Minority Šarūnė Ramuckytė SD2

 What is minority?  Groups of minority  Statistics  Sexual minorities in Lithuanian society  Some facts about g  Some facts about gender and sexual minorities   Conclusions

What is minority?  A minority is a group of people who differ from a major group.  A group of people who, because of their physical or cultural characteristics, are singled out from the others in the in which they live for differential and unequal treatment.  A group of people who, because of their physical or cultural characteristics, are singled out from the others in the society in which they live for differential and unequal treatment.

Groups of minority  Racial or ethnic minorities  Religious minorities  Gender and sexual minorities  Disabled minorities

Racial or ethnic minorities  Every large society contains ethnic minorities. They may be migrants or others. Ethnic groups, which are considered as minority can be majority in some parts of world (Blacks in South Africa)  International criminal law protects the rights of racial or ethnic minorities in many ways. One of the biggest organization established to protect minorities rights is “ Minority rights group international”

Religious minorities  People, who belong to religious minorities, have a faith which is different from held by the majority.  Nowadays it is accepted that people should have the freedom to choose their own religion, including not having any religion (atheism).  People have the right to convert from one religion to another.

Gender and sexual minorities  Every community has gender and sexual minorities.  An understanding of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans - gender people as a minority group has started in the Western world in the 19th century.

Sexual minorities in society  It is known there are between 5 % to 10 % of homosexuals all over world. It is hard to determine the exact number of these minorities because majority of homosexuals tend to hide their sexual orientation.

Statistics in Lithuania

Statistics

Statistics

Sexual minorities in Lithuania  Two non-governmental organisations of sexual minorities and Movement for sexual equality are operating in Lithuania at the moment:  “Sappho“ – League of Lithuanian Lesbians  “LGL” – Lithuanian League of Gays

Facts  The most active gays talk about their problems publicly, but some homosexuals tend to hide.  If homosexuals do not agree to leave underground, they can not blame intolerance of community.  Global comparative study of human values made in 1997 showed that Lithuanians differ from residents of Western Europe most drastically by their attitude towards homosexuality.

Disabled minorities Disabled minorities  disabled people are also thought of as minority.  Some people with particular illness argue for acceptance of their disability, but many deaf people do not see themselves as disabled at all.

Conclusion  There are a lot of rights for minorities.  Western world is better for minority  Many people from minority groups emigrate into Western world to have great and peaceful future.

Used material:  Minority rights group international ( )  Internet magazine of social problems asphttp:// asp ( ) asp  ( )  European Centre for Minority Issues ( )