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DISCRIMINATION

Austria moves to compensate gay men convicted under discriminatory laws

Gay people were prosecuted in Austria until as late as 2001 under discriminatory laws. Now their convictions are set to be repealed and they will receive compensation.

Published: 30 October 2023 17:29 CET
An LGBT flag flies.
An LGBT flag flies. Photo: Boris Štromar from Pixabay

Austria has officially apologised for discrimination against gay people, and is set to compensate gay men convicted of fair and discriminatory laws in a landmark reform, the state’s justice secretary has announced.

“The prosecution of homosexual people was a dark chapter of the Second Republic and a great injustice,” Alma Zadić, Justice Minister of the Green Party, posted on X, previously Twitter.

She continued: “Therefore, on behalf of the entire judiciary, I apologise for this injustice to all people who were prosecuted because of their sexual orientation.” The Second Republic is the post-war state of Austria.

Men who were convicted of any consensual sexual acts are set to receive a share of €33 million from the federal budget in compensation as part of the Rehabilitation and Compensation Act.

This will compensate gay men convicted of laws that would not have been illegal if they were heterosexual between 1971, when homosexuality was decriminalised, and 2002, when the last of these laws were repealed.

After Austria decriminalised homosexuality in 1971, gay and hetero relationships faced different laws, including different ages of consent – 18 for gay men and just 14 for heterosexual relationships.

Under these laws a 19-year-old gay man who had sex with an 18 year old could have been jailed for up to five years. Gay sex work was also illegal, unlike heterosexual sex work.

Until now, those prosecuted under these laws were still considered convicted offenders.

Zadić continued that it was shameful “that queer people in Austria were prosecuted until the 21st century” and said that though compensation does not make up for the suffering inflicted “as a state we take responsibility for the injustice.”

The Ministry of Justice expects 11,000 application for compensation and rehabilitation to repeal these convictions.

Those who apply will receive a flate rate of €1,500 for any economic and psychological damage done, €3,000 for each overturned judgment, an additional €1,500 for each year spent in prison and €500 for each court case initiated.

Vienna’s Homosexual Initiative (HOSI) welcomed the step, calling it an “important signal for the victims” while also calling for the pension contributions lost due to time spent in prison to be paid for victims.

Rechtskommitee Lambda also pointed out that under European Court of Human Rights guidelines the compensation for imprisonment should be 83 times higher.

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DISCRIMINATION

‘Some people lost everything’: Austria compensates victims of anti-gay laws

Austria has set aside millions of euros to compensate around 11,000 gay people who faced prosecution until two decades ago. But victims say the money "won't erase" the damage by the state to people's lives.

Published: 25 March 2024 09:32 CET
'Some people lost everything': Austria compensates victims of anti-gay laws

Austrian consultant Michael Woditschka well remembers the fateful day when he was summoned by police over his relationship with a teenage boy and subsequently convicted in court.

The 44-year-old is one of about 11,000 gay people who until two decades ago faced prosecution in Austria but are, since February, now eligible for financial compensation.

Even though Austria decriminalised homosexuality in 1971, certain discriminatory provisions remained in force until the early 2000s.

Woditschka says he will accept the money offered as compensation to him by the Austrian state, which has officially apologised for convicting him of homosexuality in 1999.

But the compensation “won’t erase what happened”, he told AFP, recalling the humiliation he endured as a 19-year-old.

“I was searching for my own identity and all of a sudden I found myself being treated like a sex offender at the police station, forced to describe my sex life in full detail,” said Woditschka.   

Woditschka was on a list of acquaintances his former partner, then 16, had to provide to authorities after being arrested for having sex in a car with another man.

After a humiliating court hearing, which forced him to disclose every detail of their relationship and was closely watched by the press, Woditschka was fined for “same-sex fornication with a minor”.

“The whole of Austria suddenly knew that I was gay – when, with whom and how,” he said.

Austrian consultant Michael Woditschka, 44, points to a document sentencing him to pay 350 Euros, in his apartment in Vienna, Austria on March 7, 2024.

Austrian consultant Michael Woditschka, 44, points to a document sentencing him to pay 350 Euros, in his apartment in Vienna, Austria on March 7, 2024. (Photo by Joe Klamar / AFP)

‘Social death’

Under Adolf Hitler’s Nazi rule, Austria as part of the German Third Reich had persecuted homosexuals to death.

Despite the decriminalisation of homosexuality in the early 1970s, thousands of gays and bisexuals continued to be convicted under newly introduced sections of Austria’s penal code.

READ ALSO: Austria to compensate gay people convicted under discriminatory laws

A ban on male homosexual prostitution remained in place until 1989 although heterosexual prostitution was legal.

Until 2002, the age of consent for sexual contact between men was 18 – compared to 14 for heterosexuals.

“Even if you were handed a suspended sentence, you were usually remanded in custody and then everyone knew,” explained Andreas Brunner, 62, an expert on LGBTQ history and co-director of the QWIEN archive centre.

“For many it was a social death,” Brunner said.

Convictions were registered on people’s criminal records, in turn triggering a ban on certain professions.

The ruling conservative party did not amend the legislation, even though it was contrary to European law, Brunner said.

Instead, the party argued, with the support of the Catholic Church, that it was necessary to “protect young men from homosexuals”, he explained.

A decision by the European Court of Human Rights in 2002 obliged the Austrian government to end the years of discrimination.

Since then, Austria’s highest court has ruled on several cases of discrimination against sexual and gender minorities.

In 2019 it allowed same-sex couples to marry and adopt children.

‘Reopening wounds’

When she outlined the compensation programme set up last year, Justice Minister Alma Zadic said it was of “immense importance that we… finally take responsibility for this part of our history”.

In 2017, the German parliament voted to quash the convictions of 50,000 gay men sentenced for homosexuality under a Nazi-era law which remained in force after the war, and to offer compensation.

Earlier this month, French lawmakers approved a bill to compensate LGBTQ people convicted under discriminatory laws between 1942 and 1982.

Austria has now set up a compensation fund of €33 million.

Since February, LGBTQ people who were investigated under the now-repealed laws are eligible to receive €500.

Those who were convicted will have their convictions quashed.

They will be compensated to the tune of €3,000 – or more if they suffered health, economic or professional woes as a result.

Woditschka said he welcomes the initiative but it was “insufficient”.

“Some people have lost everything,” he said.

He said he would have appreciated it more if the authorities had “written to us directly” instead of asking those affected “to provide evidence ourselves” first.

“Many people will say that it’s not worth reopening the wounds” for what is considered to be just a tiny amount of money, he said. 

By Blaise GAUQUELIN

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