UACES Seminar: A Union of Equality? The current state of LGBTQI+ rights and the EU

The von der Leyen commission has been the most vocal about its ambition to build a Union of Equality, including for LGBTQI+ people. But what does that mean in practice when there is a rise of anti-gender movements across the continent that challenge the visibility of LGBTQI+ people and where member states are adopting legislation that undermines LGBTQI+ rights? What does a Union of Equality mean for the lived experiences of those who do not fall within hetero-normative societies? But also what does the idea of a Union of Equality mean for people outside the EU, whether they are migrants, asylum seekers or those living in aspiring EU member states?

In this panel, we explore the current state of LGBTQI+ rights within and outside the EU and reflect on what the commission’s ambition for a Union of Equality means for LGBTQI+ people.

The panel will be followed by a Q&A and there will be a small drinks and networking reception after.

Speakers:

Tunay Altay (Humboldt University of Berlin)

Tunay Altay is a Ph.D. candidate in sociology and gender studies at the Humboldt University of Berlin. Tunay’s research focuses on queer migration and sexual politics in Germany and Turkey. In his cumulative dissertation, Tunay focuses on the experiences of sex workers, drag performers, and queer migrant activists and how they navigate social exclusion and marginalization in Europe. By following ethnographic, queer feminist, and mix-method approaches, Tunay’s research traces the diverse experiences of migration and sexuality in everyday life.

Tunay’s research has been supported by the German Academic Exchange Service, the German Center for Integration and Immigration Research, and the Heinrich Böll Foundation, among others. Tunay’s work has been published in Ethnic and Racial Studies, Ethnic and Migration Studies, and the European Journal of Women’s Studies. Tunay graduated from Koç University in 2014 with Law and Political Science degrees. Later, he received his master’s degree from Boğaziçi University in 2019. Tunay currently works as a doctoral researcher in Berlin.

Belinda Dear (ILGA-Europe)

Belinda Dear is a Senior Advocacy Officer at ILGA-Europe, focusing on rule of law, civic space, rainbow families and the EU’s enlargement process. She conducts advocacy towards EU institutions, national governments and European political parties to achieve legal and policy changes for LGBTI people, often working in alliance with other human rights and democracy civil society organisations at the European level. Prior to joining ILGA-Europe, Belinda worked for the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Education and Culture and for the Party of European Socialists, and volunteered for LGBTI causes in the UK, the Netherlands and Belgium.

Dr Laura Luciani (Ghent University)

Laura Luciani is a postdoctoral researcher at the Ghent Institute for International and European Studies (Ghent University). Her research examines the EU’s attempts to transform its ‘Eastern neighbourhood’ through the spread of norms, the local effects and contestation of international development interventions, as well as the interplay between gender, sexuality and international politics. More specifically, Laura has studied the EU’s policies of human rights promotion and civil society support in the South Caucasus region, including in the field of LGBT+ equality in Georgia. Laura received her PhD degree in Political Sciences from Ghent University in 2022. Her work has been published in international journals such as Cooperation and Conflict and Problems of Post-Communism. Previously, Laura has interned at the European Endowment for Democracy, volunteered for women’s rights causes in Georgia, and wrote with Italian media outlets covering Eastern Europe.

Dr Koen Slootmaeckers (City, University of London)

Dr Koen Slootmaeckers is a senior lecturer (associate professor) in International Politics at City, University of London. His research deals with the promotion of and resistance to LGBT equality in international politics. More specifically, Koen has studied the EU accession of Serbia and how this process affects LGBT politics and activism. His new research focuses on the place of Pride events within the LGBTI movement. Through his work, Koen questions concepts like progress as well as the power relations within transnational politics and builds towards de-constructing core-periphery hierarchical relations. He is the author of ‘Coming In: Sexual politics and EU accession in Serbia’ (Manchester University Press), and his work has been widely published, including a (co-)edited volume ‘EU Enlargement and Gay Politics’ (Palgrave 2016; with Heleen Touquet and Peter Vermeersch), and articles in, amongst others, International Political Sociology, Theory & Society, East European Politics, Social Problems and Europe-Asia Studies.

Chair: Prof Dr Fabienne Bossuyt (Ghent University)

Fabienne Bossuyt is Associate Professor at the Department of Political Science at Ghent University and co-coordinator of the Ghent Institute for International and European Studies (GIES). She holds a PhD from Aston University and Ghent University. She is senior lecturer in the MA Programme in EU Studies and the MA Programme in Global Studies. She is also co-director of the Eureast Platform of Ghent University. Her main area of expertise is the EU’s foreign policy and external relations, and in particular the EU’s relations with Eastern Europe and Eurasia

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