A/HRC/44/53/Add.1 organization had already registered 19 cases.43 The Law on Education of 2017 and Law on Higher Education of 2014, however, do not make explicit provision for discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in education and to date there is no connected jurisprudence. 74. During the visit, State authorities explained that it had been impossible to include issues related to sexual orientation and gender identity as “society is polarized” and the Ministry of Education and Science is under the scrutiny of some groups who fear that schools may subject children to “gay propaganda”. In this context, the Independent Expert is concerned that religious institutions are given the opportunity to influence State policies in the field of education through a council for cooperation with religious organizations, in operation by the Ministry of Education and Science since 2008. 75. The Ministry has nonetheless taken a number of measures in recent years to counter discrimination and increase tolerance in school, including through the revision of textbooks, the appointment of advisers on gender equality and non-discrimination in each oblast and the introduction of training on these issues in schools. Since 2017, Ukraine has also launched an inclusive education policy, which, however, focuses solely on persons with disabilities. 76. The Independent Expert also notes recent positive developments to combat bullying. A law on combating bullying, which entered into force in January 2019, is expected to help identify and respond to cases of bullying and oblige schools to adopt and implement antibullying policy. He hopes that such policy will be developed in cooperation with lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and gender diverse organizations and will be inclusive of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and gender diverse students. In addition, he welcomes the very positive project to counteract bullying in schools in 2018, launched by the department for juvenile prevention of the National Police jointly with the Ukrainian Institute of Research of Extremism. 77. The Independent Expert notes that none of the State policies is inclusive of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and gender diverse pupils or protects them from homophobic or transphobic violence and discrimination in educational settings. In addition, none of these measures has led to the introduction of information related to sexual orientation and gender identity in school programmes. This is a missed opportunity, which the Independent Expert deplores, especially in view of the general lack of understanding about diversity in sexual orientations and gender identities among the general population. He also regrets that, according to non-governmental sources, the standards of social work for school psychologists and social workers envisaged in the human rights action plan to support lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and gender diverse teenagers and youths have not yet been developed. 78. The Independent Expert notes that some civil society organizations have taken the initiative to provide teachers, school psychologists and parents with objective information on sexual orientation and gender identity, with a view to supporting lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and gender diverse students and creating an inclusive environment conducive to their well-being and development. He welcomes such initiatives and encourages the Ministry of Education and Science to support them, including financially, and to facilitate access to such training by school professionals. C. Economic well-being 79. The Labour Code is one of the only laws in Ukraine that specifically protects persons from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, but it does not seem to be effective due to a lack of implementation. Despite the legal protections in force since 2015, courts have never been presented with a case of discrimination based on these grounds, allegedly due to poor legal literacy and implementation mechanisms. 43 16 Nash Mir Center, LGBT Situation in Ukraine in 2018 and LGBT Situation in Ukraine in 2019 (January–August).