Pig Heads and Blood Left Outside LGBTQ-Friendly Kyiv Salon
GxBar, which has publicly supported LGBTQ equality, has faced repeated vandalism over the past several months.
GxBar, an LGBTQ-friendly salon in Kyiv, was vandalized by unidentified individuals who poured blood and left severed pig heads and entrails around its main entrance.
The vandalism targeted the GxBar Special salon, which has faced other attacks in recent months that the business believes are linked to its support for the LGBTQ community.
According to a post on GxBar’s Instagram account, the salon was defaced around 6:17 a.m. on July 21. Security footage from inside the salon shows at least one person — and possibly others — dousing the entrance in blood and placing the pig heads on the building’s front stoop.
Other photos and videos included in the post appear to show past incidents, including a person posing as a customer vandalizing the salon’s bathroom, masked young men protesting outside with a bullhorn, a window defaced with stickers promoting anti-LGBTQ messages, and anti-gay graffiti scrawled on the walkway outside the salon.
“For a month now, we have been living in a reality where we are forced not only to sustain our business but also to protect the people who make it possible — on a daily basis,” the salon wrote in the Instagram post. “Our brand, partners, and team — the majority of whom are women — as well as our GxBar locations across Ukraine, are facing systematic pressure simply because we stand for human values and every individual’s right to love freely and to live without fear or hatred.”
According to Ukrainian broadcaster Suspilne, the salon has also suffered property damage caused by people posing as customers, attacks on its Google Maps listing, threats of physical violence against employees, and the publication of employees’ personal information and home addresses. In response, the chain has increased security measures and hired guards to protect its Kyiv locations.
The salon network said it contacted law enforcement after each act of vandalism or deliberate targeting but had refrained from speaking publicly about the incidents. Following the latest attack, GxBar publicly called on the National Police to respond to the repeated targeting of the business.
“It happened to others before. Today, it happened to us. Tomorrow, it could happen to any Ukrainian business brave enough to openly stand up for human values,” the salon wrote in its Instagram post. “Everyone has the right to their own convictions. Everyone has the right to disagree. But no one has the right to intimidate people.
“When home addresses are published, when families are threatened, when teams are terrorized and attempts are made to paralyze business operations — that is no longer freedom of opinion. That is violence,” the salon added. “We do not intend to respond to aggression with aggression. Nor do we intend to change our values out of fear. We simply want to live and work in a country where businesses do not fear opening their doors in the morning. Thank you to our team and to everyone standing with us right now.”
On the evening of July 21, Kyiv police announced that authorities had opened a criminal case under Part 1 of Article 296 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code, which penalizes “hooliganism” — a gross violation of public order motivated by clear disrespect for society. Police are working to identify those involved in the latest incident, according to Suspilne.
It remains unclear what prompted the attacks on GxBar, but the owners have suggested that the increase in attacks targeting the salon and its employees may be linked to its decision to fire an employee who went viral on social media for trampling on an LGBTQ Pride flag.
According to Suspilne, the Equality March for LGBTQ+ Rights was held in Kyiv on June 21, with advocates calling for legal recognition of same-sex civil partnerships and the removal of discriminatory provisions from the draft Civil Code. At the same time, counterprotesters participated in the “March of Tradition” and the “March in Defense of Family, Children and Ukraine,” claiming they were defending “public morality.”
During KyivPride, Yuliana Kaznodiy, a student at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, was photographed and filmed “wiping her feet” on a six-color rainbow Pride flag and a Trans Pride flag, claiming she had “dirtied her sneakers.” She later apologized for her actions but said she has her “own beliefs, values, and life experience” that have shaped her “as a person.”
After Kaznodiy was identified as a GxBar employee, LGBTQ rights organizations called on the salon chain to respond to her actions. GxBar later fired Kaznodiy and issued a statement supporting LGBTQ equality, according to local news outlet Tvoe Misto.
“Regardless of the country, experience, or personal history of a person, we strive to ensure that everyone feels safe and accepted at G,” the company said in a statement. “That is why we absolutely unequivocally do not share Yuliana’s statements and actions, and what was done with the flag.”
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