The World Health Organization (WHO) removed homosexuality from the list of mental illnesses on May 17, 1990, and since then the day against LGBTI phobia has been celebrated. In this regard, an appearance was made on Wednesday at the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa to present the project General Gaze on Hate Crimes (OSGI). The study, developed by the State Centre for Lesbian, Gay and Transgender Affairs, has revealed hate crimes related to sexual orientation and gender identity.

Cristina Rueda speaks on behalf of Aldarte. She says that in 2016 she received 30 reports of hate crimes related to sexuality in Gipuzkoa, Bizkaia and Álava. There were 21 of them in Biscay. In Navarre, on the other hand, there were ten complaints, so there were 40 in the Southern Basque Country. However, Rueda points out that most of the attacks are not reported.

According to a report by Les Bascos, attacks are also on the rise in the Northern Basque Country, highlighting that minors live in a particularly dangerous situation, including on the Internet.

The Government of Navarre has signed an institutional declaration with full support for the proclamation. The government of Uxue Barkos joins for the first time in the day’s proclamation against LGTBIphobia.

15 attacks in Vitoria

The Transbollomarika Network of Vitoria-Gasteiz has recorded 15 hate crimes related to sexuality in 2017, according to Hala Bedi.

Lumagorri HAT, the group against heterosexism, has prepared a report with all the cases, the first in this area in Vitoria-Gasteiz. The document states that these 15 cases “highlight the need for a Local Observatory of hate crimes against sexuality and gender identity.”

The report highlights that attacks against people who do not meet the heterosexual norm are difficult to detect, since the forms of hatred are many and varied, and usually only “the most serious” are made public: murders, physical attacks or public expressions of hatred.

The 15 attacks have been separated in this way by Lumagorri: two for offenses, eight for direct discrimination, two for harassment, two for intragenero discrimination and one for multiple discrimination.

Of these, 57% were carried out in the public space and 44.8% in the field of education. On the other hand, it is noteworthy that more than half of the attacks (53.3%) were carried out in the area of health, compared to 28% in the area of work. In addition, 43% of the attacks occurred in the world of culture and 28% in sport.

Hala Bedi has published a description sheet of each attack on this link.

Call for additions

“We must not forget that LGBTIphobia is one of the most widespread forms of hatred and is institutionalized in the penal codes of more than 70 countries, which contain repressive rules of different orientations, identities and gender expressions. All this, without forgetting that countries still foresee today the possibility of applying the death penalty to the LGBTI collective, as well as the countless hate crimes that this group faces in many countries,” said the press release.

The added look has also been at the national level: “We cannot fail to mention the fact that there are still crimes around us that are rooted in hatred and intolerance against sexual and gender diversity.”

For all these reasons, on May 17, the Society of Additions launched a call to highlight the problems that affect the LGBTI+ community, calling for “the organization of all initiatives, both legal and social pedagogical, that contribute effectively to the fight against LGBTI phobia”.