No Support: Rsia’s “Gay Propaganda” Law Imperils LGBT Youth | HRW

Contents:

• RSIA: EXPAND 'GAY PROPAGANDA' BAN PROGRS TOWARD LAW
• WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT RSIA’S SO-CALLED ‘GAY PROPAGANDA’ BILL
• RSIA PROPOS EXTENDG ‘GAY PROPAGANDA’ LAW TO ALL ADULTS

RSIA: EXPAND 'GAY PROPAGANDA' BAN PROGRS TOWARD LAW

The ntroversial law was met wh cricism and ridicule Wtern untri, cludg a lg the European Court of Human Rights 2017 that stated Rsia’s “gay propaganda law” is discrimatory, promot homophobia and vlat the European Conventn on Human Rights. The urt found that the law “served no legimate public tert, ” rejectg suggtns that public bate on LGBT issu uld fluence children to bee homosexual, or that threatened public morals.

Rsia’s parliament has passed the third and fal readg of a law banng “LGBT propaganda” among all adults, as Mosw ramps up s nservative ph at home amid the war Ukrae that passed the ne-month mark on bill crimalis any act regard as an attempt to promote what Rsia lls “non-tradnal sexual relatns” – film, onle, advertisg or public – and expands on a notor 2013 law that banned “propaganda of nontradnal sexual relatns” among mors and was ed to ta gay rights the new law, dividuals n be fed up to 400, 000 roubl (£5, 400) and anisatns 5m roubl (£68, 500) for “propagandisg nontradnal sexual relatns”, while foreigners uld face up to 15 days’ arrt and expulsn om rights groups and LGBTQ+ activists say the extensn of the law means any act or public mentn of same-sex relatnships is functnally beg Rsian print, Vladimir Put, is expected to sign the bill the g the start of the war Ukrae, the Kreml has lnched a h effort to promote “tradnal valu”, wh the Rsian lear makg anti-gay rhetoric one of the rnerston of his polil a recent speech, Put acced the wt of “movg towards open satanism”, cg the promotn of gay and transgenr rights Europe as an example. ”Kochetkov said the bill was also an attempt by the Kreml to look for ternal enemi and distract attentn om battlefield past newsletter promotnafter newsletter promotnHuman rights crics fear the law will be ed to close down pennt film and book ftivals, makg the topic of gay sexual orientatn sentially taboo Rsia. Kochetkov’s LGBT Network, wh a number of other human rights groups, has also received the “foreign agent” label, a Soviet-era tag signed to target groups the thori say receive “foreign fundg” and engage “polil activy” while the Rsian ernment has expand s attacks on LGBTQ+ rights, recent pollg has dited parts of Rsian society are beg more tolerant towards the gay muny, wh a 2019 poll showg that 68% of younger Rsians view the LGBTQ+ muny as “normal” July, Daria Kasatka, Rsia’s hight-ranked female tennis player, me out as gay, a move appld by fellow athlet and parts of the Rsian public.

The proposals prohib sharg posive and even ntral rmatn about lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr (LGBT) people, and publicly displayg non-heterosexual orientatns, wh hefty f for nonpliance.

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT RSIA’S SO-CALLED ‘GAY PROPAGANDA’ BILL

The origal “gay propaganda” ban, troduced 2013, purported to protect children om “propaganda, ” broadly fed to mean any posive or ntral pictn or discsn of non-heterosexual relatns. The draft legislatn classifi displays of non-heterosexual relatns or orientatn as “rmatn harmful to children’s health and velopment” and provis that webs and other onle sourc hostg rmatn about lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr (LGBT) people n be blocked.

“The 2013 ‘gay propaganda’ law was an unabashed example of polil homophobia, and the new draft legislatn amplifi that broar and harsher ways, ” said Tanya Loksha, associate Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. Petersburg and Mosw have been marked by state vlence and arrts, while an crease the number of attacks on LGBTQ people throughout Rsia—both by dividuals and by anized homophobic groups—creased after the 2013 law, acrdg to a 2014 report published by Human Rights Watch. In 2017, the European Court of Human Rights led that Rsia’s “gay propaganda law” was discrimatory, promoted homophobia, and vlated the European Conventn on Human Rights and that “served no legimate public tert.

Speakg before Put signed the bill to the law on Monday, Tanya Loksha, associate Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch said: “The 2013 ‘gay propaganda’ law was an unabashed example of polil homophobia, and the new draft legislatn amplifi that broar and harsher ways. Petersburg who left Rsia after his parents threatened to sue his therapist who backed him receivg hormone therapy; and Ivan, 18, who is gay, half Rsian and half Ukraian, and “didn’t want to kill people. Authori have already ed existg laws to stop gay pri march and ta gay rights the new bill, passed unanimoly on s first readg by the lower hoe State Duma, any event or act emed to promote homosexualy — onle, film, books, advertisg or public — uld cur a hefty fe.

RSIA PROPOS EXTENDG ‘GAY PROPAGANDA’ LAW TO ALL ADULTS

Lawmakers say they are fendg moraly the face of what they argue are “un-Rsian” liberal valu promoted by the Wt, but human rights groups say the mov are signed to outlaw reprentatns of mori such as lbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgenr people (LGBT) public the legislatn, cizens uld be fed up to 400, 000 roubl ($6, 500) for promotg “LGBT propaganda” enti face f of up to 5 ln roubl, while foreigners found guilty of offenc would face portatn om Rsia. In Rsia, antipathy towards homosexualy and genr variance is not new—LGBT people there have long faced threats, bullyg, abe si their fai, and discrimatn—but the 2013 “gay propaganda” law has creased that social hostily.

And while Rsian ernment officials and parliament members claim that the goal of the “gay propaganda” law is to protect children om potentially harmful subject matter, the law fact directly harms children by nyg them accs to sential rmatn and creasg stigma agast LGBT youth and their fai. While some LGBT youth told that teachers had supported and protected them, many others said their teachers characterize LGBT people as a symptom of perversn imported om Wtern Europe or North Ameri, mirrorg the polil homophobia that motivated the passage of the “gay propaganda” law the first place. Some explaed that they felt forced to speak about sexual orientatn and genr inty only phemisms, or to say explicly at the outset of unselg ssns that they nnot and will not dissemate “gay propaganda” attempts to dispel advance any notn that they are vlatg the law.

On June 10, 2013, Yelena Mizula, the thor of the law at the State Duma, the lower chamber of Rsia’s parliament, told reporters that the Deti-404 webse did not nstute “gay propaganda” unr the law.