Rainbow Digest February 2023
28.02.2023
Annual Review reports deadliest rise in anti-LGBTI violence, Finland adopts the Trans Law, and much more…
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ILGA-Europe |
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Deadliest rise in anti-LGBTI violence in over a decade, our Annual Review showsLaunched on 20 February, ILGA-Europe’s Annual Review of the Human Rights Situation of LGBTI People in Europe and Central Asia finds that 2022 was the most violent year for LGBTI people across the region in the past decade, both through planned, ferocious attacks and through suicides in the wake of rising and widespread hate speech from politicians, religious leaders, right-wing organisations and media pundits.
Read more on our press release. Download your own copy of the report. |
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New call for projects working with the racialised LGBTI communities towards socio-economic justiceWe launched a brand-new programme that focuses on the work being done by and for racialised LGBTI communities in Europe. We’ll be supporting up to 15 organisations’ work on socio-economic justice for racialised LGBTI communities through a combination of grants and regular peer-learning. We are looking for projects on evidence-based awareness raising and mobilisation work or developing/strengthening collaboration with service providers and/or other partners working on socio-economic justice.
Read more and apply before 2 April. Watch our video explanations about the programme. |
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New skills boost sessions for LGBTI activists on effective fundraising campaigns in times of crisisAt our new Skills Boost sessions taking place on 14 March and 4 April, ILGA-Europe’s Partnerships Manager, Anna Shepherd will provide some tips and advice for effective fundraising campaigns targeted at individual donors in times of crisis. At the first session, Anna will talk about effective fundraising campaigns, share the most effective tips and point to the things you need to think about before the launch of the campaign. At the second session, Anna will provide individual feedback to every exercise and will answer questions about individual fundraising.
Read more and register for the sessions. |
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Improve your organisation’s internal communications with our new resourcesWe published two new resources about internal communications on our Hub, resource center for LGBTI activists. In the first resource, our Communications Director Brian Finnegan talks about what internal communications are and why they’re so important for your organisation and gives you guidance and tips for a well-working communications structure within your organisation. In the second resource, he gives top five tips for internal comms and shares a resource document you can download and use too.
Read more about what internal communications are. Read more about 5 steps to improve your organisation’s internal communications. |
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Save the date for the ILGA-Europe Equality Fundraiser 2023The Equality Fundraiser will take place in Brussels on Thursday 29 June 2023, 18:30 CEST. It is a special event in support of the LGBTI equality movement in Europe and Central Asia. Join us for a summer party to raise much needed funds for ILGA-Europe’s vital work to advance equality and support frontline activists across Europe and Central Asia.
Read more and save the date on your calendar. |
Ukraine |
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How we’re supporting LGBTI activists and organisations one year after the Russian invasion of UkraineOn 24 February 2022, Vladimir Putin ordered the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. For the last twelve months, civil society organisations across Europe, including ILGA-Europe, have had to run the extra mile to fill in the gaps, but sustainable responses remain a crucial challenge. In our new blog post, we listed the five main areas in which we’ve been working over the past year to support those affected by the war in Ukraine.
Read our blog post. |
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“LGBTI Ukrainians need humanitarian NGOs to provide more help and less bureaucracy”On 22 February, Reuters’ Openly published an opinion piece written by ILGA-Europe Executive Director Evelyne Paradis about the needs of LGBTI Ukrainians, one year after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “The humanitarian aid agencies need to invest in the work that’s already being done on the ground and to regain the trust of LGBTI organisations in Ukraine” said-she.
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Bodily integrity |
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Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights calls for an end to so-called “conversion therapies”On 16 February, Dunja Mijatović, The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, published a human rights comment on ending so-called “conversion therapies”. In it, she calls for collecting data on SOGIE conversion practices, ensuring accountability through enforceable bans with consequences for perpetrators, bans of advertising these practices, support and rehabilitation services for victims, and efforts to raise awareness of the negative consequences of these practices for LGBTI people.
Read the human rights comment. |
Equality and non-discrimination |
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European Commission ended the infringement procedure against Poland over “LGBT-free zones”On 7 February, together with Polish LGBTI and women’s rights organisations, ILGA-Europe wrote to the European Commission (EC) to find out why infringement against Poland is not moving forward. On 16 February, media reported that the EC had ended the infringement procedures against Poland regarding anti-LGBT resolutions. In July 2021 the Commission launched an “infringement” procedure against Poland regarding anti-LGBT resolutions and charters adopted at local levels of governance, which introduce a possible discrimination against LGBTI people in various places in Poland. Although some Polish regions have repealed such resolutions, they still exist at county and municipal level, endorsing discrimination against LGBTI people and impacting decisions concerning use of EU funds.
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Hate crime |
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European civil society issued a joint statement on the European Day of for Victims of CrimeOn 22 February European Day of for Victims of Crime, ILGA-Europe joined Victim Support Europe and other leading European NGOs and civil society organisations for a strong joint statement calling on every person to stand as one for victims and to ensure that no victim is forgotten or remains voiceless.
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Health |
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Why cancer is disproportionally affecting LGBTI peoplePeople are affected by cancer no matter what their identity is, but barriers in access to screening, prevention, and treatment puts LGBTI people at increased risk of developing fatal cancers. “The cancer community has recognised that the LGBTIQ+ community has historically been marginalised within the healthcare system, which translated into some discrimination, exclusion and unequal treatment in cancer care,” says Mike Morrissey, CEO of the European Cancer Organisation with whom we have been working together.
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Share your feedback on the mpox resources if you were active in outreach to Pride eventsIn July 2022, the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) jointly published a Monkeypox Resource toolkit to support national authorities and event organisers in their planning and coordination of mass and large gathering events. As the toolkit is being updated, feedback is being sought by community-groups who were active in outreach to Pride events during the mpox outbreak. |
Legal gender recognition |
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Finland adopted the Trans Law based on self-determination for adultsOn 1 February, the Finnish Parliament adopted the “Trans Law”, a new law that makes legal gender recognition (LGR) based on self-determination for adults. While there is more work to do, including regulating LGR for minors, this is a significant step for the country. The previous law had requirements of psychiatric diagnosis, medical intervention, and sterilisation for those who wanted to access LGR. The new law will come into effect on 3 April 2023.
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Legal gender recognition remains impossible in Hungary after the Constitutional Court decisionOn 2 February, the Constitutional Court of Hungary rendered its decision in one of the pending cases on the impossibility of legal gender recognition for trans people. The decision rejected the petitioning judge’s argument that Section 33, adopted in May 2020 and rendering legal gender recognition impossible, runs contrary to the right to human dignity and respect for private life. With this decision, the Constitutional Court not only contradicted international human rights standards, but also its own previous decision from 2018 which ruled that a lack of legislation providing for legal gender recognition is unconstitutional. ILGA-Europe will work closely with Hátter Society on bringing this case to the ECtHR.
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Bulgarian Supreme Court ruled that legal gender cannot be changedIn an advisory opinion with impact on all pending and future cases, the Bulgarian Supreme Cassation Court ruled on 20 February that the legal gender of Bulgarians cannot be changed based on Bulgarian law. This ruling means that legal gender recognition is in practice impossible now in the country. On 21 February, activists held a protest against the ruling.
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Spanish Senate approves the LGTBI and Trans LawsOn 16 February, the Spanish Senate approved the LGTBI and Trans Laws as a last legislative step before becoming law. The law is very broad, and includes legal gender recognition based on self-determination for all aged 14 and more, a ban on intersex genital mutilation, a ban on so-called “conversion therapies”, and equal parenthood rights for lesbian mothers.
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UN experts welcomed the new legislation in SpainOn 21 February, nine UN experts, including Victor Madrigal-Borloz, Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, shared a press release welcoming the adoption of new “LGTBI and Trans Laws” in Spain. The experts noted that the legislation aligns the Spanish system of recognition of gender identity with the UN-identified best practice of self-identification. The experts urged other States to follow suit. “Such legislative measures address deep-rooted causes of widespread human rights violations against women and girls and LGTBI persons” they said.
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“It is vital for Sweden to modernise its legal gender recognition process”On 27 February, ILGA-Europe signed a joint statement together with Swedish and international organisations to encourage the Swedish government to modernise its legal gender recognition process and allow access based on self-determination, the human rights-based approach. There is already a draft bill that the previous government prepared in 2021.
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European Court rules against intersex person’s request to have “neutral” gender markerOn 31 January, the European Court of Human Rights released its judgement in the case of Y v. France, which concerned the French authorities’ refusal to allow for the “male” gender marker of the applicant, an intersex person, to be replaced by “neutral” or “intersex” on the person’s birth certificate. The Court held that there had been no violation of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. While regretting the rejection of the application ILGA-Europe and OII Europe hope that the doors are left open by the Court for future positive decisions – including acknowledgment of the suffering of the applicant and of the importance of protecting one’s identity. |
Sexual and reproductive rights |
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5 reasons why sex workers’ rights in the EU must be protectedPolicy makers must listen to the voices of sex workers, including LGBTI sex workers, in the development of policies that affect them. Particularly now, when the members of the European Parliament are discussing the proposal on Violence against women and domestic violence, they must reject any attempts to criminalise any aspects of consensual sex work among adults. Criminalisation is not the solution. ILGA-Europe shared a blog post with a handful of clear and fair reasons for the EU policy makers to ensure protection of rights of sex workers.
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Notice board |
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New funding call from the European Commission on civic spaceThe European Commission’s Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme (CERV) has launched a call for projects aimed at empowering and reporting on civic space issues. Projects should monitor civic space at national level, breaches of fundamental rights of human rights defenders, and can also support the protection of CSOs, their members, and human rights defenders under attack.
Read more and apply by 25 May. |
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ILGA World seeks an Operations ManagerILGA World seeks an Operations Manager to supervise and develop the Operations team of their office. The role of the Operations Manager is to conceptualise, lead and oversee the operational support of the organisation and office, to supervise operations staff and to strategically develop ILGA World’s operations infrastructure in collaboration with various internal and external stakeholders.
Read more and apply before 6 March. |
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European Gay and Lesbian Sports Federation has two vacanciesThe EGLSF – European Gay and Lesbian Sports Federation is looking for an European Projects Coordinator and a Membership and Communications Officer. The European Projects Coordinator will be responsible for coordination and fulfilment of work from a portfolio of Erasmus+ funded projects. The Membership and Communications Officer will provide member liaison and prepare quality internal and external comms, including social media.
Read more and send your applications before 20 March. |
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European Institute for Gender Equality is looking for an expert on gender-based violenceThe European Institute for Gender Equality is looking for applications for the Seconded National Expert (SNE) – Gender-Based Violence (GBV). The selected SNE will enhance the Unit’s operational and research capacity on GBV. The post requires a very good understanding of contemporary policies and research on violence against women in addition to analytical skills, project management, excellent writing skills in English and very good communication abilities.
Read and apply before 31 March. |
