FROM PARIS WITH YAGG

A few weeks ago, a peaceful Pride demonstration in Split, Croatia, was brutally attacked by thousands of hooligans, wounding over a dozen people. The counter-demonstrators by far outnumbered the police officers and Pride participants. The police did not fully succeed in protecting the demonstrators, who simply wanted to raise awareness about the situation of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) persons. These events unfolded after weeks of hate speech, threats, graffiti, flyers and social media inciting to hatred.

This is not the first time a manifestation against homophobia and transphobia has suffered assaults and threats from extremists.

In 2010 in Belgrade, Serbia, the police made heroic efforts to protect the first ever Belgrade Pride, but around 150 persons were injured during the confrontations, most of them police officers. Again, the counter-demonstrators outnumbered by far those marching in favour of LGBT rights.

In Vilnius, Lithuania, in 2010, the authorities had to mobilise a large police contingent to shield the Baltic Pride March from violent attackers.

There is a growing awareness among local authorities that peaceful Pride events must be allowed and protected; LGBT persons have the same rights as others to freedom of assembly and expression. This acknowledgement is of course positive.

The continued need for massive police protection however is very negative. It is high time for European politicians to seriously tackle the phenomena of homophobia and transphobia and their root causes. The first step is to recognise that the problem is serious and that systematic action is needed to promote awareness on all levels in society. Then there is an urgent need to counter all tendencies of discrimination against this group of people - also in official human rights and equality policies.

In the past five years I have monitored the implementation of human rights for LGBT persons in the 47 member states of the Council of Europe. The result was recently published in a report: Discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity in Europe.

The report lists a number of obstacles to the full enjoyment of their universal human rights. It shows, for example, that homophobic and transphobic harassment in the workplace and bullying of LGBT persons in schools is common in practically all member states. The official registration of LGBT organisations was obstructed or refused in five countries in Europe, and attempts to criminalise «propaganda or promotion of homosexuality» were identified in three member states.

There has been little response to national studies and reports which flag that a disproportionate number of young LGBT persons see no other way out than committing suicide due to the non acceptance of their sexual orientation or gender identity by their peers and families. Very few countries recognise homophobic or transphobic violence in their hate crime legislation.

Transgender persons face particularly severe human rights problems in almost all areas of life. If they want their preferred gender to be legally recognised, in 29 member states they face a legal requirement to undergo gender reassignment surgery, leading to infertility. Some 15 member states even require the transgender person to be unmarried in order to obtain recognition, which entails mandatory divorce if the person is already married.

Too often politicians and policy makers ignore the human rights of LGBT persons when designing policies or drafting legislation. There are disturbing examples of debates in national parliaments which are characterised by a high level of prejudice, bias and outdated information, including claims that homosexuality is an illness.

Governments need to pursue legislative reforms and social change to enable LGBT persons to fully enjoy universally recognised human rights. National and international monitoring, including by Equality Bodies and Ombudsman Offices, is needed to measure progress.

Change is only possible if European countries show more genuine political will to address this problem with much more determination than has so far been demonstrated.

Thomas Hammarberg, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights

Download the report

Gaby Charing et Clare Dimyon

On October 29th, Clare Dimyon, a lesbian activist from Brighton, was presented with an MBE at Buckingham Palace for "services to promoting the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in Central and Eastern Europe". She went to the ceremony with three lesbians of three generations, from Britain, Poland and Hungary. One of them was Gaby Charing. For Yagg, she describes that day, what it meant to her and what it will mean for the future.

"THE DAY CLARE DIMYON WAS DECORATED BY THE PRINCE OF WALES", BY GABY CHARING
I am a lesbian, I am 66 years old, and I never thought I would hear the word ‘lesbian’ used, approvingly, by our most senior courtier, on an occasion of high ceremonial in Buckingham Palace. But that is what happened last Friday when my very dear friend, Clare Dimyon, was “decorated” by the Prince of Wales with an honour awarded to her “for services to promoting the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in Central and Eastern Europe”. And no one fainted, no one had a heart attack - not even the Lord Chamberlain himself, whose task it was to read out the citation.

A long journey has led us to this point. You know the big story - Stonewall, Gay Liberation, and the rest - but our private journey begins early on Friday morning, in a taxi (a proper London black cab, no expense spared) which conveys us from my house in suburbia to the grandest address in London. “Cabbie! Take us to Buckingham Palace, south entrance”. There are four of us: Clare herself, and three generations and nationalities of lesbians to accompany her: British, Polish and Hungarian (Agnès, a 24-year-old student from Budapest). All of us are in our very best clothes. I am in the coat I wore for my civil partnership ceremony in December 2005.

At the Palace, we are whisked through the gate, past the clusters of gawping tourists, and are shown where to go by smiling, friendly English bobbies. I spot some Scots guards - they are changing the guard especially for us! Once through the security check, we enter the building itself. In truth, Buck House (as we Londoners like to call it) is not a great piece of architecture, and the lavatories (our first port of call, naturally) are grand but utterly antiquated: is this the sort of thing the Queen uses every day?

But goodness, the Royals know how to put on a show! We proceed up a magnificent staircase, past a guard of honour from the UK’s smartest cavalry regiment, sabres raised in salute. Clare is led away to be briefed on the etiquette of meeting royalty (on this occasion, Prince Charles). The rest of us mill about, talking awkwardly (“What are you here for? Ooh, a knighthood? How posh!). Then something magical starts to happen: the awkwardness begins to be forgotten. That young man in the dress uniform of the Royal Marines: what is he here for, I ask his mother? A medal for conspicuous gallantry in Afghanistan. Suddenly we are serious. I tell her about Clare. She is enthusiastic!

The ceremony is held in the Ballroom, used for state banquets. I admire the magnificent coffered ceiling. The men in military uniform (they are all men) showing us to our seats are senior members of the royal household - the grandest ushers ever seen! A military band plays in the gallery. The brass and woodwind are excellent, but the strings are not so good. You don’t go into battle to the sound of violins.

Then Prince Charles enters with his entourage, and we stand for the National Anthem. The honours are given out in strict precedence; I amuse myself working out the rules. Many are for very ordinary people, who are being recognised for doing simple things in an exceptional way: people’s honours. Everyone is grinning with pride. The joy is infectious.

Then it is Clare’s turn. She looks wonderful, but she also looks terrified. I don’t think she is scared of meeting the Prince; she is overwhelmed by the enormous symbolism of the occasion. In 1999 Angela Mason of Stonewall received an honour “for services to homosexual rights”. But today there will be no such polite language. The Lord Chamberlain, the 4th Earl Peel, clears his throat and speaks the momentous words: “for services to promoting the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in Central and Eastern Europe”. And no one titters, no one even shifts awkwardly in their seat. They have seen the wording in the programme; they are prepared; and they acquit themselves magnificently - as does Clare. She has her few words with the Prince, then takes a seat a few rows behind me. She looks pensive. It is taking time to sink in.

Outside, it’s photos, photos, photos (none were allowed inside). We mingle, and everyone is friendly. I joke about being a lesbian with a man I have never met before and shall never see again. And then we meet the brave young marine, and I take a photograph of him and Clare with their arms round each other. I am in tears. We are normal people, just like everyone else in that courtyard. Truly, the world has changed.

Agnès, the young woman from Hungary, is grinning from ear to ear. She understands she has seen something momentous. She is still not entirely sure she would have chosen to be a lesbian; but by the time she boards her plane on Monday, to return to Budapest, she looks happier in her skin. The future belongs to your generation, Agnès: what will you do with it?

Photo PRIDE Solidarity

Is French society evolving faster than those governing the country?  The answer is yes if we believe in the latest survey “Living conditions and aspirations” of Crédoc (Research centre for the study and monitoring of living standards). (more...)

Figure skater Johnny Weir, the target of homophobic remarks from two Canadian sportscasters last week, launched a response to the comments last week (video below). A substantial strategic move which allowed him to end a controversy on his terms, which in turn boosted the viewership of the reality tv show 'Be Good Johnny Weir' on the Sundance Channel.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6-MAmhGKsU&feature=player_embedded

Weir said that he was pissed because the sportscasters weren't critiquing his skating but made a personal attack. He stated that the purpose of the press conference was to ensure that adolescents don't have the same issues, and reiterated that he hopes kids can grow up the way he did, to have the freedom to be themselves.

The New York Times has an interesting article on this season's gay Broadway productions as a sign of the changing demographics of gay America. The article suggests that gay theatre, much like the big and small screen Will & Grace et al), is in the midst of a seismic shift from depictions of tragedy and crisis to less political exposés on dating and relationships. Queerty readers weigh-in.