In the beginning of 2009, a local St. Petersburg LGBT organization called "VYKHOD" (Russian for "exit, solution") has launched a new project "INFO-VYKHOD", devoted to bringing up-to-date and useful information on various topics to the community. 

The first session, a seminar on parenthood, has proved to be of great interest to gays and lesbians and was attended by approximately 150 people. The featured professionals provided  information about medical, legal and psychological aspects of artificial methods of reproduction, clinical requirements for conception, prices of such services, as well as adoption and legal guardianship. 

"There is a strong stereotype in this society, that gays and lesbians do not need children, and that they focus entirely on a leisurely lifestyle. However, our seminar proved that this is far from reality",- informs GayNews Galya Sultanova, coordinator of "INFO-VYKHOD. She also notes that the seminar helped to deliver quality information about parenthood. 

According to her, in spite of the fact that the seminar was of more interest to the females, the conducted questionnaire suggests that males think about having children very often as well. 

You can find more information about the seminar on the "VYKHOD" website.  

Translated by Alexander Lipovtsev