On Friday, November 14, at the LGBT+ VETERANS HUB, the NGO Gender Stream presented the book “Tender Armour” written by Olga Polyakova.
During the event, participants discussed the importance of documenting women’s experiences today, particularly those of LGB women, which have often been silenced or erased.
The author of the book is Olga Polyakova, a human rights activist, feminist, and founder of Gender Stream, an organization that fights for the criminalization of hate crimes against LGBTQ+ people in Ukraine.
The speakers at the presentation were veterans Olena Herasyuk (Hera), Olena Shatseva, and author Olga Polyakova. The moderator was Zoya Krasovska.
“This publication was born between trenches, checkpoints, alarms, hospitals, volunteer headquarters, and sometimes between life and death.
And I want every person who opens this book to hear the main thing: women and LGBTQ+ people did not just “join” the war — they are its subjects, full-fledged creators of defense, decisions, and victory.
This is our way of recording the truth as it is. Without embellishment. Without censorship. Without the visibility that is convenient for the state or society.
This is about the reality we live in every day,” commented Olia Polyakova, executive director of Gender Stream and author of the book.
An important part of the presentation was raising funds for Hanna Kazhan’s REB. The event managed to raise over 13,000 hryvnias for the collection.
