Inclusion and education

Figure 2.4
).
Nine countries have neither an anti-discrimination law nor an action 
plan. In the Russian Federation, a 2013 amendment to the child 
protection law was accompanied by guidelines specifying that positive 
portrayal of people with ‘non-traditional sexual relations’ could be 
punished by fines and administrative sanctions. The UN Committee on 
the Rights of the Child has argued that the amendment may stigmatize 
and discriminate LGBTI children and children from LGBTI families 
(UNESCO, 2016). In Turkey, an online survey of LGBT individuals found 
that 67% of respondents had experienced discrimination due to their 
sexual orientation or gender identity/expression at school and 52% had 
experienced negative comments or reactions at university (Göçmen and 
Yılmaz, 2017
).
Even when countries move towards recognition of the rights of people 
with diverse gender identities, incoherent laws and policies persist. In 
Lithuania, while the 2017 Law on Equal Treatment obliged secondary 
and post-secondary education institutions to guarantee equal 
opportunity for all students regardless of sexual orientation, an article 
of the 2011 Law on the Protection of Minors against the Detrimental 
Effect of Public Information prohibited dissemination of information on 
concepts of marriage and family values that differed from those in the 
Constitution and Civil Code (LGL, 2018).
FIGURE 2.4: 
Most countries lack anti-bullying measures or national action plans for LGBTI inclusion in education
Number of countries with anti-discrimination laws and inclusion policies or action plans referring to sexual orientation, 
gender identity and expression or variations in sex characteristics, 2018
Countries
Yes, on all three: SO, GIE and SC
Yes, on two of the three: SO, GIE and SC
Yes, on one of the three: SO, GIE and SC
No
Anti-discrimination law 
applicable to education
Anti-bullying
or national action plan
25
20
15
10
5
0
Notes:
The data refer to 23 countries in Central and Eastern Europe and the Caucasus. SO: sexual orientation; GIE: gender identity and 
expression; SC: variations in sex characteristics.
Source: 
IGLYO (2018).
39
C E N T R A L A N D E A S T E R N E U R O P E , C A U C A S U S A N D C E N T R A L A S I A

---

Just
7 
of the
23 
countries 
in Central and Eastern Europe and the 
Caucasus had policies or action plans explicitly 
addressing and prohibiting
school bullying 
based on at least one of sexual orientation, 
gender identity and expression, and 
variations in sex characteristics
7
23
Other vulnerable groups, mentioned less frequently, 
include young offenders and children of prisoners, 
institutionalized children, victims of substance abuse 
and addiction, victims of trafficking and exploitation, 
children living/working on the street, pregnant 
students/single parents without support, religious 
minorities, children whose parents work abroad, those 
caring for sick/disabled family members, learners who 
have experienced grade retention or have unrecognized 
needs, and children of mobile workers, agricultural 
workers and herders. Discrimination in learning may occur 
along multiple axes, which often overlap and interact with 
each other to influence inequity in complex ways (Leez 
and Janta, 2020). It is thus crucial for laws and policies 
associated with specific groups not to overlap or have 
unintended consequences that increase inequality.