INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
of the thousands of transgender people in Russia who have been affected by new legislation which, once signed into law, will ban them from
State Duma swiftly approved the bill in its second and third readings this week
It is expected to undergo a vote in the upper-house Federation Council on July 19, after which President Vladimir Putin will likely sign it
into law.Activists and transgender people say the bill, which was first introduced in May, has spurred numerous individuals to hastily start
the gender reassignment process out of fears that this opportunity will soon be stripped away.They warn that the legislation could increase
already high rates of suicide and suicide attempts among transgender people and encourage an underground market for surgeries and
Russia.According to Dvorkin, who remains one of the few prominent LGBT activists still inside Russia, Center-T has already seen a
three-to-fourfold increase in requests for assistance in the weeks since the bill was introduced.If passed, the bill will ban gender
reassignment surgeries and treatments such as hormone replacement therapy
will establish a list of permissible interventions "related to the treatment of congenital physiological anomalies in children."The bill
and dissenters that has gained momentum since the invasion of Ukraine.Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin, frequently slam
liberal Western values, particularly those concerning gender and sexual freedoms, as a foreign ideology that threatens Russian
State Duma.Russia ranked 46th out of 49 European countries in Rainbow Europe's annual LGBT rights rankings.According to Human Rights Watch,
month.Currently, those hoping to change their gender marker and seek gender-affirming surgeries and treatments must first undergo a
challenging process involving a specialized medical commission only available in major cities like Moscow.Many transgender people also face
financial difficulties due to discrimination and transphobia in the workplace, which in turn exacerbate their financial struggles during
their gender reassignment process.Some transgender people, like Alexei, have been forced to seek financial assistance from LGBT aid
problems with sponsors as many organizations hesitate to collaborate with LGBT activists.Russia last year imposed steep fines for LGBT
had been the caretaker of a child with a disability for six years until he was reported to the authorities earlier this year, a move he
linked to his activism.For now, Dvorkin has no plans to change his gender on his documents, meaning the legislation banning access to
country since the start of the war in Ukraine and worsening domestic repressions, but going abroad is costly and can carry its own
