7 International LGBT Activists You Need To Know About

From: NewNowNext

Mamikon Hovsepyan

Armenia

Homosexuality has been legal in Armenia since 2003, but incidents of discrimination, harassment and violence are not uncommon—primarily due to a lack of education and the influence of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

Mamikon Hovsepyan is the director of Public Information and Need for Knowledge (PINK) Armenia, the leading LGBT rights group in the country.

“We are focused on LGBT human-rights protection and advocacy, and we use all the mechanisms—mostly international organizations—to bring change, slowly,” he tells NNN. “But it’s also very important for us to empower LGBT people here in Armenia—we need more community members to join the movement and make changes together.”

Last year, Hovsepyan was one of 60 people publicly outed in by the tabloid Iravunk, which linked to their Facebook profiles and called on readers to shun them. Those outed were harassed and threatened, and one man was unable to return to Iran after the list was published.

PINK supported a lawsuit against Iravunk but the courts ruled in favor of the tabloid.

“Hate speech in Armenia is rising day by day,” Hovsepyan told NNN. “The homophobic media has the support of government officials and promotes aggression and hate toward LGBT people.”

He points to PINK surveys that show that LGBT people face violence and discrimination in every sphere, from their families to healthcare, education, and the government. “That is the reason we have low number of people taking the cases to police or court.”