her position.

Zhanna turned to the REAct documentator. The woman uses street drugs and sometimes alcohol. Recently, she had an unpleasant situation during an appointment with a gynecologist.

Zhanna’s health problems began before the war. In 2021, she was successfully treated by her doctor, but with the start of hostilities near Kyiv, the doctor was forced to evacuate to another city. According to the woman, she received a referral to another gynecologist, with whom she went for an appointment.

During the examination, as soon as the doctor saw traces of the injections, she immediately began to insult the patient in the presence of the nurse, calling her a “drug addict”, assuming that the patient is HIV-positive and already has AIDS. After that, the gynecologist kicked the patient out of the office and ordered her not to come again, because she does not treat “patients with AIDS”.

After the intervention of the REActor of the NGO “VONA”, a complaint was written to the management regarding the inadmissibility of such behavior of the doctor, disclosure of medical secrets, humiliating treatment of patients, insults, and non-provision of medical assistance. The complaint was considered, and the doctor was brought to disciplinary responsibility in the form of a reprimand with an obligation to undergo training to overcome stigma and discrimination.

Currently, Zhanna is being treated by a friendly gynecologist at the same medical facility.

In connection with the beginning of a full-scale war, Halyna, an OST patient, with two young children was forced to move to Ivano-Frankivsk and live with her mother-in-law. From the beginning, the woman was against them moving in with her, so whenever possible, she humiliated Halyna and her children in every possible way.

One day, her friend came to the mother-in-law’s house, and physical violence was added to the psychological one. Halyna and her children hurriedly left the house and turned to the police department, where she wrote a statement about violence against her and her children.

Police officers told her that they could temporarily stay at a shelter for people affected by domestic violence. The police provided the address and called there in advance to warn of the client’s arrival.

When Halyna and her children came to settle in the shelter, the workers began to ask about her health, and, after learning that she was an OST patient, they placed her and her children in a shelter for a night’s stay, where most homeless people are left. The children were so frightened that they cried all the time, so the woman was forced to leave the proposed overnight stay as soon as possible.

In desperation, Galina wrote an announcement on social networks and asked for help. The owner of the hotel responded to her request, where she was placed with people who were forced to leave their homes due to the war.

Halyna turned to the REAct documentator to get advice on the legality of the shelter workers’ actions and psychological help for her and the children. The REActor contacted the social service in the city, informing them about this case. The documentator asked to explain the reasons for settling Halyna and her children in a shelter for the homeless, and not in a shelter for victims of violence, which is very close, and the conditions that were more comfortable for the woman and her children. She received a formal answer that the head of the institution was on vacation, and social service workers could not communicate with Halyna, as she had left the shelter early.

Currently, the woman continues to stay in the hotel, she and her children are provided with the necessary psychological assistance and food kits from the “Zahid Shans” Foundation and the “D.O.M.48/24” NGO.

Ivan received a summons from the territorial center of recruitment and social support. The man was not conscripted, as he had HIV and a number of related diseases.

During a conversation at the Center, Ivan explained that although he is not against serving in the ranks of the Armed Forces, he is afraid that he will not be able to take care of his health to the necessary extent on the front line and, because of this, perform his military duties with dignity. His medical documents confirmed all this. However, the man was told that the war was going on and he had to defend the state.

The client turned to the REAct documentator in the Chernihiv region, who provided him with advice and explained that there is a list of diseases approved by the order of the Ministry of Defense, according to which there is a procedure for determining the fitness of citizens to carry out military service in peace- and wartime.

Also, the project documenter prepared a statement requesting that the client be referred to the military medical commission to determine the degree of his suitability for military service. The written statement contained a warning about criminal liability for disclosing information about HIV status.

In addition, the lawyers of the public organization “MART” provided the client with assistance and support in collecting documents and certificates necessary for the commission.

After the examination, Ivan was declared unfit for military service in wartime. He was issued an army card, where information about exclusion from registration was entered. Therefore, under any circumstances, he should not be called up for military service; in the future, he will be able to cross the border if he wants.