by Phoebe Eleanor Sheppard
The Hungarian government are using the increased power accorded to manage the coronavirus pandemic to increasingly restrict the rights of their citizens, most recently passing a homophobic adoption bill inciting an attack on the entire LGBTQ+ community. This bill effectively bans LGBTQ+ people from adopting in order to uphold ‘Christian values’ and to protect ‘children’s right to the gender identity they were born with’.[i] Instead of focusing on healthcare and financial issues amidst a global pandemic, the government is adopting legislation which allows rule by decree and using this increased power to pursue an increasingly socially conservative agenda.[ii] Same-sex marriage is illegal in Hungary, but prior to this legislation adoption has been possible so long as one partner applies on their own, an option that will no longer be viable.[iii] This is just another piece of legislation created by the right-wing Fidesz government in an attempt to repress and stigmatise the LGBTQ+ community.
The adoption bill follows on from the law passed in May with a two-thirds majority in parliament which prevents transgender people from changing their gender identity on official documents, essentially meaning that transgender citizens are no longer legally recognised.[iv] It has been deemed ‘extremely problematic’ by Tamás Dombos, board member of the LGBTQ+ organisation the Hatter Society, who insists that with the law being inconsistent with both the Hungarian constitution and European human rights standards, it will be fought ‘with every means’.[v] Despite the condemnation from organisations worldwide including the EU, UN, and the Council of Europe with Dunja Mijatovic denouncing it as a ‘blow to the dignity of trans people,’ the law has been upheld and further LGBTQ+ rights restrictions promoted.
Not only has this anti-LGBTQ+ legislation restricted the rights of LGBTQ+ people, but it has led to them facing heightened discrimination, harassment, violence, and humiliation, intensified at the hands of a society in which homophobia is promoted. This has made it extremely difficult for LGBTQ+ people to go about their daily lives with trans people especially frequently being questioned, harassed, and subject to transphobia whenever they have to present official documents.
Since Viktor Orban came into power 10 years ago, there has been increasing hostility towards LGBTQ+ people with Orban altering the constitution to align with his deeply conservative views. Initially relying on an anti-immigration agenda to rally support, it has been suggested that LGBTQ+ people have become the new target of Orban’s administration.[vi] With many officials being openly homophobic and making remarks, such as the parliamentary speaker Laszlo Kover who compared the adoption of children by LGBTQ+ couples with pedophilia, so long as the Fidesz government remain in power it is unlikely that anti-LGBTQ+ legislation will stop here.
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[i] Avery. D. 2020. As the pandemic rages, Hungary ramps up anti-LGBTQ legislation. [Online]. [Accessed: 17 December 2020]. Available from:https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/pandemic-rages-hungary-ramps-anti-lgbtq-legislation-n1248659 [ii] Walker. S. 2020. Hungary prepares to end legal recognition of trans people. [Online]. [Accessed: 17 December 2020]. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/26/hungary-prepares-to-end-legal-recognition-of-trans-people [iii] BBC NEWS. 2020. Hungary government proposes same-sex adoption ban. [Online]. [Accessed: 17 December 2020]. Available from: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-54902048 [iv] NBC NEWS. 2020. Hungary bans legal recognition of its transgender citizens. [Online]. [Accessed: 17 December 2020]. Available from: https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/hungary-bans-legal-recognition-its-transgender-citizens-n1211141 [v] DW. 2020. Viktor Orban expands Hungary’s anti-LGBTQ+ measures. [Online]. [Accessed: 17 December 2020]. Available from: https://www.dw.com/en/viktor-orban-expands-hungarys-anti-lgbtq-measures/a-53526969
[vi] Walker. S. 2020. Hungarian government mounts new assault on LGBT rights. [Online]. [Accessed: 17 December 2020]. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/nov/11/hungarian-government-mounts-new-assault-on-lgbt-rights
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