Pink´s New Chairperson Was Elected
Karine Aghajanyan was elected as the new chairperson of Pink Armenia, succeeding Lilit Avetisyan, who led the organization to remarkable growth and success. Karine brings unique capabilities with an impressive educational background and diverse professional experience in human rights, journalism, and advocacy. She is also proficient in four languages and has excellent digital security knowledge.
Karine had been volunteering for Pink Armenia since 2011 and was actively engaged in street protests advocating for human rights. Her long-standing commitment to the cause and deep understanding of the organization’s mission and values make her an asset to the team as its new chairperson.
The organization is excited to have her as its new chairperson. Pink is convinced that her knowledge of human rights, democracy, and digital security will lead Pink Armenia to continued success.
Day of Silence
The Day of Silence is observed in April. It is an international protest against discrimination and violence faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people.
Discriminatory, violent and aggressive behavior of schoolchildren and young people in educational institutions is called bullying. It involves a real or perceived power imbalance initiated through physical, verbal, or social behaviors. Various studies and statistics document bullying in educational institutions; Armenian educational institutions are no exception.
Read more about bullying and its prevention.
Raid on Poligraf Club
On April 23, around 1:00 am, Poligraf club was raided by the RA police force without any legal grounds. Poligraf is one of the rare safe places in Armenia for LGBT+ community. Everyone at the club was thrown down on the floor, treated like criminals, and taken to the police department against their will. Some of Poligraf’s staff members and visitors were brutally beaten up and even strip-searched at the police department.
It is unacceptable for the police to use violence against employees and visitors of the “Poligraf” club to commit gross and disproportionate actions. The actions of the police must not violate the right to physical and mental integrity, honor and dignity of a person. Considering the inadmissible degrading treatment of people, we fully hope that the state authorities will take measures to suppress illegal manifestations as soon as possible. The state must create an equal and safe environment that guarantees the adequate protection of the rights of each person and the restoration of violated rights.
Read the condemning statement of the civil society.
Lesbian Visibility Day
April 26 was Lesbian Visibility Day. It is an opportunity to raise awareness about lesbian women and celebrate and honor the beautiful diversity of lesbian identities and experiences. We recognize the strength and resilience of lesbian women who have fought for their rights and visibility in the face of discrimination.
On Lesbian Visibility Day, we published short stories about famous lesbian women who contributed to the movement. The stories were taken from the book “LBT+ Women Who Changed the World” (in Armenian).
Summary Results of Our Quiz
In March, we published our quiz, “How do I feel about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people?” (in Armenian). The quiz allows participants to test their attitude towards lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.
According to the results recorded so far, the majority of participants – 79.4% are supporters of LGBT people, 12.9% have certain reservations, and 7.7% have a feeling of discomfort towards LGBT people.
We have passed the threshold of 30,000 views by publishing the quiz on our social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) and will keep it active throughout the year.