By Becci Fobbe
Class of 2016
We have all seen the pictures of people dressed in rainbow-colors, demonstrating in London or Stockholm calling for boycotts, or demanding more rights for the LGBT community and general approval of any sexual orientation. However, alongside these protests advocating rights, in various parts of the world being homosexual can result in almost certain persecution. In Uganda, a law passed in February will impose life sentences for people just for being a homosexual, while in Nigeria the Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act criminalizes gay marriage with a 14 year prison term. In East Asia, Brunei is the first country to introduce Sharia law in April, the second phase of which outlaws homosexual acts, the punishment for which is being stoned to death. However, even countries that are a part of the European Continent are not entirely accepting of the often discriminated against group.
With the Winter Olympics in February, Russia was scrutinized by the media in countries across Europe and the United States for its lack of acceptance of the gay community. The primary focus of LGBT supporters and their demonstrations was the anti-gay propaganda ban in Russia, which was passed in the summer of 2013 to suppress activism before the Olympic Winter Games in Sochi of 2014. The law banned the propagation of nontraditional sexual relations and imposed fines for speaking of the gay community to minors.
But the ban, originally aimed to minimize international attention to LGBT protests, had the opposite effect. All around the globe, protests were held to support the movement in Russia, calling for the repeal of the law. Over 50 athletes, 200 famous authors, some heads of states and influential celebrities, such as Lady Gaga, Madonna or Elton John, openly criticized Putin’s politics.
Right after Putin signed the ban, the first gay activists were arrested during a rally in St. Petersburg. In July, four Dutch citizens who were filming a documentary about gay life in Russia were arrested. In August, the Human Rights Campaign sent official letters to sponsors such as Dow Chemicals, Coca Cola, McDonald, Samsung, etc. demanding them to take steps against violent actions against members of the LGBT community. In the same month, hundreds of people went on the streets in London as well, asking their own government to condemn the Russian government and officially protest.
The first action by European politicians was taken by French president Francois Hollande, German president Joachim Gauck and EU Commissioner Viviane Reding, who all decided not to attend the Olympic Games. Shortly after, the White House declared that the US delegation will not be accompanied by any member of the Obama family, but by openly gay athletes. During the Olympic Games, protests went on, and so did arrests.
This last year clearly marked a milestone in LGBT protests all over the globe, because of the international outcry that accompanied the treatment of homosexuals in Russia. Although the Russian law propagated the ideas that gays are undeserving of respect and equality, the fact that the law had such a wide-spread negative international reaction is a positive sign for those seeking equal treatment.
The treatment of homosexuals in many countries has worsened in the past year, particularly in Africa and Asia, however the growth in animosity in some countries has been paralleled by a growth in acceptance in others. In the 2013 Pew Research Global Attitudes Project the world’s views on homosexuality were examined. It was found that there is broad acceptance of homosexuality in North America, the European Union, and much of Latin America, where the belief that homosexuality should be accepted spanned up to 88 percent in Spain to 87 percent in Germany, 74 percent in Argentina, and 80 percent in the Canada. The survey also found a link between the rejection of gays and how religious a country was, in that countries where religion is more central to the daily lives of people, homosexuality is less accepted. Although none of the countries with more evolved views on acceptance are near 100 percent, activists should take heart that the times are changing. Historically, issues such as race discrimination were widespread across the globe, as in the instance of apartheid in South Africa. South African racial segregation lasted into the 1990s, at which point many countries in Europe and North America had outlawed discrimination. It was the international pressure and sanctions imposed on South Africa, paired with the civil rights movement, which partly contributed to the changes that led to equality.
So, even with the proliferation of anti-gay legislation in many non-Western countries, the push for acceptance in other countries means that the LGBT community will always have its supporters and the push for equality will not end until victory is achieved. As even in countries where the LGBT country may not have any friends, they can count on their friends abroad to speak on their behalf.
Rebecca Fobbe, Class of 2016, is a Politics and Law major from Büdingen, Germany.
