Date: Tue, 2 Jul 1996 19:17:45 +0200 From: ilga Subject: REPORT: 3RD ALL RUSSIAN GL CONF ILGA INFORMATION SERVICE REPORT ON: 3rd ALL-RUSSIAN GAY AND LESBIAN CONFERENCE from: The Triangle Centre. summary: *150 participants from all over Russia* *Participants condemn the communist regime, aim for anti-discrimination laws and changes in family code* The 3rd All-Russian Gay and Lesbian Conference was held on June 7-9 1996 on the initiative of the Moscow gay and lesbian organization Tsentr Treugolnik ("Triangle Center"). 150 participants from all over Russia gathered for the conference in Moscow. The conference summed up the 6 year gay and lesbian rights movement in Russia. The activities of gays and lesbians promoted the repeal of the article 121, part 1 (which made sexual contacts between adult men illegal), that, on the other hand, prompted more active participation of gays and lesbians in the social life. More than 20 gay and lesbian organizations exist nowadays in 14 regions in Russia. On the eve of the presidential election, the conference worked out its POLITICAL POSITION. Because of the considerable difference of opinions expressed by the participants, the conference couldn't speak in support for one certain candidate for president. Nevertheless, the conference passed a resolution in regards to the election. The participants remembered the 60 years of the anti-homosexual terror and appealed to the whole Russian gay and lesbian community, the families and friends of gays and lesbians to vote against those, who want to restore the communist regime in Russia. The workshop "LEGAL PROBLEMS OF GAYS AND LESBIANS" generated the most interest. As the discussion showed, gay and lesbian rights have been violated at every step. The participants debated many examples of such violations and our responses to them. The conference decided, that the Russian movement for gay and lesbian rights aims in the next four years at the alteration of the family code, and adoption of discrimination ban against sexual minorities. The participants of the conference sent open letters to the Duma where they demanded to alter family and work codes by legalizing same-sex unions and prohibiting discrimination on the grounds of one's sexual orientation. The workshop "PSYCHO-SOCIAL ADVISING FOR HOMOSEXUALS" stressed that the existing institutions of psychological support don't help at all to solve specific problems of gays and lesbians. Russian homosexuals need a psychological support network (hot lines, psychological advice bureaus etc.) orientated especially towards them. The development of such a network is one of the most important targets of the Russian gay and lesbian movement. The workshop "GAY PRESS" presented the simultaneous growth of the Russian gay and lesbian press and the gay and lesbian rights movement. While most organizations are working in large cities, the press remains, for gays and lesbians in the provinces, the only source of information and is in many cases a substitute for homosexual community. The closer co-operation of gay and lesbian press and organizations can help to allay the information shortage. Unfortunately, the planned workshop "GAY AND LESBIAN COMMUNITY AND AIDS" didn't take place. On one hand, it reveals that Russian gays and lesbians don't regard the AIDS epidemic as a burning question. On the other hand, it is an indicator of the oversights of AIDS-organizations, which don't aim their activities at the homosexual community. For more info: Vitali Joumagaliev information secretary Triangle Center P.O.Box 7, 105037 Moscow, Russia Tel/Fax: + 7-095-163-8002 E-mail: triangle@glas.apc.org ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ILGA - International Lesbian and Gay Association 81 Kolenmarkt, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium Phone/Fax +32-2-502-2471, E-mail: ilga@ilga.org A federation of over 300 groups from 75 countries fighting for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. We also have over 100 supportive associate and individual members. Will you join us? Contact us for more info!