Why lgbt and not lgbt

Take Action. Join Us. Give Now. Asia November 10, News Release. Published in: Open Global Rights. Videos Watch more. Reports More reports. September 27, Report. Feeling acronym overload? As always, the most important thing is to be respectful and open-minded.

Confused about where pronouns come into play? Want to see more videos like this? Subscribe to our YouTube channel to stay informed! The Mountain and Southern states are not too far behind. Particularly in the Mountain and Midwestern states. Across the U. This is particularly true for Midwest, Mountain and Southern states. Given higher rates of poverty and food insecurity and lack of money for healthcare, it is not surprising that LGBT people in these regions are also less likely to have health insurance.

Others described the impact of the law as systematically eroding confidence between LGBT youth and mental health providers. A minority of psychologists Human Rights Watch interviewed explained that they do not let such concerns affect their work. For example, a psychologist in Vladivostok said:.

A psychologist described what these age restrictions mean for youth, citing the example of a year-old girl who contacted her:. LGBT youth confirmed to Human Rights Watch that they had experienced rejection from some support groups on the basis of their age.

For example, Dmitry L. Some LGBT youth told us they have experienced ignorance, prejudice, and stereotypes even when interacting with mental health providers. I asked psychologists about trans issues and gender, and no one gave me any answer.

A psychologist who has worked with LGBT clients for more than five years said that she has simultaneously worked on raising awareness among and educating other mental health professionals about issues of sexual orientation and gender identity. And I realize that if those bright minds spew this nonsense, then lower-lever people must be even worse than that.

The law has reinforced preexisting negative stereotypes, including within the mental health profession, psychologists told us. These laws violate the right to freedom from discrimination and impermissibly infringe on the rights of children and adults to freedom of expression and association.

Everyone has the right to freedom of expression, children as well as adults, [] and states are under an obligation to ensure this right and other human rights.

The right to freedom of expression includes the right to seek and receive information and ideas of all kinds. States can place restrictions on expression only in specific circumstances—to respect the rights or reputation of others or for the protection of national security, public order, public health, or morals. Laws must provide sufficient guidance to those charged with their execution to enable them to ascertain what sorts of expression are properly restricted and what sorts are not.

As the Venice Commission concluded:. What is clear, however, is that the laws are discriminatory, both intentionally and in effect. The test of necessity is not met if a legitimate aim can be achieved in a way that does not restrict freedom of expression, [] or if less restrictive means are available to achieve the legitimate aim. Overly broad restrictions do not meet the requirement of proportionality.

The right to freedom of expression may only be restricted for one of the reasons specified in the human rights treaties. Defending the propanganda laws in cases before the Human Rights Committee and the European Court of Human Rights, Russia suggested that its restrictions on the right to freedom of expression were justified for the protection of public health, morals, and the rights of children and the family.

In a case, Alekseyev v. The right to freedom of association is subject to restriction on the same grounds as with freedom of expression—to respect the rights or reputation of others or for the protection of national security, public order, public health, or morals—and only when provided by law, necessary to achieve the permitted purpose, and proportionate to that objective.

Children have the right to protection from violence and the right to security of person. The right of all children to protection from violence extends to all forms of physical and mental violence, including verbal abuse, harassment, and bullying. Children who are especially likely to face violence, including bullying, merit specific attention and protection from the state.

The committee has identified steps that governments should take to protect children from bullying, harassment, and other forms of violence. These include challenging discriminatory attitudes that allow intolerance and violence to flourish, establishing reporting mechanisms, and providing guidance and training for teachers and administrators to know how to respond when they see or hear about incidents of violence.

The right to education is recognized in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the European Social Charter, among other human rights treaties to which Russia is a party.

The Committee on the Rights of the Child has stressed that for these aims of education to be realized, authorities should be aware of the school environment overall:. The right to education includes the right to comprehensive sexual education. LGBT students are denied the right to education when bullying, exclusion, and discriminatory policies prevent them from participating in the classroom or attending school. The right to education is a right of progressive realization, meaning that it can be implemented over time, [] but states have immediate obligations to guarantee freedom from discrimination and to protect students from harassment, bullying, and violence.

To ensure that all students enjoy the right to an education, school authorities should ensure that schools are safe for all students. In addition, to make the right to education meaningful, schools should ensure that school curricula, interactions with school personnel, and school policies are non-discriminatory and provide information to LGBT youth on the same terms as their non-LGBT peers.

Whether in the dissemination of health information, the provision of health care, or other steps taken to ensure the right to health, states should take care to respect the principle of nondiscrimination. In addition, as parents fulfil their responsibility to care for their children, they should do so in ways that reflect the right of children to preserve their identity, including characteristics such as their sexual orientation and gender identity.

Vladislav Lobanov, research assistant in the Europe and Central Asia division, conducted additional interviews and provided additional desk research.

Tanya Cooper, researcher in the Europe and Central Asia division, conducted initial outreach, carried out some interviews, and provided strategic guidance for the research. Yuri Frank worked with the team as a research assistant and interpreter. Zhenya Svetski, a Russian blogger, generously agreed to the use of his image on the cover of this report and on social media.

Petersburg, Coming Out, and other nongovernmental organizations and individuals who generously assisted us in the course of this research.

Finally, we are particularly grateful to the students who were willing to share their experiences. Young people interviewed by Human Rights Watch for this report used a variety of terms to describe same-sex attraction and gender variance. Some of these terms are defined below. The sexual orientation of a person who experiences little or no sexual attraction to other people. The biological classification of bodies as male or female based on such factors as external sex organs, internal sexual and reproductive organs, hormones, and chromosomes.

The sexual orientation of a person who is sexually and romantically attracted to both women and men. The gender identity of people whose sex assigned at birth conforms to their identified or lived gender. A person who does not acknowledge their sexual orientation to others. A synonym for homosexual in many parts of the world; in this report, used specifically to refer to the sexual orientation of a man whose primary sexual and romantic attraction is towards other men.

Violence directed against a person on the basis of gender or sex. Gender-based violence can include sexual violence, domestic violence, psychological abuse, sexual exploitation, sexual harassment, harmful traditional practices, and discriminatory practices based on gender. The term originally described violence against women but is now widely understood to include violence targeting women, transgender persons, and men because of how they experience and express their genders and sexualities.

Does not conform to stereotypical appearances, behaviours, or traits associated with sex assigned at birth. The sexual orientation of a person whose primary sexual and romantic attraction is toward people of the other sex.

Fear of, contempt of, or discrimination against homosexuals or homosexuality, usually based on negative stereotypes of homosexuality. The sexual orientation of a person whose primary sexual and romantic attractions are toward people of the same sex.

The sexual orientation of a woman whose primary sexual and romantic attraction is toward other women. The sexual orientation of a person whose sexual or romantic attraction is not restricted by sex assigned at birth, gender, or gender identity.

An inclusive term for people with non-conforming sexualities and gender identities, such as LGBT, men who have sex with men who may not self-identify as LGBT and women who have sex with women. The term describes whether a person is attracted primarily to people of the same or other sex, or to both or others. The gender identity of people whose sex assigned at birth does not conform to their identified or lived gender.

A transgender person usually adopts, or would prefer to adopt, a gender expression in consonance with their gender identity but may or may not desire to permanently alter their physical characteristics to conform to their gender identity.

Persons designated female at birth but who identify and may present themselves as men. Transgender men are referred to with male pronouns. Persons designated male at birth but who identify and may present themselves as women. Transgender women are referred to with female pronouns.

Fear of, contempt of, or discrimination against transgender and transsexual persons, usually based on negative stereotypes of transgender identity. Help us continue to fight human rights abuses. Please give now to support our work. Human Rights Watch. Donate Now. Summary Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender LGBT youth in Russia face formidable barriers to enjoying their fundamental rights to dignity, health, education, information, and association.

Deti Deti is an online group that offers psychological support, advice, and a safe online community for LGBT children, including those who experience violence and aggression because of their real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. Repeal and amend other laws, including Federal Law No. End rhetoric by members of the government that stigmatizes LGBT people and allows Russian authorities to explicitly or tacitly deem anti-LGBT sentiments and violence as permissible.

Russia, Alekseyev v. Russia, and Alekseyev and Others v. Russia on freedom of expression, assembly, and association are complied with through laws and policies of the Russian Federation. Instruct local authorities to comply with the standards on freedom of expression, association, and assembly set out in judgments of the European Court of Human Rights. Instruct relevant law enforcement agencies, such as the office of the prosecutor genera l, the Ministry of Interior, and the Investigative Committee, to gather data about homophobic and transphobic crimes, and make such data publicly available.

Instruct prosecutors and judges to pay special attention to and use hate crime legislation when prosecuting crimes and infractions against LGBT people. Monitor the response of law enforcement officials to crimes against LGBT people, with the goal of continuously improving it. To the Ministry of Health Issue a non-discrimination policy inclusive of sexual orientation and gender identity for all mental health providers. To the Ministry of Education Establish reporting mechanisms to receive complaints of harassment, bullying, and violence, and promptly investigate and act appropriately by conducting swift and impartial investigations upon receipt of complaints.

Provide guidance and training for teachers and administrators on how to respond when they see or hear about incidents of violence. Require age-appropriate, comprehensive, and inclusive sexuality education, based on scientific evidence and human rights, as a mandatory part of school curricula.

Develop and implement a non-discrimination policy inclusive of sexual orientation and gender identity for all state schools. Ensure that all school phsychologists are trained to work with LGBT children.

To School Staff Teachers and administrators should challenge discriminatory attitudes expressed by students and staff that allow intolerance, bullying, and other forms of harassment and violence to flourish. Schools should involve children in the development of strategies for the elimination and prevention of bullying and other forms of violence in school. Until the Ministry of Education has developed a national non-discrimination policy that includes sexual orientation and gender identity, schools should introduce and implement their own nondiscrimination policies that cover these bases of discrimination.

Publically condemn acts of violence against LGBT people and activists and raise the issue in routine and high-level meetings with relevant Russian officials. In line with the June EU guidelines on promoting and protecting the enjoyment of all human rights by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex LGBTI persons, support initiatives to provide assistance and redress for victims of such violence, civil society and governmental monitoring of cases involving violence, and training of law enforcement personnel.

Continue to urge the Russian government to fully implement the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights in the cases of Bayev v. Russia and Alekseyev v. Russia and to uphold the rights of children and adults to freedom of expression including freedom to seek and receive information and freedom of association, in particular relating to LGBT issues.

Russia and, once it becomes final, Alekseyev and Others v. Russia Methodology This report is based on Human Rights Watch interviews conducted between October and April with 56 sexual and gender minority youth and 11 mental health providers and social workers in Russia, extensive review of court records and secondary source materials through November , and prior Human Rights Watch research published in news releases and other public documents from to Every day is like torture.

I'm just tired of this kind of life. Tired of pretending that I am a woman. Alekseenko is the former director of Maximum, a group in Murmansk that provided legal and psychosocial support to LGBT people. In May , Roskomnadzor took steps to shutter ParniPlus , a website containing information about the HIV epidemic among men who have sex with men in Russia. We have too many stereotypes and too little information in our society, and the law only makes it all worse.

They said they were going to catch me, pepper spray my face, and do other violent things. They wanted to tell everything to my parents. Adults can safely mock us, rape us, and undermine us. I have a short haircut, bind my chest, and wear only male clothes.

He explained: I'm confused, I feel uncomfortable, I want to leave as soon as possible. I begin to fear that they will disclose and disgrace me. What is its sex? He is obviously gay. And he never left his house at night to walk around his neighborhood. The school psychologist explained: Everyone is very careful. That is, before this someone somewhere could have said, once in a while, that he is gay, but not now.

No sane person would. The mother of another gay friend took him to a psychologist several times. Basically, all the parents impose a great taboo on this topic, they feel shame, even though they don't know anything about LGBT issues. A psychologist in Moscow said that three of the four LGBT youth clients she worked with had problems with their families: These were problems, primarily, in the family. Could you also work with this [problem]? We had a scandal because of it and never talked about it after.

We almost never speak about my trans identity. I can't understand her attitude, because it changes from time to time. Because of this, her position is not clear to me. She doesn't support me.