Musings on the 24th ARC exhibition

This year, the ARC public exhibition opened for the 24th time and is open until the 13th October in Bikás Park. The theme of this year’s free poster exhibition is “FAMILY?”. The works show the complexity, diversity, and difficulties of families, reflecting on the exclusionary, demagogic, and endlessly simplistic government narrative of recent years.

In the spirit of creative freedom, it was also possible to submit ideas other than the offered theme. Visitors of the ARC can also see a large number of works that reflect the public and political events of the past year, such as the advance of Chinese battery factories and immigrant workers in Hungary, the Russian cyber-attack, the wealth of the NER (System of National Cooperation, the government’s collective label for its nominal ideals), the mission in Chad, the child protection issue or the purchase of Ferihegy Airport. In this article, I present three posters in more detail.

Wrapped up

The Government has recently amended the decree on the conditions for carrying out commercial activities. This measure, which supposedly serves the protection of children, imposes strict conditions on the marketing of products whose design, appearance, or packaging visibly depicts a deviation from the identity of the birth sex, gender reassignment, or homosexuality, or depicts sexuality directly, naturally or gratuitously. So, you certainly won’t see a YA novel about two high school girls falling in love in a bookshop window, you won’t be able to buy it within 200 metres of a school, nursery, or church entrance because it cannot be sold there, and you will find it in a sealed package separate from other products meant for an underage audience.

Assuming that this provision is indeed designed to protect children and is not intended to censor or discriminate – in the age of the internet, it makes little sense. Comprehensive sex education is desperately needed in schools, but the ‘child protection’ law has also ensured that NGOs are excluded from educational institutions, and so students cannot talk to professionals who are knowledgeable on the subject.

A childhood drowned in wine

Alcohol-related diseases are a serious public health and social issue in Hungary. It is estimated that there are currently around 900,000 alcoholics in the country, and this number is steadily increasing. Alcoholism destroys lives, relationships, and families, yet it is still a very strong taboo. Statistics show that around a quarter of people who grow up in addicted families become addicted themselves, with a high risk of developing psychological problems.

Despite all this, in Hungary the problem is not named by the state, there is no comprehensive alcohol strategy and the legislator is not taking action to reduce alcohol consumption. French legislative efforts in this area could serve as an example for Hungary. While here our politicians gave us the gift of a tax-free home brewing of palinka up to 86 litres at the beginning of 2021, in France, excise duty on alcoholic products is high. The advertising of alcoholic beverages in cinemas and on television is banned, as is the open sponsorship of sporting events by companies selling alcoholic beverages. These provisions are also lacking in Hungary, although they would presumably be much better for the protection of children in the long term.

Adoption today in Hungary

In March 2021, the adoption of children by unmarried people was made more difficult, with the Civil Code stipulating that only married couples can adopt children. By way of exception, in a case of special consideration provided for by law and following a procedure laid down in a government decree, the suitability for adoption of a person wishing to adopt alone may be established. So, even if you are in a stable civil partnership or registered partnership, you will be considered as a sole adopter. Spouses have to register their intention to adopt with the Regional Child Protection Service and the adoption decision is issued by the Guardianship Office. In the case of a sole adopter, on the other hand, the Guardianship Office can only determine the suitability of the sole adopter for adoption if the Minister responsible for children and youth policy has given their consent.

According to the 2022 report of the Background Society (Háttér Társaság), in practice, the applications of same-sex couples do not even reach the ministerial level, as the Guardianship Office already declares the applicant unfit for adoption. Although the decision to reject the application can be challenged in court, a final court decision takes years. The report states that on several occasions the guardianship authorities have declared a person unfit on the grounds that finding them suitable for adoption would be “incompatible with both the Constitution and the principle of education based on Christian values”.

It is extremely saddening to read these lines, knowing that, according to experts, in most cases, single adopters would also adopt older children, children with serious/chronic illnesses, children with disabilities, traumatised children, and in many cases children of Roma origin, knowing full well that they can only become parents if no married couple in the country wants to adopt the child.

Unfortunately visiting the ARC becomes more and more depressing every year but I hope this won’t always be so, and until then: