Lietuvos gėjų lyga
The Lietuvos gėjų lyga (LGL) is the only NGO (Non Governmental Organization) in Lithuania exclusively the interests of local LGBT * Association of represents. The organization, founded on December 3, 1993, is one of the most established civil society organizations in the country. The basic principle of the organization's activities is independence from all political and financial interests with the aim of achieving the social inclusion and integration of the Lithuanian LGBT * community.
On the basis of its more than 20 years of expertise in advocacy, awareness-raising and community building, the LGL strives to make progress in the field of human rights for LGBT * people. Invite their supporters to various events. The LGL office is the only LGBT * center in the country. The LGBT * center has a library that also provides free internet access. The LGBT * Center is open to all those who want to know more about the activities of the organization and the human rights situation of LGBT * people in Lithuania.
The association is a member of the National Forum for Equality and Diversity (NEDF) and the Human Rights Coalition (HRC). The LGL participates in international cooperation within the framework of international umbrella organizations, such as B. ILGA (International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association), IGLYO, EPOA (European Pride Organizers Association) and TGEU (European Transgender Network). The LGL supports various initiatives, both at national and international level, in order to promote its commitment to LGBT * rights in a broader human rights discourse
The LGL team currently consists of 5 board members, 7 employees and 2 international volunteers as part of the European Voluntary Service, as well as 20 local and international volunteers. Not only members of the LGBT * community take part in the activities of the organizations.
The organization's office is in Vilnius (Vilnius, 21 Pylimo Street). Here the LGL conceives various projects, organizes meetings and invites members of the local LGBT * community to position themselves again and again.
activities
The core activities of the organization include: 1. Monitoring the implementation of the international human rights obligations of the Republic of Lithuania with regard to LGBT * people, 2. Preventing homophobic, bi- and transphobic legislative initiatives and supporting and promoting LGBT * integrative laws and guidelines, 3 Eliminate institutional discrimination against LGBT * people; even if formal and legal equality does not lead to an automatic improvement in quality of life. Openness, the feeling of belonging to a group and the identification of specific goals are the key to successful empowerment of LGBT * people in Lithuania.
The LGL works actively in various areas that influence various aspects of LGBT * life in Lithuania. The right to freedom of expression is protected by challenging the implementation of Lithuanian law against homosexual propaganda. This is done through various legal channels, such as B. the awareness campaigns and the public discourse with positive LGBT * information. The right to peacefully assemble is exercised by organizing large-scale public awareness-raising events such as B. the annual Rainbow Days and the Baltic Pride Festival, which takes place every three years. The promotion of voluntary work contributes to the promotion of social commitment, for example by participating in the organization and implementation of various conferences, seminars, workshops and other cultural events for the local community. Preventive strategies against homophobic and transphobic hate crimes include monitoring and documenting incidents, training the police and encouraging the community to report crimes. Advocacy on an international level is ensured through the drafting of “shadow reports” for the international human rights protection mechanisms, the publication of the organization's newsletter (with more than 6,000 international subscribers) and participation in activities of the regional LGBT * network.
history
Shortly after regaining independence , Lithuania decriminalized consensual sexual relations between men. Before the corresponding amendment to the Soviet Lithuanian Criminal Code in 1993, such relationships were punishable by several years in prison. Despite these advances, "Lithuanian homosexuals still lived in the underground, incapable of being themselves, stigmatized by the media as spreaders of HIV," as the leaders of the national LGBT * right-wing movement, Vladimir Simonko and Eduardas Platovas, recall. In order to combat this discrimination, V. Simonko and E. Platovas opened the club “Amsterdam” in Vilnius in 1993 and launched the newspaper “Amsterdam” in 1994. In April 1994, they hosted the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA) conference in the Lithuanian spa town of Palanga . This event was particularly important because it was the first conference of its kind in a post-Soviet state.
In 1995 Simonko and Platovas officially founded LGL. Since then, the organization has been the only organization in the country that fights exclusively for the promotion of LGBT rights.
Itemized list
- ↑ From Dusk till Dawn: 20 Years of LGBT Freedom in Lithuania. (PDF) Retrieved March 14, 2018 .
- ^ Everything you want to know LGL. (PDF) Retrieved March 14, 2018 .
- ↑ Staff. Retrieved March 14, 2018 .