that there may be children of other sexual orientations, those sex education programs in primary and secondary schools should also include information on homosexuality and other related topics, including sexual orientation and gender identity. These sex education courses for children should also include information that other sexual orientation and gender identity is the norm and not a perversion”94. Actor Rafael Yeranosyan, referring to transgender people during the interview, said: “How can a man take and wear women’s clothes and go out and become like that? I do not know, I can’t … One should answer to all of that with insults”95. The founding chairman of the “Armenian Eagles United Armenia” party Khachik Asryan stated the following during the public gathering, “I am deeply convinced that perverted cultures have no place in the Armenian holy land, and LGBT representatives will leave the holy land of Armenia within 24 hours during our rule”96. In these examples, LGBT people and their representatives are presented as “perverts”, “those who spread perversion”, and the protection of the interests of this group of people as “propaganda”. The issue of “transgenderism or homosexuality propaganda” has been repeatedly referred to as not only unscientific from a legal point of view but also leads to hatred of this group of society, marginalization, and insecurity of persons belonging to that group. In the presented examples, it is especially necessary to single out the thoughts expressed by a person acting as a politician, a person who has applied for power, an actor, and public initiatives, which have their audience and are presented to the public as bodies carrying out public activities in different spheres, raising public issues. They made these announcements in public, on pages with a large readership, during gatherings, or during a well-known program, which makes their impact even more dangerous. At the same time, none of these statements received any response from law enforcement agencies.
Public speech of representatives of professional fields The opinion of the representatives of the professional communities is important for the formation of the public position, as they appear before the public as experts; it is assumed that their point of view or the presented analysis is supposed to have some scientific basis. However, there are often cases where experts in various fields present a public opinion or analysis that lacks scientific justification, and the so-called scientific approaches presented in them have nothing to do with international standards, moreover, they often contradict internationally accepted principles and norms. 94 Yerkir.am. “Alarm to all parents and a crime report: Hayk Ayvazyan”. 2020. https://www.yerkir.am/news/ view/199763.html. [Accessed 29 Sept 2021]. 95 Hakazruyc. “Rafael Yeranosyan on the bride, the LGBT community and premarital sex”. 2020. https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWIq91rdMTA. [Accessed 29 Sept 2021]. 96 Yerevan Today. “The flag of the LGBT community was burnt in Freedom Square”. 2020. https://yerevan. today/all/society/64539/azatoutyan-hraparakoum-hanrahavaq-irakanacnoghnery-patrecin-lgbt-hamaynqi-droshy. [Accessed 29 Sept 2021].
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