Queer is a documentary miniseries that Czech Television has been working on since 2007. The programme is primarily focused on mapping and discussing queer culture. By queer culture we understand the world of sexual minorities, a world of alternatives to the stereotypical, traditional concept of human relationships. This does not have to be only about gays and lesbians, but about various other minority identities, about whose existence our Central European society still has rather vague and still very distorted ideas.

Czech Television has chosen the online counselling service ŘEKNU.TO as the next topic for its mini-series Queer

About I WILL SAY IT counselling centre:

Ara Art responds to the critical situation of the Roma LGBTQ+ minority, who, as the object of various forms of disadvantage and multiple discrimination, are marginalised from inclusive and integrative policies and measures. The peripheral position of this community deepens their vulnerability and reinforces the risk of hate speech, stigmatisation, queerphobia and general social non-acceptance.

 

This is why Ara Art decided to set up an online counselling service. The aim of the project I SAY.TO is to break taboos and work on strengthening the self-esteem of the people involved.

Hiding one's different sexual orientation and gender identity is the only salvation from social isolation or excommunication. It is therefore necessary to step up efforts to remove barriers that are publicly known and to strengthen intervention in the area of advocacy and the application of their rights at national and European level. This is an online helpdesk where LGBTQ+ Roma people can turn for help or questions. The counselling service is also for parents who do not know how to deal with the information that their child is gay or lesbian.

"In Roma mainstream society, sexuality and related topics, including different sexual orientation, are a big taboo. LGBTQ+ people are therefore subjected to great pressures in their community and can often be excluded from it. Romani gays, Romani lesbians and other queer people are thus subjected to threefold discrimination: they are excluded by society a) on the basis of their ethnicity, b) because of their sexual orientation, and c) because of their queer identity, they are also excluded from their own community and thus become, in effect, a minority within a minority. This multi-layered discrimination is very stressful and leads to many unfortunate life stories. That is why we decided to break this taboo and work on strengthening the self-esteem of Roma queer people."

 

Many directors were involved in the Queer mini-series and one of them was David Tišer from the Ara Art organization. "I am glad that such a programme exists in our country. Its format can reach out, inform and broaden our horizons. We have been working on the topic of Roma LGBTQ+ for several years now and we are glad that the topic of Roma people also appears in the programme."