As is known, in Armenia military service is obligatory for boys after they turn 18. However, queer people usually face a lot of challenges and obstacles before and during conscription. That is why it has been 4 years that “DiverCity” NGO provides support and legal consultation for the conscripts and pre-conscripts.
President of “DiverCity” NGO, Adam, also witnessed discrimination and needed help during the procedure of conscription. Adam shared their bad experience in an interview with OC media. At 18, Adam was determined not to serve in the army since they could not imagine being among patriarchal guys and eating together with them at the same table. ‘I was exempted from the army as a person with a mental disorder’, Adam states. Lack of tolerance towards queer people is not something new, however, it is always hard to taste the consequences of it.
In fact, Adam was lucky in this case due to their open-minded and supportive family as well as loyal friends. Thus, it became easier for them to take the case to the court with the lawyer.
Later on, on June 2023, Adam appealed their case to the European Court of Human Rights with the protection of the “Protection of Human Rights Without Borders” NGO.
Few months later, Adam opened up an NGO to work on behalf of queer, gay, trans, bisexual conscripts and called it “DiverCity”.
However, they are not the only in the organisation one who encountered violence during the procedure. Because of their gender identity and sexuality, other were also discriminated and they turned to us to receive aid.
If Adam’s story interested you and you want to learn more about their life experience you can read the whole article here.
‘You learn to hide your identity’: being queer in the Armenian army
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