Gay rights movement | Defn & History | Branni

Contents:

• GAY BELGIUM: A LEADG NATN FOR GAY RPECT AND RIGHTS
• GAY RIGHTS MOVEMENT
• GAY ANTWERP

GAY BELGIUM: A LEADG NATN FOR GAY RPECT AND RIGHTS

In many parts of the world, LGBTIQ people (lbian, gay, bisexual, trans and tersex, queer) still face severe forms of discrimatn, timidatn and vlence. Every year, 17 May – IDAH0T, Internatnal Day Agast Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia – is an ial opportuny to put this msage the spotlight. Gay and lbian soldiers are not guaranteed promotns through the ary for fear of possible donatns by MSMs Belgium?

GAY RIGHTS MOVEMENT

As of 2022, six untri' legal s specifilly prcribe the ath penalty for the "crime" of homosexualy and another five untri allow for the possibily of the ath penalty.

GAY ANTWERP

LGBT and LGBTQ+ have several addnal variatns, cludg LGBTQ, LGBTQIA, LGBTQIA+, and 2SLGBTQIA+ (Two-spir, lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, queer, qutng, tersex, and asexual, wh the + reprentg pansexual, agenr, genr queer, bigenr, genr variant, and pangenr). Two of the most notable advancements LGBTQI+ rights the US recent s are the legalizatn of gay marriage and the legalizatn of adoptn of children by same-sex upl.

Gay marriage legalizatn expand om one state 2004 to all fifty stat 2015 through feral urt lgs, state urt lgs, state legislatn, and direct popular vot. Acrdg to the Internatnal Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Associatn's annual report State-Sponsored Homophobia, same-sex nduct was crimalized 67 of the Uned Natns' 193 member stat 2020 and was facto illegal two more.

In other untri, homosexualy is technilly legal, but promotn of "nontradnal sexual relatns", whether by anizatns or dividuals, is illegal. Moreover, another five untri have laws which are ls specific the outlawg and sentencg of homosexualy, but which leave the ath penalty available. 2022's iendlit natn for LGBTQ+ travelers is Canada, the first untry outsi of Europe (and the fourth untry the world) to legalize gay marriage, which did on July 20, 2005.

Another of the world's most gay-iendly untri, Swen has legalized both marriage and adoptn for same-sex upl, stalled anti-discrimatn protectns for both genr inty and sexual orientatn, end nstutnal protectns agast discrimatn, and crimalized vlence agast LGBTQ+ people. Portugal beme the sixth European untry and the eighth untry the world to legalize gay marriage on May 17, 2010.

Belgium was the send untry the world to legalize gay marriage (after the Netherlands). Norway has legalized gay marriage and has worker protectns for both sexual orientatn and genr inty.

Addnally, lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr people may serve openly the Spanish Armed Forc. In 2004, the Natnal Assembly approved an amendment to existg anti-discrimatn laws to clu homophobic ments as illegal. Individuals arrted for homosexual nduct are often subjected to addnal mistreatment, om torture and forced anal exams by shady law enforcement officials to oversized sentenc or extend pre-trial rceratn that n last for years.

There’s a good reason for the Internatnal Lbian and Gay Associatn to be based Bssels Belgium: the untry is one of the most progrsive societi the world regnizg LGBT cizens as fully equal to everyone else. Durg the 20th century the Belgian parliament was far more tolerant than any monarch and for a hundred years a liberal culture emerged–perhaps bee of s lguistic diversy and s straddlg the cultural boundary between Germanic and Lat Europe–which embraced gay rights culmatg 2003 as the 2nd untry the world to legalize gay marriage–after Holland. It has also helped that Belgium is largely a secular untry as the nstutn provis for eedom of relign, hence ltle fundamentalist relig homophobia.

Surprisgly homosexualy has been crimalized sce 1843 and there is no law agast homosexuals unls volv crimal behavr. In the late 70s and early 80s the Belgian gay muny anized a number of street monstratns to raise visibily and mand equal rights. More than jt a flamboyant para of drag queens, leather boys and gym buffs on floats (though those are fun) the gay people of Bssels and Belgium take Gay Pri celebratn very serly and is more of a polil monstratn where the gay movement’s polil agenda is prented the form of a list of mands cludg mands for better anti-discrimatn laws, cln of gay relatnships high-school sex tn and the right to adoptn by same-sex parents.

In April 2006, gay cizens did receive adoptn rights when parliament voted to law a ntroversial bill allowg homosexual upl to adopt children. The French-speakg unterpart the Walloon and Bssels regns is the Feratn s Associatns Gay et Lbienn. “The cy has always supported gay groups, ” he asserts, and the buildg we’re stg is proof.

A former police statn, this 17th century, three-story wonr–Casa Rosa–was donated by the cy of Ghent 1999 and ho the Holebiferatie (‘Holibi’ is a lol word om abbreviatns for ‘homosexual’, ‘lbian’ and ‘bisexual’) and several other groups, as well as a first-floor bookshop/rmatn center. Neverthels, much as there is to celebrate Belgium, the number of rints fected wh the HIV vis creased by 20% 2006 wh most of the new diagnos among homosexual men.

“There is more HIV fectn among homosexual men, and at the same time the group is only a small percentage of the entire populatn, ” said one health official.

The rise mirrors creas other wtern untri as the first ‘post-retroviral’ generatn of gay men are sced by the myth that AIDS is jt another disease managed by meditn and risky sexual behavr aga be mon.