The annual ranking on gay rights in Europe was released today.

[pampango]

European gay rights study finds little to celebrate

Malta has jumped upward in an annual ranking on gay rights, but many of Europe’s micro-states lag behind the norm, while Russia actively promotes homophobia.



Published on Tuesday (13 May) by the Brussels-based Ilga-Europe, the EU umbrella organisation for the rights of LGBTI people, the research found incremental improvements last year in most countries and a rollback in others. It ranks states’ legal benchmarks for LGBTI equality on a range of 0 to 100. Scores are based on whether a country’s policies and legal system make specific references to sexual orientation and gender equality.

“Progress in terms of real legal, political and social changes vary considerably from one country to another, in large part depending on levels of societal acceptance, of political leadership and political will, as well as the strength of civil society in a given country,” said Gabi Calleja, co-chair of Ilga-Europe’s executive board, in a statement.

A critic of gay rights, Russia finds itself at bottom of the scale with six percent, followed closely by Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Monaco.

http://euobserver.com/lgbti/124115

[RKP5637]

1. K&R! Thanks for posting this! n/t

[Nye Bevan]

2. I guess gay people in Northern Ireland are pretty happy to be British as opposed to Irish (nt)

[DemocraticWing]

7. They didn't score the constituent countries separately.

But Northern Ireland is lagging behind the rest of the UK in LGBT rights, because things like same-sex marriage have been left up to their parliament. Marriage equality resolutions have failed several times in the Assembly there in the last couple years due to Unionist opposition. Whatever your opinion on the question of Northern Ireland's status in the UK, it's worth noting that pro-Ireland forces have tended to be more supportive of the LGBT community in recent years.

Ireland for their part is expected to legalize same-sex marriage in a referendum next year; recent polling indicates that 75% of voters plan to vote in favor of marriage equality, and every active political party has endorsed it.

[Behind the Aegis]

3. MORE READS!!!

I am surprised by Monaco. I am surprised that Denmark's number isn't higher, but not surprised by Greece's low number (however, that Albania's is higher is strange).

[okaawhatever]

4. What is the I in LGBTI? In transition for those undergoing gender change maybe? Just curious. nt

[MadrasT]

6. "Intersex". n/t

[Terra Alta]

5. it's great that most countries are improving in regard to gay rights

but there's still a lot of work to be done, especially in Russia and the former Eastern Bloc countries.

[Behind the Aegis]

9. Very true. n/t

[nomorenomore08]

8. Albania, Estonia, and Hungary are higher than I thought they would be.

Germany, France, Italy, and the Nordic countries are lower than I expected.

I do realize this is about government policy rather than public attitudes, though.