Eastern Europe was once a world lear on gay rights. Then ran out of spegoats | CNN

Contents:

• EASTERN EUROPE WAS ONCE A WORLD LEAR ON GAY RIGHTS. THEN RAN OUT OF SPEGOATS
• GAY RIGHTS AND LGBTQI MOVEMENTS EUROPE

EASTERN EUROPE WAS ONCE A WORLD LEAR ON GAY RIGHTS. THEN RAN OUT OF SPEGOATS

On this year's Internatnal Day agast Homophobia and Transphobia, Euronews Culture asss the current state of LGBTQ rights across European untri. Anti-LGBTQ vlence is here, ’s everywhere, and isn’t gog away any time soon — at least, that’s the latt asssment ma by UN Secretary-General Anton Guterr, a statement released on the eve of the Internatnal Day Agast Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHOT), which the world celebrat on 17 a stgg nmnatn of endurg global anti-LGBTQ prejudice, the UN chief urged untri to end the crimalisatn and systemic opprsn of queer people. London, Berl, Stockholm and Dubl also ranked for the latt Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Associatn (ILGA) report, Malta has once aga been proclaimed Europe’s bt untry for LGBTQ rights, holdg onto the Rabow Europe x’s top spot for the eighth year a Mederranean untry’s overwhelmgly Catholic populatn and nservative stance on certa social issu — namely, abortn — make an unlikely ndidate for Europe’s rabow crown.

Over the past year, an array of European untri have taken several steps forward on var LGBT+ issu, providg some much-need enuragement to activists across the July, Swzerland legalised same-sex marriage, jog a growg list of untri that allow gay upl to tie the cisn followed a referendum held September 2021, which jt unr two-thirds of voters supported "Marriage for all, " as the new legal amendment had been may e as a surprise to some that the Alpe state — equently perceived as a bastn of high livg standards — would take so much longer than many of s neighbours to legalise same-sex marriage. Followg Swzerland’s footsteps, Slovenia also troduced gay marriage, while Croatia allowed same-sex upl to LGBTQ rights Eastern Europe often make headl for all the wrong reasons, Moldova — a eply Orthodox untry, and one of Europe’s most impoverished — has ma signifint progrs improvg ndns for s queer cizens, jumpg up 14 plac 2022’s Rabow rights have also ma signifint headway, after new laws were passed Fland and Spa that allow people to change their legal genr whout unrgog gellg medil procr and asssments.

Neverthels, many human rights mpaigners and trans activists see such laws as dispensable steps to offerg further equaly and regnn to a eply disenanchised omo step-backsAs rosy a picture Europe's long list of newly acquired LGBT+ rights may pat, such advancements nnot, alas, pat over some of the wing cracks on the Visegrád stat, namely Poland and Hungary, the suatn for the queer muny leav much to be sired, as LGBTQ dividuals lack almost any legal protectns, wh few rights to Leśniara, a Polish wrer now based Glasgow, ttifi to the challengg suatn for gay people like himself back at home, while also acknowledgg burgeong signs of improvement.

GAY RIGHTS AND LGBTQI MOVEMENTS EUROPE

"Further east and beyond EU borrs, Rsia — Europe’s "pariah" followg Vladimir Put’s vasn of Ukrae last Febary — has further expand s anti-LGBT legislatn, after an existg law banng "gay propaganda" for children was extend to all age groups last December.

“This is a largely homophobic ernment, ” warned journalist Franc Lepore, one of the event’s speakers, while addrsg the dience. "France, Belgium, the Netherlands and the UK were among the untri ced as havg reported such an Homophobie France also noted that homophobic and transphobic vlence are up 28% and 27%, rpectively, om last a newly released prs report, the EU Commissn mented on such velopments wh ep ncern.

Today Europe, people who are lbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual or tersex (LGBTI) still suffer om discrimatn around the world. In December 2022, Rsia expand s existg “gay propaganda” law to exert ntrol over public discsns and narrativ surroundg non-heterosexual relatnships and inti.

The term “homosexualy, ” while sometim nsired anachronistic the current era, is the most applible and easily translatable term to e when askg this qutn across societi and languag and has been ed other cross-natnal studi, cludg the World Valu Survey. Dpe major chang laws and norms surroundg the issue of same-sex marriage and the rights of LGBT people around the world, public opn on the acceptance of homosexualy society remas sharply divid by untry, regn and enomic velopment. As was 2013, when the qutn was last asked, attus on the acceptance of homosexualy are shaped by the untry which people live.

Those Wtern Europe and the Ameris are generally more acceptg of homosexualy than are those Eastern Europe, Rsia, Ukrae, the Middle East and sub-Saharan Ai. In many natns, there has been an creasg acceptance of homosexualy, cludg the Uned Stat, where 72% say should be accepted, pared wh jt 49% as recently as 2007. There also have been fairly large shifts acceptance of homosexualy over the past 17 years two very different plac: Mexi and Japan.