DISCRIMINATION ON THE GROUNDS OF SEXUAL ORIENTATION, GENDER IDENTITY AND GENDER EXPRESSION IN GREECE

Transcription

1 DISCRIMINATION ON THE GROUNDS OF SEXUAL ORIENTATION, GENDER IDENTITY AND GENDER EXPRESSION IN GREECE 1. Introduction Recent research indicates that Greece remains far behind the majority of its European Union (EU) partners regarding civil rights for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) persons, including in the fields of equality and non-discrimination, family laws and hate speech/violence. 1 Moreover, levels of discrimination and harrassment on the grounds of sexual orientation both in general as well as when searching for employment, as reported by LGBTQ individuals, is above the EU average. 2 The acceptance of homosexuality is at 53%, amongst the lowest in the EU according to public perception polls, 3 and soaring support for the far-right Golden Dawn party has led to a rise in hate speech and violence against LGBTQ persons including youth. 4 In March 2013, Article 66 of the Criminal Code that lists motives relating to victims race or sexual orientation was amended to include gender identity. 5 As reported by Amnesty International, in practice the police and judicial authorities regularly fail to take aleged hate motives into account when investigating and prosecuting hate crimes. 5 Additionally, current legislation on hate speech is insufficient as it dates back to 1979 and in practice nobody has ever been found guilty. An anti-racism bill aimed at strenghtening legislation was discussed by the coalition government earlier this year but was dropped prior to any parliamentary debate due to lack of support from the two main coalition partners. 6 Lack of an appropriate legal framework combined with lack of enforcement of current legislation has resulted in a situation whereby homophobic and transphobic rhetoric have not only been legitimised by Golden Dawn and other right-wing forces including representatives of the Orthodox Chuch, but are now commonplace in public discourse. 7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14 Following presidential decree, police directorates addressing hate crimes on the grounds of race are to be established, however these directorates explicitly do not include crimes perpetrated on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity. 5 Following his visit to Greece in early 2013, the Council of Europe s Commissioner for Human Rights emphasised the importance of broadening the mandate of the police directorates to include all forms of hate crime, including those perpetrated on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity. 7 1 ILGA-Europe Rainbow Map EU Fundamental Rights Agency. EU LGBT survey: European Union lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender survey Results at a glance, pp Pew Research Center. The Global Divide on Homosexuality, p Amnesty International. Because of Who I Am: Homophobia, Transphobia and Hate Crimes in Europe. c1d2deee6d5d/eur en.pdf 6 [GR] 7 Report by Nils Mužnieks, Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, Following his visit to Greece from 28 January to 1 February &SecMode=1&DocId= &Usage=2 8 [GR] 9 Orthodox bishop wants MPs who vote for same-sex unions excommunicated [GR] EU Fundamental Rights Agency. Homophobia and Discrimination on Grounds of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in the EU Member States, Part II The Social Situation, p [GR] 14 [GR] 1

2 Research conducted during the third cycle (January 2013 to June 2014) of the EU Structured Dialogue process on youth, focusing on social inclusion, has indicated that LGBTQ young people across Europe are amongst the top three societal youth groups most vulnerable to social exclusion. 15 They often face severe social exclusion, finding it difficult to conform to societal norms and expectations. 16,17 The sociopolitical context described previously, in combination with the ongoing economic crisis, highest youth unemployment rates in the EU 18, and bleak youth prospects suggest that LGBTQ young people currently form one of the most socially excluded groups in Greek society. More than 1 in 3 (37.5%) young Greeks that participated in the structured dialogue consultation that was carried out as part of the 2013 Irish EU presidency (January June) indicated that lesbian and gay young people are amongst the top five groups at greatest risk of social exclusion. 19 Colour Youth Athens LGBTQ Youth Community is a non-profit organisation that supports and advocates for LGBTQ young people. As a youth organisation, Colour Youth focuses on discrimination and human rights violations that often occur in educational institutions. 2. Discrimination in education There is no research specifically investigating levels of bullying on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity, i.e. homophobic and transphobic bullying. However, research on bullying in general has shown that 1 in 4 (25.05%) students believe that sexual preferences are a cause for bullying. 20 The most recent and detailed research conducted on the experiences of LGBT individuals is the EU LGBT Survey conducted by the European Union Fundamental Rights Agency. 2 The results were published in May 2013, and the survey focused on the following categories: daily life, discrimination, rights awareness, transgender specific questions and violence and harassment. The summary report is available here: while detailed results that can be broken down by country, age group, household income, etc are available here: The research was carried out in all EU countries including Croatia; there were a total of 2,760 responses from Greece. This briefing presents the results for questions related to the educational environment, focusing on the age group, as the most recent cohort of students to have gone through the primary and secondary education system, in order to obtain a basic understanding of the experiences of LGBT young people in Greek schools. Firstly, the prevalence of homophobia and transphobia can be seen in Figure 1, which shows that an overwhelming majority (97%) heard or saw negative comments or conduct because a schoolmate/peer was perceived to be LGBT. For all age groups (i.e. all respondents), this percentage is 96%, the second highest in the EU, after Cyprus Cycle 3 Phase 1 of the Structured Dialogue with Young People Social Inclusion of Young People. Compilation of National Reports. %20Compilation%20of%20reports_FINAL.pdf Cycle 3 Phase 1 of the Structured Dialogue with Young People Social Inclusion of Young People. Reports of the International Non-Governmental Youth Organisations (INGYOs), pp Report form 2 nd round of Structured Dialogue Period: Trio Presidency Ireland-Lithuania-Greece. IGLYO Submission Cycle 3 Phase 1 of the Structured Dialogue on Young People. National Consultations Greece December Europe s Antibullying Campaign Project. European School Bullying Research: Final Report. 2

3 Figure 1 As can be seen in Figure 2, 76% of respondents aged reports having experienced negative comments or conduct at school because of being LGBT. Responses from the age group are similar (78%), indicating that there has been very little progress recently. Figure 2 Homophobic and transphobic bullying is not solely relevant to students, as teachers are also often vicitmised, as illustrated in Figure 3. 97% of respondents said they heard or saw negative comments or conduct because a teacher was perceived to be LGBT. Figure 3 3

4 Figures 4 and 5 indicate that not even 1 in 10 LGBT individuals is able to be open at school. More specifically, 97% of respondents did not talk openly about being LGBT at school, while 92% of respondents hid or disguised the fact that they were LGBT at school. Figure 4 Figure 5 A cause for very serious concern is the homophobia and transphobia exhibited by personell in educational institutions. Almost 1 in 3 respondents felt discriminated against because of being LGBT by school/university personnel in the past year. Figure 6 4

5 Lack of visibility constitutes a key issue for the LGBT community, contributing to the social exclusion of bullied persons. 2 in 5 respondents were not aware of any organisation in Greece that can offer support or advice to people who have been discriminated against because they are Gay (Figure 7). This percentage increases to 1 in 2 regarding awareness of oganisations in cases of discrimination against transgender persons (Figure 8). Figure 7 Figure 8 5

6 Verbal harassment is not the only form of homophobic and transphobic bullying. Figure 9 shows that the most serious incidents of harassment occur primarily in educational institutions (27%), secondly in public spaces including streets and squares (23%) and thirdly online (11%). Diagram 10 indicates that the most serious physical/sexual attacks or threats of violence occur primarily in public spaces including streets and squares (33%), secondly in educational institutions (17%), and thirdly at home (15%) Figure 9 Figure 10 6

7 Case study: discrimination against a transgender student A transgender student studying at an evening school near central Athens was discriminated against on a daily basis. The student was insulted and taunted by peers as well as teachers due to her gender identity. The school principal refused to call the student by her preferred name, forcing her to wear men's clothes and use the men's toilet. Labelling her a provocative homosexual male, the principal remained negative towards the student as he considered her responsible for the discrimination and insults she was receiving. The result of this was that the students bullying her remained unpunished. Numerous incidents of harassment and bullying took place, culminating in the attempt of some of the transgender student s classmates to set her on fire outside the school premises. In each of the cases, the principal would place the blame on the transgender student instead of supporting her. He would often suspend her for undisciplined behaviour, resulting in frequent absences from school. The principal even went as far as threatening to bring Golden Dawn in to the school specifically for her if she didn t stop asserting her rights. One teacher who tried to defend the student by refusing to note her absences or take them into account clashed with the principal and was put through a staff inquiry process. In 2012, along with the Greek Transgender Support Association and the group Educators against Homophobia the student made an official complaint to The Greek Ombudsman. Once confirmed that the student was being discriminated against, the Ombudsman called on school administration as well as the Teachers Association to recognise the student s right to self-determination regarding her gender identity. Furthermore, they were called on to accept the use of her preferred name as well as her desired attire and use of the women s toilet. An intervention (or educational seminar) aimed at the school s students and teachers was then designed in collaboration with a Health Education adviser from the Ministry of Education s Directorate of Secondary Education. 21 The seminar included information on the concept of transgenderism, associated stereotypes as well as respect for the student and human value in general. 21 The above is just one example of how a student was deprived of the basic human right to education because of gender identity. It highlights the serious weaknesses in existing structures and the need for similar interventions as well as education and awareness raising more generally for students and staff of educational institutions regarding issues of gender identity and expression. 22 Given the information provided through this briefing, there is a real need to address the issue of homophobic and transphobic bullying in schools. Table 1 shows responses to the question What would allow you to be more comfortable living as an LGB person in the country where you live? The three most popular answers are the same for both the age group as well as for all age groups together, and include measures implemented at school to respect LGB people, as well as training of public servants (e.g. police, teachers) on the rights of LGB people. 21 October Greek Transgender Support Association. Press Release Greek Ombudsman issued positive recommendations for the respect of gender identity & gender expression of trans people in the school environment The Greek Ombudsman. Διαµεσολάβηση του Συνηγόρου του Πολίτη για τη στήριξη της φοίτησης διεµφυλικού προσώπου σε δηµόσιο σχολείο. Σύνοψη διαµεσολάβησης. [GR] 7

8 Table 1 Question: What would allow you to be more comfortable living as a lesbian, gay or bisexual person in the country where you live? (Responses from L, G, B respondents) Strongly agree (%) Measure years old All age groups Recognition of same-sex partnerships across the European Union Measures implemented at school to respect lesbian, gay and bisexual people? Training of public servants (eg police, teachers) on the rights of lesbian, gay and bisexual people? The possibility to marry and/or register a partnership? Better acceptance of differences in sexual orientations by religious leaders? Public figures in politics, business, sports, etc openly speaking in support of lesbian, gay and bisexual people? National authorities who promote the rights of lesbian, gay and bisexual people? The possibility to foster / adopt children? Anti-discrimination policies referring to sexual orientation at the workplace? The results presented above provide insight into the educational experiences of LGBT young people. They reveal the existence of significant problems relating the universal right to education regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, as agreed by nations and as described by international law. 23,24,25 Further research into the experiences of young people with homophobic and transphobic bullying, as has been carried out in other countries, is a necessary first step to an improved understanding the situation in Greece as well as for to effectively address the issue of bullying in general. 23 United Nations, International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights United Nations,1989. Convention on the Rights of the Child Council of Europe, European Convention on Human Rights. 8