If you’re feeling unwell, please to do not travel to Bulgaria to see a doctor, because they are likely to diagnose you with an acute case of being gay.
Yup, many European medical professionals still regard homosexuality as an illness, according to a new study from the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights. And oh boy, you really do not want to visit one of these doctors if you’re trans.
The study dives deep into the discrimination faced by queer people from all manner of civil servants — in law enforcement, in health, and in education. Police, for example, often dismiss hate crimes; of course there’s a lack of gender diversity in sexual education; and “there are still quite a number of healthcare professionals in several EU Member States who believe LGBT people suffer from pathological diseases.”
Bulgaria, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Poland, Romania and Slovakia seem to be the worst countries for LGBTs seeing treatment. (And of course American doctors are not without their problems.) But even in other countries, there’s a lack of awareness for the unique medical problems faced by queer people. About 14% of respondents said that they were asked inappropriate questions, and 8% had medical issues ignored.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
“We consider that these illnesses are generated by the fact that these people had an unhappy incident during childhood,” said one nurse in Romania, “and then they try somehow to respond to this need in a different way than the other people.”
One of the primary barriers to providing quality health care to LGBT people in those countries: religion, according to the study. Christian beliefs were particularly cited as a source of ignorance and bigotry.
Recommendations for dealing with the problem include better national policy around adoption of European Union policies, as well as more tolerant political leadership (good luck with that one). And of course, the study calls for training, training, and more training.
In the mean time, if you’re in Italy and you have a sniffle, try not to sound too gay when you sneeze.
André Carlo Pretorius
Peter Jonsson
bunch of homophobes….
QJ201
A colleague of mine was at dinner party in NYC with a well established husband and wife, both doctors, both people of faith.
She was shocked that they opened talked about how if you truly follow the faith, it’s a cure for homosexuality.
She said “but you’re people of science, doctors” and she go nowhere with them.
Tackle
This doesn’t surprise me at all. Because when it comes to medicine and the medical aspect of many things, Europe and Canada are behind the US. I once dated a guy from France. And something as simple as flossing teeth every day was unheard of..
David G. Abler
Balkan countries are rarely considered “european”
martinbakman
There is this expectation that people with degrees in the sciences would get it. But no. Jeebuz wins!!
Marky
Eastern Europe strikes again.
Stache
How does anyone expect good knowledge from people who deny facts and believe in things that aren’t real.
Rimminit
Just goes to show you there’s still a lot of ignorance in the educated – thinking Ben Carson.
Will Mannes
than it’s setteled most gays think European Dr.s are a fungus
Billy Budd
What do they say about the hundreds of species of animals where homosexuality is abundant? Are these animals diseased too? Have the puppies been molested?
GayEGO
Don’t they mean – Vulgar-ia? These doctors have been brainwashed by their religions which have preached the negative hateful remarks, pretending to be so righteous, when they hide in the closet and molest children.
John Kuehnle
I guess they use different text books because that changed back in the 70s in the US
Idunno
I didn’t think being gay was a disease until I was diagnosed with HIV. Now I have changed my mind. I feel we are all getting what we deserve. Cure me please. I don’t want to be gay anymore.
Daggerman
..people are simply too entrenched/ingrained by religion for centuries, that’s the reason I believe the problem with accepting homosexuality IS a Natural way of being AND has been possibly around from the beginning of the human race!…the sense is realizing why something like this is so taboo? People and religion have only really been around for 2 maybe 3 thousands years and to be honest that’s **** ***! compared to the duration of our planet!!….so it feels like we ought to argue really whether someone ought to have pleasure…ex: 2 men, 2 women??
Desert Boy
Italy continues to disappoint. The Bible has a shockingly, maddening ability to turn otherwise well-adjusted, well-educated people into 8th century cretins.
Nixter
@Idunno: You’re joking, right, troll ?!
Baba Booey Fafa Fooey
Lots of gay people think being gay is a “disease”. The number of closeted and the self-loathing is huge.
Stached1
No they do not.