* Govts, schools fail to take homophobia seriously-EU study
* Victims afraid to report hate crime
* Netherlands progressive, eastern Europe more hostile
By Sylvia Westall
VIENNA, March 31 (Reuters) - Homophobia is damaging people's
health and careers across Europe and the problem may be worse
than reported because victims are scared to draw attention to
themselves for fear of a backlash, an EU study said.
The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights said police
in most countries were incapable of dealing with homophobic
crime -- ranging from verbal abuse to deadly attacks -- and said
many governments and schools failed to take it seriously enough.
This creates a vicious circle, with victims preferring to
remain "invisible" rather than being open about their sexual
orientation or reporting abuse to authorities, the study showed.
"From their early years, the derogative words used for gays
and lesbians at schools teach them to remain invisible," said
the study, published on Tuesday.
"They often experience harassment and discrimination in the
workplace (and) in many countries they cannot secure their
relationships to one another as legal partners."
The study recommended anonymous reporting of homophobic
crime to combat the problem, highlighting pilot projects in the
Netherlands, Denmark and Slovenia as good examples.
Some serious cases of discrimination involved asylum
authorities, with people denied refuge because officials did not
believe they were fleeing persecution due to their sexuality.
In terms of health care, discrimination can mean people
avoid seeking help and in some cases were treated as if their
sexual orientation were a "disturbance or sickness".
EAST MORE HOSTILE
The report, which brought together research from 27
countries, said over half of EU citizens thought discrimination
on the grounds of sexual orientation was widespread in their
country.
Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Poland and Romania were singled
out for being hostile towards "gay pride" rallies and people
from countries in the region were generally less comfortable
with having a homosexual as a neighbour, for example.
Only three EU states -- Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain
-- gave full marriage rights to lesbians, gay men, bisexuals,
transsexuals and transgender people, while most of the other
countries do not award any rights at all.
In the Netherlands 82 percent were in favour of same-sex
marriage versus 11 percent in Romania and 12 percent in Latvia.
The study showed acceptance was also good in France,
Austria, Sweden and Spain, where politicians and religious
figures took part in pride demonstrations to raise awareness.
But open-mindedness tended to fade when people were asked if
they think homosexuals should be allowed to adopt children.
While media representations of homosexuality slightly
improved, stereotypes prevail, with eroticised images often used
to illustrate articles, enforcing the idea that sexual
orientation is about sex alone, the study said.
