Transgender activist to serve 14 days in a men’s jail over single-person protest

On Monday, July 20, Moscow’s Tverskoy Court jailed transgender activist Polina Simonenko for 14 days for conducting a single-person protest outside of the State Duma opposing newly proposed amendments to Russia’s Family Code.

Simonenko was found guilty of repeatedly violating regulations for holding rallies. Moreover, she will be serving her jail time in a special detention facility for men, since she has yet to change the gender marker on her identity documents. 

A series of single-person pickets opposing the proposed amendments to the Family Code took place in Moscow and St. Petersburg on July 18. At least 33 people were arrested during the demonstrations in total. 

If accepted in its current form, the draft law on changes to Russia’s Family Code would effectively ban transgender people in Russia from marrying, while making it more difficult for couples that include a trans partner to adopt children. The proposed changes would also prevent transgender people from changing the gender markers on their identity documents, making it impossible for them to legally change their gender.