commentary to student safety in St Petersburg

[Wilkinson, C.]

Dustin,

Your thinking seems unnecessarily absolutist. It is not a question of
saying "avoid Russia or accept the consequences" to students of any
minority. At the same time, however, it would be highly irresponsible
for us not to acknowledge that in certain circumstances such students
may be at increased risk of harassment or aggression and take
reasonable measures to promote their wellbeing.

You state that "I disagree that there is, as you call it, a systematic
oppression of homosexuals in Russia. They are allowed to socialize in
cyberspace without any issue.  In the larger cities there are gay
bars/clubs, and they have not experienced any issues recently.  Gays
aren't being swept off the streets, you know..."

And socialising in cyberspace is sufficient in your view?! You seem to
be saying that LGBT people are fine provided they keep out of view and
don't do anything to provoke people or attempt to change the status
quo. What about people who get "read" as LGBT just because of how they
look? Are you going to argue that they should make a bigger effort to
look straight/cisgender or else they have it coming?

As for your assertion that LGBT people "aren't being swept off the
streets", even if the very direct tactic of subjecting LGBT people to
"remont" by beating them is not happening/being reported so frequently
(and it's a big if given the figures in a recent Russian LGBT Network
report: http://lgbtnet.ru/news/detail.php?ID=4336#3.2) , this by no
means indicates that all is well. The Russian LGBT network's report,
which is entitled "Discrimination based on sexual orientation and
gender identity in Russia"
(http://www.lgbtnet.ru/news/detail.php?ID=4336) strongly suggests that
there is "systematic oppression" in the form of institutional homo-
and transphobic behaviour that is detrimental to the lives of LGBT
persons in Russia.

You ask if we feel Russia is ready for the degree of social change
involved in accepting gay rights. It seems to me that no society is
ever completely ready for change since, especially en masse, people
are inherently conservative, so it takes determined people to lead the
way and often to swim against the tide of public opinion for some
time. There are people already doing that in Russia and the wider FSU,
paving the way for the "key events" to which you refer.

WRT waiting for change, you argue that "There have been many mothers
and fathers (in the US and UK) who were homophobic until, low and
behold, their daughter or son came out as lesbian or gay.  Those
parents undoubtedly suffered a lot of grief and soul searching, but a
lot have come to accept their children and realize that it really is
OK to be gay."

Yes, and a lot haven't. Or they manage to justify/accept their child's
sexuality, but don't endorse equal rights for all LGBT people. It's
not enough. In practice this passive approach will never lead to
change as the number of openly LGBT people in any generation is not
going to increase massively, meaning that a critical mass of people
who cease being homophobic due to their child being gay is never
reached this way - and which is why the issue of LGBT rights has to be
taken up in wider  societal fora that reach more people.

LGBT communities in the UK and US are still waiting for equal rights,
on that we can agree. However, this does not mean waiting resignedly
until someone condescends to give us our rights. Campaigning, lobbying
and protesting can be frustrating, but we'll be waiting a lot longer
if we don't persevere - both on LGBT rights and human rights more
widely.

At the end of the day I suspect we may have to agree to disagree, but
hopefully we can do so in a respectful and tolerant manner.

CW

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