6th European Transgender Council #TRANS_LT Campaign 6th European Transgender Council June 3rd, 2016

Why We Needed #TRANS_LT? Lithuania remains the only country in Europe without any de facto or de jure gender reassignment procedure or practice (i.e. non-existing procedure). TRANS* individuals remain highly invisible in the public sphere, as well as within the LGBT* movement (i.e. “nothing about us without us”).

#TRANS_LT IN SOCIAL MEDIA #TRANS_LT VIDEOS 35000 views ONLINE PETITION 1800 signatures #TRANS_LT IN SOCIAL MEDIA 38000 reach

A A MESSAGEs #TRANS_LT VIDEOS (A) TRANS* people should not be reduced to their gender identity; (B) there are certain institutional and social challenges that TRANS* people face in Lithuania; (C) sign an online petition in order to change the current situation; #TRANS_LT VIDEOS seeking to raise public awareness about TRANS* experiences in Lithuania; app. 35.000 views on YouTube; short video (i.e. 40 seconds) and long video (i.e. 6 minutes); call for action – SIGN ONLINE PETITION.

B REQUIREMENTs ONLINE PETITION 1800 signatures (A) to establish legal gender recognition and medical gender reassignment procedures in Lithuania; (B) to provide for opportunity of changing one’s identity documents without the surgery requirement; *Why we did not campaign for depathologization? ONLINE PETITION 1800 signatures launched on the mainstream human rights platform manoteises.lt; will be used for advocacy purposes by reinforcing our position; e-mail addresses collected  converted into a newsletter database  mobilization for action.

#TRANS_LT IN SOCIAL MEDIA WHO TOOK THE PICTURES? TRANS* people; (B) human rights activists; (c) “famous” people, but not “celebrities”; (d) members of the local LGBT* community. #TRANS_LT IN SOCIAL MEDIA 38000 reach promotion of #TRANS_LT hashtag on social media (mainly FaceBook and Instagram); in total 12 pictures shared, which generated the organic reach of 38.000; bringing the campaign “closer to the people”.

HUMAN RIGHTS CONFERENCE ADDITIONAL ELEMENTS OF #TRANS_LT CAMPAIGN COMMUNITY EVENT HUMAN RIGHTS CONFERENCE ADVOCACY MEASURES organized on the same day as launching the videos; included TRANS* Voices, video preview and art exhibition by two queer artists; attracted more than 100 participants; dedicated to the International Human Rights Day (i.e. December 10th); target audience – civil society organizations; main purpose – to mainstream TRANS* issues into the general human rights discourse; 141 open letters to the Members of the Parliament (MPs) regarding transgender human rights situation; meeting with three (3) trans*-friendly MPs with the view of discussing future strategies.

A B C D E WHAT DID WE LEARN FROM #TRANS_LT? Do not ever UNDERESTIMATE your local TRANS* community B ‘GIVING HUMAN FACE TO HUMAN RIGHTS PROBLEM’ is one of the most effective strategies in human rights work C Give people the chance to act, i.e. CALL FOR ACTION D Who holds the final responsibility for the CAMPAIGN’S MESSAGE? How much do we ask for? E SUCCESSFUL CAMPAIGN is good for pursuing your goals and consolidating your supporters’ base (but what if the campaign was unsuccessful?)

Pylimo Str. 21,  LT-01105 Vilnius, Lithuania Tel: +370 5 2 610 314 Fax: +370 5 2 130 762 www.lgl.lt/en  www.facebook.com/lgl.lt