April 11, 2020

Hungary: pandemics for autocracy, or what's sex got to do with the virus?

topic:	LGBT Rights
located:	Hungary
editor:	Katarina Panić

Hungarian Parliament with two-third votes gave Prime Minister Viktor Orban unlimited power on March 30. The very next day the government released a draft bill amending numerous laws and provisions. The PM's emergency powers are unprecedented since the fall of communism 30 years ago. By ruling by decree alone, unchallenged and without political control, as well as being able to override all existing legislation, the country slides towards dictatorship.

It is not only that the Bill on Protection Against Coronavirus has no expiry date in sight. Its vast majority got nothing to do with the pandemic either.

"The omnibus act, or as we call it the 'lettuces act', means you modify with the single act 50 laws already in force. At least two-thirds have nothing to do with coronavirus. I feel absolutely ashamed of what Orban is doing", Zita Gurmai, Hungarian opposition MP said during a Facebook live talk held by the Rainbow Rose, LGBTI associate organisation of the Party of European Socialists last Wednesday.

Namely, transphobic Article 33 prohibits trans people from changing their sex in official documents legally. It replaces "sex" with "sex assigned at birth". For trans people, it will be impossible to change their gender marker. It could lead to severe consequences since the documents will not match the actual sex of a person. Trans people will not be able to change their name in documents: according to Hungarian law, names must match sex – boys can only have male names, girls only female ones.

"This dangerous bill would subject trans people in Hungary to increased scrutiny, discrimination, and violence. The Parliament should be focusing on how the people of Hungary survive the COVID-19 pandemic, not using the crisis as cover to roll back the rights of an already-marginalised group", said Masen Davis, Interim Executive Director at Transgender Europe, TGEU.

Human rights activists worldwide have called on the Hungarian Parliament and the Justice Committee of the Parliament to drop Article 33 once the proposal is on the table following the usual procedure.

Besides, the penalties of up to five years in prison for spreading misinformation are not going to make things easier for journalists. According to Reporters Without Borders, Hungary is already the second-worst EU member state for press freedom.

Image by Andrzej Rembowski

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