Homosexuals living in the EU are subject to widespread discrimination and often have to make their sexual orientation “invisible,” a report released by the EU Fundamental Rights Agency said yesterday.
The report, which was presented at the European Parliament in Brussels, called on EU countries to improve equality, and provide for better training to officials as well as better reporting of hate crimes and other incidents.
Morten Kjaerum, the director of the Vienna-based agency, said that there had been physical violence and deadly assaults against gays, lesbians and transgender persons in some countries.
“These are alarming signals in an EU that prides itself on its principles of equal treatment and non-discrimination,” Kjaerum said in remarks released beforehand.
The study was issued before the backdrop of a European Commission proposal from last July to grant legal protection against discrimination not only based on gender and race or ethnic origin, but also on age, sexual orientation, religion and disablement.
Homosexuals are ostracized and bullied from the time they enter school, as education authorities across the EU pay little attention to the problem, the Vienna-based human rights watchdog found.
It said discrimination continued in the work environment, health sector and other areas, often forcing gays and lesbians to hide their sexual orientation and to not report incidents of discrimination.
However, the Fundamental Rights Agency found a wide range of attitudes across the EU. While gay events have been banned or attacked in several Central and Eastern European countries, the agency also cited positive examples.
The UK, Denmark, the Netherlands and Slovenia have introduced anonymous mechanisms for reporting hate crimes, where a complaint can be made on the Internet or to independent bodies.
Only very few hate crimes are reported to authorities, Kjaerum said.
“This means that crimes go unpunished, victims do not obtain justice and authorities are not able to take the necessary action to respond to such crimes or prevent them from recurring,” he said.
Teachers, police, officials dealing with asylum seekers, health services officers and others should receive special training, the agency recommended.
When Shanghai-based designer Guo Qingshan posted a vacation photo on Valentine’s Day and captioned it “Puppy Mountain,” it became a sensation in China and even created a tourist destination. Guo had gone on a hike while visiting his hometown of Yichang in central China’s Hubei Province late last month. When reviewing the photographs, he saw something he had not noticed before: A mountain shaped like a dog’s head rested on the ground next to the Yangtze River, its snout perched at the water’s edge. “It was so magical and cute. I was so excited and happy when I discovered it,” Guo said.
TURNAROUND: The Liberal Party had trailed the Conservatives by a wide margin, but that was before Trump threatened to make Canada the US’ 51st state Canada’s ruling Liberals, who a few weeks ago looked certain to lose an election this year, are mounting a major comeback amid the threat of US tariffs and are tied with their rival Conservatives, according to three new polls. An Ipsos survey released late on Tuesday showed that the left-leaning Liberals have 38 percent public support and the official opposition center-right Conservatives have 36 percent. The Liberals have overturned a 26-point deficit in six weeks, and run advertisements comparing the Conservative leader to Trump. The Conservative strategy had long been to attack unpopular Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, but last month he
Chinese authorities said they began live-fire exercises in the Gulf of Tonkin on Monday, only days after Vietnam announced a new line marking what it considers its territory in the body of water between the nations. The Chinese Maritime Safety Administration said the exercises would be focused on the Beibu Gulf area, closer to the Chinese side of the Gulf of Tonkin, and would run until tomorrow evening. It gave no further details, but the drills follow an announcement last week by Vietnam establishing a baseline used to calculate the width of its territorial waters in the Gulf of Tonkin. State-run Vietnam News
PROBE: Last week, Romanian prosecutors launched a criminal investigation against presidential candidate Calin Georgescu accusing him of supporting fascist groups Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Romania’s capital on Saturday in the latest anti-government demonstration by far-right groups after a top court canceled a presidential election in the EU country last year. Protesters converged in front of the government building in Bucharest, waving Romania’s tricolor flags and chanting slogans such as “down with the government” and “thieves.” Many expressed support for Calin Georgescu, who emerged as the frontrunner in December’s canceled election, and demanded they be resumed from the second round. George Simion, the leader of the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), which organized the protest,
RSS