LGBTIQ+

In Hungary, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s Government, in power since 2010, has systematically curtailed LGBTIQ+ rights. Hundreds of such parents have adopted children with their same-sex spouses or partners, have given birth to children themselves or have availed themselves of surrogates to have their own genetically-related offspring. This article offers a glimpse into the lives of two such families in Hungary.

Since 2010, the Hungarian Government has been advocating for a conservative, restrictive notion of the family. The Ninth Amendment of the Fundamental Law led to the adoption of the so-called ‘child protection’ law (also referred to as the ‘anti-LGBT’ or propaganda law). This article tells the story of a successful advocacy campaign against these developments.

The EuroPride 2022 fiasco shows us one thing: Serbia will not become part of the EU under President Aleksandar Vučić. The EU must face the cultural war in the Western Balkans head on, tackle disinformation and take Serbia’s EU accession seriously.

Where do we want to go as a society? This question, but above all the answer to it, depends not least on our perspective on the world and on how we ourselves are affected by discrimination. In short: the answers we find are also identity politics. With this page we want to create a contribution to the introduction to the topic of identity politics: What does the term actually mean? What is currently being discussed? Where we want to head as a society?

Homophobia, prejudice and hatred marked Patchara Kumchumnan's childhood. It's taken him a few years and some hundred kilometres to escape the prejudice and hatred in his hometown. But, while the scar of discrimination never faded completely, the experience became his driving force to defend the rights of others.

More than 50 people were injured in attacks on journalists and civil society in Tbilisi in early July 2021 in connection with Pride Week. The German Federal Government and the EU should strongly urge their Georgian partners to address the violence through prompt and comprehensive legal and political action. 

2020 was expected to be the feminist super year - the anniversaries of the UN Resolution on "Women, Peace, and Security" and the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action were supposed to be celebrated, and discussions about the lack of their implementation to be held. Instead, this became the year that, according to UN Women, would destroy 25 years of feminist achievements.

The Hungarian government has received international criticism over a new law that bans the depiction or promotion of homosexuality to those under the age of 18. Andrea Pető argues that the law may well prove to be a miscalculation by the country’s Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán.

The increasing data-driven nature of societies raises concerns about how to prevent data misuse and abuse that may harm individuals and communities, particularly marginalized groups. A feminist critique of the model law on data protection of the Southern African Development Community and the EU’s GDPR, however highlights the dangerous gaps that place women and gender-diverse people at risk.

Hungary voted for a bill originally intended to enhance the protection of children and tighten sanctions against pedophile offenders, though introducing an explicit, harsh ban on the "portrayal and the promotion of gender identity different from sex at birth, the change of sex and homosexuality" for persons under the age of 18. What led to the scapegoating of the LGBTQI community?