On May 17, the International Day against Homophobia was supposed to take place. However, Lithuania welcomed the day against homophobia with homophobic attitudes and actions.
Two instances of homophobic activity occurred which halted the planned International Day against Homophobia. Trolleybuses carrying banners with proclamations such as “Lesbians Can be Teachers” and “Gay People Can be Policemen” were set to cruise the streets of Vilnius and Kaunas. However, the drivers refused to operate the buses in protest against the banners.
The demonstrators were trying to exercise their freedom of expression but were denied this right with no reasonable explanation. The Vilnius City Municipality, who is obligated under the Law on Equal Opportunities to ensure equal opportunities for every group of people, refused to issue a permit allowing the gay demonstrators to display their flag in the town center. Thus, the Vilnius City Municipality has allegedly committed an act of direct discrimination based on sexual orientation.
The Law on Equal Opportunities establishes that direct discrimination occurs when a person is treated worse because of his/her sexual orientation than another person would be treated in a similar situation. Acknowledging all the circumstances, it seems doubtful that the social action would be banned if it were focused on other social problems.
The International Day against Homophobia is a social action by the EQUAL initiative.
Read more about this and other homophobic problems in the article “Manifestations of Homophobia and Double Standards in Lithuania” by HRMI Research Director Jolanta Samuolyte. Summary (in Lithuanian) is here.
© 2012 Human Rights Monitoring Institute