Recap | March 2024
ILGA-Europe launched the annual review
On February 29, the organization published its annual review summarizing the situation of LGBT people in Europe and Central Asia in 2023, which includes information on about 54 countries. In 48 of the observed countries, during 2023, hate crime cases were recorded due to the sexual orientation and gender identity of the victims.
The report also includes a section on the situation of LGBT people in Armenia, where the murder of a transgender person and police violence in the Poligraf club. It was also mentioned about the calls for violence spread on online platforms and the justification of violence, which did not receive the attention of law enforcement agencies. A reference was also made to the fact that a comprehensive anti-discrimination law has not yet been adopted in the country, and that months ago the European Committee against Racism and Intolerance again expressed concern that sexual orientation and gender identity as protected characteristics are missing in the draft law. Cases of domestic violence and the fact that LGBT persons are not provided with shelter were particularly emphasized.
Social workers’ perceptions of SOGI and their attitudes towards LGBT+ individuals
In March, we published an analysis prepared by social work and researcher Lusine Karamyan, in which she reflects on social workers’ perceptions of sexual orientation and gender identity and their attitudes towards LGBT+ individuals.
During the last twenty years, a number of sociological studies have been conducted in different countries of the region in order to study the attitude of the society, particularly the helping professionals, towards LGBT+ individuals. The first such researches in Armenia were carried out in 2010-2011. In 2013, a quantitative survey was conducted among about 500 helping professionals in a number of cities in Armenia, the aim of which was to identify their level of awareness, knowledge about SOGI, as well as their attitude towards LGBT+ individuals.
The analysis is available in Armenian.
Helping professionals on work with LGBT+ people
We have prepared a 5-part video series: “Helping professionals on working with LGBT+ people”. The purpose of this series is to address the diversity of issues, challenges and difficulties faced by LGBT+ individuals, and highlight the cornerstone importance of sensitive professional support in that context. It highlights the importance of empowerment, equality and well-being topics and work for the LGBT+ and professional communities, conveys professional experience and suggestions to make services provided by mental health professionals more accessible.
The videos are available on the organization’s social media pages in Armenian.
