Russia: Draft Bill Threatens Trans People’s Rights

A new Russian draft bill threatens to further restrict the rights of LGBTI+ people living in Russia. In a joint statement, Civil Rights Defenders, RFSL, Amnesty International Sweden, ForumCiv, RFSU, and Östgruppen express our concern over the proposed amendments and their potential impact on the personal lives and liberties of trans persons in Russia.

In July 2020, a Russian referendum approved several amendments to the Russian constitution, including the statement that marriage “is between a man and a woman”. Following this, Russian senators submitted three bills that, in their words, aim to “strengthen traditional family’’ and are, according to them, necessary to harmonise the legislation with the new constitution. However, domestic and international human rights groups are concerned that aspects of the legislation could make the trans community even more vulnerable to discrimination and persecution.
 
“These proposed changes would only further restrict the already limited rights of LGBTI+ people in Russia. We are concerned about these developments as they indicate growing pressure on and persecution of the LGBTI+ community. We urge the members of the Russian State Duma to heed domestic and international human rights groups’ calls to not adopt these restrictive measures,” said Ana Furtuna, Eurasia Department Director at Civil Rights Defenders.

Read more in the statement here.