The project will last 18 months and involves the applicant that is  Università di Udine – Dipartimento di Scienze Giuridiche (Italy) and other partners:

Prejudice, stereotypes and hate undermine the full recognition of dignity and freedom of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) citizens. Not all member states provide full implementation of EU measures aimed at removing any discrimination based on sexual orientation. In some countries and in some social contexts inequality affecting LGBT people seems particularly difficult to eradicate. Homophobic attitudes and discrimination are found anywhere in public and private life: workplace, schools, families, friends, public administration, political arena. Private life and professional life are equally affected. This project challenges homophobia by moving from the general framework of fundamental rights as recognized by and within the European Union and by raising the awareness that European citizenship includes a new dimension for the protection of fundamental rights and promotion of tolerance anywhere in the Union.The project builds on a common EU legal system for developing a network among all actors involved in promoting, guaranteeing and enforcing LGBT rights with the purpose of sharing knowledge and expertise. It will set up the first freely available online and Europe-wide legal database of and research centre on LGBT issues and single out best practices in dealing with them such as ADR, mediation and litigation as well as best practices in rallying the numerous human resources already involved in the fight against homophobia.  Proper centralized and decentralized training sessions for legal professionals are envisaged. Distant learning resources will be freely available via online learning tools targeting on the one side jurists and the other the EU citizen lacking a legal background, so to raise at both level awareness of the legal dimension of LGBT issues. The project is highly innovative. It provides those tools dearly needed for improving LGBT rights and by rallying all already available human resources optimizes their efforts. It encourages the active participation of actors from civil society and eventually invests on them for the promotion of fundamental rights, the rule of law and democracy.The European Commission gave financial support to the project “Equal-Jus” in the European Programme “Fundamental Rights and Citizenship 2007-2013″.The project will last 18 months and involves the applicant that is Università di Udine – Dipartimento di Scienze Giuridiche (Italy) and other partners:Associazione Avvocatura per i diritti LGBT (Italy);IMED Istituto per il Mediterraneo (Italy);KPH Kampania Przeciw Homofobii (Poland);RAVAD (France);LGL Lithuanian Gay League (Lithuania);

SOS- Homophobie (France);

HALDE – Haute Autorité de Lutte contre les Discriminations et pour l’Egalité (France) (Associate partner);

Prejudice, stereotypes and hate undermine the full recognition of dignity and freedom of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) citizens. Not all member states provide full implementation of EU measures aimed at removing any discrimination based on sexual orientation. In some countries and in some social contexts inequality affecting LGBT people seems particularly difficult to eradicate. Homophobic attitudes and discrimination are found anywhere in public and private life: workplace, schools, families, friends, public administration, political arena. Private life and professional life are equally affected. This project challenges homophobia by moving from the general framework of fundamental rights as recognized by and within the European Union and by raising the awareness that European citizenship includes a new dimension for the protection of fundamental rights and promotion of tolerance anywhere in the Union.

The project builds on a common EU legal system for developing a network among all actors involved in promoting, guaranteeing and enforcing LGBT rights with the purpose of sharing knowledge and expertise. It will set up the first freely available online and Europe-wide legal database of and research centre on LGBT issues and single out best practices in dealing with them such as ADR, mediation and litigation as well as best practices in rallying the numerous human resources already involved in the fight against homophobia. Proper centralized and decentralized training sessions for legal professionals are envisaged. Distant learning resources will be freely available via online learning tools targeting on the one side jurists and the other the EU citizen lacking a legal background, so to raise at both level awareness of the legal dimension of LGBT issues. The project is highly innovative. It provides those tools dearly needed for improving LGBT rights and by rallying all already available human resources optimizes their efforts. It encourages the active participation of actors from civil society and eventually invests on them for the promotion of fundamental rights, the rule of law and democracy.