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Gay rights in Europe
see also Gay Pride Amsterdam 2009
 Gay rights vary across the continent – and ranges from it being
completely acceptable with no difference from any one else, to having no
protection at all. Of course the legal
status of a country is not the same as the social status. With some countries like Monaco having very
little legal documentation, but actually most people who live there being
fairly neutral on the subject. On the
other side, just because the law means that gay rights are fully recognized; it
does not mean that individuals are completely accepting of the situation. In almost all countries, regardless of the
law, homophobia and homophobic attitudes can and do still exist. The difference is that in countries with full
recognition, the law is on your side when it comes to dealing with these
problems. One thing that needs to be
remembered, is that all EU member states are required by EU law to ensure that discrimination
on the grounds sexuality is not permitted, this means that EU countries, and
countries wishing to join the EU do have fairly good laws on discrimination,
but you should not automatically assume that this translates into social acceptance,
or that you will find the law quick to rush to your defence.
.
 We have put together a table of gay rights, based on the following legal
categories. We have given each category
a rating from 1 – 4 with 3 being equivalent (if called something else) and 4
giving proactive protection.
A) Legal Status, B) Partnerships Recognized, C) Tax Equivalency, Pension
and inheritance rights, D) Proactive legislation. I fully recognize that these categories do
not cover all the important topics, and I don’t think you will ever be able to
find a single source that does, however it does give a clear understanding as
to the legal status of a gay couple or individual in Europe.
Categories explained
 Legal status: No country in
Europe has a ban on homosexuality any more (the last country to legalize this
was Northern Cyprus in 2009, the First was France in 1791). We have interpreted this therefore as to if
the law will (or can) step in to protect gay rights of an individual from
homophobic acts.
1) Legal, 2) Anti-Discrimination laws in place, 3) Full protection, 4)
Legislation actively outlawing discrimination
We have also given each country a rating from 1 - 5, 5 being you should not expect or have any problems, if you do you should expect full legal support from the police and other agents. 1 means you are on your own, 3 being that you should not expect problems, but you should also abide by local customs - ie: holding hands walking down the main street will probably create comments but no more than this, although if there is more than this the police may be slow to respond, but should be "genrally" supportive of you case...
Partnerships Recognized: Many countries offer some form of recognition,
ranging from registration, through to full marriage. Others like the UK offer a full marriage, but call
it something else, due to political restrictions. This makes it very complicated to work out
the rights.
1) Registration, 2) Some Rights, 3) (Near) Equivalent, 4) Full Marriage
Tax Equivalency, Pension and inheritance rights: This area looks at
rights surrounding joint property, tax returns, pensions, etc. It is understood that things like Joint tax
returns, making you partner a beneficiary of your pension, and inheritance
rights provide the facility for you to actively plan for the long term, without
having to make special provisions.
1) Some limited provisions, 2) Provisions in most areas, but not always
equivalent, 3) Most areas are equivalent 4) all areas equivalent, and fully
recognized.
 Proactive Legislation, in this area we look at the provisions under the
law, with regard to discrimination.
Specifically we are looking towards 2 areas, 1) discrimination in areas
such as employment, welfare/unemployment/benefit payments, and 2) areas such as
harassment, and criminal acts.
1) Recognized, but only covered as part of Generic legislation, 2)
Specifically recognized under the law, 3) Specific provisions ensuring that
discrimination is outlawed, 4) Proactive legislation, meaning that specific
laws exist requiring compelling people to have provisions preventing discrimination.
Issues with this information....
There is no way to give an complete oversight in this table, for example It is confirmed that it is not illegal for same sex couples to adopt anywhere in Europe, but it is only possible to do so in 8 countries (10 if you include adoption of children where one natural parent is a member of the partnership). The rest of the countries in Europe have "no policy", whilst this example is clear, many other examples are not.
Research by the pew research centre showed that in all be 3 countries (Russia. Poland and the Ukraine) the majority of people felt that gay relationships should be acceptable - but in these 3 specific countries there is an active campaign of mis information linking gay relationships with paedophilia, so one cannot tell if the actual results are anti gay - or anti paedophile.... Remember - if you know better, let us know (andrew@andrics.com)
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Country
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Our Rating
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Legal Status
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Partnerships Recognized
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Tax Pension inheritance
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Proactive Legislation
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Comments
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Åland Islands
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2
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2
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1
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0
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1
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No Information
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Albania
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1
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1
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0
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0
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0
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Limited Rights, harassment Routine
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Andorra
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4
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2
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2
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2
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2
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Limited information, but fairly open attitudes by
most people
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Armenia
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1
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1
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0
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0
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0
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Most Gays still underground but situation seems
positive (but very slow)
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Austria
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4
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2
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2 (from 2010)
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1
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2
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Mainly open, but little protection. More from 2010
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Azerbaijan
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1
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0
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0
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0
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0
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Well hidden, but some campaigns for better rights
exist
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Belarus
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1
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1
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0
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1
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0
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Some provisions under the law, but attitudes are not
good
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Belgium
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5
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4
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4
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4
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3
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No legal difference between Gay or Straight in any
area
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Bosnia and
Herzegovina
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1
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2
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0
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0
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2
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Public attitudes vary, but widespread miss
understanding and lack of trust
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Bulgaria
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2
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2
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0
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0
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2
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Legal rights are quite good, but very strong anti
gay movement, mixed up with the church
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Croatia
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1
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3
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2
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1
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2
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Written law is a lot stronger than practice. Open harassment, widespread
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Cyprus
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3
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2
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0
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0
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1
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Ultra conservative (also for Straight) means that
anything public is not permitted, but few problems
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Czech Republic
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3
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2
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2
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1
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2
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Active government campaign cleaning up gay rights,
mainly to attract and build gay tourist industry - no problems in some locations, but outside of these be caerful
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Denmark
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5
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4
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3
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3
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3
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Open attitudes, mean no significant issues, improvements recently in the field of adoption.
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Estonia
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2
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1
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0
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0
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2
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Limited protection, widespread harassment
- limited campaign to have what rights exist enforced.
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Faroe Islands
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3
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2
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0
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0
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2
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Limited Information.
Law based on Denmark.
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Finland
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4
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3
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2
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2
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3
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Open attitudes, with few problems
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France
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4
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3
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3
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3/4
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4
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Good relations generally, but very confused law, with gay
marriage recognized if from abroad, but not for French Citizens - I would love to see what an EU court makes of that....
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Georgia
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1
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0
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0
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0
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1
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Some protection, but widespread harassment is
normal, mixed reports
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Germany
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4
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3
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2
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2
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4
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Protection good, open attitude in most places, but
some areas conservative (also for Straight)
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Gibraltar
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3
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2
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0
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0
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1
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Limited Law, Limited Information
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Greece
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2
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1
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0
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0
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1
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Some protection, seems to be an out of sight out of
mind attitude. Strong Religious
opposition
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Greenland
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4
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3
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2
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2
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3
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Limited information, no reports of problems
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Guernsey (incl. Alderney, Herm and Sark)
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3
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1
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0
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0
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0
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Limited information, conservative attitudes to most
things (same for Straight)
- Civil partnerships under consideration, but not on the agenda yet.
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Hungary
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1
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1
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1
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0
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3
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Wide spread attacks and harassment
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Iceland
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5
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4
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3
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3
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4
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Open attitudes mean few reported problems
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Ireland, Republic of
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2
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2
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1
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0
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3
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Same sex relationships now recognised, but packed with restrictions for the Church, that said public genrally not fussed
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Isle of Man
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3
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2
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0
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0
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3
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Bit of a miss match - Gender reasignemtn laws under consideration, adoption not.
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Italy
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3
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2
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0
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0
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2
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Strong Church
opposition, but most people open
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Jersey
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3
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3
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0
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0
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3
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Mix and match of laws, adoption is legal, but
marriage not. Law under review.
Generally Conservative (also for Straight)
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Kosovo
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1
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1
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0
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0
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1
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Limited information, but generally not very open
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Latvia
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2
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3
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0
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0
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1
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Limited information, does not seem very open
- but no discrimination in the military, slthough limited open examples without problems could be found.
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Liechtenstein
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3
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1
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0
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0
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0
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Limited Information
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Lithuania
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2
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1
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0
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0
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2
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Bans anti gay discrimination, but also a lot of gay recognition, such as marriage.Bans anti gay discrimination, but also a lot of gay recognition, such as marraige.
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Luxembourg
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4
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2
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2
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1
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3
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Few problems reported
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Macedonia
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1
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1
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0
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0
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1
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Wants to Join the EU so is improving rights
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Malta
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3
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1
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0
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0
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1
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Limited Info, seems fairly open, but one of the lowest ranked countries in polling for same sexed marraige.
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Moldova
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1
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1
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0
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0
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2
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Some legal protection, but mainly restricted
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Monaco
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4
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1
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0
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0
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0
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Limited information – no complaints
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Montenegro
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1
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1
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0
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0
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2
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Law against discrimination Trying to join EU so
rights improving
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Netherlands
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5
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4
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4
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4
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4
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Outside the main cities there are some very conservative
areas, also large Muslim population
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Norway
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4
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4
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4
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4
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4
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Seems fully open, and without restrictions
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Poland
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1
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1
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0
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0
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1
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Rights are heavily politicized, and split along left
right lines, significant religious elements
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Portugal
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4
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3
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2
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1
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3
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Progress is being made - with some political parties making Gay Rights an election issue, but relegious opposition still remains
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Romania
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2
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1
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0
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0
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1
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Some rights no really respected, seems to be getting
worse
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Russia (incl. all
constituent regions)
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2
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1
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0
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0
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0
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Nationally picture is not only negative, Moscow
Mayor very opposed to any rights, very homophobic, especially Moscow
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San Marino
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4
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2
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0
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0
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0
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Limited Information
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Serbia
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2
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2
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0
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0
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1
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Some rights, little information
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Slovakia
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1
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1
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0
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0
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1
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Some rights, but seem to be normally enforced
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Slovenia
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3
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3
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2
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2
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3
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Good law, but public attitude needs some work
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Spain
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5
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4
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4
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4
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4
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Fully equal rights, but some problems, especially in
rural areas
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Sweden
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5
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4
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4
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4
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4
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Full rights
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Switzerland
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4
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4
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1
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0
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3
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Fairly liberal public attitudes, few problems
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Turkey
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2
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1
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0
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0
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0
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Legal since 1858, but gay rights seem not to have
progressed much
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Turkish Republic Northern Cyprus (only recognised by Republic of Turkey)
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1
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0
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0
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0
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0
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Only Decriminalized Homosexuality this year (2009),
Still very few Gays are in the open
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Ukraine
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1
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0
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0
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0
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0
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Very few rights, widespread suppression
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United Kingdom
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5
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4
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3
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4
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4
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Full Rights, although use of the term Marriage not
permitted. Conservative attitudes often
found outside of bigger cities
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