France: the government launches an action plan against discrimination against LGBT +
The Deputy Minister, in charge of Equality between women and men, Diversity and Equal opportunities, Elisabeth Moreno in Paris on September 23, 2020. Ludovic MARIN / AFP / POOL
Text by: Marie Casadebaig Follow
5 mins
The French government is tackling discrimination and hatred against LGBT + people.
The Minister Delegate, responsible for Equality between Women and Men, Diversity and Equal Opportunities presented on Wednesday 14 October an action plan for the next three years.
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This plan is based on an observation: LGBT + people are still too often marginalized, discriminated against and even attacked.
Élisabeth Moreno mentioned a number in the introduction.
In 2019, 1,870 people were victims of homophobia or transphobia in France.
This is 500 more than in 2018. In fact, when we look at data from the Ministry of the Interior, we see that these crimes have increased by more than 30% every year, since 2017 at least.
Rights too often violated
To try to reverse this curve, the government has built a plan on four axes, including the recognition and effective application of LGBT + rights.
"
It's one thing to set the law in stone, it's another thing to see it printed in reality,"
explains the minister.
In other words, if it exists in the texts, the law sometimes struggles to transcribe itself into daily life.
"
Élisabeth Moreno first cites access to adoption by same-sex couples.
This right was opened in 2013 with the law on marriage for all.
But rare are these couples who were able to obtain an approval.
The minister was unable to give national figures.
The only known one is that communicated about a year ago by the city of Paris.
At the time, six years after the law was passed, only two Parisian homosexual couples had been able to adopt a child.
The government is therefore committed to working on this issue with family councils, these departmental bodies responsible for choosing from among parents wishing to adopt those who will best meet the needs of the child to be adopted.
Another example is access to bank loans for people living with HIV.
The Minister recalls that under treatment, they have the same life expectancy as the average French, and yet they are too often refused credit or otherwise at an excessive rate.
Fight against prejudice and hatred
To fight against discrimination and hatred towards LGBT +, the minister is counting on education.
“
The roots of inequalities and discrimination are rooted in childhood,
” she explains.
They are born from a succession of myths, taboos, traditions and received ideas.
If they are born so early, it is because they can also be fought from an early age.
According to her, school must therefore be the first place to raise awareness and deconstruct stereotypes linked to sexual orientation or gender.
Élisabeth Moreno recalls that the insult "PD" remains the most widespread in the playgrounds and in the stadiums.
The fight against homophobia is therefore included in school curricula.
Teachers can find the words and “weapons” on a dedicated website.
Means are also implemented to punish homophobic acts, to "
let nothing go
".
The police stations, the gendarmeries and the prosecutors' offices will be provided with referents, as there are in the context of domestic violence.
The Flag app also allows you to report a homophobic or transphobic act, and to get help.
“Invisibilization, the twin sister of exclusion”
During this presentation, Élisabeth Moreno also often used the term “
invisibilization
”, which too often hinders the daily life of LGBT + people.
She cited the case of a homoparental couple confronted with an administrative form which would only bear two mentions, father and mother.
The plan presented by the ministry in charge of equality between women and men, diversity and equal opportunities, has for objective as well in the administration, in the school as in the medium of company, the reality of these families are fully recognized, as well as that of trans people, whose change of sexual identity is not easily taken into account.
Part of this plan will be developed with the Ministry of Sports to fight against homophobia and transphobia, which is still too present in stadiums or in sports clubs.
And to prevent this policy, developed over three years, from remaining fine words, Élisabeth Moreno relies on an interministerial monitoring committee.
The first milestone will take place in March and will be repeated every six months.
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