ROME, Sept 27 (Reuters) – The LGBT community has “real fears” after a right-wing conservative group won Italy’s election, a leading gay rights leader told Reuters.
The Nationalist Brothers of Italy, led by Giorgio Meloni, emerged as the largest party in the election and will lead the right-wing government in Rome since World War II.
“Unfortunately there are real fears” about the erosion of human rights under the new administration, Fabrizio Marrazzo of the Gay Party said.
‘GENDER AND LGBT COLONISATION’
Marrazzo, the former leader of the Arcigay LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) organization that did not succeed in the September 25 election, said he was particularly worried about the cultural signs coming from the right.
He said it can be difficult to implement anti-LGBT programs in schools and said there has been an increase in the past in homophobic attacks in Italian cities and right-wing regions.
Pro Vita & Mr. Famiglia, a Catholic conservative who is deeply suspicious of sex education in schools, has called on the new government to appoint an education minister who opposes “any gender and LGBT ideological colonization in schools”.
Meloni is not expected to take office before the end of October, so it is too soon to tell if he will listen to this advice. Meanwhile, his party’s cultural and social affairs spokesman made a statement last week that homosexuals are “illegal”.
Federico Mollicone later clarified that he was only talking about homosexuals. He also said his party supports same-sex partnerships – although they voted against their introduction in 2016 – and is “against all discrimination”.
Meloni’s assistant also stood by calling for them to watch an episode of the popular children’s cartoon “Peppa Pig” which featured a bear with two mothers, saying that gay parents cannot be presented to young people “as a real thing”.
But surveys show that most Italians are relaxed.
In June, an Ipsos poll showed that 63% of Italians supported same-sex marriage rights, up 15 points from 2013, and 59% favored same-sex adoption, an increase of 17 points from nine years ago.
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Writing by Alvise Armellini; Editing by Janet Lawrence
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