New Council of Europe report on legal gender recognition in Europe

On 7 July, the Council of Europe (CoE) published its new report reviewing the progress achieved in European countries in guaranteeing full legal gender recognition (LGR) in all areas of life. The report acknowledges advances in legislation, practices and public attitudes, but progress is slow and additional steps are needed, inter alia, to “depathologise” legal gender recognition, as well as to ensure that family members of the persons concerned are not adversely affected and the children’s best interests duly taken into account.

Read more and download your own copy of the report.

Russian feminist and LGBTI activist Yulia Tsvetkova has been acquitted

On 15 July, Yulia Tsvetkova, a Russian activist facing criminal ‘pornography’ charges for feminist art, was acquitted after a 3-year ordeal. Tsvetkova was charged with with ‘distribution of pornography’ in connection with online dissemination of her feminist drawings. Tsvetkova’s trial began in April 2021 after an investigation during which she was fined for spreading LGBT “propaganda” and put under house arrest. In May of last year, she launched a hunger strike to protest the case against her.

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ECJ: Rainbow families have the right to move and reside freely, EU court reiterates

On 24 June, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) issued a reasoned order establishing that when an EU country has recognised two persons of the same sex as parents of a child, then the EU country of which that child is a national, should issue identity documents to that child with both parent on them, and all EU countries should protect the right to freedom of movement of the child and their family. This is a confirmation of a previous landmark judgement, that of Baby Sara. Poland has been told that it must now provide the child known as Baby Sofia, born in 2018 to Irish and Polish mothers, with identity documents and guarantee her and her parents the right to move and reside freely in the country.

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Step forward with the new law in Andorra for trans people

On 21 July, the Parliament in Andorra unanimously approved a law that allows trans people to change their name and gender marker on official documents, and eliminates any distinction between married heterosexual couples or same-sex civil partnerships. However, the law remarks that canonical marriage is only open to heterosexual couples and change of official documents is not fully based on self-determination. ILGA-Europe celebrate these important steps and hope Andorra will continue to push forward LGBTI people’s rights.

Read more (in Catalan).

UK: Doctors given revolutionary draft guidance on trans pregnancy and reproductive care

Read: https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2022/07/28/trans-healthcare-care-royal-college-gynaecology-obstetrics-chest-feeding/

Zürich: Homophober Prediger schuldig gesprochen Auf der noblen Zürcher Einkaufsstraße hetzte ein 63-jähriger Fundamentalist gegen Homosexuelle, bis Passant*innen die Polizei alarmierten. Read: https://www.queer.de/detail.php?article_id=42772&pk_campaign=Nwsl

Zurich (Switzerland): Homophobic preacher found guilty — LGBTI Recht in der Schweiz – Droit LGBTI en Suisse – by Professor Andreas R Ziegler

Council of Europe proposes a comprehensive legal and policy framework to combat hate speech

On 20 May, the Council of Europe issued a set of guidelines to its 46 member states aimed at preventing and combating hate speech, both online and offline. The guidelines recommend that member states differentiate between, firstly, the most serious cases of hate speech, which are to be prohibited by criminal law, secondly, hate speech subject to civil and administrative law and, finally, offensive or harmful types of expressions which are not sufficiently severe to be legitimately restricted under the European Convention on Human Rights but nevertheless call for alternative responses.

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ECtHR rules against Armenia’s inaction in anti-LGBTI hate crime case

On 17 May, The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that Armenian authorities failed to protect an LGBT bar owner and activist from homophobic physical and verbal attacks, and arson, and to carry out effective investigation. According to ILGA-Europe’s Head of Litigation, Arpi Avetisyan: “The judgment makes it clear that without legislation which explicitly covers bias-motivated crimes based on sexual orientation and gender identity, such crimes will remain invisible and foster impunity”.

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High Court in Croatia paves the way for adoption by same-sex couples

On 26 May, NGO Dugine Obitelji announced that the High Administrative Court of Croatia confirmed that same-sex couples can adopt children, indicating that parents cannot be discriminated against based on their sexual orientation. The Court decision rejects the appeal of the competent Ministry against the judgment of the Administrative Court in Zagreb from April 2021, which should have given a same-sex couple access to the adoption procedure.

Read more (in Croatian)

Bulgarian Court rules Baby Sara must be issued birth certificate

On 16 May, a Bulgarian court has ordered city hall authorities in the capital city of Sofia to issue a birth certificate to the baby born to a same-sex couple from Bulgaria and Gibraltar, known as ‘Baby Sara’. The court’s decision follows a ruling last December by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), saying that if one EU member state recognises a parental relationship between a child and its parents, then all member states should, in order to give the child its right to freedom of movement.

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