Homophobia and Discrimination on Grounds of Sexual Orientation ...

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DISCLAIMER: This report was financed <strong>and</strong> prepared for the use of the FRA. Data <strong>and</strong>information were provided by FRALEX. The responsibility for conclusion <strong>and</strong> opinionslies with the FRA.
<strong>Homophobia</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Discrimination</strong> on Grounds of Sexual Orientation in the EU Member StatesPart I – Legal AnalysisForewordThe European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights was established by CouncilRegulation (EC) No 168/2007 on 15 February 2007. The objective of the Agency is toprovide assistance <strong>and</strong> expertise to relevant institutions, bodies, offices <strong>and</strong> agencies ofthe Community <strong>and</strong> its Member States, when implementing Community law relating tofundamental rights.In this context the European Parliament asked in June 2007 the Fundamental RightsAgency to launch a comprehensive report on homophobia <strong>and</strong> discrimination based onsexual orientation in the Member States of the European Union. The aim of this report isto assist the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice <strong>and</strong> Home Affairs of the EuropeanParliament, when discussing the need for a Directive covering all grounds ofdiscrimination listed in Article 13 of the EC Treaty for all sectors referred to in the RacialEquality Directive 2000/43/EC. These sectors are education, social security, healthcare,<strong>and</strong> access to goods <strong>and</strong> services. In addition, the European Parliament considered thatthe report will also bring a valuable contribution to the impact assessment carried out bythe European Commission, with the aim of exploring the possibility of tabling a draftdirective, which would include these further areas.In response the Agency launched a major project in December 2007 aimed at producinga comprehensive report on homophobia <strong>and</strong> discrimination on grounds of sexualorientation. The report is composed of two parts: The first part is the present publication,which contains a comprehensive comparative legal analysis of the situation in theEuropean Union Member States drafted by Professor Olivier De Schutter, as well asconclusions <strong>and</strong> opinions for which the Agency is responsible. The comparative analysisis based on 27 national contributions by country based legal experts drafted on the basisof detailed guidelines provided by the Agency. The second part, a comprehensivesociological analysis, based on both available secondary sources <strong>and</strong> interviews withkey actors, is expected to be published by the end of 2008.The report has mixed findings: On the one h<strong>and</strong> the fact that 18 EU Member States havealready gone beyond minimal prescriptions regarding sexual orientation in implementingthe Employment Equality Directive by providing protection against discrimination forLesbians, Gays, Bisexuals <strong>and</strong> Transsexuals (LGBTs) not only in employment, but alsoin other or even all of the areas covered by the Racial Equality Directive is very positive<strong>and</strong> welcome.On the other h<strong>and</strong> it is striking to see how few official or even unofficial statistical dataare currently available across the EU on discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation,which might point to the persistence of a social stigma that makes LGBT individuals3
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