The draft law proposed by Aleksei Zhuravlev, is an extension of legislation banning homosexual propaganda that became federal law on June 30th, as reported by RT. Zhuravlev`s bill was submitted to the State Duma earlier this month and is expected to go through its first reading in the weeks to come.
Last Tuesday, human rights defenders — including representatives from the Helsinki Committee in Moscow and the Nordic Council of Ministers — gathered in Arkhangelsk to oppose the law and discuss the recent rise in anti-gay propaganda in Russia.
“Of course I am scared,” Tatiana Vinnichenko, the director of RAKURS, an LGBT organization, told the Barents Observer in a telephone interview. “I live together with another woman and have a teenage daughter. According to the lawmakers we expose her to homosexual propaganda every day.”
Rise in homophobic behaviour
Since the law went into effect, violent attacks on gays are becoming more commonplace.
RAKURS had planned to hold its seminar at a hotel but was forced to relocate the gathering at the last minute after being informed that the hotel was undergoing construction work. Organizers said they were convinced that the work was scheduled on purpose to disrupt their meeting.
“It´s obvious that they wanted to spoil our seminar,” says Oleg Kluenkov, one of the organizers. “It’s not the first time that this has happened to us.”
Arkhangelsk as pilot project
Arkhangelsk was the first region in Russia to ratify the law banning all activities aimed at promoting homosexuality in public areas. The regional law later served as a basis for the federal law enacted by the State Duma and signed by President Vladimir Putin earlier this year.
Under the law, individuals, government officials and organizations that engage in promoting homosexuality among minors face fines between 4,000 rubles (€100) and 500,000 rubles (€12,300).
After the law passed, politicians in Arkhangelsk said they would move to strengthen the regional law as well. Lawmakers plan to increase local penalties for breaking the law and include the clause linking homosexuality to paedophilia.
Witch-hunt
In the last six months since the ban became federal law, RAKURS leaders say more minor have sought help and protection.
“Every week kids come asking for shelter after being thrown out or beaten up by their parents”, says Vinnichenko. “There is a witch-hunt going on. People consider us the enemy,” Vinnichenko added.
“To most people we are second rank citizens and sick monsters destroying peace and order. The scariest thing is that the government and the Orthodox Church are backing the people who say these things,” she says, referring to the already adopted law.
A huge step backwards
The situation has gotten so bad in recent months that activists have begun comparing it to the period under Brezhnev, when homosexuality was a crime punishable by up to five years in prison. At the time, the country`s communist leadership claimed that homosexuality was only practiced among fascists and aristocrats.
“If the pupils ask me whether it is normal to be gay, I am obliged to say no otherwise I´ll lose my job,” says Vinnichenko, who is also a teacher in Arkhangelsk.
Vinnichenko said she fears Arkhangelsk could be one of the first regions to implement the proposed new law that could lead to gay couples losing custody of their children.
“We understand the threat and the reality of the bill,” says Vinnichenko. “Many LGBT parents are looking at the possibility of moving abroad in order to stop their children from being adopted. There is nothing we can do to prevent this from happening if the law is implemented.”
