No longer protected by the law, the gay men and woman of Russia have been shunted into a category that sees them treated like second class citizens. Scores of horrific videos, uploaded by apparent 'vigilantes', that depict homosexuals being humiliated, subjected to violent behaviour and tortured have been storming around the internet; yet although Western society is quick to protest such monstrous behaviour, the international community seems to be sitting idly by.
However, recently there have been rumblings that action should be taken and that Russia, who is due to host the Winter Olympics, oughta to be boycotted as a sign of protest to this blatant breach of human rights. But would boycotting really have such a profound effect?
As gripping as a international boycott does seem, the international community needs to do more than boycott the Olympics, as boycotts are rarely affective. Not only this, it will likely have more of a negative effect on the LGBT community; in fact it may even spur on this hatful treatment.
Without a doubt if you were to walk along the streets of Moscow or St Petersburg, or for that matter simply Google the words 'Russia' and 'homosexual', you'll find yourself agreeing that homophobia is ubiquitous under Putin's bigoted rule. Simply boycotting alone will not suffice; if profound change is going to happen we need to do two things. The first is engagement:
Having leaders of western world engage and confront Putin may not be as glamorous or headline grappling, but it will establish an international dialogue; force Russia to see that Her behaviour is a breach of human rights and that it is not acceptable. But will Putin just be invasive? Perhaps, but if there's a boycott Putin could see this as a reason to take this bigotry and hateful behaviour further. The more people that denounce Russia's treatment of the LGBT community
the more pressure Putin will feel.
The second thing is to show Russia that homosexuality isn't a 'Western invention' and show how far we, The UK, have progressed socially over the last decade. Section 28 was the United Kingdom's version of Russian law, and after struggling for years the majority of people look back and are (and should be) appalled by how the LGBT community were treated here.
Equality is a slow moving beast, but by using our history as an example we may bring about some change. Russian law demonises homosexuality; it stops people knowing what it is so they live in a world of ignorance and if you compare it with what Section 28 was like when it was first introduced they are nearly identical. We need to remember our own history and show it to Russia.
World leaders need to stand up for the LGBT community, international and especially in Russia, because, although we think we are living in the 21st century, in many places we are not.
