On Monday morning, Andy Maar from non-profit organisation Rosa Luxembourg sat down for an interview to discuss persisting issues for the queer community in Luxembourg.
After a two-year hiatus, Pride Week made a glorious return to Luxembourg over the past few days. An estimated 3,500 people participated in the new edition of the former Pride Parade, the so-called Equality March, in Esch-sur-Alzette on Saturday.
Andy Maar from Rosa Luxembourg believes that Pride remains an important event, even in the year 2022. It provides a platform to get political messages across, and increases the visibility of the queer culture and community in Luxembourg.
Progress can still be made on various issues relating to equality, explained Maar. Although marriage and adoption have been possible for same-sex couples for a couple of years, there is still no automatic parental recognition, which means that they have to go through lengthy adoption procedures.
Maar also noted that there is still a lack of safe spaces in the Grand Duchy. In the history of the queer community, cafes and bars often took on the role of giving members a type of home, but the same can and should also apply to places like cultural centres and schools.
Maar also argued that LGBTIQ+ issues have to be addressed in schools. Furthermore, he believes that there should be restrooms for people who do not feel as male nor female. Similarly, more gender options should be introduced in the civil status, wich is still a binary system.
At the moment, the National Health Fund (CNS) requires patients undergoing a sex change to provide a psychiatric report beforehand. This means that a psychiatric disorder has to be diagnosed if the procedure is to be reimbursed, which Maar believes to be outdated from a scientific perspective.
The Rosa Luxembourg spokesperson conveyed that there has been progress in the area of blood donations. Following conversations with the Red Cross, gay men will now be allowed to donate white blood plates even if they had sexual intercourse with a man within the last twelve months. However, the plates will remain in quarantine until a second test has been done.
