LGBT+in Europe, the voice of the youth
Marcin, Oguz Han and Marie are a very eclectic group, coming from all over Europe, and all very interested in gender and LGBT+ issues. Marcin is from Poland, Oguz Han from Turkey, and Marie from France. You can guess how different are these countries, and also the kind of issues that arise.
LGBT+ and gender are obviously closely linked, one cannot tackle discrimination against the LGBT+ community without tackling gender issues. We could see them as the invisible layers that compose society: we don’t see them directly, but they are present, and they are urgent issues that each individual should be aware of.
And there is so much to discuss on such topic. Even in the wording. Why do we say LGBT+? Why not LGBTQ, LGBTQI, etc.? The ‘+’ is inclusive, yes. But why do we stop after the T, not before, or not a few letters after? The terms raises debate, or at least discussion, amongst activists.
Let’s have a close-up of our countries’ situation…
Useless to say that Turkey has quite a bad ‘reputation’ concerning LGBT+ issues. However, some NGOs are pretty active in defending and advancing LGBT+ rights.
The same goes for Poland, which has quite a few NGOs working on the topic, NGOs that manage to launch successful activities and raise discussion.
Still, for both countries, there are also difficulties, as NGOs working with the LGBT+ community can be accused of supporting a ‘bad cause’. Easy to say when homosexuality is considered dangerous for mental health in both countries… and of course, the differences are also striking according to which part of the country you live in. But hey hey hey! Let’s stay positive, it’s still waaaay better than Russia!
And guess what! Turkey, historically, has been one of the most advanced European country on LGBT+ rights! Same-sex sexual activity was legalized in the Ottoman Empire (predecessor of Turkey) in 1858 and in modern Turkey, homosexual activity has always been a legal act since the day it was founded in 1923. If the authority accepts it, then society is fine with it. People are not straightforward against LGBT+ rights, but basically the whole system relies on ‘no see no catch’.
Poland is in a different situation. The politics and laws do not reflect social realities. Most people are ok with LGBT+ persons, even some conservatives. Society is on the good path towards progress and, even if it obviously varies from one person to another, there’s a global acceptance. However, the real problem lies with politicians, who also get support through hate speech online…
There is no ‘anti-gay’ law, but there is no ‘protecting-gay’ law either. The only law that includes LGBT+ is the law against discrimination at work, who is broad and inclusive of all.
Gay marriage is forbidden, and it’s also impossible for gay couples who have married abroad to get their union recognised in Poland (it is in Turkey!).
In France, well… marriage for all has been allowed a few years ago, raising massive opposition protests and emphasizing some already existing divides. All citizens are equal and there are some laws guaranteeing no discrimination, specifically targeting the LGBT+ community, but hate crime is unfortunately still a thing.
We work on this topic and chose to discuss it together as it is a part of our identity, that’s what it is to be human.
Marcin and Marie do not specifically work on LGBT+ issues, although Marie gives specific attention to gender, but Oguz Han is involved with some NGOs, the work of which he discovered when he arrived in Istanbul.
What can we do? What good practice can we share?
Raising awareness around us and in our communities is crucial, it has a multiplier effect. NGOs show their presence with every kind of actions they accomplish, they take the LGBT+ community out of the dark, and this also strongly contribute towards acceptance.
