Love deserves respect!

And that applies to any kind of love, no matter whether it is gay, lesbian, bisexual or heterosexual. A poster campaign against intolerance and discrimination has been launched in Vienna to send out a clear message against homophobia. “Homophobia has no place in Vienna,” underlined Sandra Frauenberger, the executive city councillor for integration.

Homosexuals and transgender people are often subject to discrimination: “jokes”, prejudices, verbal abuse and sometimes even physical violence can make life a real misery for gays and lesbians. The problem is also that many forms of homophobic violence aren’t even recognised as such. The social discrimination of homosexuals has a long history and those affected by it have already got used to this lack of respect. However, the constant exclusion can be very draining. “We know today that the rate of attempted suicide among homosexuals in Austria is seven times higher than among heterosexuals,” says Johannes Wahala, director of the Vienna-based Courage counselling centre.

Homophobia as an international problem

Other cities struggle with the same problems – which is why the Berlin-Brandenburg section of the Lesbian and Gay Federation in Germany (LSVD) has developed and already started the “Love deserves respect!” campaign. “We have an openly gay mayor yet on the other hand young people in Berlin are often faced with severe violence because of their homosexuality,” the LSVD’s Jörg Steinert describes the complex problem in the German capital. The Courage counselling centre in Vienna has adapted the posters for Austria and won the support of the Verein Wiener Jugendzentren (association of Vienna youth centres), wienXtra – Jugendinfo Wien (youth information centre) and the Municipal Department for Integration and Diversity (MA 17). City councillor Frauenberger stresses that “Each and every individual in Vienna is free to choose his or her way of living and loving.” The total funding amounts to 3,200 euro: 2,000 euro come from the MA 17 and the rest comes from Verein Wiener Jugendzentren, wienXtra and Courage.

Can a kiss be a sin?

Three different, multilingual motifs – in German, Turkish, Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian – are put up primarily in schools, youth centres and other youth institutions to combat hostility against homosexuals; the poster campaign is accompanied by workshops and projects. A total of 3,000 posters will be put up all over Vienna. They show three couples – one lesbian, one gay and one heterosexual – kissing in an underground station. The choice of background was quite deliberate, explains Jörg Steinert: “Kissing in public is often a cause of violence. This mustn’t be a taboo.” The posters are to create respect for any kind of love and to generate a trusting environment for those concerned.
According to Jörg Steinert the response to the posters in Berlin has been both positive and negative. While many teachers had been very cooperative many posters had been destroyed and had to be replaced by new ones several times. As regards Vienna city councillor Frauenberger thinks that “the campaign will certainly lead to much public debate but that’s a good thing.”