Russia implements comprehensive ban on sex change and transgender marriages

Tags: International News

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed new legislation that significantly affects the LGBTQ+ community in Russia.

The law, passed unanimously by both houses of Parliament, includes a comprehensive ban on sex change.

An Overview of the News

• Medical interventions aimed at changing a person's sex and changing sex on official documents or public records are strictly prohibited.

• The new law allows medical intervention only to treat congenital anomalies.

• The law also affects marriage and family planning, voids marriages where one partner has changed gender, and prevents transgender persons from becoming foster or adoptive parents.

• The ban is rooted in the government's pursuit of what they consider to be the nation's "traditional values".

• Lawmakers argue that the law is necessary to combat "anti-Western family ideology".

• The crackdown on LGBTQ+ rights in Russia has been ongoing for a decade, with a number of restrictive measures introduced over the years.

• The government's stance on promoting "traditional family values" was supported by the Russian Orthodox Church.

• Various laws were enacted to suppress LGBTQ+ rights, including banning "non-traditional sexual relations" between minors and banning same-sex marriage.

• Last year, a law was introduced to suppress the "promotion of non-traditional sexual relations" among adults, further tightening restrictions on LGBTQ+ rights in the country.

Key Points

• Estonia is the first Central European country to allow same-sex marriage.

• Edgars Rinkevic is the first openly gay head of state in the European Union.