This master's thesis focuses on hate speech directed towards the LGBTQ+ community. Hate speech against this community has been present throughout history, yet it was seldom discussed and often incorporated into laws and social norms. Today, however, democratic societies actively fight against it. In the theoretical part of the thesis, three definitions of hate speech are given. It is also explained how hate speech towards the LGBTQ+ community used to be part of everyday life. Additionally, the current situation regarding this issue is presented. Since hate speech is now regulated by law, the thesis also presents relevant cases from Slovenian case-law, as well as one case from the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights, which forms the basis of the empirical part of the thesis. The hypothesis suggested that many of the hateful comments were not solely hateful, but could also contribute to discussions on the rights of the LGBTQ+ community. The analysis focused on comments gathered as part of the FRENK project. The hypothesis was not confirmed, as the majority of the comments were solely insulting and hateful. Only a few could potentially contribute to future discussions on this topic. The findings of this thesis aim to support future research on hate speech towards the LGBTQ+ community.
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