A visit to a doctor is rarely fun. But it’s even more stressful for the Ukrainian LGBT community, who face stigmatization and mockery in many hospitals.

This is the problem that Friendly Doctor aims to solve. An initiative by Fulcrum LGBT non-profit, it provides the community with free testing for HIV, medical examinations, and confidentiality.

Since Friendly Doctor is not officially a clinic, they don’t treat their clients, but offer consultations and funds for treatment.

The program also educates doctors all over Ukraine on tolerant language and health risks of LGBT people. All the doctors who underwent the training are called friendly doctors: They can be found on the organization’s website, where clients can book an appointment with them at their usual workplaces.

According to the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS, there are 240,000 HIV-positive people living in Ukraine, and experts say that regular testing is crucial for prevention of spreading the virus.

Makeup artist and drag queen Vlad Shast, 22, occasionally visits Friendly Doctor. As a gay man, he says he doesn’t want to put his partners in danger.

Shast says he can’t even imagine visiting a state clinic and revealing there the purpose of the check-up.

“They will look at me like I’m insane,” he told the Kyiv Post.

Friendly Doctor was started by Fulcrum, the biggest LGBT charity organization in Ukraine, four years ago to make testing for HIV more accessible.

The program was financially supported by Elton John AIDS Foundation and French AIDS awareness organization Sidaction.

Friendly Doctor also aims to help LGBT people with finding professional doctors with tolerant attitude and knowledge on their health peculiarities.

Roman Ivasiy, one of the program doctors working at Fulcrum’s office says that LGBT people very often don’t seek medical help in Ukrainian hospitals or conceal their lifestyle from doctors to avoid any judgmental comments.

“They (LGBT people) face rejection and misunderstanding of their problems,” he told the Kyiv Post.

Friendly service

Today Friendly Doctor’s office in Kyiv provides with free testing and doctor’s consultations.

They do testing for four kinds of infection: HIV, hepatitis C and B, and syphilis.

Ivasiy says that LGBT people are more vulnerable to these sexually transmitted diseases than other people because of their lifestyle.

Testing is also available in Fulcrum’s regional offices in Lviv and Kharkiv.

In Kyiv, LGBT people can also visit physician, urologist, dermatologist, sex therapist, psychologist and psychotherapist for free.

Ivasiy says that psychological help is very important as LGBT people are prone to having depression because of stigmatization and pressure.

“They (LGBT people) don’t feel as a part of the society,” he said.

When booking an appointment at the project’s website, a patient chooses a doctor, date and time, and can be sure not to bump into anyone in a line.

Transgender woman Sasha Shatalova, 24, visited Friendly Doctor for testing.

She says that testing is accessible in Ukraine, however, the atmosphere at such places is rather unfavorable. Shatalova was satisfied with Friendly Doctor though.

“It is a very modern center. Everything is done in a pleasant atmosphere,” she said.

Apart from that, website visitors can find a list of the so-called friendly doctors who went through training and work in both private and state clinics. All of them are available for making appointments with on the website.

Those who work in the private ones charge for visits, those in the state ones don’t – but they all guarantee to provide professional medical service for LGBT people.

Training

Ivasiy and his colleagues arrange trainings in Kyiv and other cities for those who want to learn about medical help for LGBT people.

Fulcrum invites doctors through non-governmental organizations and Health Ministry’s regional departments.

A one or two-day training usually includes lectures and discussions focusing on tolerant language and medical issues.

Ivasiy says that Ukrainian medical system has many flaws in terms of serving LGBT people.

Medical documents don’t take person’s gender into account, only sex, and doctors don’t know what to ask about and pay attention to when diagnosing LGBT people, he says.

For instance, transgender people taking hormones can have artificially low or high hormone levels, which can lead to false diagnosis. That is why they need additional examination.

Psychiatrist Olesia Pavlovska, 26, who works at a state clinic in Kyiv, attended Friendly Doctor’s training in June.

She says that by that time she hadn’t had LGBT patients but heard of such experience from her colleagues and realized she didn’t have enough knowledge on the subject.

“I thought I would feel incompetent when I have such patient,” she told the Kyiv Post.

Pavlovska learned terminology and how to use it, as well as found out about gender dysphoria, a conflict between a person’s physical or assigned gender and the gender with which they identify.

She says she had never heard about the disorder at the medical school.

Ivasiy says that some attendees at the training leave or argue with speakers. However, the majority makes first steps towards understanding LGBT people.

“After the training, people become a little bit different. At least they know how to talk about it and how to address people,” he said.

Find out more about Friendly Doctor initiative:

www.friendlydoctor.org

Editor’s Note: This article is a part of the “Journalism of Tolerance” project by the Kyiv Post and its affiliated non-profit organization, the Media Development Foundation. The project covers challenges faced by sexual, ethnic and other minorities in Ukraine, as well as people with physical disabilities and those living in poverty. This project is made possible by the support of the American people through the U. S. Agency for International Development and Internews. Content is independent of the donors.