International Day Against Homophobia

The International Day Against Homophobia "will articulate action and reflection in order to struggle against all physical, moral, or symbolic violence related to sexual orientation or to gender identity. It intends to inspire, support, and coordinate all initiatives contributing to the equality among citizens in right, as well as in fact, and to achieve this in all countries where action is possible. According to opinion widely held, homosexuality is said to be freer today than ever before. For the slightly more attentive observer, the situation is globally very different.

Despite homosexuality's apparent visibilty [in the street, in the newspapers, on television, at the movies, recent legislative advances made in many countries for the recognition of same sex couples], the more attentive observer notes that the situation is globally very different. Indeed the 20th century was the most violently homophobic period of history: deportation to concentration camps under the Nazi regime, Soviet gulags, blackmail and persecution in the United States in the McCarthy era... Homosexuality is discriminated against everywhere: in at least 80 countries, homosexual acts are forbidden by law in many countries, the punishment can exceed ten years in prison; sometimes, the law prescribes life imprisonment. And in a dozen countries, capital punishment may be actually carried out. In Africa, recently, several presidents have brutally acted on their will to combat personally this "scourge" which they consider "anti-African". Even in other countries where homosexuality is not considered a crime, persecutions have multiplied. In Brazil, for example, death squads and skin heads spread terror: 1,960 homophobic murders have been officially reported between 1980 and 2000. In these conditions, it is difficult to think that "tolerance" is gaining ground. So, homophobia appears more violent today than ever before.

The Fear Behind the Phobia