The Science of Sexuality

Posted by: Jack Fisher, Human Rights Officer

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As the United States continues to struggle with how our own society chooses to engage on the issue of civil rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, there seem to be parallels in that same debate in Ukraine.  Forty years ago in the United States, no states had laws protecting LGBT people from employment or housing discrimination, no states allowed civil partnerships or same-sex marriages, the American Psychological Association still considered homosexuality to be a mental disorder, police raided bars frequented by LGBT people, and LGBT people who wished to hold public office, serve in the military or work for the government could not disclose their sexual orientation or gender identity.  As Ukrainians begin to openly debate their own laws with respect to LGBT people, it is important that those taking part in the debate have access to the best possible science regarding sexual orientation and gender identity, so as to make the most informed choices possible.  Here, as best as we can tell, is a summary of what science has determined about sexual orientation.

People do not choose to be homosexual
Most gay people report feeling different during childhood, and, during puberty, realize that their sexual feelings are primarily or exclusively towards those of their own sex.  Much as heterosexuals do not make a conscious choice to “be” straight, gay people do not make a choice to “be” gay. Most gay people report experiencing an extended period during which they struggle with the fact that they are gay, attempting to hide their sexuality due to the social stigma attached to it.  As a result of this internal conflict, rates of attempted and actual suicide among LGBT youth are significantly higher than in the general population.   Some surveys claim that 30-40% of LGBT youth attempt suicide – a rate four times higher than among heterosexual teenagers.  It would make little sense for anyone to choose a sexuality which dramatically reduced their statistical likelihood of finding a life partner, which put them at increased risk of bullying or violence, which prevented them from the free and full exercise of their civil and human rights, and which was likely to lead to conflict with or rejection by their closest family members and friends.

Homosexuality is not a disease or a disorder, and it is not contagious
In 1974, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), the primary manual used by American and many other psychologists and psychiatrists, removed homosexuality from its categories of “mental disorders.”  This was due to the increase in research which showed that homosexuality was innate, unchangeable, and did not prevent healthy individuals from leading fulfilling lives.  Some who argue against giving parental rights to LGBT people contend that they should not be allowed to raise children, because they will be more likely to raise gay children.  But a 2005 study on children raised by gay couples showed that these children were indistinguishable from children raised in households with a mother and a father – and were no more or less likely to grow up to be gay.

Homosexuality cannot be changed or fixed
Decades of studies of “reparative therapies” of homosexuality have shown that attempts to change a person’s sexuality are ineffective, and frequently lead to adverse psychological side effects.  In a 2002 study of reparative therapy, for example, only 3% of participants reported that they had successfully changed their sexual orientation.   Even these three percent were taken only at their word, with no attempt to measure their physiological and sexual response to individuals of the same sex.  Several high profile individuals who reported that reparative therapy “cured” their homosexuality later recanted.

Genetics appear to play an important role in homosexuality, but there doesn’t appear to be any one “gay gene” 

Studies of identical twins have found that approximately half of twins with a gay or lesbian sibling will also be gay or lesbian.  If there were a determinative gay gene, then this figure would be 100%, as identical twins share all of their genes.  However, given that estimates of homosexuality in the general population range from 1-3%, this finding suggests a strong genetic component to homosexuality.   Some studies indicate that the genetic marker Xq28 may play a role in male homosexuality, although this has been disputed by other studies.  Epigenetic factors also seem to partly explain homosexuality.  Epigenetics is the study of the fact that, while any given person has thousands of genes, only some of these are “switched on” or active, while others remain “switched off.”  Hormonal changes while an embryo is in the womb appear to switch on and off certain genes, and may explain why one identical twin will be homosexual while the other is heterosexual.  Birth order also appears to play a role in homosexuality. Blanchard and Klassen reported in 1997 that each older brother increases a man’s chance of being homosexual by 33%, possibly due to the fact that women’s hormonal responses to each successive male embryo varies.  Finally, there appear to be important differences in brain structure between homosexuals and heterosexuals.  A study by Simon LeVay showed that male homosexuals had hypothalamuses similar in size to female heterosexuals, while lesbians had hypothalamuses similar in size to male heterosexuals.  These differences in brain structure may also partially explain homosexuality.

Homosexuality is not an import from the West
Homosexual behavior has been observed in every culture, in every society, at every time in history.  Anthropologists Stephen Murray and Will Roscoe reported that women in Lesotho, (Africa) form long-term, socially acceptable sexual partnerships called motsoalle.  In 2400 BCE, Egyptian male couple Khnumhotep and Niankhkhnum were immortalized for all time in a series of bas reliefs showing them kissing, surrounded by their heirs.  Homosexuality has been depicted in the literature and art of ancient China and Japan, and in Thailand, Thai kings frequently had both male and female lovers.

Even in the United States, discussion of homosexuality arouses strong passions, with many people arguing that same-sex relationships are immoral, or dangerous to society and to the traditional family unit.  Yet through debate we have come to recognize the importance of protecting the right of all people to freely express their views, the right to freedom of assembly, the right to live without the fear of violence.

May 17 is the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia.

 

Ambassador Tefft Visits Donetsk for America Days

Posted by: Tim Piergalski, Political Officer

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Donetsk City

I recently had the opportunity to visit Donetsk, an industrial city in eastern Ukraine, with the U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine John F. Tefft.  Donetsk is a steel city, a Ukrainian Pittsburgh, which has benefitted from strong central government investment in its infrastructure.  The city center’s roads are smooth, and we observed workers planting grass and flowers on medians, a great contrast to cash-strapped Kyiv.  Donetsk lacks the historical buildings which dot the rest of Ukraine, having been founded in 1869 by Welshman John Hughes to establish coal mines and steel mills.

Opening of Ivan Dudkin’s “America the Unexpected” photo exhibit at Window on America Center at Donetsk Oblast Library

Ambassador Tefft went to Donetsk to take part in America Days, a multi-day celebration and exposition of American culture.  It was interesting to hear the questions the students asked him at an education fair (visas are always on everyone’s mind!), and I learned, quite to my surprise, that students in Donetsk play American football.  The Ambassador also opened a photo exhibit, which emphasized views of America as seen through Ukrainian eyes (and lenses).  We met with the mayor and the governor, and what surprised me most was that a horde of journalists were present throughout both meetings, eagerly writing down and recording everything the Governor and Ambassador said to each other.

Meeting with Oleksandr Lukyanchenko, Donetsk Mayor

We also visited the site of a Peace Corps Volunteer who teaches at the Donetsk Institute of Tourism.  The Ambassador took questions from the students, who showed off their impeccable knowledge of English.  In the same vein, we visited two USAID-funded projects.  The first project helps the Donetsk Court of Appeals improve the transparency of the judicial process.  The chief judge couldn’t say enough about the improvements over the past few years, thanks in large part to USAID grant money and her partnership with a local NGO which conducted independent surveys of court users to determine whether they felt they got a fair shake at court.  Perceptions of fairness are increasing, even among those who lost their case, and perception of corruption is decreasing.  We also visited a tuberculosis hospital, which has halved the mortality rate from tuberculosis in Donetsk oblast over the past ten years since the hospital has been working with USAID.  The

Ambassador Tefft Visits TB Hospital in Donetsk

doctors and staff at the hospital had an obvious passion for their work that was evident when they told the Ambassador about the various projects that they were implementing.  On the day of our visit, the hospital was being audited by the WHO to see whether it would become a WHO training site.  All of these visits indicated how important our efforts are, and how a few small projects can make a big difference in the lives of many.

On the flight back, I collected my thoughts about the trip and realized just how much we had seen in under three days – we had 19 different events but hadn’t even come close to including everything we wanted.  But, it left me yearning to see more of Donetsk, the Donbass region, and Ukraine and visit other places with stories to tell.

 

U.S. Embassy Kyiv Celebrates Earth Day with the U.S. Forest Service and Local Youth

By Misha Martorana, Environment, Science, Technology, and Health Officer 

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Ambassador Tefft plants trees with NULES rector Dmytro Melnychuk

Embassy Kyiv had a full Earth Day schedule, honoring the occasion with Ambassador Tefft planting trees, as well as with lectures, educational campaigns, and outreach events throughout the week.  This year, we also had the great fortune to host former Chief of the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) Dale Bosworth and a team from the USFS International Programs Office, who participated with the Embassy on not one but two Earth Day tree plantings (one with Ambassador Tefft, one without).

Shoppers upgrade for new “eco-bags.”

The first Earth Day was celebrated April 22, 1970, and was conceived as a “teach-in” event to be held at universities across the country.  Its initiator, Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin, felt a call to action after what he saw at the sight of the 1969 Santa Barbara, California oil spill.  By 1990, Earth Day had gone international and, by 2012, was celebrated by over 1.5 billion people across 190 countries.  Embassy Kyiv’s own Earth Day activism in 2013 engaged more than 450 Ukrainians and generated extensive news coverage.

Deputy Economic Counselor Elizabeth Horst kicked off our

Youth Council members paint their new “eco-bags.”

Earth Day outreach April 18 with a lecture on the U.S. government’s environmental diplomacy efforts.  Horst spoke to around 35 young professionals and university students as part of the Embassy’s Youth Development Initiative, a program that targets young Ukrainians to educate them about the United States’ role in a variety of international and domestic issues such as food security, NATO,

Dale Bosworth talks about the USFS with officers from the Ukraine State Agency for Forest Resources.

and international relations.  Horst spoke about the State Department’s and other U.S. government agencies’ work in promoting sound environmental policy and stewardship throughout the world in our efforts to mitigate climate change and environmental disasters.

On Sunday, April 21, the U.S. Embassy’s Youth Council held an exciting, interactive Earth Day campaign giving away hundreds of free, environmentally friendly, reusable bags to shoppers willing to hand over their disposable plastic bags.  Polyethylene bags, used commonly at grocery stores and markets in the United States and Ukraine, take between 400-1,000 years to fully decompose.  Reusable bags can be used hundreds of times and decompose significantly faster than regular plastic bags.  The all-day event included a bag decorating workshop, giant eco-puzzle for kids, live band, face painting and henna stations, and a banner on which people could write messages to the Earth.  The campaign was well-received by the public and covered widely by local media.

Valdis E. Mezainis, Director of the USFS International Programs Offices plants pine trees with students.

Even Embassy children did their part.  About 30 children and their family members from the Embassy’s Girl Scout troop, which includes girls aged 7-11 from multiple countries, joined volunteers to clean up two parks surrounding Andrivsky Uzviz.  The historical neighborhood and surrounding parks are a popular tourist destination centered around the more than 250 year old St. Andrew’s Church.

Embassy personnel plant pine trees with students at a SAFRU nursery.

The many days of events closed with two tree plantings on Earth Day, April 22.  In the morning, Ambassador Tefft and former USFS Chief Dale Bosworth, along with other USFS and Embassy personnel, planted trees and met with officials at the National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine (NULES).  Ambassador Tefft and Chief Bosworth paired with NULES Rector Dmytro Melnychuk and Chairman of the State Agency for Forest Resources of Ukraine (SAFRU) Victor Sivits to plant trees on university grounds, joined by students and media.  The event was followed by a roundtable and Q&A session where about 100 students and faculty learned about the USFS’ approach to sustainable forest management.  Learn more about NULES’ programs and curriculum at their website here.

Embassy personnel plant pine trees with students at a SAFRU nursery.

After lunch, the USFS delegation and Embassy personnel from the Foreign Agricultural Service, Economic Section, Department of Energy, and Public Affairs Office got their hands dirty helping Deputy Director of SAFRU Yaroslav

Dale Bosworth plants a tree with a young student from Kyiv Oblast.

Makarchuk, his officers, and students plant hundreds of pine trees at a nursery outside of Kyiv.  The ceremony organized by SAFRU capped off their annual the “Future of the Forest [is] in Your Hands” campaign, established in 2006.  The forest agency uses roundtables, tree plantings, press conferences, classroom lectures, and concerts to emphasize the importance of forest conservation and environmental sustainability.  Embassy and USFS staff helped SAFRU staff and students dig holes and plant each sapling with a mineral pack, one tree at a time.  More information about SAFRU’s forest campaign can be found at their website here.

More photos from the Embassy’s Earth Day activities can be found on our Flickr page.

 

Women Entrepreneurs: the Next Driving Force in the Ukrainian Economy?

Posted by: Malgorzata Wolfe, Economics Officer

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Women’s Forum April 12, 2013: “Women Entrepreneurs: the Next Driving Force in the Ukrainian Economy?”

In this time of transition for the professional roles of women in Ukraine, many women are looking for ways to take charge of their own futures.  I was lucky to join over 160 Ukrainian women entrepreneurs, owners of small and medium enterprises, during the April 12 Forum: “Women Entrepreneurs: the Next Driving Force in the Ukrainian Economy?” My heart filled with hope seeing dozens of dynamic women enthusiastically discussing conference sessions, initiating new professional contacts, and exchanging business cards — demonstrating that women in Ukraine are a critical part of the economy and the future.

Under Secretary Sonenshine opened the Women’s Forum in Kyiv

U.S. Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Tara Sonenshine opened the Forum giving an inspirational speech about the importance of women’s leadership. The Forum’s goal was to promote the importance of Ukrainian women in driving Ukraine’s economic growth, boost the confidence of women entrepreneurs, and provide practical tools for further empowerment. The participants were given an opportunity to network, exchange experiences, and discuss strategic investments in the economic potential of women.

Minister of Social Policy Natalya Korolevska opened the Women’s Forum in Kyiv

Minister of Social Policy Natalya Korolevska emphasized “Equal rights and opportunities for women and men – are truly global issues.” She pointed out that gender parity is particularly important during a time of global economic crisis and announced that her Ministry has been working on a draft law which would introduce a 30% quota for women’s representation in the public sector.

The Forum’s sessions gave panelists an opportunity to exchange personal experiences and share success stories. During one of the coffee breaks, one woman approached me and said: “When you do a business you think you are alone, surrounded with your own little problems. So, it is really encouraging to hear that other women are struggling with the same issues. It is good to talk about it. It makes you stronger!”

Women’s Forum April 12, 2013: “Women Entrepreneurs: the Next Driving Force in the Ukrainian Economy?”

Two of the conference sessions focused on connectivity – one of the three “C’s” mentioned by Under Secretary Sonenshine, the other two being confidence and community. One panel focused on mentorship as an effective tool to raise future leaders, while the other concentrated on networking as a key factor for success. The first panel emphasized that as a mentor you “give back to society what you’ve received” – your education and experience. And mentoring can serve all ages; it should be seen as an overall investment in women.

Tapping the full talents of women — like those I saw at the conference — can help Ukraine achieve its full economic potential.  As Under Secretary Sonenshine said in her speech: “Empowering women is about being smart. One way to understand how to ask the smart question today is not to ask ‘why women?’ – it is to ask ‘why not.’”

 

20 Years of Success: Stories from our FLEX Alumni — “FLEX was definitely a good start to my further achievements”

This story is part of a series of blog entries to mark the 20^th anniversary of the Future Leaders Exchange program (FLEX) in Ukraine. FLEX is the U.S. Government’s premier high school exchange program. For more information about U.S. exchanges please click here.

 Posted by: Antonina Radzihovska

Future Leaders Exchange Program 1996-1997

Tottenville High School

New York, New York

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FLEX alumni – Antonina Radzihovska

In 1996-1997, I participated in the Future Leaders Exchange Program. I was lucky to live in one of the biggest cities of the world – New York. My first trip to the United States gave me a good start to my future education abroad, which eventually led me to a successful career.

In New York, I graduated from Tottenville High School with a Diploma with Honors. I felt it was not enough, and soon after I got my education in economics at Nottingham University Business School, London, UK where I majored in Marketing and General Management.

After finishing my education I worked for the investment fund SigmaBleyzer.  After that, I worked for one of the largest cell providers in Ukraine – Kyivstar, where my project “djuice” brought in over $2 billion in the six years of my work there. Now I run my own consultancy business “Acctiva Consulting”.

I am sure my first trip to the U.S. helped me in achieving what I have now. It was definitely a good start to my further achievements.

 

Forests of Chornobyl: Stopping Future Fallout

Shelia Slemp, U.S. Forest Service International Programs

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Red Forest Hill in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone
Photo credit: Timm Suess

The forests of Chornobyl present a unique problem.  For more than 25 years, forestry management activities, such as thinning and clearing brush, which reduce wildfire severity and maintain forest productivity, have been curtailed by the hazards of radioactivity. As a result, the build-up of dead trees and dense undergrowth in the forest increases the likelihood of a catastrophic wildfire, smoke from which could transport radionuclides to populated areas in Ukraine and neighboring countries.

Since 2006, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) has been working with the government of Ukraine to look at innovative ways to not only effectively manage the forests, but increase the capability of on-the-ground emergency staff to respond to fire and other emergencies that occur in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone.  Fire and forestry specialists from the U.S. and Ukraine are working together to determine ways to restore forests to safer conditions; identify the potential risks of inaction; and prepare for the increasing probability of fires in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone.

Scientists can now predict the amounts of smoke and possible radioactive contaminants emitted from potential forest fires.  The next step is for Ukrainian and U.S. Forest Service specialists to determine weather patterns, the amount of fuel and its location, and other factors, in order to identify and model wildfire intensity and the potential for the spread of radioactive contaminants to populations in Ukraine and Europe.  This, in turn, will allow forest managers to target thinning and brush cleanup to strategic locations, maximizing effects of fire mitigation activities and minimizing the high costs associated with such work in contaminated areas.

With this information, fire fighters will be equipped to better understand fire behavior and undertake forest management measures and fire suppression actions and reduce the size, intensity, and duration of fires and minimize the potential for the spread of radioactive contamination.  Such research and management actions have been at the forefront of the USFS’s strategy to mitigate the effects of wildfire in the United States.  Effectively applying this information, however, requires a standardized system capable of integrating actions and information.  One such system is the U.S. Forest Service Incident Command System.

Ukrainian delegation meets with Deputy director of the Federal Forest Resources

Working with other partners, the USFS uses the Incident Command System (ICS)—an emergency/disaster response system that evolved from a wildfire response system developed by the USFS and state and local partners in California in the 1970s.  Over the past 30 years, ICS expanded and was adopted nationally to manage the federal response for many types of emergencies including earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, volcanic eruptions, and human-caused incidents.  The ICS is even used to organizing large scale events, like the Olympics.

The USFS is well equipped to provide support for such all-hazard response and is frequently tapped to work with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA).  With thousands of fires each year, the agency gets much of its ICS training and experience during actual emergency situations.  As a result, the USFS has a long history of working with state, county, and local governments, as well as U.S. embassies around the world to build disaster management capacity to prepare for future disasters.

In July 2012, with support from USAID, two USFS experts provided a 3-day overview of the Incident Command System to more than 40 emergency response personnel in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone.  The trainers and Chornobyl emergency response staff discussed some of the challenges of utilizing a locally-based response system in Ukraine.  With a centralized, top-down approach to emergency response, integrating new methods like those of the ICS system would prove challenging in Ukraine.  Based on these conversations, the U.S. Forest Service International Programs office invited a delegation of high level officials from the Ukrainian government to the United States to learn more about the ICS, the evolution of policy to support it, and how it was altered following lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina.

Ukrainian delegation at the U.S. command center at the centers for disease control

In November 2012, with the support of USAID and technical assistance from the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine, the U.S. Forest Service hosted a team of six high level officials from the Ministry of Emergencies and the State Agency for Forest Resources of Ukraine to the United States to learn more about the U.S. model of coordinated emergency response. USFS personnel provided background information about the National Incident Management System (NIMS), the ICS, ICS programs abroad, and the role of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Presenters also demonstrated the framework in which federal, state, and local agencies work together in emergency response situations.

The idea that control always remains with the local community was quite a radical concept to the delegation.  Federal agencies provide support only when invited, and even then in a subordinate role.  One reason for this is that local residents are better connected to local resources and have existing relationships that may not be available at the federal level.  Such a system relies on local ability and coordinating policies at all levels of government.  It also requires stakeholder participation and development of community relationships in order to provide a stronger, quicker and organized response.

The delegates were able to piece all of these elements together from visits to emergency response entities in Washington, DC, and Atlanta, Georgia, giving them a better understanding of the value of the local locus of control and a locally coordinated ICS approach.  The group visited New Jersey and New York, where they met with representatives from FEMA, the U.S. Forest Service, Incident Support Teams, and others from around the country who had come together to support the local response to Hurricane Sandy, which devastated much of the Eastern seaboard in these two states.

It has taken many years for the NIMS/ICS to evolve within the United States.  Much of what U.S. officials and responders learned from past mistakes have become integral to the success of NIMS/ICS today.  The ICS has been adopted by a number of countries outside the United States and these countries have been able to adapt their local realities to the system.  Having a shared emergency response framework provides a unique opportunity for multinational collaboration, which can be particularly useful during emergency situations with global implications like that of Chornobyl.  By using a coordinated system, responders are better equipped to reduce loss of life, decrease economic impact, and diminish the effect of compounded, prolonged impact of disasters.

Building on past collaboration, the USFS plans to continue working with USAID, other offices of the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine, the Ukrainian government, and the National University of Life and Environmental Sciences (NULES) in Kyiv to find solutions and alternatives to emergency response and risk mitigation.  However, new partners are welcome, and necessary.  As in the United States, such emergency response will require the support of national institutions and local communities alike.  The U.S. Forest Service looks forward to continued collaboration to find ways to reduce the threat of fires in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone and work together for multinational collaboration on all-hazards emergency response.

 

Federalism: Old Idea with Modern Applications

Larry Socha, Consular Officer

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United States Capitol

What do gun control, same-sex marriage, and medical marijuana have in common?  They all involve issues of federalism, the topic of my discussion with students at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv two weeks ago.  Federalism is one of those political science terms that can seem pretty dull at first.  However, many of the issues that dominate the American headlines involve this important Constitutional element.

Federalism is a system of government in which a Constitution divides power between a central government and regional governments.  Perhaps the greatest fear our national leaders had when writing the Constitution was centralizing authority into the power of too few individuals.  Remember the focus of Thomas Jefferson’s pen and the national outrage in the Declaration of Independence was the solitary figure of King George III.  Jefferson’s colleagues like George Washington and Benjamin Franklin were careful to construct a government of divided power so no one individual or group would dominate.

The result was the U.S. Constitution ratified in 1789 and still in use today.  The national government has expressed powers that individual states don’t have, for example the power to declare war and coin money.  However, the important Tenth Amendment of the Constitution reserves powers for the states.  That is to say, if the Constitution doesn’t specifically delegate a power to the national government or deny it to the states, then the powers are “reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”

So how do we get from George Washington to the issues of gun control, same-sex marriage, or medical marijuana?  These issues involve powers and decisions by both state and national governments.  For example, California voters legalized the use of medical marijuana in 1996.  There’s no mention of marijuana in the Constitution.  Therefore it’s up to every state to decide according to the Tenth Amendment, right?  Well, it’s a bit more complicated than that since the federal Controlled Substances Act of 1970 criminalizes the use of marijuana – for whatever purpose.  The federal government does have the expressed Constitutional right to regulate interstate commerce and the reasoning here is that the cultivation and use of marijuana in one state affects the interstate market for marijuana.  So what we get is a certain legal tension in states like California where state law and federal law conflict.

“Well, isn’t this bad for democracy and the rule of law?” one student asked me.  And I responded that one argument in the defense of federalism is that the system allows for states to serve as laboratories, to try out policies on a local level to see perhaps if they could succeed in furthering freedom and democracy one day on a national level.  What we do have in the United States, too thankfully, are strong institutions, like the U.S. Supreme Court, that are charged with working out these issues.  The Court’s decision in the interpretation of the Constitution is the supreme law of the land.  So what about gun control and same-sex marriage?  Watch the news.  The U.S. Supreme Court is writing the next political science textbook as I type.