Eastern European countries shun gay people

DISCRIMINATION against homosexuality is nothing new especially in countries that are conservative and prefer upholding old traditional values and norms, hence the acceptance of homosexuality is shaped by the country in which people live.

In research conducted in 2020 by the Pew Research Centre in Europe shows that Western Europe is generally more accepting of homosexuality than countries in the Eastern Europe.

Eastern Europe includes countries such as Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation, and Slovakia, as well as the republics of Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine.

Last year, notes From Poland cited the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA-Europe) listing Poland, Russia, Turkey, and last-place Azerbaijan as the worst countries towards the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) community. Countries which ranked top as more welcoming towards homosexuality, are Malta, Belgium, Luxembourg, Norway and Denmark.

The online publication cited the leader of the ruling Law and Justice party, Jarosław Kaczy ski, saying Poland must defend children and normal families from the imported LGBT movement, “which threatens our identity, our nation, its continued existence, and therefore the Polish state”.

The ILGA-Europe report also noted legal difficulties for LGBT people in Poland, including same-sex parents being unable to have birth certificates transcribed into the Polish civil registry and the courts ruling in favour of an employee who had refused service to an LGBTQ customer.

In February last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the country would not legalise gay marriage as long as he was in the Kremlin. “I’ve already spoken publicly about this and I’ll repeat it again, as long as I’m president this will not happen,” Putin said.

Last month, Czech President Milos Zeman called transgender people “disgusting” in an interview with CNN’s Prima News during a talk on a controversial new law in Hungary.

The channel explained that the new Hungarian law bans all educational materials and programmes for children that are considered to promote homosexuality, among others.

The new law has been fiercely criticised by other EU members. |