Romanian gays abused by the law

Many of you may not know that, before the year 2001, the Romanian criminal code, through its 200th article, forbade “the sexual relations between persons of the same sex”. Shocking as it may seem, the punishment for homosexual relations was, according to the Romanian law, up to five years imprisonment. In 1996, after international pressure, especially from the Council of Europe, Article 200 paragraph 1 was amended to punish homosexual acts "committed in public, or if causing public scandal" with one to five years imprisonment.
In Romania, being gay or lesbian – having a public identity as such, and a sexual orientation different from the majority – was, effectively, against the law.
After Romania's violent change of government in December 1989, many of the most Ceausescu-era laws affecting private life were struck down. Prohibitions on abortion were repealed within days. In some districts, it even appears that police lists of suspected homosexuals were discarded or lost. One policeman in Sibiu told IGLHRC in 1993, "After the Revolution, the police were intimidated and were not doing their jobs. Many of the old files on homosexuals had been destroyed. I had to begin rebuilding them virtually from scratch."
However, Article 200 itself remained unchanged. The law only began to attract international attention. The Romanian government responded to periodic questions by claiming that the first paragraph of the article, prohibiting consensual sexual relations between adults of the same sex, was a "dead law," no longer enforced.
But these assertions were false. Other officials in the Ministry of Justice confirmed, at the same time, that persons convicted for homosexuality were still held in the prison system.
The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission was eventually able to document numerous abuses against the rights of lesbians and gay men in the Romania of the post-1989 era – cases which reveal the tenacity of prejudice among police, prosecutors, and other officials.

“I was nineteen and this was the most terrible thing that had happened in my life. I understood that I was a criminal; and I saw, too, that my only crime was myself. I hated myself; I hated this country, too, because I suddenly saw that it hated me and it had always hated me . . . As I sat in my cell and the terror of the days increased, my hair began to turn grey.”
Florin Hopris, 19 years old, Sibiu, May 1993
“Sometimes on the street I pass one of the policemen who beat me that night, and I remember how they called me a cocksucker and a pervert, how they laughed at me, how they stuck my head down the toilet . . . I wish there were someone to punish them for the way they punished me. Instead I am afraid to look at them. I look away.”
Radu Vasiliu, 18 years old, Iasi, June 1997

These are the socking stories of only two of too many that have suffered from the stupidity of ones belief.

After all the pressure from outside Romania, in 2001, after no more then 12 years from the Revolution, the Article 200 was repelled completely. It was an aberration of a hideous era, full of abuses of all kinds, an aberration passed on successfully to a post – communist generation that continues to remain captive to its own limitations.
It’s a God given low to love and not to forbid anyone to do so.

Top Myths About Gay Men

There are many generalization about gay men. For some, the only exposure to homosexuality is through the media or word-of-mouth. Unfortunately, this is how many stereotypes are spread. Below are the top myths and misconceptions about gay men:

It's Just a Phase
Many people believe that being gay or bisexual is just a phase. This is a large misconception. Thousands of gay men have sought therapy, "reverse gay counseling" and even heterosexual relationships to suppress their homosexual feelings. Most of these attempts at living a heterosexual lifestyle only further suppress homosexual feelings. These feelings can later surface, sometimes leading to divorce, custody battles or adultery.


All Gay Men Will Die of AIDS
Many rumors about AIDS still linger from the 80's.
Those misconceptions were based on a lack of understanding and fear. Though the source of the deadly disease hasn't been traced to it's root, AIDS is not just a gay disease. Learn the facts about AIDS and talk with your loved one about how they can practice safer sex. It may be uncomfortable at first but is worth the effort in the long run.


Gay Men Are Only Concerned With Sex
Often, people associate gay men with sexual addiction. However, the majority of gay individuals are no more sexually active than heterosexuals. Many gay men visit bars, clubs or the internet in an effort to find sexual partners, however just as many seek long term relationships in the same places.

All Gay Men Are Feminine
Unfortunately, many media outlets portray gay men as overly effeminate. As with the mannerisms of heterosexuals, the degree of masculinity varies amongst homosexuals. The belief that all gay men desire to be women or are feminine is merely a generalization. Those within the gay community are just as diverse as any other group.


Someone Made Him Gay
Studies have shown that being gay is not directly related to one's environment. For instance, many mothers in retrospect regret being too close to their sons, thinking that is what "made" them gay. However, their relationship with their child had little to do with them being gay. Homosexuals are born, not made. Research continues in an effort to find the source of homosexuality, but blaming oneself or environment is not the answer.


Gay Men Can't Get Married or Have Children
One of the biggest fears for many families is that their gay loved ones are condemned to a life alone without children. However, the battle for same sex marriage continues throughout the world. Countries such as Iceland, Belgium, Canada and France already recognize gay civil unions or full gay marriage. In the U.S. support for same sex marriage continues to gain with legalized marriages, domestic partnerships or unions in Vermont, California, Massachusetts and New Jersey. What does this mean for your loved one? Well, it means that there are many gay couples that are in committed and happy relationships. These relationships are often long lasting and sometimes involve adopted or naturally born children.

Discrimination against Gays and Lesbians in Romania Takes New Forms

REPORT by ACCEPT (Romanian Gay Rights Association)

Reasoning:

At present, Romanian Public Authorities state in international and domestic contexts that Article 200 of the Romanian Penal Code is no longer enforced, that gays and lesbians in Romania are not prosecuted anymore, and that there are no more convictions by the Romanian Courts in cases regulated by Article 200, paragraphs 1 and 5, Romanian Penal Code.

As result of this, international organisms such as the Council of Europe and the European Union deleted the issue of discrimination against gay and lesbian people from their agendas concerning human rights in Romania. Also, a part of the Romanian media and lots of Romanian politicians argue that Article 200 may remain in the Penal Code, since it is no longer causing the problems that had brought it on international agendas such as the one of Romania's accession to the European Union.

Since the life of gays and lesbians in Romania has not changed much and discrimination against them has just started to take other forms, ACCEPT is committed to document the new cases and to make them known to the general public, to the Romanian authorities and, last but not least, to international organisms that monitor the human rights development in Romania.

We present below three cases that ACCEPT has learnt about only in the past three months. We all must not forget that these are only the cases of some gay people that had the courage to report what happened to them. Many others remain silent and dominated by fear. But their stories must be similar to the ones below.

Adrian Coman
Executive Director
ACCEPT (Bucharest Acceptance Group)

All people mentioned below were NOT under 18 at the time of the reported stories. Their identity remains confidential.

• Bucharest
  

Two gay men lived together in an apartment rented by one of them. They regularly had trouble with a neighbor who complained about mundane neighbor issues such as the volume of the stereo, trash, frequency of his visitors, etc. The neighbor eventually filed an unsigned complaint with the police related to these issues. At the end of his complaint, he added something to the effect that "there is strong reason to believe that there is homosexual activity taking place in the apartment."
Upon reading the allegation of "homosexual activity", the police informally telephoned the renter and summoned him to the police department. They proceeded to ask him questions about each of the allegations of the neighbor, including the allegation of homosexuality. Ultimately, they asked the renter to sign a written statement. Although the written statement did not confirm that he had a homosexual relationship, it did state that his boyfriend was a good friend and frequent visitor to the apartment, which could certainly be used in court to substantiate a case of homosexual relations under the "public scandal" law.
The case raises several disturbing issues. First, the police were acting on an unsigned complaint from the neighbor, which is improper if not illegal. Second, the police never issued a written summons to the renter to appear for questioning, but rather used an informal telephone call; again, improper. Third, although the police were not acting on signed complaint, they asked the gay renter to sign a statement admitting key facts in the case.

• Bucharest, August 1999

Two gay men were sitting on a bench in the Cismigiu public park of Bucharest in the night at a time when the park is not populated. One of them is Romanian; the other is a US citizen of a Romanian origin.
The police patrol asked for their ID cards and asked them if they are homosexuals, due to the fact that the two men were sitting very close to one another and that they were not hiding this. They admitted being homosexual and asked the police if they had any problem with this. The two men were convinced that article 200 had been abolished, which they also told the policemen. The policemen informed them that article 200 had not been abolished and that same sex relations were still criminalized in Romania.
The policemen took the two gay men to the police station and ordered them to wash the floors. They warned the two gay men that a refuse would lead to forwarding an official report from the Police to the prosecutor who would issue a pre-trial detention order for them.
The two gay men were released in the morning after having to clean the police station the whole night, and after being verbally aggressed and humiliated.
This case confirms the fact that, although article 200 is no longer present in court decisions, it remains present in the police staff mentality and behavior.

• Arad and Cluj Napoca, September 1999

Two gay men, one from Arad (southwest of Transylvania) and the other from Cluj-Napoca (center of Transylvania) were living as a couple for several months. They were meeting each other regularly, although they were living in different cities.
The Cluj-Napoca guy informed his mother about his sexual orientation and about his love affair with the men from Arad. His mother appealed to a family friend - a Cluj Police colonel - in order to make his son stop seeing his boyfriend. The Cluj colonel phoned the man from Arad and threatened him that if he did not stop seeing his boyfriend they both would be arrested by the Police.
The two men continued seeing each other and, two weeks later, the man from Arad found a hand written invitation from an Arad Police officer, to come to the Arad Police station. The man from Arad responded to the invitation, although it was hand written and not stamped by the Police seal. At the Police station he was threatened the same way: that he and his boyfriend would be arrested if they do not stop being gay.
This case illustrates the non-official acting of police officers, based on the anti-gay personal feelings and the past anti-gay policy of the Police as an institution. It also shows the existing network that enables one police officer from one city to call on a colleague of his from another city to act in a non official, if not illegal, manner on a case regulated by Article 200 of the Penal Code.
In general, these three cases highlight the fact that the persecution of Romanian gays and lesbians has moved from formal prosecution and imprisonment to informal harassment, which is more difficult to monitor. In some ways, the latter is more dangerous to gay people than the former.

Special Christmas for Romanian Gays

Bucharest—Romanian gays and lesbians celebrated Christmas with folks and then with friends in the clubs, much like their counterparts in most other western countries. But, this Christmas was unusual. It was the first time they did not fear being rounded up by police and sent to jail.

The government has finally scrapped the law which criminalized homosexuality.

The infamous Article 200 of the Penal Code was conceived during the oppressive Communist regime of Nicolae Ceausescu. It was used to hassle and put in prison thousands of gay and lesbian people.

But, it took 12 unbearable years after the fall of Ceausescu for the law to be repealed.

Romania’s gay rights group “ACCEPT” led the campaign against the law. But, the greatest pressure came from EU.

Christmas night Heaven, Bucharest’s new gay nightclub was packed.

"I am really happy we have got a club where we can meet, have fun and feel free," said one customer.

"Everyone has a right to their freedom and that includes their sexuality," said another.

"I feel good—it is super."

But while the regime has voided anti-gay legislation, the burgeoning gay community must find its place in Romanian life, and it will take work to change long held attitudes.

Last year a public opinion poll found that 86% of Romanians would not want a gay or lesbian person as their neighbor.

The Orthodox Church still exerts huge authority in Romania. When politicians debated Article 200, the voice of the church was equally strident. It warned of the dangers to Romania and to the family.

Senior priests say laws and penalty are still necessary to stop what they call ‘gay propaganda’.