Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed new legislation that significantly affects the LGBTQ+ community in Russia.
The law, passed unanimously by both houses of Parliament, includes a comprehensive ban on sex change.
Medical interventions aimed at changing a person’s sex and changing sex on official documents or public records are strictly prohibited.
The new law allows medical intervention only to treat congenital anomalies.
The law also affects marriage and family planning, voids marriages where one partner has changed gender, and prevents transgender persons from becoming foster or adoptive parents.
The ban is rooted in the government’s pursuit of what they consider to be the nation’s “traditional values”.
Lawmakers argue that the law is necessary to combat “anti-Western family ideology.
The crackdown on LGBTQ+ rights in Russia has been ongoing for a decade, with a number of restrictive measures introduced over the years.
The government’s stance on promoting “traditional family values” was supported by the Russian Orthodox Church.
Various laws were enacted to suppress LGBTQ+ rights, including banning “non-traditional sexual relations” between minors and banning same-sex marriage.
