Neringa Dangvyde Macate was a specialist in children’s literature, has authored a number of literary articles and reviews, participated in major literature and culture conferences, and was a member of a National Book Evaluation Committee of Lithuania. She was a member of the Lithuanian Writers Union and the author of two children’s books, Gintarinė širdis (The Amber Heart, 2013) and Vaikas su žvaigžde kaktoje (The Child With a Star on His Forehead, 2016)
The fairy-tale collection The Amber Heart was published in 2013. Its publication was funded by the Lithuanian University of Education in collaboration with the Lithuanian Council for Culture.
However, shortly after the publication of The Amber Heart, a few members of the Lithuanian Parliament reached out to the Lithuanian University of Education to express their concern regarding the content and subjects of the book. The claim was forwarded to the Office of the Inspector of Journalistic Ethics. In 2014, the Inspector issued a public statement declaring “The Three Princes’ Search for Wisdom” and “The Princess, the Shoemaker’s Daughter, and the Twelve Brothers” to be potentially harmful for individuals under 14 years old. These claims were based on the fact that these two stories among other things talked about same-sex couples who got married and lived happily ever after. According to the current Lithuanian Law on the Protection of Minors against Detrimental Effect of Public Information, any information that encourages a concept of marriage and family other than the one stipulated in the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania or in the Civil Code is detrimental to minors and should be restricted.
Following this statement, the Lithuanian University of Education publicly declared The Amber Heart, the book they distributed, to be “unscrupulous propaganda of homosexuality” and terminated its distribution and sales. The author sued the Lithuanian University of Education for its actions. During trial the Lithuanian University of Education returned the distribution of fairytales, however, with one condition. The condition was that from then on, all copies of The Amber Heart were only be distributed and sold with a parental advisory sticker stating that the book is potentially harmful for anyone under 14 years of age.
The author did not agree with this decision as the book was written for children to foster understanding about many different groups that face exclusion and continued fighting for freedom of expression, for the right for The Amber Heart to be distributed and read as any other children’s book without discrimination. Notably, this was the only case in Lithuanian literature where a book has been banned, completely removed from sale, and then returned with a restriction upon it. With help from various local human rights organizations, the second edition of The Amber Heart was published in 2015, but the trial process and dispute over the first edition of The Amber Heart continued.
In May 2019 after 5 years of fighting in courts the author of The Amber Heart lost her case, after her complaint was not accepted by the Supreme Court of Lithuania for the second time (the first time it was heard by the Supreme Court in 2016 and returned the case for reexamination). The final decision of the Supreme Court cannot be overturned. Therefore, the only way for the author to seek justice for freedom of speech and protection from discrimination and continue to see the book published was to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights. The application was submitted in 2019 and hopefully will be examined by the ECHR in the future.
Neringa Dangvyde Macate was a specialist in children’s literature, has authored a number of literary articles and reviews, participated in major literature and culture conferences, and was a member of a National Book Evaluation Committee of Lithuania. She was a member of the Lithuanian Writers Union and the author of two children’s books, Gintarinė širdis (The Amber Heart, 2013) and Vaikas su žvaigžde kaktoje (The Child With a Star on His Forehead, 2016)
The fairy-tale collection The Amber Heart was published in 2013. Its publication was funded by the Lithuanian University of Education in collaboration with the Lithuanian Council for Culture.
However, shortly after the publication of The Amber Heart, a few members of the Lithuanian Parliament reached out to the Lithuanian University of Education to express their concern regarding the content and subjects of the book. The claim was forwarded to the Office of the Inspector of Journalistic Ethics. In 2014, the Inspector issued a public statement declaring “The Three Princes’ Search for Wisdom” and “The Princess, the Shoemaker’s Daughter, and the Twelve Brothers” to be potentially harmful for individuals under 14 years old. These claims were based on the fact that these two stories among other things talked about same-sex couples who got married and lived happily ever after. According to the current Lithuanian Law on the Protection of Minors against Detrimental Effect of Public Information, any information that encourages a concept of marriage and family other than the one stipulated in the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania or in the Civil Code is detrimental to minors and should be restricted.
Following this statement, the Lithuanian University of Education publicly declared The Amber Heart, the book they distributed, to be “unscrupulous propaganda of homosexuality” and terminated its distribution and sales. The author sued the Lithuanian University of Education for its actions. During trial the Lithuanian University of Education returned the distribution of fairytales, however, with one condition. The condition was that from then on, all copies of The Amber Heart were only be distributed and sold with a parental advisory sticker stating that the book is potentially harmful for anyone under 14 years of age.
The author did not agree with this decision as the book was written for children to foster understanding about many different groups that face exclusion and continued fighting for freedom of expression, for the right for The Amber Heart to be distributed and read as any other children’s book without discrimination. Notably, this was the only case in Lithuanian literature where a book has been banned, completely removed from sale, and then returned with a restriction upon it. With help from various local human rights organizations, the second edition of The Amber Heart was published in 2015, but the trial process and dispute over the first edition of The Amber Heart continued.
In May 2019 after 5 years of fighting in courts the author of The Amber Heart lost her case, after her complaint was not accepted by the Supreme Court of Lithuania for the second time (the first time it was heard by the Supreme Court in 2016 and returned the case for reexamination). The final decision of the Supreme Court cannot be overturned. Therefore, the only way for the author to seek justice for freedom of speech and protection from discrimination and continue to see the book published was to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights. The application was submitted in 2019 and hopefully will be examined by the ECHR in the future.