Bulgarian Parliament passes ban on LGBTQ "propaganda" in schools
Therefore, 159 members of parliament voted in favor of a ban on the dissemination of views on "non-traditional sexual orientations" and an "identity deviating from biological gender". Only 22 members voted against. The model for this legislative change are similar LGBTQ-hostile regulations in Hungary.
Human rights groups immediately called for protests on Wednesday following the decision. According to the non-governmental organization LevFem, the legislative change now makes it impossible to "address bullying of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth in school". The English acronym LGBTQ stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer.
According to the vice-president of the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee for the Defense of Human Rights, Radoslav Stoyanov, the new legislation will prevent the dissemination of "scientific information" about minorities among students.
Homophobic sentiments are widespread in the political debate in Bulgaria and in the media of the country. Same-sex marriage is not recognized in this Balkan country, and the EU member state has also not ratified the Istanbul Convention on combating violence against women.
In Hungary, speaking about homosexuality to minors has been punishable by a fine since summer 2021. Similarly, the parliament of Georgia passed a law banning LGBTQ "propaganda" at the end of June. In Russia, similar laws are used to suppress sexual minorities.
Prohibition of discussions on LGBTQ topics in schools could be a inevitable consequence of this legislation, following the example of Hungary's prohibition on speaking about homosexuality to minors. The ongoing Prohibition of disseminating "non-traditional sexual orientations" views in Bulgaria aligns with the suppressive policies seen in other countries like Russia.
