[:it]HOMOTRANSPHOBIA: 187 CASES IN ARCIGAY'S 2019 REPORT. PIAZZONI: "A DRAMATIC SURGE FOR WHICH POLITICS ARE CLEARLY RESPONSIBLE."” Bologna, May 16, 2019 LGBTI people beaten, mocked, discriminated against, blackmailed, insulted, and, in many cases, targeted by a deliberate hate campaign by political forces and neo-fascist groups: the portrait emerging from the 2019 report on homotransphobic cases, reported from May 17, 2018, to the present, is merciless. The monitoring draws on press sources, that is, it takes the perspective of media professionals and creates a snapshot that combines the quantitative and qualitative levels of interpretation of the phenomenon. First of all, from a quantitative standpoint, 187 stories were recorded, significantly more than the 119 recorded last year. Obviously, this number does not fully capture the scale of the phenomenon (not all homotransphobic discrimination or violence makes the headlines), but comparing this indicator with those of previous years reveals a trend that cannot fail to be alarming. The key aspect, however, is qualitative, that is, observing the ways in which homotransphobia takes shape in social contexts. From this perspective, the numerous incidents of homotransphobic violence perpetrated by groups or baby gangs, in some cases particularly ruthless, are concerning. This phenomenon is connected to the hate crimes and hate speech that occur in school settings, targeting both male and female students and teachers and principals. Discrimination also occurs in the workplace, as well as in leisure settings—bars, restaurants—where LGBTI people are sometimes shunned or stigmatized. Homotransphobia also occurs within families, where coming out sometimes triggers violent and oppressive mechanisms. A key issue, which has visibly strengthened over the past year, is institutional homotransphobia, a paradoxical situation in a country that only three years ago enacted a law recognizing same-sex couples. Despite this, organizations and institutions—based on personal beliefs or political propaganda—deny recognition and force recognition processes in a regressive manner, even contradicting judicial pronouncements. The most obvious case is that of the sons and daughters of same-sex families, targets of a veritable hate campaign aimed at undermining consensus at the expense of these children. The report also collects numerous reports of actions by increasingly numerous and active far-right groups. Threats and violence against LGBTI activists, as well as vandalism of association offices, are also shocking. There is a marked increase in cases of hidden homosexuals being blackmailed, almost always for extortion, precisely because of the visibility of their sexual orientation. These cases sometimes border on revenge porn, but even when they don't share photos or videos, they maintain a very high level of violence and oppression. Finally, the two murders documented in the report (one in Rome, the other in Castelfranco Emilia) deserve special mention. Their homophobic nature will be definitively established in court, but they already display very typical features: one of the victims—a Roman painter, who died following a severe beating—had previously been attacked in very similar situations, while the other—a security guard killed in a notorious cruising area—had already been reported as a regular visitor to that location. "The numbers and stories we've collected over the past twelve months," comments Gabriele Piazzoni, Secretary General of Arcigay, "reinforce and solidify a warning we've long been acutely aware of, a warning closely linked to the political climate our country has sunk into. Hate campaigns, even when they're limited to words, set in motion explosive mechanisms that legitimize violence: this is what the report tells us first and foremost. The issue is extremely serious, especially considering that one of the protagonists of these hate campaigns is the League (a League senator, Simone Pillon, was recently convicted for his defamatory campaigns against LGBTI people), whose leader is the Minister of the Interior. This is an unacceptable paradox: the very person who should be caring for the safety of citizens is the leader of a party whose propaganda daily exposes LGBTI people to the violence of haters. This report should prompt Minister Salvini and the many politicians who behave like him to a thorough examination." of conscience. Obviously, political propaganda is only one of the ingredients of this phenomenon: solutions, therefore, must be implemented organically and structurally, focusing both on the legislative level—that is, by providing this country with a law against homophobia—and on the social and cultural level, where credible and effective countermeasures are lacking.
On May 17, the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, Arcigay has launched a social media campaign that focuses on raising awareness in contexts where violence and discrimination occur. Anyone can witness hateful behavior or speech toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. From the workplace to school, from the supermarket to the family, countless people see incidents of discrimination or hear insults and contempt, sometimes disguised as jokes or jokes, but no less painful for those who experience them. The indifference of decent people is hate's greatest ally. This is why the campaign's slogan is "Don't remain indifferent, fight homophobia." All the materials are available at this link: www.arcigay.it/non-restare-indifferente-combatti-lomobitransfobia/
Here is the 2019 report 
Homotransphobia Report 2019
TO this link *HOMOTRANSPHOBIA, 187 CASES IN ARCIGAY'S 2019 REPORT. PIAZZONI: "DRAMATIC SURGE FOR WHICH POLITICS IS CLEARLY RESPONSIBILITY"* *Bologna, May 16, 2019* – LGBTI people beaten, mocked, discriminated against, blackmailed, insulted, and in many cases targeted by a deliberate hate campaign by political forces and neo-fascist groups: the portrait that emerges from the 2019 report on cases of homotransphobia, reported from May 17, 2018 to today, is merciless. The monitoring draws on press sources, that is, it assumes the point of view of information operators and takes a snapshot that combines the quantitative and qualitative levels of interpretation of the phenomenon. First, quantitatively, 187 cases were recorded, significantly more than the 119 recorded last year. Obviously, this number doesn't fully capture the scale of the phenomenon (not all homophobic discrimination or violence makes the headlines), but comparing this indicator with those of previous years reveals a trend that cannot fail to be alarming. The key aspect, however, is qualitative, namely, observing the ways in which homophobia takes shape in social contexts. From this perspective, the numerous incidents of homophobic violence perpetrated by groups or youth gangs, some of which are particularly ruthless, are concerning. This phenomenon is connected to the hate crimes and hate speech that occur in school settings, targeting both male and female students as well as teachers and principals. Discrimination also occurs in the workplace, but also in leisure settings—bars, restaurants—where LGBTI people are sometimes shunned or stigmatized. Homotransphobia also exists within families, where coming out sometimes triggers violent and oppressive mechanisms. A key issue, which has visibly strengthened over the past year, is institutional homotransphobia, paradoxical in a country that only three years ago enacted a law recognizing same-sex couples. Despite this, organizations and institutions—based on personal beliefs or political propaganda—deny recognition and force recognition processes in a regressive manner, even contradicting judicial pronouncements. The most obvious case is that of the sons and daughters of same-sex families, targets of a veritable hate campaign aimed at undermining consensus at the expense of their children. The report also collects numerous reports relating to actions by increasingly numerous and active far-right groups. Threats and violence against LGBTI activists, as well as vandalism of association offices, are also striking. There is a marked increase in cases of hidden homosexuals being blackmailed, almost always for extortion, precisely because of the visibility of their sexual orientation. These cases sometimes border on revenge porn, but even when they don't share photos or videos, they maintain a very high level of violence and oppression. Finally, the two murders documented in the report (one in Rome, the other in Castelfranco Emilia) deserve special mention. Their homophobic nature will be definitively established in court, but they already display very typical features: one of the victims—a Roman painter, who died following a severe beating—had previously been attacked in very similar situations, while the other—a security guard killed in a notorious cruising area—had already been reported as a regular visitor to that location. "The numbers and stories we've collected over the past twelve months," comments Gabriele Piazzoni, Secretary General of Arcigay, "reinforce and solidify a warning we've long been acutely aware of, a warning closely linked to the political climate our country has sunk into. Hate campaigns, even when they're limited to words, set in motion explosive mechanisms that legitimize violence: this is what the report tells us first and foremost. The issue is extremely serious, especially considering that one of the protagonists of these hate campaigns is the League (a League senator, Simone Pillon, was recently convicted for his defamatory campaigns against LGBTI people), whose leader is the Minister of the Interior. This is an unacceptable paradox: the very person who should be caring for the safety of citizens is the leader of a party whose propaganda daily exposes LGBTI people to the violence of haters. This report should prompt Minister Salvini and the many politicians who behave like him to a thorough examination." of conscience. Obviously, political propaganda is only one of the ingredients of this phenomenon: solutions, therefore, must be implemented organically and structurally, focusing both on the legislative level—that is, by providing this country with a law against homophobia—and on the social and cultural level, where credible and effective countermeasures are lacking.
On May 17, the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, Arcigay has launched a social media campaign that focuses on raising awareness in contexts where violence and discrimination occur. Anyone can witness hateful behavior or speech toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. From the workplace to school, from the supermarket to the family, countless people see incidents of discrimination or hear insults and contempt, sometimes disguised as jokes, but no less painful for those who experience them. The indifference of decent people is hate's greatest ally. This is why the campaign's slogan is "Don't remain indifferent, fight homophobia." All the materials are available at this link: www.arcigay.it/en/non-restare-indifferente-combatti-lomobitransfobia/#.XN1enS_W7MI
The 2019 report is attached. The sources consulted are available at this link: drive.google.com/open?id=1oXon9sxEmQht7d97EVkDF7Ia3s-r14vR
[:]
