‘It was the first time we heard policymakers recognizing that trans citizens need to have their dignity assured’. The Polish parliament’s lower house has passed the country’s first transgender recognition legislation. Poland’s first transgender MP, Anna Grodzka, introduced the Gender Accordance Act in May 2012, and it was finally passed on Thursday (23 July) by 252 votes to 158, with 11 absentations. Under
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On July 17th-19th, 2015 the independent community festival SapfoFest took place in the scenic location of Žeimiai Manor House, Lithuania. Representatives from the National LGBT* Rights Organization LGL participated in the event and had the opportunity to fully delve into a weekend full of queer culture and self-expression. The first festival has been organized every
Italy joins Argentina, Denmark, Malta and Ireland in acknowledging the right of trans people to self-determine their own identity. Italy has become the fifth country in the world to acknowledge that trans people are allowed to identify as trans without medical, surgery or genital intervention. Following a historic decision by the Italian Supreme Court this week,
The new judgement by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) on legal recognition of same-sex relationships is significant for Lithuania, says a lawyer of the Vilnius-based Human Rights Monitoring Institute (HRMI). Natalija Bitiukova, i.e the deputy director of HRMI, emphasized the significance of the court’s ruling handed down on July 21st, 2015, which indicated
The Lithuanian society is not ready for same-sex partnerships, Speaker of the Lithuanian Seimas Loreta Graužinienė claims. “Our society is not ready for such an action [legislating on same-sex partnership],” she told the Žinių Radijas news radio on July 22nd, 2015. In her words, such decisions could be made after a new and more tolerant
On July 23rd, 2015 LGBT groups expressed regret over the choice of Polish organizations in Lithuania to wear homophobic T-shirts with slogans “Vilnius on Bicycles without Pedals” (Pol. “Wilno Na Rowerach Bez Pedalow”) during their recent congress. Vladimir Simonko, the leader of the National LGBT* Rights Organization LGL, said the word “pedal” was an insulting
After only two weeks our new volunteer Annemarie left the National LGBT Rights Organization LGL – but only to return full of ideas for the following ten months of her European Volunteer Service (EVS).Where she came up with the new project ideas for the LGL community? At her on-arrival training in Anupriškės. What she experienced
A Ugandan presidential candidate has made history – by affirming that he opposes homophobia. With the 2016 election approaching, former prime minister Amama Mbazazi has stated that he opposes homophobia – making him one of the only Ugandan politicians to ever do so. In an interview on NBS Television, he said that, while he still believes in traditional
From the 30th of June to the 4th of July, as part of the European Voluntary Service program, I had the opportunity to participate to the mid-training, a training specifically focused on the mid-term evaluation and the assessment of the EVS experience. The training took place in the scenic location of Asveja, a beautiful place
A European court on Tuesday ruled same-sex couples in Italy face human rights violations because the country has not “sufficiently” recognized them. A seven-judge panel with the European Court of Human Rights issued its unanimous ruling in a case brought by three gay couples who are unable to marry under current Italian law. The decision
On the 13th of July, 2015 the national LGBT* rights organization LGL received an official notification from the European Commission Directorate General for Communications Networks, Content & Technology, stating that the Commission began investigation regarding LGL’s appeal under the European Union (EU) directive infringement process. A formal complaint, prepared in collaboration with the European LGBTI
The New Zealand government is changing the way it records gender – allowing people to identify as “gender diverse”. The government’s official data collection body Statistics NZ announced the change, which will be the new standard across government agencies. It explained: “‘Gender diverse’ will join ‘male’ and ‘female’ categories in a new gender-identity classification released today