Decade of Violence: Anti-LGBTQ Hate Crimes in Russia in the Era of “Gay Propaganda Law” Webinar

This webinar explores the ramifications of discriminatory legal mechanisms implemented in Russia, specifically the so-called “gay propaganda law” introduced ten years ago and the recent classification by the Supreme Court of the “international LGBT movement” as “extremist.” These measures have encouraged homophobia and provoked a rise in violence against LGBTQ individuals in Russia. Rather than addressing homophobic hate crimes, authorities have made statements such as “We do not have these kinds of people here, we do not have any gays, you cannot kill those who do not exist.” The purpose of the research presented in this webinar was to disprove such statements. To do so, I searched databases of court rulings and identified more than 1000 documented hate crimes against LGBTQ individuals in Russia between 2010 and 2022. I found that the “gay propaganda law” correlates with a significant surge in hate crimes, with the number of crimes at least tripling post-2013. Further, the data shows a qualitative change. After 2013, there was a pronounced increase in premeditated crimes perpetrated by a group of actors specifically targeting individuals based on their sexual orientation. Over the course of three consecutive years (2017, 2018, 2019), there was a noticeable surge in premeditated, organized, and collective violence, linked to the actions of hate groups with homophobic ideologies. All these societal effects can be attributed to the discriminatory legislation, which itself is an authoritarian practice of state repression against LGBTQ people. 

The webinar will be on June 11th, 2024 at 8 AM PST; 5 PM CET

Registration is required and accessible from the flier and if you click here.