Instead of going to bed, as I probably should do on this time of day (night), I came to think of something that I've been wondering for a while; the slovak attitude towards homosexuals. I haven't really been able to get a good answer to this question, and as I can't remember to have seen any of them since I moved here, really - I thought I'd try to find some info about the issue on good'ole google.



A report published by the Danish institute for human rights in 2009 states that there's not really a lot of data available on this matter. It does though reveal that the general attitude towards homosexuality and transgenders (LGBT-persons) is negative. Very few LGBT are open about their sexual orientation, as a consequence of the social stigma connected to it. A survey carried out in 2002 states that 15% of the respondents have been harassed and more than a quarter have experienced harassment at their workplace. 6% of the respondents even stated that they'd been fired on sexual orientation grounds.



As homosexuality generally seems to be negatively associated, the hidden statistics don't look good. Many LGBT hide their sexual orientation from parents (60%), bosses, colleagues (over 50%), society and even permanently or occasionally from their physician, proposing a potential health risk.



In the eurobarometer-surveys, Slovakia's scores on these subjects has generally shown deviations from the european average. The 2008 eurobarometer asked "How would you personally feel about having a homosexual as a neighbour?" (1 being very uncomfortable and 10 being very comfortable) The figure in slovakia was 6,5, while the european average was 7,9.

The eurobarometer 2006 reveals an european avg. of 42% being positive towards gay marriage. The numbers for slovakia were though only 19%. European avg. positive to allowing gay adoption were 31%, while in Slovakia only 12% (it should though be mentioned that Slovakia didn't score the lowest.)



LGBT are not protected by the Criminal Code, as homophobia is not listed as an aggravating circumstance. This means that there's no possibility to register homophobic hate crime, which in turn means that gays have no protection against social stigmatisation, threats, assaults or other negative behaviour towards them. There's no provision specifically prohibiting homophobic hate speech, hence the harassment is allowed to continue. Althoug there's not been any court cases concerning hate speeches, yet hostile and/or humiliating public expressions continue to take place, often expressed by political and religious parties.



The church is probably the main to blame for this general hostility towards LGBT. Stating and incorporating into the public mind that homosexuality is something wrong and sinful, doesn't promote acceptance. Some politicians of the main slovak parties have gone as far as claiming that homosexuality is a mental disorder that can be cured and that homosexuality is "social exhibitionism". These official claims, combined with the church's negative attitude and schools lacking teaching of the matter, leads to no progress in acceptance of gays. Although homosexuality is briefly mentioned in slovak school books, the paragraph was in one book located next to the section about "sexual perversions and promiscuity"

A survey also states that relatively few students (23%) would mind having a LGBT teacher, 45% of their parents would.



On top of this, they are also discriminated in the fields of asylum and subsidiary protection, and family reunfication. Same-sex partners of refugees are not considered part of the family and as there's no recognition of same-sex parnerships, LGBT cannot apply for family reunification.



On the positive side, media has lately been doing a good job portraying the whole thing as something normal or even positive, rather than something pathological or queer, hopefully making people more open and accepting.



If I'm to be honest, these are partially disturbing numbers and figures. The fact that I haven't really seen any openly GL couples kinda made me realize that homosexuality isn't that accepted here, but I didn't know that it was so bad - I had expected the country (on a general basis) to have come further, regarding that this is 2011. But then again; 20-30 years ago, gays simply didn't exsist (not in east-block europe, anyway), so in some ways, it's not that strange; Slovakia is probably in now in the place Norway was some 20 years ago.



I must say I reacted on the whole deal with gay teachers and the lacking acceptance of the mentioned; the parents don't want to leave the responsibility for their kid in the hands of a LGBT. This tells me that the general negativity towards this group of people probably is largely based on ignorance. -Because these parents seemingly don't know the difference between a homosexual and a pedophiliac. Which are two very different tings. Also, the numbers of the scanty surveys conducted on the subject don't look so good, but they are from 3-9 years back, and something tells me that the wind's about to change.



I only hope that the development keeps going in the right direction, so that some day, so that people can live openly and free with whatever sexual orientation they might have (within certain limits, of course; I'm not promoting pedophilia, necrophilia and that sort of things) without being judged, harassed or discriminated because of it.



Would you call it a dream, ambition or a reality?