In a devastating blow to Russia’s LGBTQ+ community, President Vladimir Putin signed new legislation that marked the final step in outlawing gender-affirming procedures.
The bill received unanimous approval from both houses of parliament and encompasses a wide range of restrictions affecting transgender individuals.
The legislation bans all medical interventions aimed at changing the gender of a person, as well as any changes to one’s gender in official documents and public records.
The sole exception is when congenital defects are treated medically.
Furthermore, the law annuls marriages in which one person has changed gender and bars transgender individuals from becoming foster or adoptive parents.
The ban is attributed to the Kremlin’s pursuit of protecting what it deems as the country’s traditional values.
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Lawmakers argue that the legislation is necessary to shield Russia from what they view as Western anti-family ideology, with some even labeling gender transitioning as pure satanism.
This latest crackdown on LGBTQ+ rights is part of a decade-long campaign initiated by Putin, who declared a focus on traditional family values, supported by the Russian Orthodox Church.
The Kremlin adopted regulations in 2013 that forbade any public support of non-conventional sexual interactions between adolescents.
Last year, a constitutional reform was implemented, effectively outlawing same-sex marriage.
In addition, a law was signed banning propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations among adults.
The new legislation adds to the existing climate of fear and discrimination faced by Russia’s LGBTQ+ community.
Human rights activists and international organizations have condemned the move, calling for the protection of fundamental human rights and the end to state-sponsored discrimination against marginalized communities.
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