Divercity project proposes action plans to guarantee LGBT people’s rights in small and medium-sized European cities

Presentation of the final project results by Olga Jubany
Presentation of the final project results by Olga Jubany
Research
(27/11/2017)

The research and action project called Divercity, coordinated by the European Social Research Unit (ESRU) from the Department of Social Anthropology of the University of Barcelona, presented the results of its research on violence and discrimination against LGBT people (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) in six European cities. The project focused the study on six small and medium-sized cities: Sabadell and Girona (Catalonia), Charleroi (Belgium), Nottingham (United Kingdom), Thessaloniki (Greece) and Wroclaw (Poland). The results gave way to the creation of a series of proposals and materials to guarantee LGBT peopleʼs rights in all social fields.

Presentation of the final project results by Olga Jubany
Presentation of the final project results by Olga Jubany
Research
27/11/2017

The research and action project called Divercity, coordinated by the European Social Research Unit (ESRU) from the Department of Social Anthropology of the University of Barcelona, presented the results of its research on violence and discrimination against LGBT people (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) in six European cities. The project focused the study on six small and medium-sized cities: Sabadell and Girona (Catalonia), Charleroi (Belgium), Nottingham (United Kingdom), Thessaloniki (Greece) and Wroclaw (Poland). The results gave way to the creation of a series of proposals and materials to guarantee LGBT peopleʼs rights in all social fields.

The study has focused on these cities because, often, people from medium-sized cities are set aside because only big cities are mentioned regarding these issues. These smaller cities, despite having LGBT networks and policies, have weaker associative structures and local agents than bigger cities. The importance given to big cities, therefore, makes these problems invisible in smaller and medium-sized cities, and shows the need to involve all political entities to fight discriminatory crimes and make social proposals.

The study notes the need to promote training on sexual diversity and gender in all governing fields and public local services to oppose prejudice, stereotypes and discriminatory attitudes towards LGBT people.

The main lines of actions are education, health and public security; three everyday fields where the sensitivity of professionals with the collective is very necessary. One of the most common problems that were proposed in the study is for instance when it is necessary to show personal identification such as the ID card, and gender does not correspond to the gender identity Trans people identify with.

In education, there is a necessary proposal so that professionals have tools to work and inform about the diversity of sexual orientations and gender identities to avoid and treat cases of trans and homophobic harassment in schools.

The results of the study enabled creating a series of proposals and materials to guarantee LGBT peopleʼs rights and prevent and fight LGBTphobia. For instance, two guidelines of best practices were created: one of them is focused on local governments, NGOs and professionals, and another is focused on LGBT people in small and medium-sized cities. Some of the collected proposals in both guidelines are a dictionary of vocabulary on the LGBT collective, advice for different professional fields, an ethical code or proposes to apply in cities and social networks to prevent and fight LGBTphobia. Among others, the guidelines collect advices like one aimed at security forces, which suggests asking transgender people who were victims of crimes if they want to be accompanied by a friend or family member, or avoiding the release of before-and-after photographs of a transgender person in the media.

Researchers from Divercity carried out a research with in-depth interviews, discussion groups, experience exchange, and best practices among the participating cities and an online survey, among other activities. The ethnographical study was based on the analysis of experiences on violence and discrimination of LGBT people, as well as the role played by the institutions, collectives and NGOs when fighting this social problem.

Apart from the University of Barcelona and University of Girona, other participants were the Middlesex University London (United Kingdom), the University of Wroclaw (Poland), the Free University of Brussels (Belgium), the Family and Childcare center (Greece), the Neapoli-Sykies municipality (Greece), the city councils of Sabadell and Girona, and Transgender Europe (TGEU, European entity). The working team of the University of Barcelona has been coordinated by the lecturer Olga Jubany, with the advice from experts like Miguel Ángel Aguilar, fiscal coordinator at the Hate Crime and Discrimination Department of the Provincial Prosecutorʼs Office of Barcelona, and Juul van Hoof, coordinator of the international network Rainbow Cities.