Gay, lesbian and transgender people face shocking levels of violence, discrimination and abuse across Europe, with gaps in EU and national legislation robbing them of justice and creating a climate of fear, a new report by Amnesty International says.
This summer, people hurled eggs at participants at a gay pride rally in Lithuania, which is currently chair of the rotating European Union presidency. At the first gay pride rally staged in Montenegro, an EU candidate state, dozens were injured as homophobic protesters threw rocks and bottles.
Amnesty’s report detailed cases of people killed, savagely beaten and doused in petrol because of their sexuality, with many victims struggling to get justice or support from police and judicial authorities ill-equipped to deal with homophobic violence.
“Lack of legislation has a fundamental impact on how these crimes are dealt with by state authorities,” said Marco Perolini, Amnesty’s expert on discrimination in Europe and Central Asia.
EU legislation from 2008 states that attacks motivated by racism and xenophobia constitute hate crimes. Attacks carried out because of someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity do not come under that banner, the Amnesty report notes. » | Charlotte McDonald-Gibson | Brussels | Wednesday, September 18, 2013
