Cuba launches anti-homophobia campaign

A series of scientific and cultural events are being held across the country, including a seminar for police officers in Havana.

About 40 police officers attended the seminar, at which experts from the National Center for Sexual Education (CENESEX) talked about discriminatory treatment the gay community suffers from police.

After the seminar, the police officers expressed satisfaction with the exchange of views, and acknowledged the complexity of the topic and the need to acquire the right information so as to avoid discrimination against the gay population, organizers said.

This is the third consecutive year that Cuba observes the International Day against Homophobia. Campaigners call on Cuban citizens to be more tolerant, as male chauvinism and prejudice against homosexuality and transsexualism are rampant in Cuban society.

On May 17, 1990, the World Health Organization removed homosexuality from its list of mental disorders, marking the beginning of the International Day Against Homophobia, Kazinform cites Xinhua. See www.xinhuanet.com