{"id":4386,"date":"2014-02-13T12:37:31","date_gmt":"2014-02-13T12:37:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.againstchildtrafficking.org\/?p=4386"},"modified":"2014-02-20T12:38:31","modified_gmt":"2014-02-20T12:38:31","slug":"with-all-eyes-on-russia-kremlin-expands-ban-on-same-sex-adoptions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/old.againstchildtrafficking.org\/archive\/with-all-eyes-on-russia-kremlin-expands-ban-on-same-sex-adoptions\/","title":{"rendered":"With all eyes on Russia, Kremlin expands ban on same-sex adoptions"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
Source:\u00a0http:\/\/www.theglobeandmail.com<\/a>
\nMARK MACKINNON
\nPublished Thursday, Feb. 13 2014<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

In the middle of a Winter Games already tainted by criticism of the Russian government\u2019s treatment of gay and lesbians, the Kremlin has tightened a ban on same-sex couples from adopting Russian children, expanding it to also preclude single would-be parents from countries \u2013 such as Canada \u2013 that allow gay marriage.<\/p>\n

A new decree, signed by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and posted Wednesday on an official government website, expands a 2013 ban on adoptions by same-sex couples to specify that \u201csame-sex couples who are lawfully married in countries that have legal same-sex marriage, or unmarried nationals from these countries\u201d will not be allowed to adopt Russian children.<\/p>\n

There are currently 15 countries that legally recognize same-sex marriages. Only 14 countries allow adoptions by same-sex couples.<\/p>\n

Russia, however, looks set to become the first country to specifically ban adoptions by single applicants living in countries that permit gay marriage. According to the official RIA Novosti news agency, France, Spain and Canada are the countries that adopt the most Russian children. All three recognize same-sex marriages.<\/p>\n

(Adoptions by United States citizens have been banned since the start of 2013 after an adopted Russian toddler died of heat stroke after being left in a parked car for nine hours.)<\/p>\n

For two decades, Russia has been one of the largest source countries for foreign adoptions, second only to China. Human-rights activists say the new law is linked to the Kremlin\u2019s desire to appeal to conservative Russians and the Russian Orthodox Church by standing up for \u201ctraditional\u201d values against principles \u2013 such as equality for gays and lesbians \u2013 that are seen as Western in origin.<\/p>\n

The Russian Orthodox Church has seen its influence grow in the country since Vladimir Putin returned to the Kremlin in 2012 for a third term as President. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered Russians say they live in an increasingly hostile environment, with rising incidences of workplace discrimination and physical violence.<\/p>\n

They also complain of the Kremlin\u2019s overt linkages between homosexuality and pedophilia. Mr. Putin signed a law last year outlawing any \u201cpropaganda promoting non-traditional sexual relations\u201d that can be viewed by minors. The law \u2013 which is punishable by fines and, in the case of foreigners, expulsion \u2013 restricts any media portraying gays and lesbians as normal to an over-18 audience.<\/p>\n

Speaking ahead of the opening of the Sochi Olympics, Mr. Putin said gays were welcome to attend the Games, but asked that they \u201cleave the children in peace.\u201d<\/p>\n

The document signed by Mr. Medvedev says the new measures are needed \u201cto guarantee a full and harmonious development for adopted children and to safeguard their psyche and consciousness from possible unwanted influence such as artificial forcing of non-traditional sexual behaviour.\u201d<\/p>\n

The law also cites \u201cthe suffering, complexes and stresses that, according to psychologists\u2019 studies, are often experienced by kids raised in same-sex families.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tanya Lokshina, Russia program director for Human Rights Watch, said the ban on adoptions from countries that allow gay marriage was \u201cpart of an ideological campaign that Russia has commenced against LGBT people.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said another bill currently being considered by Russia\u2019s parliament, the Duma, would prevent Russian couples in \u201cnon-traditional\u201d relationships from having children using surrogate mothers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe government is attempting to consolidate its base of support\u201d by appealing to social conservatives, Ms. Lokshina said. \u201cPutin\u2019s ratings are currently lower than before, so the Kremlin is trying to direct public discontent versus specially designated enemies, including the LGBT community.\u201d<\/p>\n

There is no Pride House \u2013 a feature of both the Vancouver Winter Olympics and London 2012 Summer Olympics \u2013 in Sochi, after a local judge ruled a pavilion hosting LGBT athletes and visitors would violate the gay propaganda law.<\/p>\n

While U.S. President Barack Obama appeared to register a protest by sending an American delegation headed by several openly gay athletes, there have thus far been no political gestures during the Games themselves.<\/p>\n

Dmitry Chernyshenko, the head of the Sochi Organizing Committee warned athletes on eve of the Games that competitors should \u201ctalk about sport, not politics.\u201d
\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Source:\u00a0http:\/\/www.theglobeandmail.com MARK MACKINNON Published Thursday, Feb. 13 2014 In the middle of a Winter Games already tainted by criticism of the Russian government\u2019s treatment of gay and lesbians, the Kremlin has tightened a ban on same-sex couples from adopting Russian children, expanding it to also preclude single would-be parents from countries \u2013 such as Canada… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/old.againstchildtrafficking.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4386"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/old.againstchildtrafficking.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/old.againstchildtrafficking.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/old.againstchildtrafficking.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/old.againstchildtrafficking.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4386"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/old.againstchildtrafficking.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4386\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4388,"href":"https:\/\/old.againstchildtrafficking.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4386\/revisions\/4388"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/old.againstchildtrafficking.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4386"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/old.againstchildtrafficking.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4386"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/old.againstchildtrafficking.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4386"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}