Representing the sexual minority

Are there hostile situations in Europe for LGBT people?

To give you an example, in some countries it is still not safe to be a human rights LGBT activist. If you are advocating and openly declaring your belonging to the sexual minority it is still life-threatening. Like in some countries like Turkey, there is consistently killing of transgender people, which we just heard the news last week for the first time that someone had actually been convicted because impunity is a very big issue in some countries. If you look at what was happening in Eastern European and central European countries for the last five years was first pride events while there was a hostile environment. Not only from fellow citizens, but also a lot of hostility was actually created and promoted by a lot of politicians, community leaders, religious leaders which created this hysterical homophobic environment which resulted in ugly and violent expressions. So we’re talking about very, very different situations in those countries. When you look at some of the countries that are smaller and you’re known for your activism it is difficult to get a job and it is difficult to be safe in your neighborhood because you’re vulnerable to abuse and violence is actually one of the most serious issues for us throughout Europe, unfortunately not just Eastern European or Southern European issues. The beatings and killings and humiliations are happening everywhere. 
 

Is there a clear disparity between the Eastern bloc and the rest of Europe? If so, what’s the cause for this?

Partially it’s true. I think we need to bear in mind it’s only one aspect of the problem, of the issue. The various obvious reasons are that half of Europe was chopped off from the rest of the world for 50 years. So we’re talking about isolation and a very different discourse for 50 years, which basically determined a lot of issues those countries are dealing with now. A lot of development, including advance of human rights generally but also LGBT rights in particular, were happening more organically in the Western Europe. Obviously this was a complete taboo subject behind the other side of the wall and suddenly after the liberation we’re talking 10-15 years there was a flood of ideas, development and one of those was emancipation of LGBT people and their self-awareness and claiming their social place, but also their rights. Therefore, it caused some collision because society had not caught up and was not in the same place as the rest of Europe and LGBT people were almost 100% invisible and they did not exist or the information existing in their time was in most cases a criminal offense, sickness and things like that. It’s understandable that those processes are causing much more tension, not only on LGBT rights. Society is not able to catch up so quickly. Unfortunately, in Eastern Europe the politicians and decision-makers and community leaders are not often helping. We ‘re seeing a shift to a much more nationalistic approach where idea of openness, inclusion, tolerance and human rights for everyone doesn’t fit and there’s a lot of self-preservation happening. It’s a general problem and not a specific problem [in the eastern bloc]. It’s also important to point that there has been a lot of positive development in those places and it’s very individual country-to-country. 

How does ILGA-Europe work with the Gay and Lesbian Rights Intergroup?

The intergroup is a very close ally for ILGA-Europe for our work at the EU level. What we are doing is connecting them to our membership: providing them with data and information, a constant exchange of ideas and how we can be helpful. If there are certain events coming how we can cooperate, for example every summer the MEP’s are very much interested to be present at the hostile prides in Europe and we are always connecting them with those organizers in those countries. They [MEP’s] are bringing a huge profile, a lot of media attention and also, a lot of protection because if the authorities know there are members of the European Parliament obviously the approach is very different to make sure their safety is ensured. Also, by having members of the European Parliament those countries during these events brings the debate a slightly different perspective because it helps the media and the people to depart from this very basic level to maybe see the issues in a more global European dimension. For example, we are planning, maybe in November, to host an event in the Parliament jointly with the Intergroup to reenergize the “Be Bothered Pledge” to talk about LGBT issues and relaunch the appeal to get to know the rest of the MEP’s [1/5 of all MEP’s have signed the pledge]. 

Current short-term goal?

To make sure the EU is developing framework dealing with homophobic hate crimes right now there is only a framework dealing with racial hate crimes. It’s important that there are frames that if someone is facing discrimination at least there are ways to remedy it. Providing these legal frameworks, including protection from discrimination and introducing positive legislation, is also a very important signal to society that discrimination is wrong and that everyone deserves equal rights. Across Europe the radical, homophobic and racist sentiments are on the rise in Europe and I think it is sort of a reminder that there is no point where you can sit and achieve something quietly because this is something which you have to always work on. 
 
 “Europe is the most advanced continent concerning LGBT rights in the world.”

 

Juris Lavrikovs is the Com­mun­i­cations Manager for ILGA Europe, he was interviewed by Daniella Lopez