A/HRC/44/53/Add.1 around 179,400 men who have sex with men (and transgender women) 37 in Ukraine, with an HIV prevalence of 7.5 per cent compared with 1 per cent of the general population. However, the high level of stigma – both in relation to sexual orientation and gender identity, and HIV 38 – means that the majority keep their sexual orientation and gender identity hidden, suggesting the population estimate for this group is underreported. Behavioural surveys39 show that men who have sex with men have the highest rate of new infections among key populations, the lowest knowledge of their HIV diagnosis, the lowest coverage by antiretroviral therapy and the lowest rates of prevention coverage. 40 70. Ukraine has committed to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) 90-90-90 targets – fast-track commitments to end AIDS by 2030 – and adopted a patient-oriented strategy combined with a focus on prevention programmes targeted at key populations and increased access to treatment through the National HIV/AIDS Programme for 2014–2018. As a result, the rate of new infections has started to slow and the number of people accessing treatment to increase – due, in part, to civil society and community engagement. In 2017, Ukraine also committed to taking over the prevention programme among key populations, and to funding and gradually implementing the basic prevention package . 71. Ukraine has also adopted a strategy to provide a comprehensive response to human rights-related barriers to accessing HIV and Tuberculosis prevention and treatment services until 2030 and a related strategic plan for the period 2019–2022, which was approved by the National Council on Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS in 2019. The Independent Expert is pleased to note that it envisages the adoption of new policies and the reform of laws and regulations to address human rights-related barriers to HIV services and he commends the important programmatic measures adopted to take into consideration men who have sex with men – a population that overlaps significantly with gay men – in the fight against the AIDS epidemic. However, he cautions against excluding other members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and gender diverse community from counselling, testing and treatment services. B. Education 72. Based on usual global estimates, the number of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and gender diverse students in Ukraine would account for between 120,000 and 240,000 persons. However, there seems to be a total absence of knowledge within the State about their needs, their well-being, the abuses and challenges they face and the impact on their educational achievements, despite what appears to be a very concerning state of affairs: according to a survey conducted by a non-governmental organization in 2017, 49 per cent of students feel unsafe at school because of their sexual orientation and gender identity, 88.5 per cent of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and gender diverse students and pupils suffered from verbal harassment in schools and 53.5 per cent from physical abuse in the course of the last year. 41 In 2016, a global poll on bullying in Ukraine conducted by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) youth initiative showed that 5 per cent of respondents claimed to have experienced bullying due to sexual orientation.42 73. A civil society organization recorded 23 cases involving students in 2018, including cases of bullying, threats, insults, humiliation, violence, disclosure of confidential information and hate speech, among others. For the first six months of 2019, the same 37 38 39 40 41 42 Because of the way data are collected in Ukraine, transgender women are included in the population group of men who have sex with men. See www.avert.org/professionals/hiv-around-world/eastern-europe-central-asia/ukraine# footnote71_sfnh0hw. Integrated bio-behavioral surveys of 2013 and 2015. UNAIDS, Ukraine, country fact sheet, 2018. Fulcrum UA, National School Climate Survey, 2017, available at: https://issuu.com/fulcrumua/ docs/doslidzhennya (in Ukrainian). UNICEF, Youth initiative U-Report (2016), available from http://www.ukraine.ureport.in/ (in Ukrainian). 15