Day of silence

On April 20 we keep silent to be heard, what do you do to break the silence?

The main purpose of this day is to get the public’s attention, by raising awareness on the issues of violence, intolerance, harassment, and discrimination and by developing relevant and effective solutions in an effort to eliminate them. The International Day of Silence is directed to the world wide public and aims to capture people’s attention on the spread of hate crimes against LGBT communities, homophobia, bullying, physical and psychological abuse, discrimination and intolerance. Every year, thousands of people take part in the events dedicated to the Day of Silence in an effort to increase participation and activism for the reduction of homophobia in educational institutions. This is an opportunity to show the public that this problem concerns not only the LGBT people, but also us, our family members, relatives, friends and all layers of the society.

Day by day, thousands of people keep silent. They keep silent because they are afraid. They keep silent because they are what they are. Our brothers, our sisters, our parents, our friends and coworkers are among them, homosexuals and heterosexuals keep silent, you keep silent and I also keep silent. This is the silence of the entire lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people about discrimination, violence, harassment, which they permanently face. On this day, their silence will be heard all over the world. Millions of people will keep silent in different parts of the world, regardless of their nationality, religion, sex, age, profession, sexual orientation and other personal qualities. They will keep silent because they believe that harassment and discrimination must end. In countries where LGBT rights are better respected, they will keep silent for the educational institutions on its mission to become safer for everyone, regardless of nationality, sexual orientation or other personal characteristics. Finally, in countries where LGBT rights are not protected, the Day of Silence is dedicated to the elimination of homophobia and prevention of hate crimes. People are taking part in the Day of Silence to elucidate this issue and let LGBT people feel that they are not alone.

Report: LGBT rights situation in Armenia 2011

LGBT rights violation can be witnessed in various spheres of social life. LGBT people state that there is discrimination toward them in educational institutions and there were cases when a person was bullied by a teacher because of being feminine (in case of a male person) or masculine (in case of a female person), forced to drop out from the university because of his/her sexual orientation. Scientific papers and work on this issue is not welcomed, because the stance of the lecturers is that it is a perversion and the person is perverted if he/she wants to work on this topic. A gay student was not allowed to write a paper about homosexuality as the lecturer stated that he can’t be objective taking into account his sexual orientation.

Employment remains one of the most problematic aspects of life for LGBT people as employers refuse to hire someone who is open about his/her sexual orientation or his either feminine (gay) or masculine (lesbian). Transgender people have no opportunity to be open about their gender identity and there is no relevant legislation which will allow transsexual persons to change sex. Quite often LGBT people refuse to visit healthcare institutions in case of a necessity being not sure about the confidentiality there. If they contact civil society organizations they are being referred to LGBT friendly doctors, otherwise there is a high risk that person will be discriminated and will receive degrading attitude.

Army remains one of the most challenging institutions due to its closed nature and non-written rules which exist there and lead to discriminative and violent approach toward this group of people. In most of the cases media approach toward LGBT people is biased and based on stereotypes, prejudice and has no scientific and contemporary approach. There is no political willingness from the side of government institutions to protect LGBT rights and quite often they appear in the position of violators.

The stance of civil society toward LGBT rights is not united as well. Despite the fact that civil society organizations are able to work in the sphere of LGBT rights protection and take actions for changes, there is no support from the government and public and some part of civil society.

Although there are no radical changes in the above mentioned aspects, in this report we will focus on several aspects of social life and will present most common issues and problems of LGBT community in the Republic of Armenia which were registered in the past 2011.

Read more about the attitude of society, media, church, police and achievments in 2011 in our official website

Interview with the president of PINK Armenia

Original post at the Neutral Zone

- Dear Mamikon, what is the overall situation with the LGBT community in Armenia today? What are the key challenges of the community?

People in Armenia still live with taboos and stereotypes and in many cases they mix tradition, religion, customs, habits and reality. In the past LGBT people were hiding because of intolerance, hate and ignorance, and the society thinks that we didn’t have gays at all and that this is something modern and European. In general, today people call whatever they don’t like ‘a European value’, for example gender equality, women’s role in the government and so on, but let me bring an example. What was Europe doing when at the beginning of the 20th century Armenia had women in the parliament and women diplomats? So human rights protection is a universal value and it belongs to Armenia as well.

LGBT still live with a fear and most of them are in closets. The majority doesn’t know anything about sexual orientation and gender identity, even they think that “having a different sexual orientation is immoral,” Neo-Nazi groups even say that heterosexuality is also immoral. These things show that the lack of education and knowledge makes people aggressive and they start to oppose anything they do not understand.

- What are the attitudes: in the society, families, workplace, media toward LGBT? Any changes in this respect in the last 5-10 years?

Our research on LGBT rights and violations in 2010 says that discrimination mainly starts in families and goes wider to schools, workplace, healthcare services, actually everywhere. The media usually promotes hate toward the LGBT community and we don’t have any laws to stop hate speech. Nowadays it is possible to find a few tolerant electronic media or newspapers, but the majority is homophobe, especially TV.

For example “Iravunk” daily often promotes hate crime and they present it as freedom of speech but actually freedom of speech and human rights violation are two different things and in civil and developed counties hate promoters are punished by law. On TV they use the theme of homosexuality for jokes, teasing it as an abnormal and immoral behavior. During the last 5-10 years LGBT people became more or less visible and LGBT issues are on the top of the discussion list. Whether the reaction of the society is positive or negative, the visibility of LGBT issues brings small changes.

-What is the relationship between the law and the LGBT community? Is the law discriminatory or does it protect the LGBT rights?

Homosexuality was decriminalized in 2003 but we don’t have any laws to protect LGBT people, to prevent violence, discrimination or hate speech. There aren’t any anti-discrimination laws in Armenia.

-Are there cases of violence against the LGBT community?

There are many cases of violence against the LGBT community, but mainly they are not registered as violence against LGBT or those cases are not registered at all. Cases of violence can be found everywhere, but for the most part they take place in schools, healthcare sector, police stations and army.

-Are there any positive developments?

The latest positive development was the Ombudsman’s cooperation with PINK, when we signed the Memorandum of Understanding and he announced that he and his team are ready to protect the rights of all people in Armenia and cooperate with human rights organizations. Another positive development is the existence of tolerant journalists and a few newspapers that cover LGBT issues.

The existence of networks and coalitions that support human rights brings positive changes into the society. One drop in the lake is not a big deal but later those drops will make a river and it will run to the lake.

- Is there anything else that you would like to add?

The Armenian Church, as they say, should be tolerant, spread peace and respect, but they are one of the main institutions that spread hate and intolerance against LGBT people. The topics they touch or present always come back to homosexuality and start to blame. In a recent case we had in Armenia, when the representatives of religious minorities and the Armenian Church had a conflict, during the press conference the priest talked about that conflict and religious minorities for a couple of minutes and then the whole press conference was related to homosexuality. On the other hand, it was the journalists who provoked the priest asking irrelevant questions, but the priest replied to their questions with pleasure blaming gays.

In Armenia, people still don’t know all the terms regarding LGBT issues. Many Armenians even think that gays are those who wear dresses, have make-up and behave like girls. As I mentioned, the lack of knowledge and information doesn’t let them to recognize the difference between gay/lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.

By Phil Gamaghelyan

They leave behind their lives to crawl toward the future

Where have I come from? Where shall I go? Where is the place you await me to come to? Or isn't there anybody waiting for me?

People around the world leave their motherland, leave the places where they grew up and used to live. They leave it for professional or personal reasons in some cases but the main factors can be war, hate, discrimination, nazism, intolerance, frustration, stress, ignorance, aggression. The main thought which remains in your mind is to run away, to disappear and to save your soul... or to stay and to struggle and even to die.

World, you cut and paste, you drag and drop refugees all around you!

Anahit Hayrapetyan

One may become a refugee, because he can’t live on the land which was occupied after a war or a genocide.

The other one flees, because political views and activism can cause a danger.

And you are a refugee now, because your characteristic features are not acceptable for the compatriots.

Hundreds of thousands of Armenian refugees crossed the border and never came back, they went to find their freedom under the shadows of western democracy that Armenia could never insure. Among them were those whose feelings and emotions were not accepted by the majority, their sexual orientation and gender identity were not considered as traditional, their life became endangered in their own homeland, and peace was somewhere far away. Those people are gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans, intersex and queer; those people are considered as strangers on their own land.

The refugees that flee, they leave behind their lives to crawl toward the future.

Anahit Hayrapetyan

photo by Karen Mirzoyan, 2008
(photo is cropped)

When you left me alone to find your freedom, you took my heart with you, you put it in your baggage next to your scarfs and shirts, you left and never came back to see me, you cried but never showed your tears, you just gave me the last kiss to live with and I feel it on my lips even today. Then we realized that happiness was not here and not there, it was with us when we were together. You are a refugee in a foreign society but I feel as a refugee even in my own land, because they always say: “This is not your country”. Neither here nor there, where do I belong and where do you belong?

Iranians escape to Armenia, Armenians escape to Russia, Russians escape to Europe and it goes on and on.

But we are here we are queer and this is our world, too!

Director: George Barbakadze
Writers: George Barbakadze, Fleurtasha Cooper

Report: discrimination and societal abuses

Section 6 of Human Rights Report by the U.S. Department of States. Armenia, 2010
The constitution and law prohibit discrimination based on race, gender, disability, language, or social status; however, the government did not effectively enforce these prohibitions in practice.

Women

Rape is a criminal offense and carries a maximum penalty of 15 years' imprisonment. There are no explicit laws criminalizing marital rape. According to police information cited by the Prosecutor General's Office, nine cases of rape and attempted rape were registered in the country during the year. In connection with these cases, nine individuals were prosecuted, seven were convicted, and two cases were still under investigation. According to official information, none of these reported cases constituted marital rape. Crimes such as rape continued to be underreported due to the social stigma attached to them.
There is no law against domestic violence. Few cases of spousal abuse or other violence against women were reported during the year, although such violence was believed to be widespread.
According to domestic observers, most cases of domestic violence continued to go unreported because victims were afraid of physical harm, were apprehensive that police would return them to their husbands, or were ashamed to disclose their family problems.
On October 1, police launched an investigation into the death of 20-year-old Zaruhi Petrosian, a resident of the town of Masis, who was hospitalized late on September 30 with a brain hematoma, a broken finger, and bruises on her body. The police subsequently arrested Yanis Sargisov, Petrosian's common law husband, on charges of willful heavy damage to health leading to death by negligence. The criminal investigation was later transferred to the investigation department of the Ministry of Defense in light of Sargisov's service in the armed forces. According to Hasmik Petrosian, Zaruhi Petrosian's sister, Zaruhi had long been physically abused by her husband and mother-in-law. Officials stated the investigation could not corroborate abuse by the mother-in-law. At year's end, the investigation of Sargisov continued while he remained in custody. Petrosian's child remained in an orphanage while the mother-in-law and Petrosian's sister both claimed custody of the child.
In March the domestic Women's Resource Center Armenia (WRCA) NGO launched a public awareness campaign to advertise its Sexual Assault Crisis Center and help hotline. The Yerevan municipality eventually rejected the organization's application to advertise the center on large commercial billboards, on the grounds that the billboard graphics would place unnecessary psychological stress on teenagers and women. The municipality then took steps to remove all WRCA's advertising. The WRCA asserted that, by limiting the billboards to providing only the help hotline number, the municipality reduced the effect of its advocacy against sexual assault of women.There were reports that women, especially those in rural or remote areas, faced insufficient access to adequate general and reproductive health-care services. Observers noted various efforts made to improve reproductive health care had not been effective.

Children

On January 11, the Prosecutor General's Office began a criminal investigation of allegations of sexual and physical abuse of female students by a teacher at Special School No. 11 for children with special needs. This action reversed the office's August 2009 determination the allegations were unsubstantiated. A group of youth activists who served as volunteers at the school raised the initial alarm of abuse in 2008. On May 24, the trial court convicted former teacher Levon Avakian, who admitted his guilt, to two years in prison. On May 31, the Ministry of Education and Science dismissed the principal, Meruzhan Yengibarian, citing lack of trust in his capacity to head the school. The youth activists considered the teacher's punishment to be too lenient and called for further investigation into the role played by the principal and other teachers, who were reportedly aware of but did not prevent the abuse. On August 4, following an appeal by the victims, the court of appeals increased Avakian's sentence to three years.
A 2009 study by the domestic NGO Armenian Helsinki Committee monitored 12 special education schools and four boarding institutions. Many children indicated that, among other forms of punishment, they had been slapped or beaten, shut in a classroom, or prevented from going home. Some teachers admitted resorting to violence for discipline. The study also noted that most institutions lacked proper central heating, and that sanitary and hygiene conditions were substandard. In a study of 12 general education schools in the Syunik Region during the same period, the NGO found that physical or psychological violence, including beating, slapping, pulling ears, and other degrading treatment were used regularly as punishment. Treatment of students at schools was unequal and depended on teachers' relations with students, whether students pursued private classes with a teacher, and whether students had influential parents. The results of studies in 2007 and 2008 by the same organization were substantively the same.

Persons with Disabilities

The law prohibits discrimination against persons with disabilities in employment, education, access to health care, and the provision of other state services; however, discrimination remained a problem. The law and a special government decree provide for accessibility to buildings, including schools, for persons with disabilities, but in practice very few buildings and other facilities were accessible to these persons. The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs is responsible for protecting the rights of persons with disabilities but failed to do so effectively.
In spite of the large number of officially registered persons with disabilities in the country, disabled persons are seldom seen outside the home due to the social stigma associated with disabilities. In extreme cases the social stigma sometimes prompts families to hide their disabled children completely from public view, depriving them in the process from access to education and integration into society.
Persons with all types of disabilities experienced problems in virtually all spheres of life, including health care, social and psychological rehabilitation, education, transportation, communication, access to employment, and social protection. Access to information and communications was a particularly significant problem for persons with sensory disabilities. Hospitals, residential care, and other facilities for persons with serious disabilities remained substandard. According to official data, more than 90 percent of persons with disabilities who were able to work were unemployed.

Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

Societal attitudes towards homosexuality remained highly unfavorable, with society generally viewing homosexuality as an affliction.
Persons who were openly gay were exempted from military service, purportedly because of concern they would be abused by fellow servicemen. However, the actual exemption required a medical finding via psychological examination that gays possessed a mental disorder, which was stamped in their documents and could affect their future.
According to human rights activists, lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgender persons experienced some of the most humiliating discrimination in prisons, where they were forced to do some of the most degrading jobs and separated from the rest of the prison population.
Societal discrimination based on sexual orientation continued to be a problem with respect to employment, family relations, and access to education and health care for sexual minorities.
In an interview with the Iravunk biweekly that appeared in the newspaper's December 24 to 27 edition, Artur Baghdasarian, secretary of the National Security Council that advises the president on national security matters, answered a question on homosexuality stating that, "Such conduct does not fit in with our society. Family and Armenian traditions prevail for people who were the first to adopt Christianity. Those unnatural things are unacceptable to us. I am against limitations of human rights in general. However, I consider homosexuality is extremely dangerous for Armenia."
In an interview in the Hraparak daily on December 6, National Police Chief Alik Sargsyan answered a question on the gathering of homosexuals in one of Yerevan's central parks, stating that, "We try to take them to such a place where they won't be seen, but they like to appear in public. We do not practice any violent measures, do not violate human rights, it is their business, but in our city, it is not appropriate for people…I cannot bear them physically."

Other Societal Violence or Discrimination

There were no reports during the year of acts of societal violence or discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS.
Many employers reportedly discriminated against potential employees by age, most commonly requiring job applicants to be between the ages of 18 and 30. While this discrimination appeared to be widespread, authorities did not take any action to mitigate it. After the age of 40, workers, particularly women, continued to have little chance of finding jobs appropriate to their education or skills.

for the full version of the report, please click here

World AIDS Day: Challenges Facing Armenia

BY JIRAIR RATEVOSIAN

Today is World AIDS Day—the day of the year when the world’s attention is temporarily fixated on a social phenomenon that has stolen the lives of millions of people around the world over the last 30 years.

But there is some good news. A new report by the United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) shows that the AIDS epidemic is beginning to change course as the number of people newly infected with HIV is declining and AIDS-related deaths are decreasing.

Yet, despite important advances over the last 10 years, some 2.6 million people became newly infected with HIV last year. Africa continues to be the region most affected by the epidemic. But now a new trend is emerging: In seven countries, mostly in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, new HIV infection rates have increased by 25 percent in recent years.

Here’s the bad news. ARMENIA is #1 on that list. In our motherland, the epidemic is concentrated primarily among people who inject drugs, sex workers, gay men, and other men who have sex with men. It is no coincidence the epidemic is spreading in populations that are socially marginalized and politically irrelevant. Stigma, discrimination, and violence against LGBT Armenians and other vulnerable groups fuel the spread of HIV and AIDS.

Today, this injustice is tainting the moral character of our resilient people. The Armenian government, civil society groups, the private sector, the church, and the media all have a critical role to play in respond to our generation’s greatest challenge. And so do we.

As diaspora, we must face up to this new reality. We have a responsibility to raise awareness in our homes and in our communities—in schools, with lawmakers, community leaders, the media, and the church. Above all, we must support our courageous brothers and sisters working in our homeland each and every day for equality and social justice.

Get involved—write a letter to your local Armenian newspaper, encourage community leaders to raise awareness at events and support NGOs in Armenia fighting the good fight.

______

Jirair Ratevosian, MPH, is based in Washington D.C. He chairs the International Health Advocacy and Policy Committee of the American Public Health Association and is deputy director of public policy for amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research.

source: Asbarez Armenian News

"Stop violence" with... violence. P.S. re recent abuse and violence scandals in Armenia

via Unzipped

Starting with the case of that Nubarashen school pedophile teacher, then army and school abuse videos, and then the highly publicised recent domestic violence case, what I noticed - not infrequently - that some people, even among ‘stop violence’ campaigners, in the heat of emotional debate call for lynching of those suspected in abuse or violence.

Yes, it’s understandable that emotions may run high, and things may be said (but not meant to) in the midst of heated debate or as an immediate emotional reaction to horrific crimes.... But you simply can’t fight violence with violence. This will not solve any problems. Instead, it will ensure a vicious circle of everlasting violence.

Let’s take a very recent example of domestic violence in Armenia, that rightly resulted in an outrage, and petition was launched (I supported and signed it) calling for law against domestic violence.

In total, there were 3196 signatures with/without comments, now passed to the prime minister.

A friend of mine disturbed by certain comments posted on the petition 'Armenia Must Pass Domestic Violence Legislation', compiled a list of all of those signatories (28 in total) who "wished bodily violence and death upon the husband and/or mother-in-law of Zaruhi Petrosyan". He rightly pointed out that “we need to prevent domestic violence, not practice lynch mob rule”.

It is also disturbing that a person (e.g. petition signatory 3179, screenshot below) would use a slanderous and bigoted term about a sexual minority group to express his anger over a domestic violence issue. This ‘injustice by injustice’ approach totally devalues his own signature.

Thankfully, 28 comments make up less than 1% of the total number of signatories.

Interesting geographical distribution of such comments: 22 of the 28 comments came from California(!); 2 from Armenia; 1 from Turkey, Australia each; and 1 from the states of Wisconsin and Florida each. As friend commented, “Americans seem to be the most 'stop violence with violence' people...in a country where the death sentence is practiced regularly, but I am not sure about in California....”

Below are just few selected extracts to demonstrate the point.

No. 3,152 They should be thrown in jail and beaten so it's a lesson to others.

No. 2,787 I would beat the living hell out of this prick and set his mother on fire!

No. 2,763 That man and his disgusting mother should be beaten the same way and crushed to death.

No. 2,553 Maybe it's not only time to sign a petition, maybe it's time to personally fight back. Go get your bats and your guns, grab your pots and your pans, they work too, and turn around and do what Madea says. Beat them back!!

No. 2,406 This mother and son should be charge with first degree murder and death penalty sentense for them they should hang in middle of town

No. 1,815 Put a piece of cloth in his mouth take him toYerevan city square and pull his nails in front of the public then hang him

Or, for example, No. 484:

In the past, I heard of Arab females being stoned to death and even seen a true story about it "The Stoning of Soraya M". But I never heard an Armenian version of it. I can't believe beating an individual to death still occures with a mother-in-law having to be the main suspect.

Saying that, and presumably considering it deploring, she then continues:

It's sad to say, but in my personal opinion I believe she should get beaten the same way and let along to die. Don't only stick a dirty peice of cloth in her mouth, but stick in up her ass. The mother-in-law as well as her xangarvats son need to die exectution style. The best method for these types of people is Iranian style "stone to death".

Rule of law, education, trainings, changes in law, and similar measures... that's what I'd like to see instead.

Armenia: Gays live with threats of violence, abuse [EurasiaNet report]

Two years after Yerevan signed an international agreement to uphold the civil rights of gays, homosexuals in Armenia still face the constant threat of physical abuse and social isolation because of their sexual orientation.

"When my parents learned that I was homosexual, they first beat me and then kicked me out," Armen, a 22-year-old Yerevan resident who works as a teacher, told EurasiaNet.org. "Even now, after years have gone by, my mother doesn’t let me in, and some of my friends keep asking whether I’m really one of ’those’ people."

Armen (not his real name) says he realized he was gay at the age of 13 when he fell in love with his classmate. He met his first boyfriend in an online chat room when he was 20.

"I introduced him to my parents as just one of my friends. But one day my mother saw me kissing him, and that’s when all this started," Armen said. "My mother yelled that I’d better be dead, and my brother left the army to come home and beat me. So I went to live in the streets." Armen now lives with his grandmother.

Homosexuality has not been a criminal offense in Armenia since 2003; two years ago, the country signed the United Nations Declaration on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, which asserts the right to equal treatment regardless of sexual orientation or gender. It has also ratified a protocol to the Council of Europe’s Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms that bans all forms of discrimination.

But gay Armenians are still often the targets of discrimination. Aside from the risk of losing work, homosexuals face becoming social outcasts - a heavy burden in Armenia’s communal, family-centric culture. Some families have been known to emigrate to escape the stigma of having a gay family member. Similar social prejudices prevail in neighboring Georgia and Azerbaijan as well.

The United States Department of State’s 2009 Human Rights Report described the Armenian public’s views on gays as "highly unfavorable;" homosexuality is "largely" seen as "an affliction," the report found. [For additional information click here].

"Armenia has always been intolerant toward homosexuals," commented Mikael Danielian, the chairperson of the Helsinki Association of Armenia, a human rights non-governmental organization.

Danielian says that his organization regularly receives alarming calls about attacks on suspected homosexuals. But criminal cases for the assaults usually are not filed because victims are afraid of publicity and additional public scorn, he said.

"Frankly speaking, we cannot do anything in these cases," Danielian said. Sometimes, gays who have been the alleged victims of discrimination simply want attacks mentioned in the organization’s reports, he added.

One recent assault was reported in mid-February when local media outlets claimed that Yerevan Mayor Gagik Beglarian had ordered police officers to use force against suspected homosexuals and transvestites who allegedly routinely gathered in a park adjacent to the mayor’s office. Yerevan mayor spokesperson Anzhela Martirosian declined to comment on the reports, maintaining that the incident "didn’t concern the mayor’s functions."

One new political group has welcomed what it sees as the mayor’s decision to rid the Armenian capital of homosexuals. The National Conservative Movement, a small right-wing party founded last year, hailed Mayor Beglarian as a "true Armenian man" and urged supporters to continue attacking homosexuals.

Gay rights and violence against homosexuals are not issues that other political parties -- whether members of Armenia’s governing coalition, or in the opposition -- discuss publicly.

The Armenian Apostolic Church is similarly reticent. Father Vahram Melikian, spokesperson for the Mother See of Holy Echmiadzin, the seat of the Armenian Apostolic Church, identified homosexuality as "a sin" and "negative phenomenon."

"[B]ut even these people can be granted absolution and come back to the right path," Father Melikian said.
Anti-gay attitudes appear to run particularly strong in the military. Since 2004, gays have been exempted from military service for supposedly being mentally ill.

One man, who gave his name as Narek, told EurasiaNet.org that an army officer had beaten him when he revealed his homosexuality during a psychiatric exam for military service. Narek claims that he spent three days in a mental hospital and was discharged from military service with the diagnosis of a "personality disorder."

One non-governmental organization, Public Information and Need of Knowledge (PINK Armenia), was formed in 2007. It aims to raise awareness about minority rights, and advocates for a break with traditional prejudices. "We live in an atmosphere where people are full of hateful words against homosexuals, and this drives them to commit hate crimes," commented Marina Margarian, PINK Armenia’s project coordinator. "An atmosphere exists where being gay is a terrible disgrace and beating a gay person is an honorable act."

Given the fear of reprisals, many Armenian homosexuals try to keep their contacts with other gays as discreet as possible. The members-only Armenian gay social network www.GayArmenia.com thoroughly scrutinizes a candidate’s personal data before admitting him as a member. The website has about 1,000 registered users, half of whom live in Armenia.

"The access to the website is limited for security reasons because many people were afraid to place their photos. And we had to create a place where homosexual men could meet safely," said GayArmenia.com founder Micha Meroujean.

Reason exists for such caution, states one gay young man, who claims that some his friends were badly beaten by unknown assailants after trying to establish contact with an allegedly gay man through an online dating service.

Chances for change appear slim. Said Meroujean, who emigrated from Armenia to Europe to escape mistreatment: "Society’s bad attitude again and again shoves Armenia’s homosexuals into the closet."

Marianna Grigoryan
freelance reporter based in Yerevan

source: EurasiaNet