“We hope that other African countries will see that if we can do this, then it is possible for them to do it too.”
~ Dr Mzamo Mbelle at South Africa’s first Queer Wellness Center
From the UN: On International Women’s Day UNAIDS launched a new report “We’ve got the power: Women, adolescent girls and the HIV response”. The report emphasizes that AIDS-related illnesses are currently the leading cause of death among women 15 to 49-years-old globally. Among the recommendations, the report called for governments to reform laws to end criminalization and coercive practices based on a person’s sexuality, sexual activity, drug use, gender identity, and HIV status. These harmful laws and policies expose women and girls to stigma and discrimination that prevents them from accessing HIV services and care. The report also emphasized the need for comprehensive sexuality education and integrated HIV and reproductive health services regardless of sexual identity, gender orientation, or HIV status. Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS, remarked:
“We need bold feminist-led action to end gender inequities, confront taboos around women’s sexuality, and stop denying women their basic freedoms and autonomy regarding their own bodies and life choices.”
The UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, Ahmed Shaheed, presented his latest report to the Human Rights Council which addresses gender-based violence and discrimination. The report documents violence and discrimination inflicted in the name of religion that women, girls, and LGBT+ people experience. It also noted that religion has been used by some governments to defend laws and policies that criminalize sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression and laws that restrict access to sexual and reproductive rights. Speaking to the council, Shaheed expressed concern over political campaigns that invoke religious freedom to rollback human rights:
“I firmly reject any claim that religious beliefs can be invoked as a legitimate ‘justification’ for violence or discrimination against women, girls or LGBT+ people.”
HIV, Health, and Wellness: During the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI 2020—being held virtually this year due to the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak) researchers announced that the “London patient”—the second ever person considered to be cured of HIV—remains free of active virus 30 months after stopping antiretroviral therapy. The patient, Adam Castillejo, appeared to have been cured of HIV after receiving a bone-marrow transplant for his lymphoma. Concerned about the negative attention, Castillejo only recently revealed his identity, saying:
“I want to be an ambassador of hope... I don’t want people to think, ‘Oh, you’ve been chosen.’ No, it just happened. I was in the right place, probably at the right time, when it happened.”
An Australian study presented to CROI 2020 found that HIV treatment as prevention was strongly associated with a large drop in new HIV infections among gay and bisexual men. The study is particularly important because it indicates a drop in HIV infections before PrEP was available. It is also one of the few studies to evaluate the Undetectable = Untransmittable (U=U) message at a community level.
A US study presented to CROI 2020 found that a majority of gay men and other men who have sex with men across four cities do not use PrEP due to substantial misinformation about it. Dr Kenneth H. Mayer noted that while the results are similar to previous studies, this data is very recent and suggests efforts to educate about PrEP are not working.
A new study in Annals of Internal Medicine found that Descovy, the new drug approved for PrEP use, is unlikely to be better than generic alternatives. It further found that the new drug may undermine efforts to expand PrEP access to vulnerable US populations.
A new study published in Lancet HIV found that a third of study participants taking PrEP in Kenya and Uganda had poor adherence to the medicine. The study indicates practical barriers exist to scale up the use of PrEP such as self-identified risk perception, stigma, and logistics.
A randomized trial from South Africa has found that HIV-positive men who engaged with community-based treatment services, including the use of mobile vans to receive medication, achieved superior viral suppression compared to those who received clinical-based care.
In Canada, a new draft amendment to the Criminal Code has been submitted to ban conversion therapy nationwide. According a report in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, over 20,000 LGBTQ and two-spirit people in the country have been subject to conversion therapy treatments to change their sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.
Over 100 US-based organizations signed an open letter urging that attention be paid to LGBTQ populations, who they believe are at a higher risk than the general population for catching the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Some of the factors the organizations believe cause the community to be at higher risk include higher rates of tobacco use and higher rates of compromised immune systems due to HIV and cancer. They also point out that prior experiences of discrimination in healthcare settings discourage LGBTQ+ people from seeking help.
Writing for the London School of Economics, Dr. Donald Nicolson explored how the response to the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s can give us insight to the public health threat posed by the COVID-19 outbreak:
“Public Health authorities and the media got AIDS so wrong in the early days of the epidemic and this stands as a stark lesson for the response to COVID-19. The spread, scientific response and public awareness of COVID-19 has been far more rapid than that of the AIDS epidemic. However, responding to the threat of COVID-19 will also require nuanced thought about the social and cultural dimension of epidemics.”
More HIV, Health, and Wellness
From the World of Politics: Last year in Malta, the government launched a public consultation on reforming laws regulating sex work and human trafficking. Parliamentary Secretary for Equality and Reforms Rosianne Cutajar has now proposed that the new law decriminalize both sex work and buying sex. This is a departure from the “Nordic Model” which decriminalizes sex workers and provides services to help people leave sex work while criminalizing the act of buying people for sex. This model is used in Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Ireland, Canada, France, and Israel. Although some rights groups have objected to legalizing the buying of sex which they say will allow “the commodification and objectification of women’s bodies”, others have argued that full decriminalization is needed to protect workers’ rights and make sex work safe for people of all genders.
In India, sex workers rallied to demand that sex work be decriminalized. The government has been attempting to reform The Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) bill for over a year. During the rally, organizations called on officials to open a consultation to discuss the needs of the country’s sex workers before the Anti-Trafficking Bill is revised.
In Indonesia, some members of the House of Representatives introduced a draft law called the “Family Resilience Bill”. It introduces several strict policies including a ban on surrogacy and sperm donations, a requirement that wives regulate households and “fulfill the rights of the husband and children”, and that sexual “deviants”—including lesbian and gay people—should seek “rehabilitation”. After the text of the bill was leaked to the public, many have spoken out against it.
Also in Indonesia, conservative politicians are opposing a long-awaited sexual violence bill because they say it “promotes free sex and deviant sexual behavior”. The National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) urged critics to meet with them, noting that misunderstandings were preventing progress.
From the US, NPR examined what some LGBTQ activists have called a “civil rights whiplash”—the sudden reversal of rights and protections previously granted to LGBT+ people under the Obama administration. It also examined the upcoming Supreme Court cases that will further impact the community.
Also in the US, the Arizona state House of Representatives passed a law banning trans students from participating in female school sports. It must now pass the state senate to become law. Similar legislation is being considered in six other states.
More from the World of Politics
The Politics of Union: Russia is moving forward with an amendment to define marriage as between one man and one woman as part of a package of constitutional reforms. Moscow-based political scientist Ekaterina Schulmann told the New York Times that the marriage amendment is being used to frame constitutional reforms as a “referendum for traditional values”. The public is expected to vote on the final list of reforms in late April however enthusiasm among the public has been low. Experts say that adding the “hot button” issue will increase turnout.
The High Court of Hong Kong ruled that the Housing Authority’s policy of excluding same-sex couples married abroad from accessing public rental housing is unconstitutional. The judge found that the Authority could not justify why couples should be treated any differently than opposite-sex couples. He was “not impressed” by arguments that it would be more administratively complicated or inconvenient to validate genuineness of a foreign same-sex marriage. Prominent lawmakers have urged the government to file an appeal.
In Japan, the Tokyo High Court ruled that people in a common law marriage with a same-sex partner are entitled to the same legal benefits as opposite-sex couples. The couple at the center of the case had been married in the US and lived together in Japan for seven years. One woman sued her former partner for damages over infidelity. However, the accused argued that, because there is no same-sex marriage in Japan, the legal criteria for common law marriage is unclear. The court found that a same-sex couple “bears the same obligations to fidelity that a legally married couple of opposite genders undertakes”.
More from the Politics of Union
Let the Courts Decide: In El Salvador, three police officers are standing trial for the murder of Camila Díaz Córdova, a transgender woman. Judge Sidney Blanco announced that there is sufficient evidence to implicate the police officers; however, it will not be prosecuted as a hate crime—disappointing activists. Córdova had sought asylum in the US for several years to escape gang violence. She was kidnapped and murdered not long after the US deported her—Foreign Policy documented her difficult journey.
In Poland, several city officials announced they will sue the activists who created a map called “Atlas of Hate” which highlights areas of the country that have enacted “LGBT Free Zones” and resolutions “against LGBT ideology”. In the lawsuit, officials argue that their resolutions are based on a “Municipal Charter of Family Rights” and do not explicitly refer to an “LGBT ideology”. Pawel Kwasniak, coordinator of the group that created the family rights charter, explained the charter is a “response to threats from far-left ideology, social movements, the LGBT ideology, and gender ideology, which are spreading ever more across the world and in Poland”.
From Barbados, one of the advocates challenging the criminalization of same-sex sexual activity, Alexa Hoffman spoke to Barbados Today about how success in decriminalization in Trinidad and Tobago is providing a roadmap for litigation across the region.
Israel's High Court of Justice ruled that current surrogacy laws which only allow opposite-sex couples and single women to use surrogacy to have children are discriminatory. In 2018 the Knesset (parliament) passed a law that expanded surrogacy to single women; however, the Prime Minister voted against an amendment for same-sex couples and men. At the time, activists led a nation-wide strike and over 100,000 protested the exclusion. The five judges have given the Knesset a year to change the law to allow equal access.
In the US, the state of South Carolina settled a lawsuit brought forward by a coalition of LGBTQ groups over the state's sex education law. The law, established in 1988, prevented public school health classes from mentioning “alternate sexual lifestyles” unless in the context of sexually transmitted diseases. The settlement requires that South Carolina's Department of Education distribute a new policy within 60 days. Sex education, including information on HIV, varies from state to state in the US. Currently seven states require that non-heterosexual relationships are only discussed in a negative context.
Regarding Religion: Australia’s Attorney General released some of the public consultation submissions to the current draft of the Religious Freedom Bill that was put on hold in December last year. If passed it would mean that religious rights would supersede other rights and override other federal and state anti-discrimination bills. Comments on the latest draft show that the public remains deeply divided. Medical experts, business leaders, youth groups, women’s groups, and many others objected to the bill with specific examples of how it could harm individuals and society. Many religious groups showed support for the bill though they often called for greater adjustments in favor of religion. This support was not universal—for example, the Catholic social service group Sacred Heart Mission submitted that religious freedom must be balanced:
“It is our view that the draft Religious Discrimination Bill will allow people and organisations to use faith as a means to cause harm, including excluding people from accessing essential services.”
In Poland, activists held a protest outside the Warsaw church where Archbishop Marek Jędraszewski was visiting to deliver mass. According to reports, police immediately blocked the crowd and did not allow anyone who “appeared” to be part of the LGBT community into the church. The Archbishop has often expressed anti-LGBT sentiments including that gay rights are a “rainbow plague”. Filmmaker Bartosz Staszewski said he was at the protest because:
“We are not a rainbow plague, as he has said. We are the citizens of this country and we want to look him in the face.”
Toni Kruger-Ayebazibwe, executive director of the Global Interfaith Network, spoke with Hivos about efforts to bring together religious leaders from many different faiths to open a dialogue on sexual orientation and gender identity. Leaders from South Korea, France, Kenya, Southeast Asia, India, Switzerland, and Latin America discussed their backgrounds and how they have worked towards tolerance and inclusion.
Fear and Loathing: In Australia, the LGBT Homelessness Research Project found that young LGBTI people are twice as likely to be homeless than other kids aged 12 to 18-years-old. On the final days of Sydney’s Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, the organization "Youth Off The Streets" raised over $100,000 AUD and nearly broke a world record for the largest “image of a house made of humans” to raise awareness on the issue.
In the UK, a BBC investigation found that local councils across England have been forcing young LGBT people who have been kicked out of their homes to produce letters from their parents as “proof” of homelessness. Council’s are refusing to support youth without letters and have labeled some children as “intentionally homeless”. Local government’s say that because of funding pressures they are limited in the support they can give. As one 16-year-old described:
“I felt that the council were against me, as much against me as my own family, and I felt like I didn't have anywhere to turn.”
Journalist Gary Nunn shared experiences of LGBT people who are rejected by their parents from Australia, to the UK, the US, and Brazil.
In the US, the National Centre for Homeless Education found that 1.5 million students experienced homelessness in 2018. Previous studies have found that 40% of homeless youth are LGBTQ. As COVID-19 causes universities and colleges across the country to close campuses and cancel in-person classes, some worry vulnerable students will be left behind with nowhere to go.
Also from the US, authors of a new study published in Jama Pediatrics suggest that there is “a crisis of violence against sexual minority adolescents”. Using the CDC’s National Youth Risk Behavior Survey they found that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and questioning youth aged 14 to 18-years-old face roughly twice the risk of physical violence than their peers. Over 20% reported experiencing sexual assault and 12% experienced intimate partner violence.
COVID-19 is expected to lead to the “cancellation, curtailment or postponement” of Pride festivals across Europe according to European Pride Organiser Association president Kristine Garine.
Winds of Change: The African Queer Youth Initiative launched a new website called “Safe Queers” designed to help LGBT youth navigate the internet. Designed to accommodate people all over the world, even those with minimal internet speeds, it provides tips about staying safe online and when using dating apps, safety manuals for organizations, and material that can be downloaded for offline use.
South African LGBT activists opened the continent's first Queer Wellness Centre to offer "stigma-free" sexual and mental health services.
UNAIDS featured Ronie Zuze, the founder of the Intersex Community of Zimbabwe. Check out the video as Zuze shared what it means to be intersex and how it impacted them growing up:
“I know there is a lot of stigma and misconceptions about intersex bodies, but parents need not panic. I want intersex people to know there is nothing to be ashamed of, so be proud.”
In South Africa, Outreach Africa awarded Archbishop Desmond Tutu a Lifetime Achievement Award for his work with the LGBTI+ community. Authors Adriaan van Klinken and Ezra Chitando explored Tutu’s activism on behalf of LGBTI+ people. In a statement, the Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation reflected:
"[Archbishop Tutu] has the courage to say things in ways that others might not. There are no holy grails. Thus, with crystal clarity, we know that he would not worship a homophobic God and that if there is homophobia in heaven, he'd rather go to hell."
Check out the video from VOA featuring Cameroon defense lawyer Alice Nkom who fights for the decriminalization of same-sex relationships. She is one of the few willing to defend those suspected of being gay despite violence and death threats:
“What it costs me to be a gay rights defender was the rejection, the assault. I am not recognized as someone who defends human rights because for them, the rights of homosexuals are not human rights.”
Writing for ARC International, Mariana Winocur reflected on ARC’s latest International Dialogue—events that bring together local partners, activists, scholars, and other stakeholders to share experiences in advancing LGBTIQ persons’ rights. One of Wincour’s big takeaways was the importance of language—how we self-identify, interpret diversity, how we include or exclude from the movement, and how language impacts domestic and international law.
Writing for the Guardian, André Wheeler described how the slur “faggot” affected him growing up in Texas as a black, queer kid in a conservative community. He explored how the word is being retaken by some people in the LGBTQ+ communities. He explains why he is trying to become comfortable with reclaiming the word for himself.
In the UK, the battle for transgender rights, especially the rights of trans women, continues to play out with transphobic hate speech across media and politics. Writing for the Conversation, professor of philosophy and feminism Jennifer Saul examined the use of language in the debate. She explained why we should not use the term “TERF”—an acronym for “trans-exclusionary radical feminist” or feminists who do not recognize trans women as women and believe trans rights to be in opposition to women’s rights:
“Using TERF leads to misguided battles over what counts as a slur, and, more importantly, obscures the truth about the nature of the real battle at hand. At the core, it’s a contest over the rights of trans people. That is what needs to be understood and foregrounded. The words we use can help to determine how those rights are shaped and protected, or not.”
On the March: In Kenya, some LGBT refugees fear losing their Nairobi safe house as the organization supporting them runs out of funding. Over the years, Kenya has taken in many refugees including LGBT people despite the country’s own laws criminalizing same-sex sexual activity. LGBT refugees often face stigma and discrimination in refugee camps due to homophobia.
From Russia, Maria Georgieva spoke with migrants living with HIV who are at risk of being deported due to their HIV status and sexuality. Russia and 19 other countries deport non-nationals who contract HIV. Although same-sex sexual activity is not criminalized in the country, censorship and stigmatizing laws are routinely used against LGBT people. The government provides free treatment to HIV-positive Russians; however, experts say migrants go untreated. One organization, “Steps”, works to help migrants, gay people, and sex workers find doctors who will treat them in secret.
From the US, an investigation revealed that a private prison housing immigrants was forced to transfer all transgender detainees and many chronically ill detainees after federal inspections found hundreds of “health-care related deficiencies” including neglect of HIV positive people, as reported by Reuters. In 2015, the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) signed an agreement to offer protections for trans immigrants. However, former ICE Director Thomas Homan said that many facilities have been unwilling to modify their contracts. The facility is one of many at the center of a whistleblower complaint regarding severely inadequate medical treatment or oversight at ICE jails, as reported by Buzzfeed News.
Also in the US, Washington Blade announced that its journalist Yariel Valdés González was granted asylum and was released from ICE custody. González, who reported on LGBTQ migrants traveling with the Central American caravans, had been held for nearly a year.
Sports and Culture: US basketball star Dwyane Wade shared with Ellen Degeneres his family’s journey after his 12-year-old came out as transgender. Wade and his wife, actress Gabriel Union, have been applauded by many for their outspoken support of their daughter Zaya.
Thailand hosted the 15th annual Miss International Queen contest, a beauty pageant featuring transgender women. Valentina Fluchaire from Mexico was crowned winner. Runner up Ruethaipreeya Nuanglee from Thailand reflected:
“We can’t force people to love us. But I have a better idea. I want to be a voice that affects change in the laws for transgender people.”
The BBC released a new documentary highlighting the work of drag queens to bring together Serbia and Kosovo. The artists talk about supporting each other and joining forces despite the tensions between the two countries that keep many divided. Check it out now!
Top photo by Ndumiso Silindza