Homosexuality in Belarus

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Belarus

Homosexuality has not been prosecuted in Belarus since 1994, but it is not socially accepted. LGBT organizations and their activists are oppressed by the state in Belarus .

legality

Homosexual acts have not been a criminal offense since 1994. The current criminal law of Belarus , which has been in force since 2000, only defines involuntary homosexual acts as criminal offenses. The relevant laws can be found in Chapter 20 (Section VII) of the Criminal Code, which deals with “Crimes against sexual integrity or sexual freedom”. In addition to sexual acts and intercourse, male homosexuality (Russian “Muzhelozhstvo”, for example “man who lies with man”) and lesbian sex are listed there. Article 167 deals with “forced acts of a sexual nature”. Rape is punished there with imprisonment of three to seven years, in serious cases with up to twelve years. Rape of persons under the age of 14 or those that result in death, serious damage to health or an HIV infection of the victim is punishable by 8 to 15 years imprisonment. Article 168 also provides for all sexual acts by persons over 18 years of age against persons under 16 years of imprisonment from six months to four years. Finally, Article 170 puts all sexual acts forced through blackmail, the threat of material damage or the exploitation of material or other dependencies under imprisonment terms of three to five years.

The age of consent for homosexual and heterosexual acts is 16 years.

Anti-discrimination laws

In Belarus there are no anti-discrimination laws to protect gay and lesbian people.

The current constitution of Belarus from 1994 contains a principle of equal treatment (Article 22), which reads: "Everyone is equal before the law and has the right to equal representation [...] without any discrimination." This very general definition, which is limited to legal matters does not, however, provide protection against social discrimination.

The Belarusian labor law also contains a ban on discrimination, but there is no sexual orientation in the list of protected social characteristics. In general, Belarusian jurisprudence mentions homosexuals only in the role of perpetrator. Crimes against lesbians and gays are often only followed slowly or not at all by the authorities.

Recognition of same-sex civil partnerships

In Belarus there is no recognition of same-sex civil partnerships. The country’s constitution, matrimonial and family law explicitly defines marriage as a civil pact that is concluded by a state body and is open to two people of opposite sex. This means that same-sex marriages are currently legally impossible. Registered partnerships are not provided for in Belarusian law.

Same-sex partnerships in other countries are not recognized by immigration laws.

Social situation

In Belarus, homosexuality is largely taboo. Lesbians and gays, as well as minorities in general, are also oppressed by the state and restricted in the exercise of their rights.

Politicians and political organizations are usually hostile to homosexual people and their concerns. In March 2002, for example, various media in Belarus published homophobic statements by Pavel Severinetz, head of the youth organization of the pro-democracy partyja BNF , who described homosexuality as “a sin and perversion that deserves death” and whose existence he describes as “the result of corruption and sin in the world ” . In April 2005, during a parliamentary session, MP Viktar Kuchynski spoke out in favor of making homosexuality a criminal offense again.

A statement by President Lukashenka , who said in a speech to the Security Council of Belarus in September 2004, is controversial : “We must show our society in the near future what 'they' [Europe and the US] are doing here, how they are trying to do ours To turn girls into prostitutes, how they supply our citizens with illegal drugs, how they spread sexual perversion in us, what methods they use. ” While LGBT activists are convinced that the phrase“ sexual perversion ”clearly also applies to homosexuality, other voices see this mainly in relation to prostitution and human trafficking.

Prejudice and rejection of homosexuals prevail in society. According to a survey carried out by the gay organization Lambda Belarus in April 2002, 47 percent of the population are of the opinion that gays should generally be locked up. Only young people are a little more open-minded towards lesbians and gays. In early 2007, the Information Center TEMA together with MyGomel.com among young people in the region of Homel , however, survey, although 47.6 percent of the people interviewed to face sexual minorities adverse, were only ten percent of the opinion that homosexual relations are punishable should be.

The violations of freedom of expression and assembly in Belarus have already been reprimanded several times by the international community, including the European Union . The discriminatory and homophobic actions of the Belarusian government have already led to diplomatic conflicts with Germany after a German diplomat who was in Minsk with his partner was arrested in 2004 for alleged possession of drugs and then on instructions from the government in the Belarusian media about his homosexuality and alleged drug trafficking had been reported.

Media and freedom of expression

Since around 95 percent of the Belarusian media are in state hands, the situation of homosexuals in the country is hardly reported. State control of the press market means that independent media can only reach the Belarusian population if they adopt a pro-government stance. The magazine Forum Lambda , printed in Russia by Lambda Belarus from 1998 to 2002 and published in Belarus, has been repeatedly banned by the State Press Committee. The country's television and radio stations are also under state control. In a statement by the Presidential Office in the run-up to the Belarus Gay Pride 2000 , the government announced that there are no homosexuals in Belarus and that they should not be reported on.

The primary source of information for the LGBT community in Belarus is therefore the Internet, which is entirely in the hands of the only state-controlled network operator Beltelecom in the country . Although LGBT offers are currently not hindered, access to international offers (such as the Russian portal gay.ru ) is partially restricted. The operators of the gay.by internet portal have also repeatedly had to deal with restrictions. So in January 2004, for example, the sides of were gay.by by the state web host N1.BY locked. During a hacker attack in March 2003, preceded by telephone threats against the portal operator, the pages and forums of gay.by were partially deleted and defaced with homophobic slogans.

Freedom of assembly

After a few unsuccessful attempts, a Gay Pride Festival organized by Forum Lambda magazine took place in 1999 , which was supported by the United Nations Development Program , among others . However, a repetition of the event in the following year failed due to various interventions. According to the organizers, the radio station, Radio BA, as a media partner, had been prohibited by the state in advance from reporting on the event. Groups from the vicinity of the Orthodox Church organized a protest rally the day before the event and 24 hours before the start of the planned Pride demonstration was finally banned by the city of Minsk, which was then enforced by the police. The 2001 Gay Pride demonstration took place largely unhindered a year later, but was used by the government in the two days later presidential election to bring the opposition into connection with homosexuals and thereby portray it negatively in public. In the years that followed, personal intimidation of the organizers prevented further demonstrations from taking place.

The International Moonbow Human Rights & Homo Cultural Festival planned for 2004, which was planned together with the opening event of the World Lesbian & Gay World Conference of the ILGCN (International Lesbian & Gay Cultural Network) in Minsk, had to be canceled after the operator of the venue of the authorities had been intimidated to the point that he eventually withdrew from the event. In addition, it was announced to the organizers in telephone calls that foreigners who attempt to participate in workshops and discussions "will be expelled from the country immediately in accordance with the articles on interference in the internal affairs of Belarus."

With the exception of the annual parades in memory of the Chernobyl disaster , no public gatherings are currently permitted. Once in January 2009, an event entitled The right to love was forbidden, the LGBT activist Roman Mandrykin filed a lawsuit at the district court of Homel one. In it he accuses the Gomel city administration of violating the right to freedom of assembly guaranteed by Article 35 of the Belarusian constitution. In the meantime, the LGBT organizations, together with Russian organizers, are holding the Slavic Pride in Moscow, which - provided that the lawsuit is successful - is to take place in Minsk every year.

The Month Against Homophobia , organized by LGBT activists in Minsk , Hrodna and Luninez , took place from April to May 2009 , during which mainly informational events took place. The public events also planned in Gomel and Minsk were not approved. A partial success could still be achieved, as there was a wide coverage in the media (also within Belarus).

LGBT conference in Minsk 2009

On September 26th, 2009 the groups Gayrussia and Gaybelarus organized an LGBT conference in Minsk, in the 5-star hotel Crown Plaza . The conference itself was organized under the auspices of the International Day Against Homophobia . The delegation of the European Commission in Belarus had given their political support for the event. In his opening speech, Jean-Eric Holzapfel , Head of the European Commission in Belarus, emphasized the need to fight homophobia in Europe and in Belarus in particular. Representatives from the Swedish, French and Hungarian embassies and a representative from the Global Rights Defenders organization (formerly the Swedish Helsinki Committee) were also present as observers. The conference participants discussed and passed a joint resolution on the rights of homosexual, bisexual and transgender people in Belarus. The text, which was sent to President Aljaksandr Lukashenka , the Belarusian government and parliament, calls for a ban on discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, the prosecution of hate speech, the recognition of the rights of same-sex couples and the recognition of the 17th century. May as a day against homophobia. The authorities are asked to support Slavic Pride in Minsk on May 15, 2010.

On December 17th, 2009 three activists of the group "gaybelarus" protested in front of the Iranian embassy in Minsk against the death penalty for homosexual acts in Iran and handed over a petition to the Iranian embassy. After about 15 minutes, the activists were arrested, alleging that their demonstration had not been approved, and released after a few hours.

The last Minsk Pride took place in private in closed rooms in 2013 after the Minsk Pride 2012 was rejected by authorities because of an alleged other festivity. Other previous Pride events in 2008 (Minsk and Homel), 2009 (Homel) and 2010 and 2011 (Minsk) were also rejected by the government.

LGBT organizations

In Belarus there are various organizations that campaign for the rights of lesbians and gays, but they are not recognized by the state:

  • Gaybelarus.by - An LGBT human rights project, led by Sergey Androschenko, which, among other things, organizes the planned Slavic Pride on May 15, 2010 in Minsk.
  • Lambda Belarus - The oldest gay rights organization in Belarus.
  • Information Center TEMA - An LGBT organization founded in 2004 and based in Homel.
  • BelQueer - A project for sexual and gender equality.
  • MAKEOUT - A project about gender and sexuality.

In addition, there are two officially recognized organizations with other focuses that also support lesbians and gays in their work:

  • Vstrecha - The men's organization of the Republican Youth, which, as part of its HIV prevention work, also increasingly cater to men who have sex with men .
  • Jyana - A women's organization that deals with gender issues and protects young women.

Non-governmental organizations in Belarus are subject to state repression and are rarely officially approved. In the case of unauthorized organizations, an “unregistered organization that violates the rights of citizens” can be prosecuted with prison sentences of up to three years.

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b ILGA : The Status of Sexual Minorities in Belarus ( Memento from July 1, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
  2. ↑ a b c d e U.S. Department of State : 2008 Human Rights Report: Belarus ( Memento of the original from January 19, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.state.gov
  3. ↑ a b c d Viachaslau Bortnik: Report at the OSCE meeting in Warsaw in October 2004. OSCE Human Dimension Implementation Meeting 2004 (PDF; 1.4 MB) - Intolerance, discrimination and hate crimes based on sexual orientation and gender identity in the OSCE region.
  4. ↑ a b Pride.by: Voting of Belarusian youth on LGBT issue ( Memento of the original from February 27, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . October 14, 2007. Retrieved August 25, 2009. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.pride.by
  5. ↑ a b Pascale Schnyder: Discriminated and despised ( Memento of the original from August 27, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Amnesty - Magazine of Human Rights, November 2008. Retrieved August 25, 2009. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.amnesty.ch
  6. ↑ a b c Viachaslau Bortnik & Svyatoslav Sementsov: Are all equal before the law? ( Memento of the original from February 27, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English). Pride.by, September 5, 2008. Retrieved August 30, 2009. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.pride.by
  7. ↑ Stern : The Dr. Strange Belarus , October 10, 2004. Retrieved September 1, 2009.
  8. ↑ a b Barbara Oertel: In Minsk, homos are becoming bolder in the daily newspaper of September 11, 2000. Accessed on September 1, 2009.
  9. ↑ a b Nikolay Alekseev: Belarusian Gay activist keeps fighting the dictatorship ( Memento of the original from October 6, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English). ILGA, July 18, 2006. Retrieved August 30, 2009. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.ilga-europe.org
  10. ↑ ILGA: Gay cultural events canceled in Belarus ( Memento of the original from December 25, 2004 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , August 25, 2004. Retrieved August 30, 2009. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.ilga.org
  11. ↑ Pride.by: LGBT rights activists, for the first time, appealing to courts to defend their constitutional right to freedom of assembly ( Memento of the original from February 27, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked . Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English), February 22, 2009. Retrieved September 30, 2009 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.pride.by
  12. ↑ Gay.by: Here comes the second annual campaign “Month against Homophobia” in Belarus ( Memento of the original from January 23, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English). Retrieved August 30, 2009. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.english.gay.by
  13. ↑ Gayrussia.ru: Hundred Participants at Minsk Gay Rights Conference - Resolution on LGBT Rights in Belarus Adopted - and No Incidents  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as broken. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English). Retrieved September 30, 2009@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / gayrussia.ru  
  14. ↑ gayrussia.ru: Минская милиция отпустила задержанных гей-активистов, суды назначены на 23 и 26 декабря (ru) . Accessed on December 16, 2009.  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / gayrussia.ru  
  15. ↑ www.queeramnesty.de: Belarus: All people have the same rights . January 13, 2016. Retrieved March 20, 2017.
  16. ↑ Klaus Jetz: Mood of optimism in Kiev , published by the Hirschfeld-Eddy-Stiftung in Respekt! , Edition 4/2008. (PDF; 655 kB) Retrieved September 1, 2009.
Note: Due to the political situation in Belarus, it may happen that the gaybelarus.by, gay.by and pride.by websites are temporarily unavailable. Therefore, web links should only be removed there if they are continuously unavailable for several months.