Lithuanian Draft Law of Equal Treatment: Another Missed Opportunity?

This September Lithuanian Parliament began to review a new legislative proposal on Lithuanian Law of Equal Treatment amendments, initiated by the Office of the Equal Opportunities Ombudsperson. While the draft law introduces quite a few well-needed changes, such as including the definition of associative discrimination, it does, however, ignore the burning questions of transgender individuals,

Kick-off Meeting for the Project „R.I.S.E“ took place in Bratislava

On 9 September,  2019 representatives of  the National LGBT rights organization LGL, organized a kick-off meeting for the project “R.I.S.E: Raising awareness for Inclusive Societies to Embrace rainbow families in Europe” that took place in Bratislava, Slovakia. LGBT rights advocacy organizations from Latvia, Poland, Bulgaria, Romania and Slovakia, led by LGL, have joined their efforts in order to

Lithuanian President will Consult with the Church on LGBT issues

On 9th September, 2019 in an interview the Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda underlined the “need to take the opinion of the Catholic Church into account regarding LGBT issues”. “Position of the Church on LGBT matters was, is and will be important to me. Will it be the only one? No. However the is no doubt

Conference on the rights of transgender people in Lithuania

On September 6th 2018, the Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania held a conference on the state of the rights of transgender persons, during which international and local human rights experts as well as medical and legal representatives discussed the situation in Lithuania ahead of decisions on the pending gender reassignment bill drafts. Prof. Vytautas Mizaras

Foreign Affairs Minister visits LGL office

On Monday, September 17th, LGL welcomed the Foreign Affairs Minister of the Republic of Lithuania Mr. Linas Linkevičius, at our office in Vilnius. Together with Donatas Butkus, director of the Human Rights Division of the United Nations, International Organizations and Human Rights Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he expressed his solidarity with the

Yet Another Allegedly Homophobic Arson Attack in Lithuania

On August 10th, 2018 following a series of arson attacks directed at the premises of the National LGBT* rights organization LGL and the apartment of its co-founder and Executive Director Vladimir Simonko, a wave of solidarity amongst the LGBT community in Lithuania emerged. As such, Romas Zabarauskas, an openly gay film director in Lithuania, had

Drug and Alcohol Addiction in the LGBTQ Community

In most cases, drugs and alcohol are a way for a person to deal with problems in their lives. The fact is – many people within the LGBTQ have to deal with way more problems than the average person. They for one can experience higher levels of stress, social stigmas, and discrimination. Therefore, this leads to

Vaping and Smoking in LGBTQ Community: Can we Understand it all?

As with any community that’s surrounded by such a life of alcohol, drugs, sex and high levels of stress, there is going to be a large amount of abuse nicotine abuse. With the recognition of this community becoming more and more popular, the public is starting to identify some of the problems that the community

Students from Vilnius University visited LGBT* centre

On 20th of February, 2017 students from Vilnius University, Faculty of Communication, visited LGBT* centre. In the beginning of the meeting, students shortly introduced themselves and spoke about their interests. Moreover, students shared their knowledge about LGBT* human rights issues. Some have admitted that they know at least one LGBT* person in their close environment,

LGL Annual Report for 2016 Now Available Online

The National LGBT* rights organization LGL is proud to announce the annual report for 2016. Transparency and independence from any political or financial interests are one of the most important goals for our organization in order to achieve effective inclusion and social integration of local LGBT* community. LGL’s annual report for 2016 comprehensively presents organization’s