LGBT

Love is uncontrollable, and no one has the right to prescribe its strength or subject. With the exception of cases prohibited by law, love, in all its forms, is a human feeling of equal value. Love is free. Sexuality and the choice of partners – as long as it is not prohibited by law – are personal matters, an integral part of the human personality which does not and may not succumb to social control or influence. It is an inalienable right of all, similarly to the right of the definition of one’s own personality.

Yet lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people often suffer from humiliation, harassment, negative discrimination and social exclusion on the grounds of their sexual orientation or sexual identity. These problems are to be handled by the national policies on equal opportunities.

In recent years, major progress has been made in Hungary to guarantee equal rights for LGBT people:

• legislation recognises the partnership of same-sex couples;
• the same age of consent applies for same-sex and opposite-sex couples for a sexual relationship based on consent;
• legislation bans negative discrimination based on sexual orientation and sexual identity in the fields of employment, social security and healthcare, accommodation, education and training, the trade of goods and the use of services;
• legislation specifies equally serious punishment for violent homophobic criminal acts and for racist criminal acts;
• same-sex couples may choose to live in registered partnership that involves the same rights and obligations as the marriage of opposite-sex partners does.

However, it is to be noted that the social acceptance of LGBT individuals is still very low, and people have numerous prejudicial misconceptions and ideas which are not supported by any evidence about LGBT people (e.g. it is an illness; LGBT people tend to be more aggressive or susceptible for paedophilia, etc.). Such misconceptions are the basis for discriminative, humiliating and often aggressive treatment of LGBT people. Another fact to be considered is that Hungary is one of the most homophobic societies of Europe. This is evidenced by a number of research projects, for example, by the European Social Survey (ESS) and the DEREX or Demand for Right-Wing Extremism Index of the Political Capital Institute – an index to show the ratio of those voters in a society who are susceptible to political and social exclusion in theory and in action. DEREX highlights the fact that right-wing extremism correlates with homophobic opinions. General research on the lack of equal opportunities also deals with the subject: ‘Discrimination in the European Union 2008’ (Special Eurobarometer 296) and Discrimination in the European Union 2009’ (Special Eurobarometer 317) concluded that in Hungary the second most excluded group is that of homosexuals (the first being the Roma) which is contrary to results obtained from the other 26 participating countries. It also highlighted that society holds that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation has deteriorated in recent years. A very low percentage (6%) of those asked admitted that they have a homosexual friend or acquaintance or that they experienced someone suffer negative discrimination on the basis of his or her sexual orientation (2%, compared to the European average of 6%).

LGBT people frequently suffer negative discrimination, especially in the fields of employment, education, healthcare and access to services. Due to the fear of rejection or negative discrimination, the majority of the LGBT people are forced to conceal their sexual orientation or sexual identity, which, in turn, seriously hinders the objective examination of their status in society.

In its research ‘Extent of Gaining Knowledge of One’s Rights as a Victim of Discrimination – With Special Focus on Women, Roma, People with Disabilities, and LGBT people’ [1], the Equal Treatment Authority highlighted significant facts, among others, that young persons of high qualification living in Budapest are the most likely not to conceal their sexual orientation (the greatest number of participants of the survey belong to this group), that they regard civil organisations as important sources of information and bodies of interest representation (11.5%, compared to the country average of 1%), and that they are very open towards other minority groups (with regard to the Roma or people with disabilities, they are much more open than the rest of society in general). The notion that homosexuality is a personal matter of individuals received a rating of 4.2 on a scale where 5 indicates total agreement. The opinion that homosexuality is a behaviour that does not conform with social norms and rules received a rating of 4. The notions that homosexuality is an illness and that choosing a same-sex partner is a fundamental right received the same rate, 3.7. The idea that homosexuality is a sin against God or society received the lowest rate, 2.5. Other noteworthy data include the facts that 32% of homosexual people belong to a church community, that 51% of them do not intend to have children (the majority of those who do are women) and that a significant majority (48.5%) of homosexual people are single (most probably due to the fact that they find it difficult not to hide their homosexuality or to find opportunities of getting to know a same-sex partner).

The first gay festival (widely known as Budapest Pride) was announced in 1992, but due to lack of interest it was cancelled, however, an event named Pink Picnic was organised. In 1993 a so called Pink Week was held in Toldi Cinema between 26 November and 1 December apropos of World AIDS Day. Again, a Pink Week was held in 1997. This time the Pink Week’s film and festival programme was extended by a conference and torchlight procession. Ever since, annually in the summer there was a Lesbian and Gay Festival (henceforward as film and cultural festival together with a procession), from 2005 known as LGBT festival, and later as Budapest Pride taking place in different locations, including the CEU, several art cinemas, Trafo House of Contemporary Arts and Kultiplex.

Having regard to the fact that no member of a society is entitled to infringe the human dignity or the physical integrity of another person without a lawful reason, the Government intends to mitigate prejudice against LGBT people, to assist them in exercising their rights, to promote their social inclusion and to protect their person and human dignity.

With this regard, the Government has defined the following priorities:

• to develop legislation on LGBT people;
• to participate in targeted international initiatives;
• to shape society’s opinion in order to promote the inclusion of LGBT people;
• to maintain relations with LGBT civil organisations on a regular basis.

The international legislative environment also calls for action in this field. Article 13 of the Treaty of Amsterdam authorises EU bodies to take measures that are obligatory for the Member States in order to combat negative discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Article 21 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union specifies that negative discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is prohibited; the prohibition applies to all areas of law. The Council Directive 2000/78/EC on equal treatment in employment and occupation provides for – among others – the ban of negative discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in employment and employment-related training and allowances. Directive 2006/54/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the implementation of the principle of equal opportunities and equal treatment of men and women in matters of employment and occupation states that the equal treatment of women and men also applies to persons who have changed their sex.