Homophobia and Discrimination on

<strong>Homophobia</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Discrimination</strong> on Grounds of Sexual Orientation <strong>and</strong> Gender Identity in the EU Member States
98
judicial rulings or significant laws passed by Parliament, <strong>and</strong> that homophobic
representations are rare. The Swedish country report also noted that media are giving a
more accurate picture of the diversity within the LGBT community, while in Lithuania, the
coverage of serious LGBT topics has increased in recent years. 332
Good practice: In Denmark, the Public Service Contract between the Minister of Culture
<strong>and</strong> Danmarks Radio (Danish Broadcasting Corporation) sets an explicit goal to reflect
diversity <strong>and</strong> contains an anti-discrimination clause with reference to LGBT
representation <strong>and</strong> issues: 'DR shall offer a broad societal coverage of Denmark <strong>and</strong>
thus reflect the diversity of culture, outlook on life <strong>and</strong> living conditions found in different
parts of the country […] The programs must not in any way incite hatred on grounds of
race, gender, religion, nationality or sexual orientation.' 333
The presence of visible positive LGBT role models in the media is clearly very important.
Such role models are increasingly prevalent in some Member States, both from the
political <strong>and</strong> cultural sphere. An illustrative example is the case of the Mayor of Berlin,
Klaus Wowereit, for example, who also served as President of the German Parliament in
2001/02. His well known public statement was: 'I am gay—<strong>and</strong> that’s fine!' ('Ich bin
Schwul – und das ist gut so!).
In Greece, LGBT groups strongly protested a ruling of the National Council of Radio <strong>and</strong>
Television, the country’s independent public authority, imposing a 100,000 Euro fine on
Mega Channel, a major television channel for showing two male characters kissing on a
popular TV serial. In December 2006, the country's supreme administrative court
annulled this decision ruling that the fine was unconstitutional, since the scene simply
reflected the ‘social reality of one social group, among many that make up an open <strong>and</strong>
democratic society, whose sexual preferences are not to be condemned’.
At the EU-level, initiatives such as the European Commission’s collaboration with the
music channel MTV including an advertisement spot, a Creative Competition, targeting
younger audiences in relation to race discrimination, as well as the annual journalist
award which rewards journalists who contribute to a better underst<strong>and</strong>ing of diversity
<strong>and</strong> problems of discrimination, represent valuable measures in both using the media to
change public attitudes <strong>and</strong> encouraging those working in the media to re-examine their
portrayal of those belonging to particular social groups <strong>and</strong> minorities. 334
332 A. Tereskinas (2007) “Not Private Enough”: Homophobic <strong>and</strong> injurious speech in the Lithuanian Media
333 The Public Service Contract between the Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR) <strong>and</strong> The Minister of
Culture 2007-2010: 2
334 See http://www.stop-discrimination.info/99.0.html (11.12.2008)