ACCEPT is a non-governmental organization that advocates for the rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Romania. It is based in Bucharest and also acts as the Romanian representative at ILGA-Europe. The organisation also advocates on behalf of individuals with HIV-AIDS and carries out several programs to encourage safe sex.
ACCEPT was founded in 1996. At the time, the Article 200 from the Romanian legislation was in effect, which criminalised same-sex relationships and contributed to human rights violations, including police abuse against LGBT people. The main aim of ACCEPT, early in its history, was to lobby and campaign against this piece of legislation. ACCEPT had a decisive position in the repeal of Article 200 in 2001. Its role is recognized by everyone fighting for equality of LGBTs, including the European institutions, as it was awarded the 1999 EGALITE Prize in the European Commission, being also nominated for the Sakharov Prize of the same year by the European Parliament.[1]
Since 2004, ACCEPT has also been the organizer of GayFest (known today as Bucharest Pride), the yearly Romanian gay pride festival (complete with a pride march on its closing day). The first pride march took place in 2005.
During 2005–2006, ACCEPT has published two periodical publications: Inklusiv, a bimonthly LGBT magazine, and ENOLA, a magazine designed for lesbians and bisexual women. Both were distributed throughout Romania (Inklusiv was free).
Since 24 March 2008, the organization has also run "INFO ACCEPT", a hotline for LGBT support issues such as coming out, overcoming discrimination or questions regarding sexual orientation.[2]
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) movements are social movements that advocate for LGBT people in society. Although there is not a primary or an overarching central organization that represents all LGBT people and their interests, numerous LGBT rights organizations are active worldwide. The first organization to promote LGBT rights was the Scientific-Humanitarian Committee, founded in 1897 in Berlin.
Romania does not allow same-sex marriage or civil unions. In June 2018, the European Court of Justice ruled that under certain circumstances same-sex spouses of European Union citizens should be granted a right of residency in Romania. The Constitution of Romania does not define marriage directly, but Article 48 of the Constitution defines marriages between "spouses" as the foundation of the family.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) persons in Belarus face significant challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Both male and female same-sex sexual activity are legal in Belarus. Households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for the same legal protections available to opposite-sex couples. Belarus provides no anti-discrimination protections for LGBT people, nor does it prohibit hate crimes based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
LGBT people in Bulgaria face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Both male and female same-sex relationships are legal in Bulgaria, but same-sex couples and households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for the same legal protections available to opposite-sex couples. Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation has been banned since 2004, with discrimination based on "gender change" being outlawed since 2015. In July 2019, a Bulgarian court recognized a same-sex marriage performed in France in a landmark ruling. For 2020, Bulgaria was ranked 37 of 49 European countries for LGBT rights protection by ILGA-Europe. Like most countries in Central and Eastern Europe, post-Communist Bulgaria holds socially conservative attitudes when it comes to such matters as homosexuality and transgender people.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in Romania may face legal challenges and discrimination not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Attitudes in Romania are generally conservative, with regard to the rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender citizens. Nevertheless, the country has made significant changes in LGBT rights legislation since 2000. In the past two decades, it fully decriminalised homosexuality, introduced and enforced wide-ranging anti-discrimination laws, equalised the age of consent and introduced laws against homophobic hate crimes. Furthermore, LGBT communities have become more visible in recent years, as a result of events such as Bucharest's annual pride parade and Cluj-Napoca's Gay Film Nights festival.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in Cambodia face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Same-sex sexual activity is legal in Cambodia. Cambodia provides no anti-discrimination protections for LGBT people, nor does it prohibit hate crimes based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Article 200 was a section of the Penal Code of Romania that criminalised homosexual relationships. It was introduced in 1968, under the communist regime, during the rule Nicolae Ceaușescu, and remained in force until it was repealed by the Năstase government on 22 June 2001. Under pressure from the Council of Europe, it had been amended on 14 November 1996, when homosexual sex in private between two consenting adults was decriminalised. However, the amended Article 200 continued to criminalise same-sex relationships if they were displayed publicly or caused a "public scandal". It also continued to ban the promotion of homosexual activities, as well as the formation of gay-centred organisations.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT+) rights in Sweden are regarded as some of the most progressive in Europe and the world. Same-sex sexual activity was legalized in 1944 and the age of consent was equalized to that of heterosexual activity in 1972. Sweden also became the first country in the world to allow transgender people to change their legal gender post-sex reassignment surgery in 1972, whilst transvestism was declassified as an illness. Legislation allowing legal gender changes without hormone replacement therapy and sex reassignment surgery was passed in 2013.
Scott Long is a US-born activist for international human rights, primarily focusing on the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. He founded the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Rights Program at Human Rights Watch, the first-ever program on LGBT rights at a major "mainstream" human rights organization, and served as its executive director from May 2004 - August 2010. He later was a visiting fellow in the Human Rights Program of Harvard Law School from 2011 to 2012.
Bucharest Pride, known previously as GayFest, is the annual festival dedicated to LGBT rights in Romania, taking place in Bucharest for nearly a week. Current event organizer is Kyle David Kipp. It first took place in 2004 and now occurs in May–June of each year, culminating with the March of Diversity. It is organised by the non-profit organisation ACCEPT, the country's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights organisation. The festival also receives funding from the Romanian Ministry of Health and the National Council for Combating Discrimination, as well as a number of private organisations, such as the Open Society Institute and the British Council in Romania.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Moldova face legal and social challenges and discrimination not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for the same rights and benefits as households headed by opposite-sex couples. Same-sex unions are not recognized in the country, so consequently same-sex couples have little to no legal protection. Nevertheless, Moldova bans discrimination based on sexual orientation in the workplace, and same-sex sexual activity has been legal since 1995.
LGBT movements in the United States comprise an interwoven history of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and allied movements in the United States of America, beginning in the early 20th century and influential in achieving social progress for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and transsexual people.
This is a list of notable events in the history of LGBT rights that took place in the 1970s.
The Aguda – Israel's LGBT Task Force, known commonly as the Aguda, is an Israeli non-profit LGBT rights organization. Founded in 1975, the Aguda is based in Tel Aviv and focuses on volunteer-based initiatives and services for the LGBT community.
The Empire State Pride Agenda (ESPA) was a statewide political advocacy organization in New York that advocated for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights, including same-sex marriage. ESPA has since disbanded after an executive order was passed by Governor Andrew Cuomo which protects the rights of transgender citizens as long as future governors uphold the law. ESPA was founded in 1990 through the merger of the New York State Gay and Lesbian Lobby and the Friends and Advocates for Individual Rights. ESPA was considered the leading gay political organization in the State of New York before it disbanded. As of 2005, ESPA was the largest statewide lesbian and gay political advocacy and civil rights organization in the United States.
Gay and lesbian citizens have been allowed to serve openly in His Majesty's Armed Forces since 2000. The United Kingdom's policy is to allow lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) personnel to serve openly, and discrimination on a sexual orientation basis is forbidden. It is also forbidden for someone to pressure LGBT people to come out. All personnel are subject to the same rules against sexual harassment, regardless of gender or sexual orientation.
Homosexual acts in Romania were decriminalized on September 6, 2001.
The following is a timeline of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) history in the 20th century.
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