How can equality of civil rights, including the legal recognition of same-sex couples and access to public services for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people be better defended? How can we break stereotypes in education, fight LGBTI bulling and prevent hate crime? And what role can progressive cities and regions play? These were the key questions addressed at the PES Group seminar "I am what I am", held yesterday in cooperation with Rainbow Rose in Brussels.
Opening the seminar, PES Group Vice-PresidentAlbert Bore warned about the rights of LGBTI people being increasingly undermined in some parts of Europe, due to a conservative backlash. "Defending the rights of LGBTI people is in the DNA of progressive politicians, as the example of Malta shows us", he stressed. He was joined by Aurélien Mazuy, President of Rainbow Rose, who emphasised that "even if progressives are not in power at national level, this does not mean that we cannot deliver on LGBTI rights".
In her impulse speech, Helena Dalli, Malta's Minister for Social Dialogue, Consumer Affairs and Civil Liberties, underlined: "In today's challenging times, the EU and the world need more than ever to hear our voice. We have no moment to waste to safeguard what we have achieved and further advance the principle of equality in every social transaction". It is this determination and political commitment that have made Malta a unique example in the EU in terms of progressive LGBTI legislation. Minister Dalli reported on the Maltese experience, where, thanks to the Socialist-led government, a series of ground breaking measures have been adopted, such as the Civil Union Act providing all couples with the right to enter a civil union and the ability to apply for adoption, a change of the Constitution aimed at including sexual orientation and gender identity as grounds of anti-discrimination, and a Gender Identity, Gender Expression and Sex Characteristics Act. "Change is possible and achievable when we show determination and appeal to the common sense of people. We are what we are", she said, giving also an overview of the ambitious LGBTI-related activities to be carried out by the upcoming Maltese Presidency of the Council (January-June 2017). "We want to bring this same energy to our EU Presidency and ensure that Europe brings out its ‘social soul’. Promoting the rights of LGBTI people, including the advancement of the 2008 Horizontal Anti-Discrimination Directive, will therefore be one of our key priorities".
Daniele Viotti, Member of the European Parliament (S&D Group, Italy), Co-President of the EP's Intergroup on LGBT Rights, recalled that "LGBTI rights are human rights and the milestones of our democracy. We need to do more at European level and be stronger and braver with a new progressive project built on our rights. Combatting discrimination means to have everybody on board", he said, pointing also to the need to fight for LGBTI rights in enlargement and third countries.
Opening the first roundtable on Defending equality of civil rights for LGBTI, Kevin Peel emphasised that "local and regional governments should be leading the way as beacons of tolerance, respect for diversity and equality for all citizens".
Jose María Núñez Blanco, LGBTI Activist and Lecturer at the University of Extremadura, Spain, shared the difficulties of rural regions in the recognition of LGBTI rights. "Compared to cities, rural areas are more isolated and offer fewer opportunities to be openly LGBTI. One important element in addressing negative attitudes towards LGBTI is to bring people together, also through cultural activities, empowering the community overall", he explained. He also reported on the law in favour of the social equality of LGTB, adopted by the Autonomous Community of Extremadura in 2015, which was the first one of its kind in Spain, and can serve as a good model for other regions. "It is important that people share the same rights across the European Union", he stressed.
Intervening on the right to found a family and its direct implications of legal recognition of same-sex couples, PES Group member Peter Bossman, Mayor of Piran (Slovenia), reported on his experience in Slovenia, where the Socialist party has been struggling for many years to pass a bill legalising same-sex marriage in Parliament. "In my daily life as a mayor, I experience that simply registering gay unions is not enough to provide equal rights, in particular when it comes to questions such as housing, the restrictive definition of family, and child benefits", he pointed out. "After all, the constituent element of a couple is not heterosexuality, but love itself and taking care of each other", he stressed, urging that people should not be denied the fundamental right to live as they feel.
Focusing on access to public services for LGBTI people, Juul van Hoof, Founder and Coordinator of the Rainbow Cities Network, presented the work of the network, which currently has 29 members from 15 countries. Its aim is to exchange experiences among cities on mainstreaming or including LGBT issues in local policies, exchanging local good practices with regard to sexual orientation and gender identity, and link up with international networks and organisations. "We need a variety of LGBTI ambassadors at local level. A number of European cities already use interesting methods and approaches to fight discrimination in school, at work and in the streets and there is a lot to be shared ", she underlined, referring to concrete LGBTI-sensitive measures endorsed by different cities, including training police officers and having certificates of LGBTI awareness for service providers.
María Estébanez, Senior Policy Manager at the Department of Equality and Citizens’ Rights of the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), pointed to the main elements of the 2013 FRA survey in which 92,000 LGBT citizens from all over Europe participated. The figures paint indeed a bleak picture: two thirds of European respondents hid the fact they’re LGBT while at school; over 60% had been confronted with negative comments or harassment; 19% felt discriminated at work or when applying for a job; 26% of LGBT respondents had been attacked or threatened during the last five years; and finally, 66% of them are afraid to walk in the street hand in hand with a same sex partner. "Some Member States have adopted policies to combat discrimination of LGBTI people. But this is not systematic enough", she stressed.
The second roundtable, moderated by Ksenija Joksimovic, Member of the Board of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Youth and Student Organisation (IGLYO), focused on Fighting discrimination against LGBTI people. Ksenija briefly referred to the work of IGLYO, as a capacity building and youth empowerment organisation, building the skills, knowledge and experience of LGBTI activists.
Referring to her recent report on "Empowering girls through education in the EU", Liliana Rodrigues, Member of the European Parliament (S&D Group, Portugal), underlined the need to combat discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity in educational settings and to support the inclusion of objective information on LGBTI issues in school curricula. "Education has the power to include or exclude people from society. Therefore, the first step for breaking stereotypes in education and fighting LGBTI bulling is to have well-trained teachers, who transmit that being different is just part of who we are", she highlighted.
Elly Barnes presented the "Educate & Celebrate" Best Practice Programme of which she is CEO and Founder, and which gives staff, students, parents and governors in the UK the confidence and strategies to implement an LGBT+ inclusive curriculum to successfully eradicate homophobia, biphobia and transphobia from schools and communities. "Our 2015 surveys revealed that almost half of our students across the UK are not receiving any form of LGBT+ inclusive education, with 53% of schools not teaching about LGBT+ relationships and 49% of schools not teaching the definitions of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans. We need to engage all stakeholders in the journey to inclusion to make schools and communities LGBT+ friendly", she emphasised.
Focusing on his experience as national coordinator for immigration and asylum of Arcigay, the Italian association for LGBTI rights, Giorgio Dell'Amico gave an insight into his work with migrants coming from homophobic countries and experiences with hate crime: "People flee their country not only because of hunger and war, but also on the grounds of sexual orientation. It is important to deal with homophobia and transphobia on the ground and adopt measures that protect LGBTI people from hate speech and hate crime. Likewise, we must ensure that victims are heard and perpetrators punished. Local politicians can play an important role in developing policies to counter hate crime".
Katrin Hugendubel, Advocacy Director of ILGA-Europe, the European Region of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) agreed on the need to name, combat and prevent homophobic and transphobic hate crimes, which are often underreported. She also presented the 2016 Rainbow Europe map, a useful tool which showcases the current state of play of the laws, policies and practices that affect LGBTI people in Europe. Katrin concluded by criticising the fact that the EU's anti-discrimination directive does not include homophobic and transphobic hate crimes in its scope.
Concluding the conference, Albert Bore and Aurélien Mazuy stressed that progressive local and regional politicians are well placed to take the lead in not only raising much needed awareness about the importance of LGBTI rights and the need to fight all forms of discrimination, but also in putting in place and sharing concrete measures to actively protect such rights. "This is an objective that must be shared and pursued by the entire European progressive family", urged Albert Bore.
