LGBTI people in Russia: WE EXIST!
“I AM SCARED THAT THEY WILL FIND OUT ABOUT ME AND LYNCH ME. SOMETIMES I WANT TO CRY OUT, ACCEPT ME FOR WHO I AM!”
These words by Svetlana, 16, are similar to thousands of letters posted to an online support group Children-404 in Russia. Children-404 takes its name from the error page that appears when a website does not exist. It was set up in 2013 by journalist Elena Klimova after she published a series of articles about the plight of LGBTI teenagers.
A 15-year-old girl wrote to her saying that reading one of Elena’s articles had saved her life. She’d been bullied by classmates and lived in fear of her mother, just because of her sexuality. So Elena set up a safe online space for LGBTI teenagers to share and discuss their stories and support each other. But in March this year at a secret court hearing, the Russian authorities ordered that the Children-404 group pages be blocked.
On her Facebook page, Elena describes just how much is at stake if Children 404 is closed permanently: “‘LGBT teenagers will lose the only place where they can openly speak about themselves and receive advice they need to live. It will be a catastrophe.”
LGBTI teenagers in Russia share two problems: isolation and fear. Children-404 helps with both. Its slogan “We Exist!” is a beacon of hope for so many, including those at risk of suicide and self-harm, in a society which seeks to exclude and reject them.
A survey carried out when Elena started the support group showed that less than half of respondents had come out to their parents. Worryingly, a number of them had considered suicide. Many of the online posts were from teenagers scared of violence from anti-gay vigilante groups.
This is not the first time Elena has been targeted by the authorities.
Just months after the group opened she was charged under a 2013 law which bans the “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relationships among minors”. Thousands of Amnesty International supporters campaigned on her behalf to demand the charges be dropped. The court ruled in Elena’s favour, but now she faces fresh charges under the same law.
Although same-sex relationships aren’t illegal in Russia, the definition of “propaganda” is so vague that it can be used to crack down on any form of public expression, from unfurling a rainbow flag to staging Pride events. Psychologists, doctors, teachers and even parents can be fined for supporting LGBTI young people if found guilty of “homosexual propaganda”. The majority of LGBTI people hide their orientation and activists are regularly attacked and harassed.
“Our society believes that gay teenagers do not exist in nature, as if LGBT people arrive from Mars as adults,” wrote Elena. “Meanwhile, one family in 20 has an LGBT child in it, and those children are society’s invisible.”
Unfortunately Russia’s attitude is not an isolated case. Consensual same-sex relationships or same-sex sexual conduct are illegal in 78 countries. In 10 countries, falling in love with someone of the same sex is punishable by death.
Amnesty International campaigns for justice and equal treatment for LBGTI communities across the world. We need your voice to call on the Russian authorities to reverse the decision to block Children-404 and drop the charges against Elena Klimova. We also urge them to repeal the “homosexual propaganda law” and ensure full respect for every person’s right to freedom of expression, in Russia. Please get involved with Amnesty International’s work on LGBTI rights by visiting www. amnesty. org. uk/ lgbtinetwork where you can also join a network of like- minded people standing up for the LGBTI community.
“Less than half of respondents had come out to their parents. Worryingly, a number
of them had considered suicide”