Bulgaria’s parliament passes ban on LGBTQ+ ‘propaganda’ in schools
People hold rainbow flags as they take part in the annual Gay Pride Parade in central Sofia on June 10, 2017. (Getty)
Bulgaria’s parliament has approved an anti-LGBTQ+ law prohibiting “propaganda [of] non-traditional sexual orientation and/or gender identity other than the biological one” in schools.
Changes to the country’s 2020 Pre-school and School Education Act were proposed by the pro-Russian Vazrazhdane Party and passed on Wednesday (7 August) by 159 votes to 22, with 12 abstentions.
The amendment outlaws the “propaganda, promotion or incitement in any way, directly or indirectly in the education system” and now defines “non-traditional sexual orientation” as “different from the generally accepted and established notions in the Bulgarian legal tradition of emotional, romantic, sexual or sensual attraction between persons of opposite sexes”.
In response, LGBTQ+ Bulgarians and their allies took to the streets of the capital, Sofia, chanting: “Shame on you.”
In a statement, queer rights group Deystvie said: “Bulgaria is following in Russia’s footsteps,” a country which has increasingly cracked down on LGBTQ+ rights and outlawed the so-called international LGBT movement.
The new law “implicitly foreshadows a witch-hunt and sanctions any educational efforts related to LGBTQ people in school,” Deystvie lawyer Denitsa Lyubenova said.
Meanwhile, feminist organisation LevFem called the legislation a “hate law”, writing on social media that the country’s “MPs turned school into an even more dangerous place for teenagers”, adding: “They normalised violence against LGBT+ people and denied LGBT+ youth access to information and life-saving support during the most difficult time of their lives.”
The Bulgarian Helsinki Committee, a human rights group, had urged lawmakers to abandon the amendments.
LGBTQ+ rights in Bulgaria
Bulgaria has a less-than-glowing record when it comes to LGBTQ+ rights.
In October 2022, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) has called on Bulgaria to crack down on anti-LGBTQ+ behaviour.
The report, focused on addressing inequality in Bulgaria, identified the LGBTQ+ community, as well as Roma people, as “the main victims of public expressions of hatred and prejudice” in the country.
In September 2023, the country was ordered by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) to establish a legal framework acknowledging same-sex relationships.
“It is clear to the Court that to date the Bulgarian authorities have taken no steps to have adequate legal regulations adopted with regard to the recognition of unions between persons of the same sex,” the ECHR wrote in its decision.
A month later, in October 2023, Bulgaria’s Supreme Court sided with a singer who branded gay people “perverts”.
Writing on Facebook in 2021, Bulgarian punk star Milena Slavova said: “I am sure I do not support gay parades. Poor us – normal people – are already suffocating from the brazenness and flaunting of various perverts.
In response to the post, two LGBTQ+ activists from Deistvie (Action) filed a discrimination case against the singer, however the court ruled in favour of Slavona.
