February 09, 2015

Slovakia and Gay Rights: Abstain to Show Support!

located:	Slovakia
editor:	Gurmeet Singh

90% of Slovakians think that marriage can only be a union of a man and a woman! 90% of Slovakians think that same-sex couples should be banned from adopting! 90% of Slovakians think that children should be allowed to skip classes that deal with sex or euthanasia!

Well, that is, 90% of the 21.4% of those Slovakians eligible to vote in Saturday’s referendum. The referendum placed sexual politics centre stage and it seems that ultra-conservative and homophobic attitudes lost.

The vote would have required at least 50% turnout for it to be considered valid.

That’s not what Alliance for Freedom, the organisation which spearheaded the referendum, claims: they say the vast majority of those people who took part in the vote supported a ban on gay marriage. They claim that abstaining is not an overtly political statement and says nothing about the majority of Slovakians supposed views about sexuality and rights.

However, the abstentions from voting were not accidental, nor were they caused by putative structural “problems” such as holding the vote on a weekend, when people would be apparently more concerned with relaxing. No, liberal communities and elites, gay rights activists and the media encouraged voters to defeat the referendum by not voting; a civil disobedience strategy, then, and not merely apathetic abstention.

The country already does not allow gay marriage, civil unions nor adoptions by same-sex couples, The referendum sought to strengthen those bans and thus make them more difficult to undo in the future. What Alliance for Freedom and other conservatives have feared is an intrusion of more liberal, “European” attitudes taking hold of the country and the region, since the EU expanded to include former communist states. They feel the traditional family unit is under threat; something the Catholic church (and incredibly influential and powerful institution within Slovakia) agrees with.

And while the referendum can be seen as a victory for civil society and the protection of rights for minorities, there is still much work to be done to ensure the safety, happiness and future of non-heterosexuals in Slovakia.

Image: Dw.de