Gay rights in Greece
Encyclopedia
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in Greece
may face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT
residents. Both male and female same-sex sexual activity are legal in Greece
, but households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for the same legal protections available to opposite-sex couples.
Greece
has not adopted many of the laws, provisions and basic rights that gay people enjoy in most developed countries of Western Europe
and North America
and LGBT
issues are a particularly rare subject of public debate. Homosexuality is however becoming less a taboo
and gays are enjoying growing visibility through the media, from print to film.
has been legal since May 2006. Lesbians are not mentioned or acknowledged in the Greek Criminal Code
. There is one relevant provision in effect to this day in the Criminal Code;
provides no definition of marriage. It does stipulate that, like motherhood and childhood, it must be under the protection of the State.
(PASOK), under George Andreas Papandreou
presented in April 2006, a legislative proposal for the recognition of unmarried couples, homosexual and heterosexual, following the French example of the Pacte civil de solidarité
. However, according to some LGBT groups, the proposal's controversial terminology made little headway on LGBT rights and PASOK
's proposed 'partnership' banned same-sex couples from adopting. Greece's left party Coalition of the Radical Left
, reportedly supports same-sex marriage and Alekos Alavanos, the former leader of Synaspismos, stated that the coalition backed the fight against all kinds of discrimination and supported the free expression of sexual orientation including the legalization of same-sex marriages.
The former government of Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis New Democracy was opposed to same-sex marriage. While the New Democracy-led government has introduced legislation that offers several rights to unmarried couples this explicitly includes only different sex couples, and it is the first time in the world that a civil union law has passed only for heterosexual couples.
The National Human Rights Committee proposed a registry that would cover both same-sex couples and unmarried heterosexual ones and the Greek group OLKE announced its intention to sue Greek municipalities that refuse to marry gay couples.
The Greek government under George Papandreou
, leader of Panhellenic Socialist Movement
(PASOK), is preparing legislation for same-sex registered partnerships. Haris Kastanidis, the current minister for Justice, Transparency and Human Rights, during an interview on Greek Radio Station VIMA 99.5 on 17 September 2010, said: "The ministry of Justice in cooperation with the General Secretariat of Equality has constituted a legislative standing committee that will make the relevant proposals" for same-sex partnerships and that the government's political will is obvious towards this matter. In the Greek newspaper To Vima
(10 October 2010) it is mentioned that this committee "was constituted on 29 July 2010 and, according to its members, its work is to make proposals regarding the modernization of Family Law. Until now, matters regarding heterosexual couples have been discussed, while those regarding same-sex couples will be discussed after January 2011".
, Anastasios Aliferis, married two homosexual couples, two lesbians and two gay men, citing the legal loophole. He was heavily criticized by clergymen of the Church of Greece
, which in the past had also opposed the introduction of civil marriage. Justice Minister
Sotirios Hatzigakis
declared the Tilos marriages "invalid" and Supreme Court
prosecutor Georgios Sanidas warned Mayor Aliferis of the legal repercussions of his "breach of duty", but he said he had "no intention of annulling the marriages". Nevertheless in May 2009 the marriage was officially annulled by the authorities.
has a large number of LGBT
associations and a developing gay village
in the Gazi, Athens
neighborhood. A gay pride
event, the 'Athens Pride' (see below) and an international Gay and Lesbian film festival, the 'Outview', are held annually.
There is an emerging gay scene in Thessaloniki
with some gay/lesbian bars/clubs and several friendly mixed venues, and one LGBT
organisation, organising public discussions.
The gay scene in the island of Myconos and the lesbian scene in Eressos, Lesbos is famous internationally.
, Gay
, Bisexual and Transgender
Pride parade
and festival held every June (since June 2005) in the center of Athens
city, Greece
. It has been held 7 times:
Directive 2000/78. Since 2005, anti-gay discrimination in the workplace is generally prohibited, except the armed forces, although the law does not include general identity and it does not address discrimination in areas such as banking, public facilities, education, housing and health care. Likewise, hate crime laws do not include sexual orientation or gender identity.
While there has been considerable legal progress, conservative social mores still hold considerably influence.
Public displays of affection between same-sex couples are widely frowned upon and the Orthodox Church has often denounced homosexuality as a sin and "defect of human nature."
(NCRTV) as it is called and its homophobic stance, according to LGBT groups.
s, conducted in 2003 and presented by the Hellenic Homosexual Community (EOK), raised the issue of recognising taxation, inheritance
and other legal rights to same-sex couples. The results of the survey showed that 41% of parliamentarians
surveyed favored granting such rights while 55% were against it. Among PASOK
MP's, 55% were favorable, compared to just 27% of New Democracy
MPs. The party with the highest MP favorable responses was Synaspismos (67%) while the majority of Communist Party
MPs abstained. MPs favorable responses were higher among women, younger and Athenian MPs.
A study among Greek students of the Schools of Health and Welfare professions (social work, nursing & medicine) in Iraklion
, Crete
published in 2006 surveyed their attitudes towards male homosexuality. Two scales were used and translated into Greek along with several questions that formed a self-completed questionnaire. The main findings showed that there were differences among the Schools surveyed in terms of homophobic expression and that "the main predictors influencing homophobia score were: willingness to defend and protect gay rights, conversations with gay individuals, religiosity, politicization and having gay friends".
A Eurobarometer
survey published in December 2006 showed that 15% of Greeks surveyed supported same-sex marriage and 11% recognised same-sex couple's right to adopt. These figures were considerably below the 25-member European Union
average of 44% and 32% respectively and placed Greece in the lowest ranks of the European Union along with Romania
, Latvia, Poland, Cyprus
, Malta and Bulgaria
.
A Eurobarometer
survey published in January 2007 ("Discrimination in the European Union"), showed that 77% of Greeks believed that being gay or lesbian in their country 'tends to be a disadvantage', while the European Union (EU25) average was 55%. 68% of Greeks agreed that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation was 'widespread' in Greece (EU25: 50%), and 37% that it was more widespread in than 5 years before (EU25: 31%). 84% of Greeks also reported not having any gay or lesbian friends or acquaintances (EU25: 65%).
A Kapa Research (major Greek polling firm) survey on behalf of the Greek "Institute of Psychological & Sexual Health" published in the Greek newspaper Ta Nea
on 20 September 2010 showed that 63.9% of Greeks agree with the legalization of same-sex partnerships
and 24.1% disagree; as for the legalization of same-sex marriage
, 38.5% of Greeks agree and 51.8% disagree.
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
may face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
residents. Both male and female same-sex sexual activity are legal in Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, but households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for the same legal protections available to opposite-sex couples.
Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
has not adopted many of the laws, provisions and basic rights that gay people enjoy in most developed countries of Western Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
issues are a particularly rare subject of public debate. Homosexuality is however becoming less a taboo
Taboo
A taboo is a strong social prohibition relating to any area of human activity or social custom that is sacred and or forbidden based on moral judgment, religious beliefs and or scientific consensus. Breaking the taboo is usually considered objectionable or abhorrent by society...
and gays are enjoying growing visibility through the media, from print to film.
Legal status
Male homosexual practice was decriminalized in 1951 by the new Criminal Code adopted in 1950. Male prostitutionMale prostitution
Male prostitution is the practice of engaging in sexual acts for money. Compared to female sex workers, male sex workers have been far less studied by researchers, and while studies suggest that there are differences between the ways these two groups look at their work, more research is needed.Male...
has been legal since May 2006. Lesbians are not mentioned or acknowledged in the Greek Criminal Code
Criminal Code
A criminal code is a document which compiles all, or a significant amount of, a particular jurisdiction's criminal law...
. There is one relevant provision in effect to this day in the Criminal Code;
- Article 347 of the Greek Criminal CodeCriminal CodeA criminal code is a document which compiles all, or a significant amount of, a particular jurisdiction's criminal law...
; which provides for a higher age of consentAge of consentWhile the phrase age of consent typically does not appear in legal statutes, when used in relation to sexual activity, the age of consent is the minimum age at which a person is considered to be legally competent to consent to sexual acts. The European Union calls it the legal age for sexual...
of 17, for seducing a male person if the male partner is over 18 and for lesbians and both male/female heterosexuals (regardless of close-in-age or not) and for only close-in-age for male homosexuality, the age of sexual consent is 15.
Constitutional arrangements
The Greek constitutionConstitution of Greece
The Constitution of Greece , was created by the Fifth Revisional Parliament of the Hellenes and entered into force in 1975. It has been revised three times since, most significantly in 1986, and also in 2001 and in 2008. The Constitutional history of Greece goes back to the Greek War of...
provides no definition of marriage. It does stipulate that, like motherhood and childhood, it must be under the protection of the State.
Political parties
In the past, Greek political parties have had differing views. Panhellenic Socialist MovementPanhellenic Socialist Movement
The Panhellenic Socialist Movement , known mostly by its acronym PASOK , is one of the two major political parties in Greece. Founded on 3 September 1974 by Andreas Papandreou, in 1981 PASOK became Greece's first social democratic party to win a majority in parliament.The party is a socialist party...
(PASOK), under George Andreas Papandreou
George Andreas Papandreou
Georgios A. Papandreou , commonly anglicised to George and shortened to Γιώργος in Greek, is a Greek politician who served as Prime Minister of Greece following his party's victory in the 2009 legislative election...
presented in April 2006, a legislative proposal for the recognition of unmarried couples, homosexual and heterosexual, following the French example of the Pacte civil de solidarité
Pacte civil de solidarité
In France, a pacte civil de solidarité commonly known as a PACS /paks/ , is a form of civil union between two adults for organising their joint life. It brings rights and responsibilities, but less so than marriage...
. However, according to some LGBT groups, the proposal's controversial terminology made little headway on LGBT rights and PASOK
Panhellenic Socialist Movement
The Panhellenic Socialist Movement , known mostly by its acronym PASOK , is one of the two major political parties in Greece. Founded on 3 September 1974 by Andreas Papandreou, in 1981 PASOK became Greece's first social democratic party to win a majority in parliament.The party is a socialist party...
's proposed 'partnership' banned same-sex couples from adopting. Greece's left party Coalition of the Radical Left
Coalition of the Radical Left
The Coalition of the Radical Left , commonly known by its Greek abbreviation ΣΥΡΙΖΑ , is a coalition of left political parties in Greece...
, reportedly supports same-sex marriage and Alekos Alavanos, the former leader of Synaspismos, stated that the coalition backed the fight against all kinds of discrimination and supported the free expression of sexual orientation including the legalization of same-sex marriages.
The former government of Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis New Democracy was opposed to same-sex marriage. While the New Democracy-led government has introduced legislation that offers several rights to unmarried couples this explicitly includes only different sex couples, and it is the first time in the world that a civil union law has passed only for heterosexual couples.
The National Human Rights Committee proposed a registry that would cover both same-sex couples and unmarried heterosexual ones and the Greek group OLKE announced its intention to sue Greek municipalities that refuse to marry gay couples.
The Greek government under George Papandreou
George Papandreou
Georgios A. Papandreou , commonly anglicised to George and shortened to Γιώργος in Greek, is a Greek politician who served as Prime Minister of Greece following his party's victory in the 2009 legislative election...
, leader of Panhellenic Socialist Movement
Panhellenic Socialist Movement
The Panhellenic Socialist Movement , known mostly by its acronym PASOK , is one of the two major political parties in Greece. Founded on 3 September 1974 by Andreas Papandreou, in 1981 PASOK became Greece's first social democratic party to win a majority in parliament.The party is a socialist party...
(PASOK), is preparing legislation for same-sex registered partnerships. Haris Kastanidis, the current minister for Justice, Transparency and Human Rights, during an interview on Greek Radio Station VIMA 99.5 on 17 September 2010, said: "The ministry of Justice in cooperation with the General Secretariat of Equality has constituted a legislative standing committee that will make the relevant proposals" for same-sex partnerships and that the government's political will is obvious towards this matter. In the Greek newspaper To Vima
To Vima
To Vima is a Greek daily newspaper first published in 1922 by Dimitris Lambrakis, the father of Christos Lambrakis. It is owned by Lambrakis Press Group, a group which also publishes the newspaper Ta Nea, amongst others in its fold of publications...
(10 October 2010) it is mentioned that this committee "was constituted on 29 July 2010 and, according to its members, its work is to make proposals regarding the modernization of Family Law. Until now, matters regarding heterosexual couples have been discussed, while those regarding same-sex couples will be discussed after January 2011".
Test cases
Although there is no official recognition of same-sex couples, a 1982 law that legalized civil marriage between "persons", without specifying gender, acted as a test-case for same sex marriage. On 3 June 2008, the mayor of TilosTilos
Tílos is a small Greek island and municipality located in the Aegean Sea. It is part of the Dodecanese group of islands, and lies midway between Kos and Rhodes. It has a population of 533 inhabitants . Along with the uninhabited offshore islets of Antitilos and Gaidaros, it forms the Municipality...
, Anastasios Aliferis, married two homosexual couples, two lesbians and two gay men, citing the legal loophole. He was heavily criticized by clergymen of the Church of Greece
Church of Greece
The Church of Greece , part of the wider Greek Orthodox Church, is one of the autocephalous churches which make up the communion of Orthodox Christianity...
, which in the past had also opposed the introduction of civil marriage. Justice Minister
Minister for Justice (Greece)
The Ministry of Justice, Transparency and Human Rights is a government department of Greece entrusted with the supervision of the country's legal and judicial system. It was founded as the State Justice Secretariat in April 1833, and was known as the Ministry of Justice until October 2009...
Sotirios Hatzigakis
Sotirios Hatzigakis
Sotirios Hatzigakis is a Greek conservative politician.Born in Athens, Hatzigakis studied Law at the University of Athens where he gained his Bachelor's degree. He obtained a Master's degree from the University College London, United Kingdom in Economics and from the Sorbonne of Paris, France in...
declared the Tilos marriages "invalid" and Supreme Court
Court of Cassation (Greece)
The Court of Cassation is the Supreme Court of Greece for civil and criminal law. The Court of Cassation's decisions are irrevocable. If the Court of Cassation concludes that a lower court violated the law or the principles of the procedure, then it can order the rehearing of the case by the lower...
prosecutor Georgios Sanidas warned Mayor Aliferis of the legal repercussions of his "breach of duty", but he said he had "no intention of annulling the marriages". Nevertheless in May 2009 the marriage was officially annulled by the authorities.
Religious opinion
Responding to government proposals in 2008 to introduce legal rights for cohabiting couples, Archbishop Ieronymos II of Athens, the leader of the autocephalous Orthodox Church of Greece, suggested that "There is a need to change with the time". It is unclear, however, whether this view applied to same-sex couples, particularly as the Church has previously opposed gay rights in general and civil union laws in particular.Gay life in Greece
AthensAthens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
has a large number of LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
associations and a developing gay village
Gay village
A gay village is an urban geographic location with generally recognized boundaries where a large number of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people live or frequent...
in the Gazi, Athens
Gazi, Athens
Gazi is a neighborhood of Athens, Greece. It surrounds the old Athens gasworks, which is currently an industrial museum and exhibition space, widely known as Gazi, next to Keramikos and close to the Acropolis....
neighborhood. A gay pride
Gay pride
LGBT pride or gay pride is the concept that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people should be proud of their sexual orientation and gender identity...
event, the 'Athens Pride' (see below) and an international Gay and Lesbian film festival, the 'Outview', are held annually.
There is an emerging gay scene in Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
with some gay/lesbian bars/clubs and several friendly mixed venues, and one LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
organisation, organising public discussions.
The gay scene in the island of Myconos and the lesbian scene in Eressos, Lesbos is famous internationally.
Athens Pride
The Athens Pride is an annual LesbianLesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
, Gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
, Bisexual and Transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
Pride parade
Gay pride parade
Pride parades for the LGBT community are events celebrating lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender culture. The events also at times serve as demonstrations for legal rights such as same-sex marriage...
and festival held every June (since June 2005) in the center of Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
city, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. It has been held 7 times:
- 25 June 2005
- 24 June 2006
- 23 June 2007
- 7 June 2008
- 13 June 2009
- 5 June 2010
- 4 June 2011
Discrimination and Protection
The Constitutional does not explicitly address sexual orientation or gender identity issues and civil rights legislation has largely come out in accordance with the European UnionEuropean Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
Directive 2000/78. Since 2005, anti-gay discrimination in the workplace is generally prohibited, except the armed forces, although the law does not include general identity and it does not address discrimination in areas such as banking, public facilities, education, housing and health care. Likewise, hate crime laws do not include sexual orientation or gender identity.
While there has been considerable legal progress, conservative social mores still hold considerably influence.
Public displays of affection between same-sex couples are widely frowned upon and the Orthodox Church has often denounced homosexuality as a sin and "defect of human nature."
Media
Several issues have been raised about the Greek media regulation authority, or Greek National Council for Radio and TelevisionGreek National Council for Radio and Television
The Greek National Council for Radio and Television is an independent supervisory and regulatory administrative authority of the radio and television market...
(NCRTV) as it is called and its homophobic stance, according to LGBT groups.
- On November 2003, NCRTVGreek National Council for Radio and TelevisionThe Greek National Council for Radio and Television is an independent supervisory and regulatory administrative authority of the radio and television market...
fined one of the largest TV networks in Greece, MegaMega ChannelMega Channel, also known as Mega TV or just Mega, is a major television network in Greece. Teletypos S.A. was founded in 1989 under the name Teletypos Television Programmes S.A...
, with 100,000 Euros, partly for having aired a kiss between two male characters of the popular TV show 'Klise ta Matia' (Greek: Κλείσε τα Μάτια). In December 2006, Greece's Council of StateCouncil of State (Greece)In Greece, the Council of State is the Supreme Administrative Court of Greece.-Organization:...
, the country's Supreme administrative court, annulled this decision though, ruling that NCRTV's fine was unconstitutional. According to the court, the TV scene reflected an "existing social reality, related to a social group, among many that make up an open and democratic society, whose sexual preferences are not to be condemned". Moreover this was not the first time that a kiss between two male characters was aired in Greek television and the decision was heavily criticised by the Greek media as hypocritical and anachronistic.
- On 21 December 2004 the NCRTVGreek National Council for Radio and TelevisionThe Greek National Council for Radio and Television is an independent supervisory and regulatory administrative authority of the radio and television market...
fined '94 Epikoinonia FM' (Greek: 94 Eπικοινωνία FM), a municipal radio station in AthensAthensAthens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
, with 5,000 Euros, judging the content of the 'Athens Gay and Lesbian Radio Show' as "degrading", resulting in the station cancelling the show. There is not any kind of radio information about LGBT matters anywhere in Greece since.
- On September 2005, NCRTVGreek National Council for Radio and TelevisionThe Greek National Council for Radio and Television is an independent supervisory and regulatory administrative authority of the radio and television market...
formally enquired another one of Greece's largest TV networks, ANT1ANT1Antenna, better known as ANT1, is a television network airing in Greece and Cyprus. The alternate spelling is play on words in Greek; ena is the Greek number 1, thus ANT1 is pronounced the same as Antenna . It launched on 31 December 1989, the same year as rival Mega Channel, and is owned by...
(Antenna), for airing a publicity spot, by a popular chewing gum brand, depicting two women kissing.
Public Opinion
A survey among Greek MPMember of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
s, conducted in 2003 and presented by the Hellenic Homosexual Community (EOK), raised the issue of recognising taxation, inheritance
Inheritance
Inheritance is the practice of passing on property, titles, debts, rights and obligations upon the death of an individual. It has long played an important role in human societies...
and other legal rights to same-sex couples. The results of the survey showed that 41% of parliamentarians
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
surveyed favored granting such rights while 55% were against it. Among PASOK
Panhellenic Socialist Movement
The Panhellenic Socialist Movement , known mostly by its acronym PASOK , is one of the two major political parties in Greece. Founded on 3 September 1974 by Andreas Papandreou, in 1981 PASOK became Greece's first social democratic party to win a majority in parliament.The party is a socialist party...
MP's, 55% were favorable, compared to just 27% of New Democracy
New Democracy (Greece)
New Democracy is the main centre-right political party and one of the two major parties in Greece. It was founded in 1974 by Konstantinos Karamanlis and formed the first cabinet of the Third Hellenic Republic...
MPs. The party with the highest MP favorable responses was Synaspismos (67%) while the majority of Communist Party
Communist Party of Greece
Founded in 1918, the Communist Party of Greece , better known by its acronym, ΚΚΕ , is the oldest party on the Greek political scene.- Foundation :...
MPs abstained. MPs favorable responses were higher among women, younger and Athenian MPs.
A study among Greek students of the Schools of Health and Welfare professions (social work, nursing & medicine) in Iraklion
Heraklion
Heraklion, or Heraclion is the largest city and the administrative capital of the island of Crete, Greece. It is the 4th largest city in Greece....
, Crete
Crete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
published in 2006 surveyed their attitudes towards male homosexuality. Two scales were used and translated into Greek along with several questions that formed a self-completed questionnaire. The main findings showed that there were differences among the Schools surveyed in terms of homophobic expression and that "the main predictors influencing homophobia score were: willingness to defend and protect gay rights, conversations with gay individuals, religiosity, politicization and having gay friends".
A Eurobarometer
Eurobarometer
Eurobarometer is a series of surveys regularly performed on behalf of the European Commission since 1973. It produces reports of public opinion of certain issues relating to the European Union across the member states...
survey published in December 2006 showed that 15% of Greeks surveyed supported same-sex marriage and 11% recognised same-sex couple's right to adopt. These figures were considerably below the 25-member European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
average of 44% and 32% respectively and placed Greece in the lowest ranks of the European Union along with Romania
Gay rights in Romania
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons in Romania may face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Romania, like a number of other Eastern European countries, remains socially conservative with regard to the rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender citizens...
, Latvia, Poland, Cyprus
Gay rights in Cyprus
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons in Cyprus may face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Both male and female same-sex sexual activity are legal in Cyprus, but households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for the same legal protections available to...
, Malta and Bulgaria
Gay rights in Bulgaria
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons in Bulgaria may face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Both male and female same-sex sexual activity are legal in Bulgaria, but same-sex couples and households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for the same legal...
.
A Eurobarometer
Eurobarometer
Eurobarometer is a series of surveys regularly performed on behalf of the European Commission since 1973. It produces reports of public opinion of certain issues relating to the European Union across the member states...
survey published in January 2007 ("Discrimination in the European Union"), showed that 77% of Greeks believed that being gay or lesbian in their country 'tends to be a disadvantage', while the European Union (EU25) average was 55%. 68% of Greeks agreed that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation was 'widespread' in Greece (EU25: 50%), and 37% that it was more widespread in than 5 years before (EU25: 31%). 84% of Greeks also reported not having any gay or lesbian friends or acquaintances (EU25: 65%).
A Kapa Research (major Greek polling firm) survey on behalf of the Greek "Institute of Psychological & Sexual Health" published in the Greek newspaper Ta Nea
Ta Nea
Ta Nea is a daily newspaper published in Athens, owned by Lambrakis Press Group that also publishes the newspaper To Vima. It is a traditional center-left friendly newspaper and has strongly supported PASOK, the Greek Socialist Party in the 1980s and 1990s...
on 20 September 2010 showed that 63.9% of Greeks agree with the legalization of same-sex partnerships
Civil union
A civil union, also referred to as a civil partnership, is a legally recognized form of partnership similar to marriage. Beginning with Denmark in 1989, civil unions under one name or another have been established by law in many developed countries in order to provide same-sex couples rights,...
and 24.1% disagree; as for the legalization of same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage is marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or social gender. Supporters of legal recognition for same-sex marriage typically refer to such recognition as marriage equality....
, 38.5% of Greeks agree and 51.8% disagree.
External links
- Athens Pride – The annual Greek LGBT pride parade in Athens
- Sympraxis – LGBT Association based in Thessaloniki
- OLKE – LGBT Association based in Athens
- EOK – LGBT Association based in Athens
- LOA Lesbian Group of Athens
- Greek Sapphites – the Greek Sapphites information/communication group
- SATTE – Transsexuals Association based in Athens
- Synthesis – LGBT HIV&AIDS Support Group
- Greek Helsinki Monitor – Minority rights watch group
- NCHR – National Committee for Human Rights
- www.ermis.de – Greek Gay and Lesbian Community in Germany
- Man Enough – Community Blog for Greek FTMs
- FTM Community – Support and Information for Greek FTMs
- Athens Pride 2010 – Images from Athens Pride