On the occasion of Human Rights Day, GALE presented the first world map on the implementation of the right to education for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students. The map was presented at a UNESCO symposium in Paris on the progress of the global strategy to fight homophobic bullying. Of the 96 countries surveyed,
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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
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
On December 9, 2014, the EU Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) presented the largest comparative study on the experiences of trans people in all 28 EU Member States. The FRA calls the results “alarming”, but highlights that legal frameworks and good policies have a positive impact on trans people’s lives. The FRA study was launched at an
On December 6th, 2014 Lithuanian commercial TV channel “TV3” broadcasted the premiere of the fifth season of the TV show “Dance With Me”, featuring a transgender entertainer and hair stylist Agness Landau. Lithuanian news portal 15min.lt reported that Agness Landau had experienced some negative emotions before her performance due to some transphobic remarks made by
On December 8, 2014 the International Olympic Committee unanimously voted through an amendment which formally protect lesbian, gay and bisexual people from discrimination. The Olympic Charter has been amended to explicitly safeguard lesbian, gay and bisexual athletes, after concerns about homophobia at this year’s Winter Olympics in Sochi. The charter already outlawed discrimination on the
On December 5, 2014 the national LGBT* rights organization LGL celebrated its 21st Birthday. The guests of our Birthday party had an opportunity to congratulate on the organization‘s maturity, get to know our volunteers and staff and learn more about our activities. Those who attended the celebration were also invited to participate in a lottery,
On November 30th, 2014 Lithuanian news portal lrytas.lt reported that a student was forced to leave Kaunas Juozas Naujalis Music School due to the homophobic bullying by his teachers and classmates. In the meanwhile the mother of the student was reportedly accused by teachers of interfering with the internal school policies as she defended her
A member of the executive board of Latvia’s ruling Unity Party resigned on December 2, 2014 after a string of tweets attacking LGBT* people, including one in which she appeared to praise the Nazi extermination of homosexuals, Latvian Public Broadcasting reported. “Thank God — at one time, the Germans shot them. It improves fertility,” Inga
On December 2, 2014 the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled that authorities, when verifying the sexual orientation of an asylum seeker, should always comply with the EU’s Charter of Fundamental Rights. The case ended on the Court’s plate after Dutch authorities refused to grant asylum to three third-country nationals, who sought
On November 29, 2014 the Order and Justice Party has nominated a Member of the Lithuanian Parliament Petras Gražulis to run for Vilnius mayor’s office. “I can tell you that if I am elected, there will be no gay parades”, assured the candidate. MP Gražulis, who chairs the Party’s political group in the Lithuanian parliament,
The Finnish Parliament voted on Friday afternoon to allow gender-neutral marriage, 105-92. The vote had been expected to be closer. The unprecedented outcome marks the first time that a citizens’ initiative has received lawmakers’ blessing to be written into the law books. It also allows Finland to finally catch up with its Nordic peers, all