Gay rights in Europe

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gay rights in Europe are more widely accepted than in any other continent. As of April 2007, three out of the five countries that have legalized same-sex marriage are in Europe. Also, 17 European countries have so far legalized civil unions. Despite widespread persecution of lesbians and gay men stretching from the late Roman Empire until the late 20th century, including the Holocaust, lesbian and gay people enjoy much greater acceptance in most European countries today. Although homosexuality has been decriminalized across Europe, issues facing same-sex couples today are discrimination in taxation, adoption, and marriage. Nevertheless, in many respects Europe is arguably the most gay-friendly continent on the planet.

Contents 1 History 2 Recent developments 3 Public Opinion around Europe 4 Legislation around Europe 4.1 Northern Europe 4.2 Southern Europe 4.3 Western Europe 4.4 Eastern Europe 5 References 6 See also 7 External link

[edit] History

Although same-sex relationships were quite common in ancient Greece and Rome, after Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire, severe laws against homosexual behavior appeared. An edict by the Emperor Theodosius I in 390 condemned all "passive" homosexual men to death by public burning. (A militant Christian, Theodosius also closed all pagan temples and abolished the Olympic Games.) This was followed by the Corpus Juris Civilis of Justinian I in 529, which prescribed public castration and execution for all who committed homosexual acts, both active and passive partners alike. Justinian's law code then served as the basis for most European countries' laws against homosexuals for the next 1400 years. Homosexual behavior, called sodomy, was considered a capital crime, and thousands of homosexual men were executed across Europe during waves of persecution in these centuries. Lesbians were less often singled out for punishment, but they also suffered persecution and execution from time to time.

During the French Revolution, the French National Assembly rewrote the criminal code in 1791, omitting all reference to homosexuality, making France the first European nation where lesbians and gays could live without fear of being jailed or executed as criminals on account of their sexual or romantic inclinations. Nevertheless, gay men and lesbians continued to live closeted lives, since moral and social disapproval by heterosexual society remained strong in France and across Europe for another two centuries, until the modern gay rights movement began in 1969.

Further information: LGBT social movements

Various countries under dictatorships in the 20th century were very anti-homosexual, such as in Nazi Germany, and in Spain under Francisco Franco's regime. Yet by way of contrast, in 1933 Denmark became the first European nation in the 20th century to decriminalize homosexual activity, followed by Sweden in 1944, and the United Kingdom in 1967. Denmark again led the way in 1989 with the first registered partnerships in the world for same-sex couples.

[edit] Recent developments

All nations applying for membership in the European Union must enact prohibitions against anti-homosexual discrimination in the workplace before being accepted, as Romania and Bulgaria have done, who joined the European Union in January 2007.

Most countries in Europe allow homosexuals to openly serve in the armed forces, the only countries to ban gays from military service are Belarus, Greece, Latvia and Russia.

The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus will soon decrimilize male homosexual acts, when this is repealed (Possibly in 2007 or 2008) with a new Criminal Code or Penal Code, this will be the last nation in Europe to decrimilize homosexuality.^[1][2]

[edit] Public Opinion around Europe

Legal recognition and social acceptance of gay rights in Europe vary among different parts of Europe. Western Europe is considered to be the most liberal in regards to gay rights; Northern Europe is more moderate (with Scandinavia and the UK being more liberal), and tend to focus on less controversial issues such as taxation and adding anti-discrimination laws for homosexuals in certain areas. Southern Europe tends to be slightly more conservative, but is more accepting of gay rights than Eastern Europe. East Europe is the least accepting of gay rights, the populace there being strongly influenced by the Orthodox and Catholic churches and some containing former communist countries.

In a 2002 Pew Global Attitudes Project serveyed by the Pew Research Center, showed majorities in every Western European nation said homosexuality should be accepted by society, while most Russians, Poles and Ukrainians disagreed.^[3] In 2006 a recent Eurobarometer poll surveying up to 30,000 people from each European Union countries, showed split opinion around the 27 member states on the issue of same sex marriage. The majority of support came from the Netherlands (82%), Sweden (71%), Denmark (69%), Belgium (62%), Luxembourg (58%), Spain (56%), Germany (52%) and Czech Republic (52%). All other countries within the EU had below 50% support; with Romania (11%), Latvia (12%), Cyprus (14%), Bulgaria (15%), Greece (15%), Poland (17%), Lithuania (17%) and Malta (18%) at the other end of the list.^[4] Same sex adoption had majority support from only two countries: Netherlands at 69% and Sweden at 51% and the least support from Poland and Malta on 7% respectively.^[4]

In addition other polls show Irish support for Civil unions at 51%, and gay adoption at 50%.^[5] French has support for same sex marriage at 62%,^[6] and Russians at 14%.^[7] Italy has support for the 'Civil Partnership Law' between gays at 45% with 47% opposed.^[8]

According to pollster Gallup Europe, it showed that women, the younger population and the highly educated have a more supportive view for marriage of homosexuals and gay adoption.^[9]

[edit] Legislation around Europe

[edit] Northern Europe

Country	Homosexual acts decriminalized	Civil unions	Same-sex marriage	Allows gays to serve openly in the military	Same-sex adoption	Ban anti-gay discrimination
Denmark	legal since 1933	legal since 1989			only in registered partnerships and only with partners' children	bans all anti-gay discrimination
Estonia	legal since 1992					bans most anti-gay discrimination
Finland	legal since 1971	legal since 2002				bans all anti-gay discrimination
Iceland	legal since 1940	legal since 1996		N/A	only registered partners can adopt each others' biological children	bans most anti-gay discrimination
Latvia	legal since 1992		constitutional ban		only married couples can adopt	bans some anti-gay discrimination
Lithuania	legal since 1993					bans all anti-gay discrimination
Norway	legal since 1972	legal since 1993				bans all anti-gay discrimination
Republic of Ireland	legal since 1993				only one partner can adopt the child	bans all anti-gay discrimination
Sweden	legal since 1944	legal since 1995			only in a registered partnership	bans all anti-gay discrimination
United Kingdom	legal since 1967 (1980 in Wales, Scotland and 1982 in Northern Ireland)	legal since 2004				bans all anti-gay discrimination

[edit] Southern Europe

Country	Homosexual acts decriminalized	Civil unions	Same-sex marriage	Allows gays to serve openly in the military	Same-sex adoption	Ban anti-gay discrimination
Albania	legal since 1995			N/A
Bosnia and Herzegovina	legal since 1998			N/A		bans most anti-gay discrimination
Croatia	legal since 1977	legal since 2003				bans all anti-gay discrimination
Greece	legal since 1951					bans some anti-gay discrimination
Italy	legal since 1890	legal since 2004 (currently 10 regions)			only married couples can adopt	bans some anti-gay discrimination
Malta	legal since 1973			N/A		bans some anti-gay discrimination
Portugal	legal since 1983	legal since 2001				bans some anti-gay discrimination
Republic of Macedonia	legal since 1996			N/A
Serbia	legal since 1994					bans some anti-gay discrimination
Slovenia	legal since 1977	legal since 2006				bans most anti-gay discrimination
Spain	legal since 1979	legal since 1998 (12 of 14 communities legalized Civil unions	legal since 2005			bans all anti-gay discrimination

[edit] Western Europe

Country	Homosexual acts decriminalized	Civil unions	Same-sex marriage	Allows gays to serve openly in the military	Same-sex adoption	Ban anti-gay discrimination
Austria	legal since 1971					bans some anti-gay discrimination
Belgium	legal since 1784	legal since 2000	legal since 2003			bans all anti-gay discrimination
France	legal since 1791	legal since 1999				bans all anti-gay discrimination
Germany	legal since 1967 (1968 in West Germany)	legal since 2001			only partners' biological children	bans all anti-gay discrimination
Luxembourg	legal since 1795	legal since				bans all anti-gay discrimination
Netherlands	legal since 1971	legal since 1998	legal since 2001			bans all anti-gay discrimination
Switzerland	legal since 1992	legal since 2007				bans all anti-gay discrimination

[edit] Eastern Europe

Country	Homosexual acts decriminalized	Civil unions	Same-sex marriage	Allows gays to serve openly in the military	Same-sex adoption	Ban anti-gay discrimination
Belarus	legal since 1994
Bulgaria	legal since 1968					bans most anti-gay discrimination
Czech Republic	legal since 1962	legal since 2001				bans most anti-gay discrimination
Hungary	legal since 1962	legal since 1996				bans all anti-gay discrimination
Moldova	legal since 1995			N/A
Poland	legal since 1932					bans some anti-gay discrimination
Romania	legal since 1996					bans all anti-gay discrimination
Russia	legal since 1993
Slovakia	legal since 1962			N/A		bans most anti-gay discrimination
Ukraine	legal since 1992			N/A

[edit] References

1. ^ Northern Cyprus decriminalises homosexuality. Pink news. Retrieved on 29 January 2006.
2. ^ N. Cyprus To Abolish Sodomy Law. 365gay.com. Retrieved on 29 January 2006.
3. ^ Views of a Changing World 2003. The Pew Research Center. Retrieved on 29 January 2007.
4. ^ ^{a b} Eight EU Countries Back Same-Sex Marriage. Angus Reid Global Monitor : Polls & Research. Retrieved on 29 January 2006.
5. ^ Irish Ponder Same-Sex Unions, Adoption. Angus Reid Global Monitor : Polls & Research. Retrieved on 29 January 06.
6. ^ French Back Same-Sex Marriage, Not Adoption. Angus Reid Global Monitor : Polls & Research. Retrieved on 29 January 06.
7. ^ Same-Sex Marriage Nixed By Russians. Angus Reid Global Monitor : Polls & Research. Retrieved on 29 January 06.
8. ^ Italians Divided Over Civil Partnership Law. Angus Reid Global Monitor : Polls & Research. Retrieved on 21 February 07.
9. ^ Public opinion and same-sex unions (2003). ILGA Europe. Retrieved on 29 January 06.

[edit] See also

• Societal attitudes towards homosexuality

[edit] External link

• Other laws on homosexuality in Europe