Activists paint rainbow crosswalk at Russian embassy in Sweden

in: http://www.cbc.ca/newsblogs/yourcommunity/2013/08/activists-paint-rainbow-crosswalk-at-russian-embassy-in-sweden.html

Övergångsstället vid ryska ambassaden är nymålat. #gilla

LGBT activists in Sweden are letting the Russian government know exactly how they feel about Vladmir Putin's controversial new anti "gay propaganda" legislation in a way that is simple and peaceful but vibrantly proud.

Swedish newspaper The Local reports that protesters gathered outside of the Russian embassy in Stockholm this weekend to paint over a traditional black and white "zebra" crosswalk with a rainbow of colours.

Utanför ryska ambassaden.
 pic.twitter.com/x3PmchzywX

On Saturday, a group of naked men are reported to have marched back and forth across the rainbow crossing outside the embassy while supporters called on others to boycott the World Athletics Championships which began this weekend in Moscow.

 

“We have no case file on it but it will probably be classified as vandalism or a violation of traffic regulations,” said Ulf Lindgren of the Stockholm Police to Swedish language paper Dagens Nyheter.

 "There's a risk it can create danger for those using the crossing as they should look a certain way. It's confusing if they are different," added Lundgren.

He noted that it is not the police department's responsibility to restore the sidewalk to its regular pattern, but as of Tuesday morning it appears as though someone had arranged for this to be done.

  

Nu tvättas regnbågen bort från övergångsstället vid ryska ambassaden. pic.twitter.com/IN5CH85s3Y

 Nu tvättar de bort regnbågsövergångsstället utanför ryska ambassaden :( foto @UlrikaBy instagram.com/p/c8seB2mjtb/



The colourful crosswalk may have been short lived, but it served as a powerful symbol for Stockholm's LGBT community, which celebrated its annual Pride festival earlier this month.

 Spreading some #gay propaganda outside of the #Russian embassy in Stockholm. http://pic.twitter.com/lQPbv0f4WL



Russia's announcement of a new law cracking down on gay rights activism during the 2014 Olympics in Sochi has sparked international debate over participation in the forthcoming games.

In the wake of this intended crackdown, the Russian embassy in Stockholm has been the target of a series of pro-LGBT rights demonstrations.




Outside Russian embassy, #stockholm demonstration in support of #LGBT rights #sthlmpride2013 #russia http://pic.twitter.com/umkMArWFlO

Standing up against the Putins so called morals. Outside the russian Embassy in Stockholm! #russia #gay #LGBT http://pic.twitter.com/QsyeHVgS1G

Gay pride rally outside of Russian Embassy in Stockholm this morning http://pic.twitter.com/wELTFzCUaV via @claesnyberg #sthlmpride

Before it could be washed away, passersby took photos of the rainbow crosswalk to voice their support on Instagram and Twitter.

Rainbow crosswalk outside the #Russian Embassy in #Stockholm. #Equalrights for all

Snyggt övergångställe utanför #Ryska #Ambassaden

 "Neat crosswalk outside the Russian Embassy," reads the caption above, and below "Hey Russian Ambassador, what has anybody done to you?"




Hej ryska ambassaden vad fint någon gjort hos er ❤️




Civil olydnad får tumme upp. Övergångsstället utanför ryska ambassaden.

 "Thumbs up for Civil disobedience. Crosswalk outside Russian Embassy." reads the caption above. Below, "Outside the Russian embassy right now. Apparently they made this last night."


 
Utanför ryska ambassaden just nu. Applåderar de som gjorde detta inatt #hbtq #lgbt #pride #antigayolympics



 And while the rainbow crosswalk in Stockholm wasn't the first of its kind, it won't be the last either.

Australian LGBT protesters also took to sidewalks outside of the Russian embassy in Sydney this weekend with colourful chalk in a similar fashion.


A beautiful day for chalking! The @DIYrainbows crew outside the Russian Embassy in Woollahra today: http://pic.twitter.com/7Y9M3xh5cc


The #DIYRainbow movement spread beyond Sydney through much of Australia.


And a similar work was spotted in Utrecht, Holland, where this photo was taken, and later posted in response to a photo of the Swedish crosswalk on Street Art Utopia's Facebook page.
 
Cobuz Okhuijsen's Photos | Facebook



 Others are protesting Russia's law in more traditional ways at embassies in Chile...
 
Chile: Volunteers from LGBT-rights org. @IgualesChile decry Russian homophobia outside Russian embassy http://pic.twitter.com/1q7HZtn3Nj via @ahsoffia


Turkey...


Pride march attacked in Russia, sign in Istanbul at the Russian embassy: "Don't worry, homophobia can be cured." http://pic.twitter.com/EPu5u0eLqn



 Scotland...
 
Wee @LGBTScotland afternoon protest for LGBT equality at the Russian Embassy @alchemister @FireCrow69 http://pic.twitter.com/VM2F2Tmi7i

Israel...

"Berlin36 Moscow13" #TelAviv activists protest homophobia in front of Embassy of #Russia #LGBT 972mag.com/tel-aviv-activ… http://pic.twitter.com/QDUCm8OvaJ

And of course, in Canada, where permanent rainbow-coloured crosswalks were installed in downtown Vancouver's west end during the city's Pride Week celebrations earlier this summer.

Rainbow crosswalks show off Vancouver's pride

http://www.cbc.ca/newsblogs/yourcommunity/2013/08/activists-paint-rainbow-crosswalk-at-russian-embassy-in-sweden.html

Sweden ends forced sterilization of trans

in: http://gaystarnews.com/article/sweden-ends-forced-sterilization-trans110113

Sweden repeals law which meant a trans person must be sterilized to have their gender change recognized legally

Sweden has officially ended the forced sterilization of transgender people after tens of thousands of Europeans fought to have the law repealed.

The legislation, which has been in effect in the Scandanavian country since 1972, meant a trans person must be sterilized or else their gender change is not recognized legally.

However, the practice was officially banned yesterday (10 January) after a ruling by the Stockholm administrative court of appeal on 19 December which said the law was unconstitutional and in violation of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The decision follows a campaign by gay rights activists and appeals from Members of the European Parliament.

In February, the Swedish Federation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights (RSFL) and AllOut.org collected 47,689 signatures from European citizens urging Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt to speak out against the law, having previously remained silent on the issue.

Ulrika Westerlund, president of the RSFL, welcomed the abolishment of the law which is thought to have been used on up to 500 trans people.

She expects many of those victims will now seek compensation from the state, adding that 200,000 kronor (€23,500, $31,000) per person would be a 'fair sum'.

'If lawmakers take the initiative to adopt a law outlining damages, we will not file a lawsuit,' she said, reported AFP.

http://gaystarnews.com/article/sweden-ends-forced-sterilization-trans110113

Football team fired after hurling anti-gay insults at rivals

in: http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/football-team-fired-after-hurling-anti-gay-insults-rivals061212

Sweden, the home of football's only openly gay pro player Anton Hysén, is shocked after footballers shouted homophobic insults




A Swedish football club has fired all of their players after complaints they had hurled homophobic remarks at members of a rival team.

During a recent Division Seven match with the Stockholm Snipers, players from Sörskogens IF were heard shouting insults such as ‘you suck cock for 50 kronor’, ‘all of you have HIV’, and ‘we’re probably going to get infected’.

Club chair Ketil Torp said: ‘We had no choice but to suspend the entire team. That kind of language isn't appropriate for football or anywhere else.’

Speaking to local radio station Sveriges (SR), Torp added it was ‘damaging’ for the club.

‘We distance ourselves from all insults. Clearly it’s damaging for the club to have players who don’t follow the rules,’ the Local reports he said.

Stockholm Snipers coach Christoffer Smitz said it was a ‘little unpleasant’ in the changing room after the game, saying one of the players was threatened physically.’

Sörskogens IF was fined 5,000 kronor ($757, £470, €579) by the Stockholm Football Association, which also demanded that top club officials attend a training course.

According to SR, it is the first time the Stockholm Football Association has penalized a club for homophobic behaviour.

Anton Hysén, the second ever professional player worldwide to come out, has found fame in his home country.

In 2012, he became the first ever gay man to win ‘Let’s Dance’, the Swedish version of Strictly Come Dancing and Dancing With The Stars.

Speaking to The Guardian, Hysén said: ‘There's nothing to be a role model for – you're gay, it's not a big thing.

‘People tell me I'm a celebrity now, and I shouldn't be. But as long as it helps others by speaking openly, I'll do everything I can.

‘If there's anyone afraid of coming out, they should give me a call.’



http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/football-team-fired-after-hurling-anti-gay-insults-rivals061212

Man Cleared Of Rape Because Victim Was Transgender

in: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/

A Swedish judge cleared a man charged with rape because the victim was a transgender woman with male genitalia.


From The Local:

"A man who attempted to rape a woman has been cleared of the charges by a Swedish court after it turned out that the woman he tried to rape was actually a man."

Prosecutors said the defendant was “brutally violent” in the "attempted rape", tearing off the victim's pants and grabbing at the victim's crotch, according to The Local's translation of Sweden's Nerikes Allehanda newspaper.

But because the victim had a penis, "The intended crime never had the possibility of being fulfilled,” Sjöstedt explained.

The unnamed defendant was found guilty of assault.

The ruling infuriated Hyper Vocal's Cooper Fleishman:

"More than anything, this case highlights the sheer absurdity of the double standard with which we treat male victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. Changing the verdict solely because of the victim’s genitalia is like switching a grand theft auto charge to petty theft because the car happened to be blue when the thief thought it was green."

Queerty's Benji Douglas added, "In essence, the judge ruled that it’s not possible to rape trans women."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/

Eurovision Song Contest Winner 2012, Sweedish singer LOREEN, give support to Belgrade Pride 2012

This day in LGBT History

May 1, 2009 – Same-sex marriage is legalized in Sweden.


On May 1, 2009, same-sex marriages were legalized in Sweden. A few months later, the Church of Sweden also showed its support. Gay and lesbian couples have been permitted to have registered partnerships in Sweden since 1995, but people in same-sex marriages now have the same legal status as people in heterosexual marriages and can also choose to get married in church. A majority of the Swedish population supported this movement.


Fonte: http://www.sweden.se/eng/Home/Lifestyle/Reading/Sweden-says-I-do-to-same-sex-marriage/

Suicide Rate for Trans Women Denied Implants Alarming

in: http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2012/01/01/Suicide_Rate_for_Trans_Women_Denied_Implants_Alarming/

A new study from the Swedish Federation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Rights (RFSL) concludes that breast implants are literally a life and death matter for transgender women who need the operation to "fit in as women in their everyday life." And the suicide rate among those who don't get them is at least 30 times higher than the average person.

According to Swedish website, The Local, RFSL warns that transgender women who are refused breast implants as a compliment to hormone treatment can suffer from a variety of psychological problems, resulting in an “alarmingly” high suicide rate.

Plastic surgery for transgender patients saves lives, according to RFSL. The study shows that psychological complications for those forced to live with a body that doesn't match their gender identity is high and the suicide rate among patients denied breast implants is 30 to 40 percent, compared with only 1.6 percent for the general population.

RFSL petitioned the National Board of Health and Welfare to draw up national guidelines for physicians and hospitals trans breast implants, after a trans woman was reportedly denied implants by the Södra Älvsborgs hospital in Alingsås in western Sweden. “RFSL demands that care for transgender people be given under the same conditions regardless of where one lives in Sweden,” the group wrote.

ILGA-Europe and Transgender Europe sent a joint letter to the Swedish Prime Minister concerning compulsory sterilisation

in: http://www.ilga-europe.org/


The Swedish government decided not to remove compulsory sterilisation requirement for trans people. Read below the joint letter by ILGA-Europe and Transgender Europe to the Swedish Prime Minister.

To:Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt

c/o Roberta Alenius
Prime Minister's Office
Rosenbad 4
SE-103 33 Stockholm

Vienna and Brussels, 16 January 2012

Dear Prime Minister Reinfeldt,

Transgender Europe and ILGA-Europe (European Region of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association) are writing to express their deep concern about reports that your government had decided not to change the Swedish gender recognition legislation to remove the requirement of sterilisation.

Our organisations were recently informed that representatives of parties in your government have communicated their intention not to remove the sterilisation requirement. As a consequence, this would require those wishing to change their gender marker to continue to undergo sterilisation in order to get legal recognition of a change in gender. It is high time to finally breach with this on-going violation of the right to physical integrity, right to be free from torture as well as sexual and reproductive rights of trans persons.

Forty years ago Swedish parliament was a pioneer to have a gender recognition law. The Swedish Law Lagen om fastställelse av könstillhorighet i vissa fall (SFS 1972; 119) has set the principle for many countries in the Western world. However, its incorporated requirements for sterilisation are now out of step with current international best practice and understandings of obligations under international human rights law. As you are aware, RFSL and other human rights organisations have drawn attention of the Swedish authorities to this on-going abuse for a long time and demanded a change in the law. We were also informed that, in 2010, the National Board of Health and Welfare recommended in its review of the law to have the medical treatment requirements removed and the overall procedure simplified.

Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Thomas Hammarberg expressed his concern in July 2009 saying that “It is of great concern that transgender people appear to be the only group in Europe subject to legally prescribed, state-enforced sterilisation.” The Commissioner also called upon member states to “abolish sterilisation and other compulsory medical treatment which may seriously impair the autonomy, health or well-being of the individual, as necessary requirements for the legal recognition of a transgender person’s preferred gender.” Sweden also endorsed the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in recommending that member states should take appropriate measures “to guarantee the full recognition of a person’s gender reassignment in all areas of life, in particular by making possible the change of name and gender in official documents in a quick, transparent and accessible way” (Recommendation, March 2010). A similar statement was made by the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly which called on member states to ensure that official documents reflect the individual’s preferred gender identity, without any prior obligation to undergo sterilisation or other medical procedures such as sex reassignment surgery and hormonal therapy (Resolution 1728 (2010)).

Law makers in the UK (Gender Recognition Act 2004), Spain, Portugal and recently the lower house of Argentina have endorsed laws respecting the self-determination of a trans person and doing away with medical treatment requirements. The Netherlands have just recently finished a public consultation on a proposal to review the existing gender recognition law and propose the removal of any medical treatment requirements.

Sweden has been for many in the world a safeguard for human rights and we thus regret that it is lagging behind with respect to international and European developments related to the rights of trans people. On one hand, Sweden can be praised for being one of the few countries in Europe that explicitly protects trans persons under its Anti-Discrimination law. However, we find it highly disturbing that the state continues to undermine the enjoyment of human rights by trans people by asking them to decide between having ID documents reflecting their gender identity more closely and thus a certain protection against discrimination on one hand and their physical integrity, right to free choice of medical treatment, the right to form a family on the other hand.

We thus urge you to take all necessary measures to ensure that Sweden abides by its obligations under international and European human rights instruments, and ask you to lead Sweden into being a forerunner in the field of human rights again.

Prime Minister Reinfeldt, our organisations call upon you to:
- Propose a legislative reform that would lead to the abolition of the forced sterilisation requirement and medical treatments for legal purposes, in accordance with international and European recommendations as well as the recommendation of the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare
- Consult with representatives of the trans communities in Sweden in all matters that concern them

We look forward to hear back from you.

With kind regards,
Wiktor Dynarski, Co-Chair, Transgender Europe

Dr. Julia Ehrt, Executive Director, Transgender Europe

Evelyne Paradis, Executive Director, ILGA-Europe

10 countries now have marriage equality

http://www.washingtonpost.com/

A leading rights group says 10 countries have legalized same-sex marriage in the past decade.

But Human Rights Watch said in a survey released Monday that bias continues against people who want to marry people of the same gender in those 10 countries and many others.

Boris O. Dittrich of the group's gay rights program says that the growing number of countries legalizing same-sex marriage demonstrates progress in sexual equality around the world.

The first same-sex marriages took place in the Netherlands on April 1, 2001. The countries that followed were Belgium, Spain, Canada, South Africa, Norway, Sweden, Portugal, Iceland and Argentina.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/