National plan 2007 includes "gender expression"
19/01/2007
By
Desislava Petrova - BGO Gemini
A National Plan for Protection against Discrimination was passed today on a Council of Ministers' session.
What is extraordinary in the National Plan is that apart from all the
grounds of discrimination featured in the Bulgarian Law for Protection
against Discrimination, which include sexual orientation, the new Plan
also features "gender expression" .
Bulgaria's engagement with issues concerning transsexual and
transgender people has once again put Bulgaria a step ahead all the
other countries in the European Union as very few countries are
engaged with this sort of issues in their National Plans and
Legislation.
The National Plan for Protection against Discrimination was prepared
by a work group of experts from the national institution and
non-profit organizations, including Desislava Petrova from Bulgarian
Gay Organization "Gemini" with Resolution N: P – 63 from 2nd August
2006 of Counsil of Ministers. The initiative was undertaken by
Council of Ethnic and Demographic Matters.
The Plan has three specific aims for protection against
discrimination, informing people about their rights and obligations
aiming at a positive change in their attitudes and actions. The
priorities of the Plan are: education and trainings, further
development of the anti-discriminative legislation, media coverage,
creation and maintenance of national data base and thematic monitoring
sessions.
The activities planned for protection against discrimination and
especially the monitoring will shed light over the level of
discrimination against homosexuals, bisexuals and transsexuals in
Bulgaria. According to official statistics 90% of them have been
abused on the grounds of their sexuality or gender expression, over
50% have been subject to harassment and around 30% of the teenage
suicide cases were committed by transsexual people.
Bulgarian Gay Organization "Gemini" considers the adoption of the Plan
as a major step ahead for the Bulgarian government. Up to this point,
the initiatives freatured in the plan and concerning the LGBT
community, were handled explicitly by non-profit organizations, which
made the results poorer.
The activities featured in the Plan for 2007 suggest direct
co-operation between NGO and the state institutions.
What is extraordinary in the National Plan is that apart from all the
grounds of discrimination featured in the Bulgarian Law for Protection
against Discrimination, which include sexual orientation, the new Plan
also features "gender expression" .
Bulgaria's engagement with issues concerning transsexual and
transgender people has once again put Bulgaria a step ahead all the
other countries in the European Union as very few countries are
engaged with this sort of issues in their National Plans and
Legislation.
The National Plan for Protection against Discrimination was prepared
by a work group of experts from the national institution and
non-profit organizations, including Desislava Petrova from Bulgarian
Gay Organization "Gemini" with Resolution N: P – 63 from 2nd August
2006 of Counsil of Ministers. The initiative was undertaken by
Council of Ethnic and Demographic Matters.
The Plan has three specific aims for protection against
discrimination, informing people about their rights and obligations
aiming at a positive change in their attitudes and actions. The
priorities of the Plan are: education and trainings, further
development of the anti-discriminative legislation, media coverage,
creation and maintenance of national data base and thematic monitoring
sessions.
The activities planned for protection against discrimination and
especially the monitoring will shed light over the level of
discrimination against homosexuals, bisexuals and transsexuals in
Bulgaria. According to official statistics 90% of them have been
abused on the grounds of their sexuality or gender expression, over
50% have been subject to harassment and around 30% of the teenage
suicide cases were committed by transsexual people.
Bulgarian Gay Organization "Gemini" considers the adoption of the Plan
as a major step ahead for the Bulgarian government. Up to this point,
the initiatives freatured in the plan and concerning the LGBT
community, were handled explicitly by non-profit organizations, which
made the results poorer.
The activities featured in the Plan for 2007 suggest direct
co-operation between NGO and the state institutions.
