Fun Fast Facts
- Same-sex sexual activity was legalized in 1933
- Denmark was the first country in the world to grant legal recognition to same-sex unions, in the form of “registered partnerships”, in 1989
- It then took until 15 June 2012 for same-sex marriage to become legal after the Danish parliament voted on 7 June in favour of gender-neutral marriage
- A person in a same-sex registered partnership is able to adopt their partner’s biological children
- In 2006, the Danish Parliament repealed a law that had banned lesbians from artificial insemination
- Danish law includes protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation plus hate crimes legislation, which adds extra penalties for crimes committed against people because of their sexuality
LGBT organisation: LGBT Denmark
- Founded as early as 1948, LGBT Denmark is the main Danish LGBT rights organisation
- Aims to work for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people’s political, social, cultural and workplace equality at every level of society
- Work against discrimination and to function as a dedicated lobby for the purpose of influencing lawmakers, for example in areas such as marriages, adoption, the artificial insemination of lesbians, and rights for transpersons
W3JOY interviewed: Kenneth Engberg, Acting Secretary General and spokesperson for hate crimes and senior policy, LGBT Denmark
“I think it (acceptance of LGBT people) is a Danish way of thinking that as long as you live your own life you should be allowed to live the life you want to live”
“We are not pressured by some religion person who hits us in the head to tell us what to think. We happy to live our life…compared to other countries. We also have a very small difference between very poor people and very rich people so we are very united in a way also”
“We (LGBT Denmark) have become more like a union, we are using more of our time to see if companies and government hold the law and do it right so I see us more as a union than a freedom fighting group”
“For a lot of new Danes (immigrants) coming to Denmark that their folk or parents have a way of thinking that it is difficult for them to jump out and say that they are gay because its not in their point of view a good thing to be”
“That is definitely something we are fighting for. A lot of people say ‘well we have got it all now so stop fighting’. And we’re trying to tell people that that is the reason we are going from being some sort of freedom fighter to be a union that keeps an eye on the situation”
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 29:09 — 26.7MB)