As the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia get under way, here are 5 actions you can take to support LGBT equality in Russian during and after the games.
1. Change Your Profile Picture to Promote LGBT Equality
The Russian LGBT Network encourages supporters to change their social media profile pictures to express solidarity with LGBT indviduals and call on the International Olympic Committee to uphold its mission and promote LGBT equality and non-discrimination during the games. [1]
2. Donate to the Russia Freedom Fund
The Russia Freedom Fund is a U.S. tax-deductible vehicle for making financial contributions in support of the LGBT movement in Russia in their efforts to combat discrimination and violence there based on sexual orientation and gender identity. One hundred percent of all donations will be paid out as grants. This initiative responds to growing concerns about recent state-sponsored discrimination in Russia and expresses solidarity between the international LGBT community and allies, and the Russian LGBT movement. [2]
3. Draw attention to LGBT-related #SochiProblems
Many people arriving in Sochi have taken to Twitter with reports of the problems they’ve encountered so far, mostly citing lack of hot water and bad hotel hygeine. Use #SochiProblems to remind the world that anti-gay laws, violence against LGBT people and repression of LGBT rights are #SochiProblems, too. The International Olympic Committee has assured Russian LGBT Organizations that participants in the games are free to express their opinion in press conferences, media interviews, conversations with officials and peers, and on social media and that these expressions do not violate the Olympic Charter. [3]
4. Read the Council on Global Equality’s Fact Sheet
The Council for Global Equality, a coalition of international human rights activists, foreign policy experts, LGBT leaders, philanthropists and corporate officials, has developed a fact sheet on LGBT rights in Russia summarizing the developments and the guidance that they have received from colleagues in Russia. [4]
5. Get Live News Updates at QueerRussia
The website queerussia.info aggregates news updates and articles from Russian LGBT organizations and mainstream news sources. [5]
International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC)