European court: LGBTI-inclusive fairy tales suitable for childrenEuropean Court ruled that imposing a warning label on a children's book because it contains LGBTI-inclusive fairy tales is unjustifiable
by Mambaonline.com
26-01-2023 10:08
in LGBTQIA+
LGBTI-inclusive fairy tales suitable for children, rules European court. Photo: Pexels
The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that imposing a warning label on a children's book because it contains LGBTI-inclusive fairy tales is unjustifiable and violates the right to freedom of expression.
--
The book in question, Gintarin irdis (Amber Heart), by the late lesbian writer, Neringa Dangvyde Macate, was published in 2013 by the Lithuanian University of Educational Sciences with financial support from the Ministry of Culture.
The children's book Gintarin irdis (Amber Heart) includes two LGBTI-inclusive fairy tales. Photo: Mambaonline It includes versions of six traditional fairytales aimed at nine to 10-year-olds adapted to include characters from different ethnic groups or with intellectual disabilities.
The book addresses issues such as stigmatisation, bullying, divorced families and emigration and two of the six fairy tales have storylines about relationships and marriages between persons of the same sex.
--
ALSO READ: The history of the word queer': reviled, reclaimed and respected
After it was published, complaints were submitted to the university and the Ministry of Culture that the book sought to instill in children the idea that marriage between persons of the same sex was a welcome phenomenon and was encouraging perversions .
The ministry referred the matter to the Inspectorate of Journalistic Ethics. It found the book in violation of the country's Protection of Minors from Negative Effects of Public Information , which states that information that expresses contempt for family values or encourages a different concept of marriage and creation of family has a negative effect on minors.
The inspectorate recommended that the book be labelled with a warning that it might be harmful to children under 14 years of age.
--
The university recalled the book from distribution and republished it a year later with the suggested warning label.
European court agreed that the author promoted diversity and equality The Lithuanian courts agreed that the book could cause harm to children because of the LGBTI-inclusive fairy tales.
In 2019, the author, who passed away in 2020, took the matter to the European Court of Human Rights.
This case also sends another important message, which is that all families are equal
On Tuesday, the court ruled that the university's actions interfered with the author's freedom of expression and unjustifiably sought to limit children's access to information that depicted same-sex relationships as equivalent to different-sex relationships.
It rejected assertions that certain passages in the book about a princess and a shoemaker's daughter sleeping in one another's arms after their wedding were sexually explicit.
The judges were also not convinced by the Lithuanian government's argument that the book had promoted same-sex families over others.
To the contrary, the fairy tales had advocated respect for and acceptance of all members of society in a fundamental aspect of their lives, namely a committed relationship, said the court.
The court, therefore, concluded that the measures taken against the book had not pursued any aims that it could accept as legitimate
The ruling was welcomed by ILGA-Europe's Head of Litigation, Arpi Avetisyan, who commented: The court's message is clear: Protection of children cannot be used as an excuse for censoring information about LGBTI rights, both on the part of the authors for promoting diversity and equality, and for children to learn about acceptance of all members of the society on an equal footing.
Avetisyan added that This case also sends another important message, which is that all families are equal. In the court's own words: Promoting one type of family at the expense of another is never acceptable under the [European] Convention.
The court ordered Lithuania to pay 17,000 Euros to the author's mother to cover damages and litigation costs.
Article by Roberto Igual
This article was initially published on MAMBAonlie.com
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ARTICLES BY Mambaonline.com
How much of a rugby fanatic are you? FIVE easy answers could win you a signed jersey! ENTER HERE
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
21/04/2026
Cloud-based production isnt going anywhere, and BitFire is doubling down by prov...
21/04/2026
The topic of artificial intelligence has a stranglehold on the sports-video-prod...
21/04/2026
5G is still a hot topic in live event production, and this workflow continues to...
21/04/2026
At the 2026 NAB Show, Ed McGivern, GM and President of Appear US, discusses the ...
21/04/2026
Studio Network Solutions (SNS) has announced an on-premise AI suite designed for...
21/04/2026
Suite Studios has integrated its file-streaming technology into the newly announced Frame.io Drive, a desktop application from Adobe company Frame.io. The colla...
21/04/2026
Net Insight has integrated InSync Technology's FrameFormer into the Nimbra E...
21/04/2026
Fox Sports has selected Appear as a technology partner to support the next phase...
21/04/2026
Diversified has appointed Tyler Affolter as Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) to lead the company's commercial organisation. The appointment follows the firm'...
21/04/2026
Layercake has formalised the integration of Bitmovin's video streaming infra...
21/04/2026
The International Judo Federation (IJF) has extended its distribution partnershi...
21/04/2026
Glookast has launched the Cinnafilm Tachyon plugin for its Media Producer and Me...
21/04/2026
Eutelsat has entered into an agreement with Cadena Tres, a division of Grupo Ima...
21/04/2026
Dolby Laboratories and TV Azteca have partnered to introduce Dolby Atmos immersive audio to free-to-air television broadcasts. The implementation utilises the A...
21/04/2026
FOX Entertainment partnered with Verizon to overcome significant production hurd...
21/04/2026
Osprey Video has announced its technology showcase for the NAB Show 2026, highli...
21/04/2026
Riedel Communications (Booth C4908) introduced a range of new solutions at NAB S...
21/04/2026
The NAB Show is in full swing, and the SVG and SVG Europe editorial teams are chasing down the hottest stories from all over the Las Vegas Convention Center. He...
21/04/2026
Blackmagic Design has announced the URSA Cine Immersive 100G, an immersive cinem...
21/04/2026
Clark Wire & Cable is continuing its evolution from cable supplier to full-scale solutions partner for broadcast and live production. At the 2026 NAB Show, we s...
21/04/2026
Rashad Frett attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Ricky at Eccles Theatre on January 24, 2025, in Park City, UT. (Photo by George Pimentel/Shut...
21/04/2026
Five years ago, Spotify arrived in Pakistan, opening a new chapter in the country's music scene. Since then, local listeners have explored across genres, ge...
21/04/2026
Since its launch in 2020, RADAR has been our program for spotlighting emerging artists around the world. This year marks the sixth edition of RADAR Spain, our o...
21/04/2026
Offers compact wireless solution for pedalboards
Taiwanese audio brand Cloudvocal have announced the availability of a new pedalboard-friendly wireless syst...
21/04/2026
Latest hybrid sampling/synthesis instrument arrives
Arturia's Augmented series offerings rely on a mixture of sampling and synthesis, allowing users to ...
21/04/2026
Rohde & Schwarz to host Power Electronics Online Conference From Design to Vali...
21/04/2026
MAS and Lockheed Martin partner to establish an F-35 depot in Canada, enabling in-country sustainment and creating high-skilled aerospace jobs....
21/04/2026
Advertising strategies shift as competition grows for a large, active and qualit...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/04/2026
Layercake Deepens Bitmovin Integration to Power End-to-End Media Orchestration w...
21/04/2026
Cobalt Digital Announces Launch of blueCORE at NAB Show 2026: Compact Powerhouse...
21/04/2026
On-Premise AI Suite from Studio Network Solutions Debuts at NAB Show 2026
Melanie Ciotti April 21, 2026
0 Comments
Unlimited processing, no cloud depe...
21/04/2026
London, 21 April 2026 IBC today announced the appointment of Tim Banham as its first Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), a newly created role that reflects the or...
21/04/2026
Motion Design Tools - April 2026
Roland Kahlenberg April 21, 2026
0 Comments
Within 2 days, Maxon and Canva announced pro-level motion design apps - A...
21/04/2026
Chaos and Zero Density to Showcase Real-Time Ray Tracing for Virtual Studios and...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
European court: LGBTI-inclusive fairy tales suitable for childrenEuropean Court ruled that imposing a warning label on a children's book because it contains LGBTI-inclusive fairy tales is unjustifiable
