State must step up to combat gender and sexual discrimination, says president

Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou on Monday noted the “remarkable progress” made by society in combatting prejudice against the LGBTQ community and added that it is “the Greek state’s turn” to step up in the battle against any discrimination that “undermines the principle of equality or restricts the rights of citizens due to their gender identity, gender characteristics or sexual orientation.”

In a meeting with representatives of the LGBTQ community at her office in Athens, Sakellaropoulou in particular stressed the need for measures to combat discrimination in the school environment and to protect LGBTQ children and their families from stigmatization.

Sakellaropoulou met with Linos-Alexandre Sicilianos, a professor at Athens Law School, former president at the European Court of Human Rights and president of the National Strategy Committee for LGBTQ Equality, as well as with committee members Katerina Fountedaki, who teaches civil law at Thessaloniki’s Aristotle University, and Stella Belia, who is also the president of Rainbow Families Greece, a nongovernmental organization dedicated to supporting LGBTQ families and parents.

She was also briefed on the work being done by the committee.

May 17 is International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia. The Greek president described it as an occasion “to reaffirm our commitment that protecting and respecting human dignity and diversity is the moral imperative of any democratic state.”