Today in Strasbourg, the Council of Europe organised an event where, in a herstoric first, key policymakers such as the Commissioner for Human Rights and the Secretary General of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe engaged in discussions with leading activists about issues affecting LBQ women.
The focus was on the intersections of gender-based violence with lesbophobia, misogyny, transphobia, racism, and ableism.
Prominent leaders included Lady Phyll Opoku, Executive Director of Black Pride, and Paralympic medalist Marie Patouillet, Dragana Todorovic, Executive Director of EL*C; Anastasiia Gerasymenko from Insight Ukraine; Irene Zeilinger from WAVE; and Maud Royer from the French NGO Toutes des Femmes also participated in the conversation.
“We must have more diverse voices speaking truth to power. In the case of LBQ women, experiences of gender-based violence are compounded by violence rooted in sexual orientation, race, and class. Intersectionality cannot be just a buzzword”– Layd Phyll Opoku, UK Black Pride.
“Violence against LBQ women is particularly targeted by the anti-gender movement, which wants to reduce them to silence or deny their presence in public spaces”– Beatrice Fresko-Rolfo, Rapporteur of the LBQ resolution.
“Not long ago, such an event and such a resolution would have been impossible. We are very grateful that PACE heard our calls, they worked on this resolution and are leading the way. We cannot hope to have good movements or policies if some of us are excluded”– Dragana Todorovic, Executive co-Director of the EL*C.
“Lesbophobia has a strong link with misogyny and ableism, and it impacts my life as an athlete. I won two medals at the Paralympics in Tokyo, but I was exhausted by lesbophobia and misogyny. Before Paris, I made it clear that I wanted to express myself. We need to be represented”– Marie Patouillet, Paralympic medallist.
“We were forced to become a humanitarian organisation. We see so much strength in this community, even though the media only wants to talk about victims instead of survivors”– Anastasiia Gerasymenko, Insight Ukraine.
The discussions were further enriched by Kate Osborne and Lucia Plaváková, LBQ politicians dedicated to representing lesbian issues in the UK and Slovak parliaments.
“I am the only openly queer MP in the history of my country. I face hate; I’m told I’m not a ‘real’ woman, that I need to be raped to become ‘normal,’ and I was even expelled from the Assembly”– Lucia Plaváková, MP from Slovakia.
“Violence is all too common. We must support each other against the horrible abuse we continue to face”– Kate Osborne, MP from UK.
Activists like Irene Zeilinger from WAVE and Maud Royer from the French NGO “Toutes des Femmes”, as well as academics like Ruth Mestre, highlighted the intersectional dimension of violence against women in the LGBTI community.
This landmark and high-level discussion was made possible by the PACE’s approval of the first-ever resolution addressing violence and discrimination against LBQ women, an effort EL*C has been championing for the past two years. We remain committed to ensuring the resolution’s full and effective implementation at all levels.
