Hatred is also a “virus”
The transgender woman was approached on North Avenue and said, “If you are a woman, prove it։ put down your skirt,” and hit them, after the incident, the personal data of the transgender person, the phone number, her name before the name change, etc. were spread on the internet. This is nothing more than hatred against a transgender woman, which is very discouraging.
Another transgender woman was beaten and hit in the face, after which she fell, 4-5 men started hitting different parts of the woman’s body with their hands and feet, as a result of which she was injured, her nose was broken and during the beating, she received sexual swearing and insults.
Those cases are not the only ones and such expressions of hatred in society have a unique explanation. Because in the media, in movies, from their friends, at school, etc., people constantly hear that LGBT people are not “human”, “they have no rights and should not have them”, they should be “killed” and “burned”, “they don’t deserve to live”, all of which leads to the formation of mentality and values.
In his book “Violence, Prejudice, and Sexuality” Stephen Thomson, a professor of criminology and criminal justice at the School of Social Sciences and Psychology at the University of Western Sydney in Australia, notes that prejudice in the form of homophobia is formed in people as a right or good thing and, along with many other social factors, shapes a person’s social behavior.
Therefore, those who beat, hit, damage, insult and humiliate LGBT people believe that they did the right thing.
During the conscription last year, the gay man was referred to a psychiatric hospital by the commission because of his sexual orientation. In the corridor of the building, 3 other boys took photos and mocked him, and after leaving the building, they started chasing after him.
Another person from the educational institution was going home by minibus. Three unknown men made insulting remarks to him on the minibus, saying: “This is the faggot.” Elsewhere, the lesbian’s coworker has threatened to tell her family about her orientation.
There are many such situations and cases, these stories are registered by Pink Human Rights Defender NGO and are included in the annual report on human rights violations of LGBT people, however, there are many more cases where victims do not speak about out of fear, shame or discrimination.
If we really want to live in a society where every citizen will feel safe and secure, all their rights will be protected and truly respected, first of all, the state must take steps in that direction, adopt laws to protect LGBT people and strategies that meet the needs of LGBT people.
However, there are steps that each of us can take to make the situation better for LGBT people.
First of all, it is necessary to learn, study and understand all the historical and structural factors that have caused the current hatred towards LGBT people. You can, for example, read “Socioscope” Public Studies and Counseling Center NGO’s book “Sexuality in Armenian [Con]Texts”.
Also, there are various resources, articles, materials, and researches on the internet, which are available in Armenian and English or Russian, and you can download and read them freely. Just make sure that the authors of the publications are mentioned, as well as they are authoritative and reliable studies.
Intervene and do not allow those around you to use insulting words about LGBT people, beat, humiliate or mock anyone on the grounds of their sexual orientation or gender identity (SOGI).
If you are a witness to any type of crime against LGBT people on the basis of their SOGI, you need to report it to the law enforcement agencies and contact us or the organizations which protect the rights of LGBT people.
