2.4.2 Prejudice and Discrimination: LGBTI Rights

• Global Citizenship
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 2

LGBTI Rights

LGBTI stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex people. Every person has the same human rights, but LGBTI people still suffer discrimination and abuse. Their rights are violated simply because of who they are. This happens around the world and it also happens in Europe.

Instructions: 

1. Read slides 6, 7 and 8 describing the background situation in ‘Boldovia’.
   

(The situation in the fictional country of Boldovia has some parallels to the situation in Romania in 1997, when homosexual acts between consenting adults were still illegal, as they were in a third of the countries around the world.)

2. Form small groups (one group of at least 4 people to form the committee and the remaining class members need to form nine small groups).

The commitee: 

You will listen to the evidence in order to make recommendations about homosexuality to the Boldovian government. You must prepare questions to put to all the groups offering testimony.

Other groups : 

You will be given a role-play card. Prepare your testimony to present to the Committee. After they have heard all the testimonies the Committee debates and agrees its recommendations. 

The rest of the class, out of role, take notes on:

• Which testimonies were the Committee most persuaded by?

• Are any Committee member’s personal views dominating the debate?

• What do they think of the Committee’s decisions and reasons?

IS IT A CRIME TO BE GAY IN BOLDOVIA?

Background information on the situation in Boldovia today:

You live in the newly democratic (imaginary) Eastern European state of Boldovia. After decades of totalitarian government, the country seeks to join the Council of Europe – the organisation of the European democracies that have more tolerant laws towards homosexuality than Boldovia.

The Council of Europe will not consider closer political, economic and cultural ties with Boldovia until it decriminalises homosexuality. The Boldovian government has appointed a Committee to review existing legislation.

One of the most controversial laws under review is Section 8 of the Penal Code. This law condemns homosexuality as ‘an abomination against nature’. The punishment for promoting homosexuality is two years in jail. The punishment for adults found guilty of involvement in homosexual acts is five years in jail. The uncorroborated testimony of a single person is enough to convict someone under the Act. Section 8 has been used to arrest and discredit many people in Boldovia who were not gay men or lesbians.

A Committee of four members of the Boldovian Parliament has been set up to take testimony from the public, and to recommend if Section 8 should be repealed and, if so, what the consequences might be. The committee will listen to representatives of:

• The Boldovian police

• The Boldovian Council for Civil Liberties

• The Boldovian Council of Faiths

• The Boldovian Brigade of Light for Family Values

• The Boldovian Institute for Social Research

• The Boldovian Medical Association

• The Boldovian Campaign for Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Equality

• Amnesty International

 

Create a word document: Write a short reflection covering all the points below:

• How did it feel to be in the group?

• Do you agree with the testimony of your own group?

• Which testimony did you most/least agree with and why?

• What do you think of the Committee’s decision?

• What will be the consequence of the decision?

UPLOAD TO SIMULISE

Adapted for LessonUp 

From an original lesson for LGBTI HISTORY MONTH: 

https://www.amnesty.org.uk/resources/lgbti-rights-activity-pack

Role Play Cards are in Activity 6 of the pdf activity pack available in the above link.

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