IKEA has said that Russia's anti-gay
law prevented it from including a lesbian story in its Russian
edition of IKEA Family Live magazine.
The story, which appeared in 24
countries, explains how IKEA helped UK couple Clara and Kirsty and
their one-year-old son Isaac redecorate their small loft space.
“We're two mums bringing up our baby
boy in Clara's mum's loft,” Kirsty said in the piece. “We're not
your average family in your average home, but if my nan can raise two
sons in a tiny caravan, we can make it work in our little loft.”
More than 45,500 people signed a
Change.org petition asking IKEA to “please don't erase LGBT
families.”
In
response to the petition, IKEA said that “it is a law that has
been widely criticized but one that we have to comply with.”
“We want the way we communicate our
offer in different commercial channels to mirror the world around us
and we believe that publishing an article featuring a lesbian couple
in 24 countries is a good example of that. In some of these countries
the subject is still considered to be controversial,” the
company added. “In the long term, we believe that we can have
a positive influence on societies in the countries where we operate
by constantly working based on our values.”
Gay rights activists in Russia called
on IKEA to speak out against the law.
“Companies doing business in Russia
simply can't remain silent anymore when it comes to the human rights
violations of LGBT Russians,” said
Yelena Goltsman, founder and co-president of RUSA LGBT. “It's
time for IKEA to do the right thing, stand by their corporate values
of equality, and stand with LGBT Russians.”