One of the most important issues of human rights protection in Armenia is the issue of LGBT community.
Due to mention that the Armenian legislation does not include any direct norm regarding the LGBT people. A discrimination prohibiting norm is the article 14.1 of RA Constitution, which states; “Everyone shall be equal before the law. Any discrimination based on any ground such as sex, race, colour, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, language, religion or belief, political or any other opinion, membership of a national minority, property, birth, disability, age or other personal or social circumstances shall be prohibited.” Although many conventions regarding the equality of all human beings and prohibiting any type of discrimination to anyone have been acknowledged and ratified, the Armenian society’s mentality hasn’t changed.
LGBT people are considered as people of lower rank, as sick and abnormal people. They are periodically being subject to many kind of discriminations and violations. Let’s try to analyze the human side of LGBT community problems in Armenia and then let’s try to give possible solutions of making the society more and more tolerant. In a country, where in the 21st century a girl is considered to be virgin until the wedding and where a red apple must be shown to the relatives and neighbors the day after wedding certifying the virginity of the girl, it is an utopia to think that people will accept the LGBT people as they are in just a second. Life, liberty and the pursuits of happiness; the rights declared in the United States declaration of independence.
The Happiness is what everyone in this world wants and has the right to pursuit. People who are born homosexuals have this right too, and this is what must be carefully explained to the society, which not only doesn’t accept them but also punishes and humiliates. The Armenian society must understand that no one chooses being homosexual, they are just like that and it is not their or someone else’s fault, and while understanding and realizing it most of this people have serious psychological troubles. They are afraid of being hated by their parents firstly, by their friends, by the ones they love and finally by whole society. The LGBT community representatives do not need that the others understand them; they just need to feel that the society doesn’t hate them and is at least neutral towards them. The Armenian society’s position and behavior towards LGBT people is mostly because of the lack of information and because of their own presentations on the phenomena of homosexuality. Most of the Human side of LGBT issues in Armenia New Generation NGO / Armenia society members think that this is a disease and that it cannot be healed; not at all, it s not a sickness it is just the physical and spiritual nature of that particular person.
People think that they are granted if they are heterosexuals and they think that it is not their affair if a LGBT community member is humiliated, and the problem of the issue is becoming more sharper not so much because of the ones who violate the LGBT members common human rights, but also by the fault of those who see this and keep silence. They don’t care about thousands of teenagers committing suicides
because of the fear that they will never be accepted neither by their families and friends nor by the society.
For the sake of rights of life and happiness of LGBT community members, it is very important to begin an awareness campaign in the society telling the scientific explanation of the phenomena, as well as real cases and real stories on LGBT people rights’ violations. It is also very important to support the LGBT people encouraging them to «open» themselves among their families and friends.
If they do and explain their feelings, their friends and families will change their behavior towards the LGBT community in general and so LGBT people will feel safer and will try to live more freely. To sum up it’s important to mention that time is needed and a tidily prepared information delivering methodology is needed to raise the awareness of society regarding LGBT community and their problems.
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Source – MSM Global Forum
