On April 3rd, 2015, volunteers of the national LGBT* rights organization LGL sent out the publication, “Homophobic Bullying in Lithuanian Schools: Survey Results and Recommendations” to schools and educational institutions throughout the country. 250 Lithuanian schools, all of the pedagogical psychological service providers working in Lithuania, higher learning institutions training educators and social workers, the

LGL Presents a Publication about Homophobic Bullying in Lithuanian Schools

The national LGBT* rights organization LGL presents a publication “Homophobic Bullying in Lithuanian Schools: Survey Results and Recommendations”, introducing one of the most pressing, yet unrecognized issues in Lithuanian schools. This publication is the first step towards tackling the problem of homophobic and biphobic bullying in Lithuanian schools and aims to provide teachers and other

LGL Board Chair: “If Marriage has Become Obsolete – Punish us with it”

27 years together with his partner. What a model family! “It was you who said that word – not I,” noted the Board Chair of LGL Vladimir Simonko with a smile, for whom this word holds great meaning. Vladimir’s surname recently echoed throughout the country once again. During the music awards ceremony M.A.M.A., V. Simonko

EP Vice-President Criticizes Lithuania for Violating LGBT* Rights

Amid the European Commission’s (EC) analysis whether the Lithuanian Law on the Protection of Minors against the Detrimental Effect of Public Information is in line the EU acquis, a group of MEPs on February 26th, 2015 criticized the Baltic state for the continuing discrimination of LGBT* people, reports Lithuanian news agency BNS. “I think we

State Department names Randy Berry as LGBT envoy

The State Department on Monday announced it has named Randy Berry as its special envoy to promote global LGBT rights. Berry, who is openly gay, has been the consul general at the U.S. Consulate in Amsterdam since August 2012. He was the consul general at the U.S. Consulate in Auckland, New Zealand, from 2009-2012 and

LGL Board Chair Faces Crowd of Fifteen Thousand: “Music Makes Everyone Equal”

On January 30th, 2015 the Board Chair of the national LGBT* rights association LGL Vladimir Simonko was invited to present the ‘Band of the Year’ award in the course of the Lithuanian Music Awards “M.A.M.A.” Despite the fact that Mr. Simonko was not warmly welcomed by some members in the audience, the appearance of the

NEDF Partners participated in workshops at LGBT* centre

On January 22nd, 2015, the National Equality and Diversity Forum (NEDF) visited the national LGBT* rights association LGL. The event, entitled “Identity: Gender,” was characterized by a fruitful exchange of experiences from those in attendance. Non-governmental organizations representing vulnerable groups visited LGL’s office so as to attain a better understanding of its specificities and work.

France hands out first fines for anti-gay tweets

Three French Twitter users were fined this week for sending tweets that included homophobic hashtags. It’s the first time a French court has handed out convictions for homophobic abuse on Twitter. The convictions date back to offences committed in 2013 when several homophobic hashtags appeared on Twitter in France, including “Gays must die because…”, (#Lesgaysdoiventdisparaîtrecar).

One More Attempt to Legalize Hate Speech in Lithuania

On December 16th, 2014 the Parliamentary Committee on Education, Science and Culture postponed the adoption of the controversial amendment to the Lithuanian Criminal Code, removing criminal liability for homophobic hate speech. 5 members of the Committee were in favor of the proposed amendment, 3 voted against, while the others abstained. This outcome was sufficient for

LGL Reacts to Hateful Comments Regarding Same-Sex Kiss on FaceBook

On December 12th, 2014 the national LGBT* rights organization LGL submitted a complaint to the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Republic of Lithuania about hateful online comments regarding a same-sex kiss picture by two students from Kaunas. On December 8th, 2014 a young man posted a photo on social network “Facebook” showing him kissing his