Aze
Rus
Media in Azerbaijan ignore cases of violence against LGBT community
Азербайджан
The silence on the part of the Azerbaijani media against the background of a surge in violence against the LGBT community not only demonstrates their irresponsibility, but also actively condones the dehumanization of LGBT citizens.
According to ILGA-Europe's interactive Rainbow Europe Map, since 2015 Azerbaijan has regularly been ranked as the worst country for the LGBTQ + community. ”
The first information and educational resource for LGBT citizens of Azerbaijan, Gay.Az, conducted a survey to find out whether representatives of the LGBT community are really under pressure in Azerbaijan, and if so, to what pressure.
“In recent years, a surge of hatred and violence against transgender and queer communities has been recorded in Azerbaijan. At the same time, it seems that the situation only continues to worsen against the background of police raids sanctioned by the authorities, brutal attacks and murders of transgender women in Baku. "
“Over the past two weeks, there have been five vicious attacks on LGBTQ + representatives. The last of these occurred on June 9, as a result of which three transgender people living in Baku were beaten and driven out of their homes. However, after a series of violent episodes, local, regional and international media chose not to cover these events. ”
“What happened once again highlighted the division in Azerbaijani society into regrettable and those who do not deserve it. Meanwhile, the media by means of silence only reinforce this tendency ”.
“On the rare occasions when the media does cover events around queer communities, this largely leads to the spread of disinformation and propaganda that justifies the discrimination and violence that queer people face. Usually, the media, like a hackneyed record, repeat the depressing stories created by state institutions about queerness, sexual orientation and gender aspects. "
“During raids against the queer community in 2017 and 2019, when dozens of LGBTQ + people were detained, fined, tortured and humiliated, local media described them as“ viruses ”for society amid coercion by the authorities to take tests on sexually transmitted infections and HIV ”.
“A spokesman for the Interior Ministry justified the raids on public health concerns, arguing that the arrests were carried out to“ prevent the spread of dangerous infectious diseases. ” Presenting the situation in this light, it turns out that queer people themselves are a dangerous infection that society needs to get rid of. "
“Unfortunately, we live in a region where conservative socio-cultural and political concepts contribute to the spread of culture or, more precisely, the escalation of violence. Many people living in this region prefer to keep quiet in the face of difficult moral issues when they feel that their opinion or point of view will not find the support of the majority. Thus, what is perceived by society as a generally accepted position is only deeply rooted, as a result of which the suffering of queer communities continues to worsen. "
“Of course, this does not mean that these problems are not made public at all. A small group of activists and human rights defenders continue to tirelessly fight for the rights of queer people and social justice in Azerbaijan. For example, for its contribution to the dissemination of ideas of tolerance and equality of LGBT citizens in Azerbaijani society, the first information resource for LGBT citizens of Azerbaijan Gay.Az was awarded by the international company for registration of domain names in the .GAY zone "Top Level Design" of the domain name Salam.gay
As the editor-in-chief of the information resource Gay.Az Ruslan Balukhin said, obtaining a personal domain name in the international zone .GAY is an achievement of the entire team of activists who work for LGBT people. “We are glad that the activities of Gay.Az were highly appreciated by the international registrar company. I am convinced that we will continue to make every effort for development and growth for the benefit of the LGBT community of Azerbaijan. "
“In order to break this circle of silence that generates violence, the media must assume the role of the fourth estate and voice what has not been heard so far. As long as the media continue to be parrots of the government's reprehensible and hateful propaganda, they will remain on the side of the oppressors. Thus, they become complicit in the violence. "
Due to lack of funding, the article was translated by google translator. Gay.Az editors apologize for the inconvenience*
Gay.Az/Salam.gay
photo: wonderzine.com
According to ILGA-Europe's interactive Rainbow Europe Map, since 2015 Azerbaijan has regularly been ranked as the worst country for the LGBTQ + community. ”
The first information and educational resource for LGBT citizens of Azerbaijan, Gay.Az, conducted a survey to find out whether representatives of the LGBT community are really under pressure in Azerbaijan, and if so, to what pressure.
“In recent years, a surge of hatred and violence against transgender and queer communities has been recorded in Azerbaijan. At the same time, it seems that the situation only continues to worsen against the background of police raids sanctioned by the authorities, brutal attacks and murders of transgender women in Baku. "
“Over the past two weeks, there have been five vicious attacks on LGBTQ + representatives. The last of these occurred on June 9, as a result of which three transgender people living in Baku were beaten and driven out of their homes. However, after a series of violent episodes, local, regional and international media chose not to cover these events. ”
“What happened once again highlighted the division in Azerbaijani society into regrettable and those who do not deserve it. Meanwhile, the media by means of silence only reinforce this tendency ”.
“On the rare occasions when the media does cover events around queer communities, this largely leads to the spread of disinformation and propaganda that justifies the discrimination and violence that queer people face. Usually, the media, like a hackneyed record, repeat the depressing stories created by state institutions about queerness, sexual orientation and gender aspects. "
“During raids against the queer community in 2017 and 2019, when dozens of LGBTQ + people were detained, fined, tortured and humiliated, local media described them as“ viruses ”for society amid coercion by the authorities to take tests on sexually transmitted infections and HIV ”.
“A spokesman for the Interior Ministry justified the raids on public health concerns, arguing that the arrests were carried out to“ prevent the spread of dangerous infectious diseases. ” Presenting the situation in this light, it turns out that queer people themselves are a dangerous infection that society needs to get rid of. "
“Unfortunately, we live in a region where conservative socio-cultural and political concepts contribute to the spread of culture or, more precisely, the escalation of violence. Many people living in this region prefer to keep quiet in the face of difficult moral issues when they feel that their opinion or point of view will not find the support of the majority. Thus, what is perceived by society as a generally accepted position is only deeply rooted, as a result of which the suffering of queer communities continues to worsen. "
“Of course, this does not mean that these problems are not made public at all. A small group of activists and human rights defenders continue to tirelessly fight for the rights of queer people and social justice in Azerbaijan. For example, for its contribution to the dissemination of ideas of tolerance and equality of LGBT citizens in Azerbaijani society, the first information resource for LGBT citizens of Azerbaijan Gay.Az was awarded by the international company for registration of domain names in the .GAY zone "Top Level Design" of the domain name Salam.gay
As the editor-in-chief of the information resource Gay.Az Ruslan Balukhin said, obtaining a personal domain name in the international zone .GAY is an achievement of the entire team of activists who work for LGBT people. “We are glad that the activities of Gay.Az were highly appreciated by the international registrar company. I am convinced that we will continue to make every effort for development and growth for the benefit of the LGBT community of Azerbaijan. "
“In order to break this circle of silence that generates violence, the media must assume the role of the fourth estate and voice what has not been heard so far. As long as the media continue to be parrots of the government's reprehensible and hateful propaganda, they will remain on the side of the oppressors. Thus, they become complicit in the violence. "
Due to lack of funding, the article was translated by google translator. Gay.Az editors apologize for the inconvenience*
Gay.Az/Salam.gay
photo: wonderzine.com
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