22-24 October 2019
Prague, Czech Republic
The annual European International LGBTI Association conference was attended by 600 delegates representing a wide spectrum of organisations and groups including EGPA President Alain Parmentier who was also attending on behalf of “Flag!” (French LGBT Police Association).
The report of the conference is provided below:
EGPA delegation: Alain Parmentier
Local Organization: Prague Pride and Proud
Opening by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tomas Petricek
Panel discussion: "Stronger Together"
Marija Golubeva, from Latvia parliament
Mina Tolu, spokesperson of the federation of Young European Greens (Malta)
Georgy Mamedov, leftist and activist, curator and educator (Kyrgyzstan)
Next conferences:
Sofia in 2020
Bologna in 2021
1st day
Workshop 1:
Improving the situation for trans people in prisons and detention centers.
-Discussions about the fears of Trans people to get closer to the police, whether it is about prejudice, crying out for not being taken seriously, or for some people because of being without an official document ( their identity, their right to be present on the territory).
Often people T do a cross on their right of protection, to be recognized as victims.
-The laws are still different and the incarceration measures as well, so the treatments are irregular from one country to another.
-Trans FTM or MTF people are generally incarcerated in Europe in women's centers in order to facilitate their safety, that of other people, including guards.
-An Armenian activist cited an example of a problem with an arrest of a Trans person, with the magistrate, and all the judicial proceedings. Her identity does not escape recognition and she was prosecuted for hooliganism. Then we talk about this person, we recognize it as a gay and not Trans. There followed difficulties of taking medical treatment, access to sanitary facilities, hygiene and respect for privacy.
-Exemple 2 in Spain, where since 2014, a specific law of Catalonia on LGBTI people takes into account these specificities. Whether people are asylum seekers or have been incarcerated, respect for their personalities is the first thing to consider. The implementation of these instructions is to be finalized by 2019 at the latest.
The ACATHI association accompanies the implementation of this legislation, only in this region for the moment.
3rd example in the United Kingdom, in 2016 "Adults at Risk" in immigration detention - trans and intersex people recognised.
In 2017, a national study was conducted to assess the status of Trans people in prisons.
In 2019, specific measures of individual attention and support for Trans people are put in place.
What can we do as concrete actions when we return to our respective countries:
-Educate
-Be assisted by social workers
-To ensure links with doctors in prison, make them aware of the importance of the theme of Trans people
-Try to ensure respect for the privacy of people
-Have facilities for prison translations, perhaps set up language courses, especially for migrants
Workshop 2:
Digital Security - Let's get personal!
Participants: Armenia, Poland, Russia, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Belgium, Germany, Croatia, France
How to be safer at the digital level? Personally, his data, ....
After discussions and reflections by the working group, it appears: Protection of personal data, use several passwords, attention to dating app (think to inform a friend about the meeting place, or leave a sheet with the exact address at home, visible), bank codes, respect of the RGPD (protection imposed by the EU), do not inform too intimately social networks, profiles, ....
2nd day:
Presentation of ILGA World and its 6 delegations on all continents by Luz Elena Aranda and Tuisina Ymania Brown, the co-secretaries general, followed by a development of her European delegation by the director of ILGA Europe, Evelyne Paradis.
Intervention of the European Commissioner for Human Rights at the Council of Europe, Ms. Dunja Mijatovic, who recalls the 50th anniversary of the events of Stonewall in the USA, during the LGBT uprising against oppression.
Round table between activists on the condition of Trans Black people, Queer, sex workers, HIV-positive people, and bi.
**** Contacts with Polish, Czech, Italian, Dutch, Scottish, Spanish, Russian, Luxembourgish and Danish activists: presentations of our work by our LGBT police delegations in many European countries ****
1st workshop:
Research and Project - presentations: laws and legal tools
University of Ghent and Grenada, UN, Finland
Convention rights
Significant same sex marriage case-law
Strategic litigation
Article 12 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
-Research in Belgium: Women and men can get married when they are of legal age in their country
Article 8 and 14.
Difficulty of adapting and recognizing same-sex marriages in some EU countries
Consensus: 6/47 cases currently have compensation for complainants following the refusal of the possibility to marry his EU
In Austria, some heterosexual couples have not benefited from a civil union because it is reserved for people of the same sex.
In Italy, it remains difficult to unite civilly with same-sex immigrants. Straight marriage has the same difficulty.
NGOs call for a change in legislation and recommendations to put an end to these inequalities and discriminations.
-Example in Spain: It is noted that in Spain for trans people, it was previously asked for a certificate dated less than 2 years of non-dysphoria.
A bill is now being introduced for self-determination by Trans people of their gender and gender
identity. In many areas local laws are already adopting these changes.
At the national level it remains complicated and even more so now since the breakthrough of extreme right parties.
-UN: Explanations of the mechanisms of the human rights by making a point continent by continent.
-Finland, legislation of persons Trans. For 30 years, progress has been made regularly to adapt the law.
From a very common forced sterilization, to a pro-hetero law that does not allow a marriage, legislative changes have taken place.
From now on, genital surgery can only take place in the Helsinki Hospital, followed by official hormone treatments, so everything is framed, well defined and reassuring for the people concerned. Other legislative changes could have happened but the arrival of far-right deputies halted progress and draft amendments to the law.
NGOs rely on possible developments through the EU.
2nd workshop:
Countering on line hate speech
-Example of Germany with difficulties to put in place strict legislation especially on social networks, due to the stopping of the progress identified by the government until the elections which come to give responsibilities to people of extreme right , whether on Facebook or even more importantly on Twitter ...
-Various exchanges of testimonials from several countries about accounts blocked for reasons more or less according to what allows local law.
-Focus on private or institutional corporate initiatives, such as in the United Kingdom, or in Sweden #iamhere to present the exact places and the detailed remarks, the time ... where the facts happened.
-It is difficult for example to prevent hate speech on a social network held by a person residing in a country that does not criminalize this kind of talk.
Evocation of the platform uni-form.eu to file a complaint about hate speech or contact us to have the information necessary to file a complaint or report, or to be in contact with one of the associations of police officers LGBT 16 delegations of EGPA in Europe.
3rd workshop:
Research and Project: Funding and Campaigning
-Example of a study in Tunisia
-When and how to use crowfunding?
Presentation of an information campaign through a children's book called: M'y Rainbow Family .... The French Embassy in Croatia subsidized the launch of the first 500 prints.
After a presentation to the LGBT world and LGBT families in Croatia, the social networks of anti-LGBT campaigns have grown in size and suddenly a considerable number of LGBT families and especially hetero have bought the book which was a record sale. The national and international media have talked about it, it boosted sales a little more. A donation offer is available.
dugineobitelji.com. and ulule.com/dugine-obitelji/
-Friendly Pill, the first-ever anti-homophobia and transphobia drugs (Ukraine)
pigulka.org.ua
3rd day:
Various workshops and workshops on psychological support, emancipation of Lgbt people in the Czech Republic, asylum seekers, the rise of populism for example in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Italy, meetings of the Ilga Board of Directors Europe with the newly elected, workshops on the health of Trans people, sex workers, about LGBTI families.
Some specific workshops also take place in Russian only.
Presentation of Egides and the Francophone International Alliance for Equality and Diversity.
Alain Parmentier
President of the EGPA