Category: Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

Russia is again making media headlines for all the wrong reasons.

On January 19, parliament will hold the first reading of another abusive homophobic law, which proposes jailing people for public displays of non-heterosexual orientation or gender identity.

The bill was first introduced in October 2015 by two Communist Party members, Ivan Nikitchuk and Nikolai Arefyev. It proposes fines of between four and five thousand rubles (US$53-$66) for “the public expression of non-traditional sexual relations, manifested in a public demonstration of personal perverted sexual preferences in public places.” If such public displays occur “on territories and in institutions, providing educational, cultural or youth services,” the offender could face an additional penalty of up to 15 days of administrative arrest.

It is hard to exaggerate the sinister absurdity and abusive intent of this bill – it would effectively outlaw being lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) and penalize people for expressing their identity, a crucial part of anyone’s existence. If passed, it will put President Vladimir Putin in an uncomfortable situation. Talking about Russia’s anti-gay “propaganda” law a few weeks before Russia hosted the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, Putin insisted that Russia was a safe country for LGBT people: “We don’t ban anything, we don’t grab people, we don’t have any [criminal or administrative] responsibility for these type of relations, unlike many other countries […].”

By Tanya Cooper
Read the full article from Human Rights Watch

Tuesday, the European Commission’s published its annual progress reports on accession states’ progress towards EU Membership. The reports include important and extensive information on the situation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people in those 7 countries.

The European Commissioner responsible for Enlargement, Johannes Hahn, presented the 2015 progress reports to the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs.

In his speech the Commissioner emphasised that the reports have “a strong focus on fundamental rights, including freedom of expression and fighting discrimination, notably against the LGBTI community and Roma”.

LGBTI content of the reports

The reports show that LGBTI people continue to face discrimination, threats and violence in the Western Balkans and Turkey. This is a consequence of both a lack of anti-discrimination and hate crime legislation, as in Turkey and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and a lack of effective implementation and prosecution of perpetrators, as is observed in the other four countries.

Turkey is particularly singled out for its high number of hate crimes, attacks and murders of transgender persons.

Successful prides in Albania, Kosovo and Serbia were welcomed, whereas Montenegro and Turkey were condemned for the ban of the Nikšić Pride and police violence against Istanbul Pride.

Concerning legal gender recognition, the report on Montenegro welcomes the adoption of a new protocal for legal gender recognition, whereas Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia are criticized for the absence of such procedures. Turkey is criticized for the excessive requirements for gender recognition.

European Parliament reacts

Ulrike Lunacek MEP, Co-President of the Intergroup on LGBTI Rights and Rapporteur for Kosovo, commented: “While I am very glad to see that many governments of accession states  are improving the legal situation for their LGBTI citizens, we cannot set aside that some countries are going back or standing still, rather than moving forward. Regrettably, implementation is lagging behind in all countries.”

“The police violence against Istanbul Pride is a sad example of this, as is the complete lack of progress on anti-discrimination legislation in Macedonia and Turkey. The European Parliament will take this up extensively in our own reports.”

Daniele Viotti MEP, Co-President of the Intergroup on LGBTI Rights, added: “We are a union built on values of democracy and human rights. However, many LGBTI people in South Eastern Europe still face discrimination and violence because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.”

“In this regard, I am very pleased to see that the Commission continues to put a strong emphasis on the rights of LGBTI people throughout its accession reports. It shows that the EU takes its commitments to human rights seriously.”

Article originally published by the European Parliament’s Intergroup on LGBT Rights

Read more:

• Download a summary of LGBTI rights in all accession reports
• Read the individual reports

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) groups in Central and Eastern Europe, which still faced mixed prospects as they fight for rights and acceptance, are now taking some heart from the “failure” of a referendum in Slovakia, a member of the European Union.

Last month, a referendum called to strengthen a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage and same-sex adoption in Slovakia was declared invalid after only just over 20 percent of voters turned out.

The controversial plebiscite was heavily criticised by international rights groups, which said it pandered to homophobic discrimination and was allowing human rights issues affecting a minority group to be decided by a popular majority vote.

The campaigning ahead of the vote had often been bitter and vitriolic, including public homophobic statements by clergy, and a controversial negative commercial about gay adoption, which Slovak TV stations refused to broadcast and eventually only appeared on internet.

The commercial showed a child in an orphanage being told that his new parents were coming to collect him and, after two men appear at the door, asking: “Where’s Mum?”

Activists here say that the referendum’s outcome was a sign that, despite this campaigning, Slovaks know that LGBT people pose “no threat” to society and has positively furthered discussion about allowing registered partnerships in the country.

Martin Macko, head of the Bratislava-based LGBT rights group Inakost, told IPS: “The referendum showed that people consider the family important, but that they do not see same-sex families as a threat to traditional families. The long-term perspective regarding discussions on registered partnerships in Slovakia is positive.”

Importantly, the result has also been welcomed in other parts of Central and Eastern Europe where many LGBT groups still face intolerance and discrimination.

Evelyne Paradis, Executive Director of international LGBT rights group ILGA-Europe told IPS: “LGBT activists across Europe have welcomed the outcome of the Slovak vote … hopefully the referendum will lead to a constructive discussion about equality in Slovakia. At the same time, we know that there is a broad diversity of views in the region which means that much work remains to be done before full equality is realised.”

By Pavol Stracansky
Edited by Phil Harris
Read the full article from the IPS website