Number of People Working on the Project (Staff and Volunteers): 5

1. Organisational details

Project title: / Disseminating results of the survey “The Social Exclusion of LGBT People in Hungary 2010”
Reporting period: / January 1, 2012 – February 28, 2015
Implementing organisation: / Háttér Society
Contact information (post, e-mail, phone): / H-1132 Budapest, Csanády u. 4/b. II/4. +36 1238 0046

Contact person: / Tamás Dombos

Date of report submission to ILGA-Europe: / March 1, 2015

Number of people working on the project (staff and volunteers): 5

Changes in the project leadership (if different from the application): -

1. Narrative Report

1. What kind of information did you collect?

The research “The Social Exclusion of LGBT People in Hungary 2010” was a large scale quantitative survey conducted in Fall 2010 by Háttér Society in cooperation with the Institute of Sociology at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. The research collected quantitative information on the situation of LGBT people in Hungary, their experiences of discrimination, their attitudes towards state authorities and NGOs, and their priorities. The closed questions were combined with open ended questions to collect stories that can serve as testimonies and complement the quantitative data by giving a sense of reality to the data. Topics covered by the research included demographics (gender, age, place of residence, education, income, ethnicity, disability), information on sexual orientation and gender identity (self-identification, coming out, transition status, sexual experiences), thematic questions on family and friends, partnership, parenting, employment, education, health, religion, discrimination, violence, civil society, politics, and a set of questions related to priorities and assessing attitudes.

The survey was started by 3094 persons, and completed by 1653 persons with a decreasing number of respondents in every block. The research reached a wide variety of people including people with less education, from smaller settlements and without close connections to LGBT civil society organizations, so while it cannot be considered a representative survey, it does offer a empirically sound picture of the LGBT community in contemporary Hungary.

1. What methodology did you use to collect the information? If it differs from the methodology initially planned, please provide explanations.

An online questionnaire was available at from September 15, 2010 to November 30, 2010. The research and the address of the questionnaire was promoted by banners and advertisements in online and print LGBT media, as well as through fliers and posters distributed at gay venues and events. In order to reach those people who do not use the internet, especially those with a lower level of education and/ or living outside the capital, our trained interviewers visited several gay venues and events to help people fill out paper versions of the questionnaire on the spot.

1. Please describe main success / challenges / difficulties of the project. How did you deal with them?

At the time of its inception, the project was to rely on the volunteer work of the social research experts we had successfully co-operated in designing and implementing the survey research to author the reports. Unfortunately, due to the delays in the project implementation and other engagements of these experts, they were no longer available to carry out the work. We spent several months trying to identify other experts in our network with the relevant research experience to carry out the work on a voluntary basis, however, our quest proved to be unsuccessful. At the end, we changed the budget and found a young sociologist scholar with an extensive background in LGBT activism to write the reports.

1. Did you have any partners in this project? If yes, please briefly describe the role of each partner.

The Institute of Sociology at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences was our project during the design and implementation of the research, and they reviewed all the publications prepared during the project.

1. Project impact

1. What product has come out of the project if any (e.g. report, CD ROM, survey)?

Thematic publications:

A leszbikus, meleg, biszexuális és transznemű emberek iskolai tapasztalatai Magyarországon. Az LMBT Kutatás 2010 eredményei [School experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in Hungary. Results from the LGBT Survey 2010] The report focuses on two major issues: bullying by peers and teachers alike as well as the broader school context/atmosphere, including the content of curricula. Itprovides evidence that an active engagement of schools on LGBT issues contributes significantly to the wellbeing of LGBT youth.

A leszbikus, meleg, biszexuális és transznemű emberek munkahelyi tapasztalatai Magyarországon. Az LMBT Kutatás 2010 eredményei [The workplace experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in Hungary. Results from the LGBT Survey 2010]. The report focuses on discrimination in the workplace, including bullying or discriminatory hiring and firing practices. It also looks at the reasons of LGBT employees to stay in the closet and the detrimental impact of hiding on their well-being and success at work. .

Azonos nemű párok párkapcsolatai és gyermekvállalása Magyarországon. Az LMBT Kutatás 2010 eredményei [Partnership and parenting of same-sex couples in Hungary. Results from the LGBT Survey 2010] The report establishes that most same-sex couples live in committed long-term relationships and some of them are already raising children. It shows that rainbow families are already a reality in Hungary that the legislation does not recognize. It discusses LGBT people’s future plans of having children, including methods of family-building.

Homofób és transzfób gyűlölet-bűncselekmények Magyarországon. Az LMBT Kutatás 2010 eredményei [Homophobic and transphobic hate crimes in Hungary. Results from the LGBT Survey 2010] The report documents that homophobic and transphobic violence affects a large proportion of the LGBT community, and unlike the mainstream perception, only a minority of the cases happen and Pride Marches.Violence is present in the everyday life of many Hungarian LGBT persons as attacks routinely occur in public places, at home, or at school. Despite the prevalence of violent attacks, reporting remains alarmingly low.

A transznemű emberek társadalmi kirekesztettsége Magyarországon. Az LMBT Kutatás 2010 eredményei [The social exclusion of transgender people in Hungary. Results from the LGBT Survey 2010] The report looks at several fields of life to assess how the situation of trans people is compared to other parts of the LGBT community. It finds that violence, non-employment and discrimination in the area of health are significantly more common for trans people.

A thematic report on health is being prepared in the framework of the project Documentation of discrimination in the field of health.

English language summary report:

The social exclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in Hungary. Results from the LGBT Survey 2010. The publication summarizes the most important findings of the research in English. It includes a chapter on the experience of discrimination and violence, coming out, school, workplace, partnership and parenting, and health The publication also includes a list of recommendations to public bodies.

The reports above are available at:

Academic publications.

Dombos, Tamás, Judit Takács, Tamás P. Tóth & László Mocsonaki: “Az LMBT emberek magyarországi helyzetének rövid áttekintése [A Short Overview on the Situation of LGBT People in Hungary].” In: Homofóbia Magyarországon [Homophobia in Hungary], edited by Judit Takács, Budapest: L'Harmattan

Takács, Judit & Tamás Dombos: “Az LMBT emberek társadalmi integrációját segítő tényezők Magyarországon [Factors Contributing to the Social Integration of LGBT People in Hungary].” In: Társadalmi integráció a jelenkori Magyarországon [Social Integration in Present-day Hungary], edited by Imre Kovách et al., Budapest: Argumentum

Advocacy papers.

Results from the research were relied heavily on in the following reports and position papers:

Submission by Háttér Support Society for LGBT People in Hungary for the OSCE ODIHR 2010 Annual Report on Hate Crimes. March 1, 2011.

Az új büntető törvénykönyv gyűlölet-bűncselekményekre vonatkozó rendelkezéseinek kialakítása során figyelembe veendő szempontok [Issues for concern in the codification of the new Criminal Code with regards to hate crimes]. A background paper submitted to the Ministry of Law Enforcement and Justice by Amnesty International Hungary, Háttér Society, the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, the Legal Defense Bureau of Ethnic and Minority Rights and the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union, February 22, 2012.

A Magyar LMBT Szövetség véleménye az Új Büntető Törvénykönyv Tervezetéről[Opinion of the Hungarian LGBT Alliance on the draft of the new Criminal Code], March 9, 2012.

A Magyar LMBT Szövetség véleménye a Nemzeti Alaptanterv tervezetéről [Opinion of the Hungarian LGBT Alliance on the draft of the new National Basic Curriculum], March 5, 2012.

A Magyar LMBT Szövetség javaslatai az ENSZ első egyetemes időszakos felülvizsgálat (UPR) keretében megfogalmazott, a szexuális irányultság és nemi identitás témáját érintő ajánlások végrehajtása érdekében szükséges lépésekről [Recommendations of the Hungarian LGBT Alliance on steps to be taken to implement the recommendations related to sexual orientation and gender identity received at the first UN Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Hungary], April 8, 2013.

Report about the Implementation of the Council of Europe Recommendation to member states on measures to combat discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity (CM/Rec(2010)5) in Hungary, prepared by Háttér Society, January 29, 2013.

Submission of the Hungarian LGBT Alliance for the ECRI field visit on LGBT rights in Hungary. June 2, 2014.

Opinion of the Hungarian LGBT Alliance on the Draft of the Human Resources Development Operational Programme (2014-2020) to be submitted for formal consultation to the European Commission. November 24, 2014.

Lectures and presentations.

Results from the survey were presented at the following public events:

Mocsonaki, László: Az LMBT diszkrimináció 2010 kutatás eredményei[Results from the LGBT Discrimination Survey 2010], presented at the conferenceA homofóbia és a transzfóbia elleni küzdelem lehetőségei a mai Magyarországon műhelykonferencia[The struggle against homophobia and transphobia in Hungary] organized by the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, May 17, 2011.

Dombos, Tamás: Magyar LMBT kutatás 2010[The Hungarian LGBT Survey 2010]workshop at the Budapest Pride, Budapest, June 15, 2011.

Dombos, Tamás: LMBT emberek a munkahelyen [LGBT people at the workplace],presented at the conferenceMásodik Magyar LMBT Üzleti és Emberi Jogi Konferencia[2nd Hungarian LGBT Business and Human Rights conference], Budapest, June 6, 2011.

Dombos, Tamás: A 2010-es LMBT kutatás eredményei [Results from the LGBT Survey 2010], presented atSzimpozion Klub, Budapest, September 24, 2011.

Dombos, Tamás: A leszbikus, meleg, biszexuális és transznemű emberek iskolai tapasztalatai [The school experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people], presented at the 9th National Education Science Conference, Budapest, November 5, 2011.

Dombos, Tamás: Az LMBT kutatás 2010 főbb eredményei: fókuszban a mentális egészség[Main results from the LGBT Survey 2010: A focus on mental health], presented at the Szex-Ma Professional Seminars for Psychotherapists, Budapest, January 20, 2012.

Takács, Judit & Tamás Dombos: A leszbikus, meleg, biszexuális és transznemű (LMBT) emberek egészsége[The health of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people], presented at the departmental colloquium of the Institute of Behavioral Sciences at the Semmelweis University, Budapest, May 16, 2012

Dombos, Tamás: LMBT civil szervezetek Magyarországon: ahogy a közösség látja [LGBT civil society organization in Hungary: how does the community see them?], presented at the NGO Forum of the Eurogames, Budapest, June 26, 2012

Dombos, Tamás: A leszbikus, meleg, biszexuális és transznemű emberek iskolai tapasztalatai [The school experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people], presented at the VI. Educational Conference Taní-tani, Miskolc, February 1, 2013.

Dombos, Tamás: Gyűlölet-bűncselekmények Magyarországon: Jogi szabályozás, statisztikai adatok, sértetti csoportok [Hate Crimes in Hungary: Legislation, Statistical Data, Victim Groups], presentation at the scientific meeting of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences Section IX Committee on Legal and Political Sciences Subcommittee on Police Sciences, Budapest, March 8, 2013.

Dombos, Tamás: Jogalkalmazási problémák a gyűlölet-bűncselekményekkel kapcsolatos eljárásokban [Problems of in criminal proceedings concerning hate crimes], presented at the Human Rights Roundtable of the Hungarian Government, Budapest, February 13, 2015.

1. What are the main outcomes of the project? Give details here on:

The project enabled us and other LGBT organizations, especially the Hungarian LGBT Alliance to rely on empirical evidence when advocating for the rights of LGBT people. While the project was implemented at a time of growing hostility towards LGBT from the government, and thus the advocacy impact of the research was limited, it did enable us to enter into dialogue on various issues with policy makers.

The most important advocacy impact of the research is the successful lobbying to include sexual orientation and gender identity in the hate crime and hate speech provisions of the new Criminal Code that entered into force in July 2013. Before our project, there was no empirical evidence on the existence of homophobic and transphobic violence. When attending meetings with leading government officials, we could give precise data on the prevalence and forms of LGBT-phobic violence that likely contributed to the recognition of the problem, and later the adoption of the relevant amendment.

The research also had a significant impact on professional discussions especially in the area of education and health: there is now a greater awareness on the issues concerning LGBT people, which for example resulted in promising negotiations with the largest medical university in the country to have a special course on LGBT health and revise the curricula to be generally more inclusive of LGBT topics.

To multiply the impact and further disseminate the results of the survey, we are currently discussing options with Budapest Pride (Rainbow Mission Foundation) to launch a video campaign, whereby Hungarian celebrities would be reading out some of the real life stories shared by respondents. We are hoping that this would enable us to share a much broader audience, than human rights activists and the research community.

1. What impact (positive/negative)had the project on your organisation?

The project had the very positive impact on our organization that we could rely on quantitative data when responding to requests for information from journalists, students, researchers or foreign embassies. While before we could only provide anecdotal evidence and scattered research, now we can refer to hard data accessible in a simple way.

By being able to provide the background information needed for evidence based policy making, our recognition as a serious and professional organization also grew among policy makers and professionals.

We also used the data collected in the research in shaping our institutional priorities: the fact that violence came out to be the top priority of the community encouraged us to spend more resources on this area, which also paid off in advocacy. Generally speaking we became more responsive to the needs of the community.

1. What are the lessons you have learned internally? What learning would you share with others undertaking similar projects?

A project that is solely built on volunteer work (both the experts and the project coordinator) are easy to fail, as there is no one to take ownership of the project.

1. ILGA-Europe

We are very thankful to ILGA-Europe for the unprecedented flexibility in dealing with the delays in the project implementation. Responses to our requests were prompt, and the staff was very helpful.

1. Financial report

See attached.

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