In 2008, the German government opened a monument to gay victims of the Holocaust, an unknown number whom perished in Nazi concentration camps, many of them victims of gruesome medical experiments intended to eradicate their homosexuality. In others, they have entailed memorializing the victims of state-sponsored repression of homosexual citizens. In most countries, gay reparations are limited to a government apology to the LGBTQ community for past wrongs and a promise to do better in the future. The policies hardly comprise a homogenous experience, and they do not entail giving people money simply for being gay, as some suspect. In the last decade alone, Canada, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, Spain, and the United Kingdom have embraced gay reparations.
It may seem surprising to American readers, but one of the most vibrant human rights movements around the world today is “gay reparations,” or policies intended to make amends for the legacy of systemic discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
