Homophobic law of St. Petersburg
In March 2012 St. Petersburg adopted law on "homosexual propaganda". The term "propaganda" is not defined, so almost any information about the nature of homosexuality and transgender among minors can be made illegal. The law is illiterate from a legal and scientific point of view, and discriminatory:
- It reinforces homophobia and transphobia and promote aggression against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and other minority groups of the society;
- It violates the right to freedom of speech, the right to seek, receive, transfer, produce and share information, the right of expression guaranteed by the Russian Constitution and international law;
- It denies the modern scientific knowledge in the field of psychology, sexology, sociology, and is based on the groundless assumption that information on homosexuality is harmful to minors;
- It makes it impossible to provide the necessary psychological help for adolescents and to prevent homophobic bullying in schools and other educational institutions;
- It denies adolescents the right to receive adequate scientific information about sexuality and gender;