From the UN: During the 44th Session of the Human Rights Council the OHCHR presented its report “Intersection of race and gender discrimination in sport”. Among the findings, it noted that although many people have characteristics that “fit typical expectations for female or male bodies, this is not true of everyone”. It emphasized that current approaches to regulating female eligibility to play sports including so-called “sex testing, femininity testing, or gender verification” violate several human rights including the right to freedom from inhuman or degrading treatment, the right to physical and mental health, and the right to dignity and bodily autonomy. Olympian Caster Semenya, who was blocked from competing by the International Association of Athletics Federations unless she takes drugs to decrease her natural testosterone levels, thanked the High Commissioner for the report:
“For too long, people controlling sport have looked the other way, ignored our rights. I want to assure them – we will not be silenced and we will not disappear.”
The OHCHR Working Group on discrimination against women and girls issued a call for submissions for a report on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) in situations of crisis. They are seeking information on SRHR challenges such as access to essential medicines, contraception and abortion, STI prevention, and menstrual care during a broad range of crises including humanitarian—such as wars, natural disasters, and pandemics—to situations of crisis created by structural discrimination and by environmental factors. Check out the questionnaire to contribute.
On the International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief (21 August), the Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, Victor Madrigal-Borloz, joined 10 other experts to call on governments to combat intolerance, discrimination, and violence. They warned that during the COVID-19 pandemic they’ve seen a “sharp rise in hatred directed at different religious communities”. They also expressed alarm at violence in the name of religion, which disproportionately affects women and girls, LGBT+ persons, refugees, and other minorities. They warned that governments that use religion to violate human rights and reinforce narrow concepts of national identity:
“Not only does this destroy the space for rational discourse, but it seeks to polarize and homogenize rather than foster respect for diversity and pluralism.”
Madrigal-Borloz also spoke to participants of the European Research Council project “Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Claims of Asylum: A European Human Rights Challenge”. The four-year project which evaluated the social and legal experiences of asylum seekers across Europe concluded this summer. One of the project’s main findings is that LGBT+ asylum seekers are routinely rejected because of a widespread “culture of disbelief” and an “impossible burden of proof”. Madrigal-Borloz’s keynote address, as well as many of the sessions are now available online!
HIV, Health, and Wellness: From around the world reports are coming in confirming activists' fears that pandemic related disruptions to sexual and reproductive health services are having a “devastating” effect on women and girls as described by Natalia Kanem, executive director of the UN Population Fund, in the Lancet.
Marie Stopes International (MSI) reported pandemic-related interruptions to their programs in 37 countries between January and June are estimated to result in an additional 900,000 unintended pregnancies, 1.5 million unsafe abortions, and over 3,000 maternal deaths. From Kenya, data by the International Rescue Committee showed three times as many teen pregnancies from March to June compared to last year. And in Japan, pregnancy counseling services say inquiries from worried teens have hit an all-time high.
The Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) Civil Society Forum launched the 12th edition of the Gender Protocol Barometer titled “#VoiceandChoice in the Time of COVID-19”. Measuring 100 indicators across seven areas including sexual and reproductive health, gender-based violence, and sexual and gender diversity, the report found that COVID-19 has greatly impacted women and girls across 16 countries of Southern Africa. It determined that restricted access to schools, healthcare, and HIV services, and increased violence could have a “catastrophic impact” on women that will reverse progress for years to come. The comprehensive report makes both immediate and long-term recommendations to support women, girls, and all LGBTI people in the region.
The US CDC released new data showing that over 10% of people have considered suicide during the COVID-19 crisis—over 25% of respondents aged 18 to 24 years considered it. Although gender and sexuality was not assessed, LGBT+ people are routinely found to be more at risk of suicide and substance abuse. Additionally, data from PSB Research has found that higher percentages of LGBT+ people have reported COVID-related work reduction and food insecurity compared to the general population.
A new article in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence evaluated how young adults who are both Native American and identify as LGBTQ2S+ (LGBT, queer, Two-Spirit, and other identities) experience trauma and intersecting sources of stigma. Among the findings, researchers determined that young people often experienced cascading effects of trauma that create significant health vulnerabilities. They also challenged past research that suggests there is a hierarchy of types of trauma as more harmful than others.
A new article in Clinical Infectious Diseases used a mathematical model to evaluate strategies to reduce new HIV infections in the US among gay and bi men aged 13 to 24. It found that screening high-risk youth for HIV every three months is a cost-effective strategy that could reduce primary transmission of HIV through age 30 by 40%.
China’s National Medical Products Administration approved the PrEP drug Truvada to reduce risk of HIV infections. Although an important advancement, experts warn that local awareness and acceptance of PrEP is low.
HIV activists in the US and the UK scored a major victory when they persuaded biotech companies to change COVID-19 trial protocols to include people living with HIV. The initial rules set out by companies excluded people with “immunosuppressive or immunodeficient state, including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection”. Activists were quick to point out that people living with HIV who are on sustained treatment are not in an “immunodeficient state” and condemned the exclusion which is “not grounded in any scientific data”. Lynda Dee, of AIDS Action Baltimore, remarked:
“What an amazing community victory, harkening back to the old days! This was a concerted HIV community effort, once again working with [National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases] in the best interests of people with HIV!”
Writing for Devex, David Gold, co-founder of Global Health Strategies, and Mandeep Dhaliwal, director of UNDP’s HIV, Health and Development Group, reflected on the parallels between COVID-19 and the HIV/AIDS epidemic within the struggle for equality and justice.
More HIV, Health, and Wellness
From the World of Politics: Poland’s Commissioner for Human Rights, Adam Bodnar, ended his mandated five-year term in office with a speech to the senate declaring that “the Polish system can no longer be defined as a true constitutional democracy” due to “hostile actions” from the government. In the final days of his post, Bodnar condemned the arrests of LGBT+ activists and bystanders. Around 50 people were arrested during a protest of the two-month detention of activist Margot Szutowicz. The European Parliament LGBTI Intergroup, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, and others have called for Szutowicz’s release. In a statement, UNAIDS remarked it is “deeply concerned” by reports of arrests and the “ongoing and intensifying persecution of LGBTI people in Poland”. It called on officials to “uphold the rule of law and protect the rights of LGBTI people”.
Meanwhile, Poland’s Ministry of Justice announced it will provide financial assistance to at least one of the cities denied grants by the European Union due to “LGBT-free zone” policies. Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro awarded over three times the amount the European Commission would have given the town of Tuchów, stating:
“We are supporting a municipality that has a pro-family agenda, promotes support for well-functioning families, and fights against the imposed ideology of LGBT and gender.”
From Hungary, speaking at an event commemorating the National Unity Memorial, Prime Minister Viktor Orban questioned the future of European civilization, as reported by Reuters and others. He described Western Europe as “renouncing” Christianity and “experiment[ing] with an ungodly cosmos, rainbow families, migration, and open societies”. He urged Central European people to unite, “determine their own destiny” and rally around the “Polish flagship”.
Thailand officials announced this summer a collaboration between 63 government agencies, private sector, and education institutions to commit “to creating an equitable society free from unfair discrimination between genders”. The aim is is to eliminate discrimination “because the person is a male, a female, or a person who acts differently from his birth gender”. The Ministry of Social Development said they will target six areas of discrimination: ability to dress according to your gender or gender identity, access to bathrooms, job opportunities for all genders, recruitment to government service, and preventing sexual harassment and degrading or hateful speech. Meanwhile, the parliament is preparing to review a gender recognition bill to establish rights of trans people.
The Barbados Parliament passed the Employment (Protection from Discrimination) Bill 2020. Although the bill specifically includes protections for people based on their sexual orientation, it does not include protections for people based on their gender identity. After trans people were excluded in the House of Assembly bill, a campaign was launched to have protections added to the Senate version of the bill. Unfortunately, the Senate refused. Alexa Hoffman, of the United Caribbean Trans Network, provided an account of the “depressing” and “shameful” Senate debate which is available to watch online.
More from the World of Politics
The Politics of Union: The Cayman Islands finally has a plan for same-sex couples after a year of flip-flopping on marriage equality. Early in 2019, Chief Justice Anthony Smellie issued a landmark ruling in favor of gay marriage. The government quickly appealed the decision and the Court of Appeal overturned marriage equality in November. However, it ordered the government to provide same-sex couples legal status “functionally equivalent to marriage”. The Appeals Court called on the UK, of which the Cayman Islands are an Overseas Territory, to take action if the Island’s government continued to withhold partnership rights. The legislature created a Domestic Partnership Bill but was unable to pass it. Following its defeat, Governor Martyn Roper, with support of the Overseas Ministry, announced he would use his constitutional powers to legalize domestic partnerships.
In Russia, a group of 25 doctors from across disciplines who work with trans and non-binary people sent an open letter to parliament’s Health Committee and the Committee on Family, Women, and Children objecting to a package of draft laws to amend the Family Code to “strengthen the institution of family”. The proposed amendments include a ban on trans people from marrying and a requirement to change identification documents to show sex at birth.
More from the Politics of Union
Let the Courts Decide: A US District Court issued a preliminary injunction temporarily blocking the government from removing protections in healthcare for trans people as reported by Bloomberg Law and others. Last month a coalition of 23 state attorney generals filed suit against the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) over the new rule which would remove protections based on gender identity, transgender status, or sex stereotypes in healthcare and health insurance. Judge Federic Block cited the landmark Supreme Court ruling that extends federal civil rights to LGBT people in the workplace in his decision. Two other cases are currently being heard against the rule in other districts.
In Uganda, the Chief Magistrates Court of Wakiso issued summons to a town councilman and a prison official to answer charges of “torture and inhuman and degrading treatment” as reported by Reuters and the African Human Rights Media Network. The charges are related to the arrests of 20 people from an LGBT shelter in March. The young men and women were accused of breaking COVID restrictions, held in detention, denied access to lawyers, and allegedly subjected to torture for nearly two months before charges were dropped and they were released. During their detention many around the world spoke out and condemned the arrests as inappropriately using emergency powers to target LGBT people.
In Belize, a man has been found guilty of the murder of Jose Felix Ayuso, a well-known AIDS activist. The judge dismissed the murderer’s claim that he had been provoked by Ayuso’s sexual advances—what is known as a “gay panic defence”.
Earlier this summer, the US states of Washington and Colorado banned defences based on panic over a victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity—11 states now have this ban. And in Australia, the state of South Australia began debating legislation on the “gay panic defence”—it is the only Australian state that still allows this defence. Introducing the legislation, MP Tammy Franks noted that changes keep being promised:
“We have learned in this place that without pressure there will be no action when it all seems too hard, when those who historically we have treated as lesser are not listened to, are not given respect, and are not treated as equal.”
In China, the People’s Court of Suyu District heard a case brought by a student against textbook publisher Jinan University Press and the e-commerce site Jiangsu Yuanzhou. The student, a lesbian under the pseudonym Xixi, filed the complaint in 2016 arguing that “Mental Health Education for College Students” contains many errors and misleading information about homosexuality including that it is a sexual psychological disorder. Xixi said that she was encouraged over the three years of court delays by her friend Qiubai, another student who has been involved since 2015 in lawsuits against the Ministry of Education regarding textbooks that stigmatize homosexuality. In her statement to the court, Xixi remarked:
“I believe that everyone here, including the judges and defendants, have been squeezed out because of certain personal traits, or because of their local accent, or their fat and thin bodies, or from migrant families. I believe you can empathize with the minority students on campus: being isolated, cursed, beaten, even sexually assaulted...We should not bear all this, let alone continue to tolerate discrimination, we should make changes.”
Regarding Religion: South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs released a statement authorizing ministers of the Dutch Reformed Church (NGK) who apply for permission the ability to officiate same-sex unions under the Civil Union Act. This follows several years of controversy within the Church—an Afrikaans Protestant denomination with over a million members across southern Africa. In 2015, the NGK General Synod voted to allow gay and lesbian ministers and to offer blessings of same-sex unions. After outcry among conservatives, this was reversed. Last year, the High Court of Gauteng ruled that this reversal was discriminatory and unconstitutional. In a press release, South Africa’s largest NGK congregation was “shocked” and suggested that all ministers will be forced to bless same-sex unions regardless of their beliefs.
The Synod of the Catholic-Christian Church of Switzerland voted in favor of allowing blessings of same-sex partnerships in the Church. The Synod voted that these partnerships be understood as “liturgically and theologically” the same as different-sex partnerships.
In Argentina, Sister Mónica Astorga Cremona, superior of the Discalced Carmelite Convent of Neuquén, opened a small apartment complex to offer permanent housing for trans women, as reported by Télam. Pope Francis sent a handwritten note congratulating Sister Astorga (photographed and emailed), saying that God will “repay you abundantly”. Sister Astorga says that the Pope has always been supportive of her work with the trans community. When he was Archbishop of Buenos Aires he told her:
“Don’t abandon this border work that the Lord gave you and, for whatever you need, count on me”.
From the US, New Ways Ministry is publishing “Next Steps: Developing Catholic LGBTQ Ministry”, a ten-part series to help parishes become more welcoming of LGBTQ people and their families. The series includes analysis of Catholic scholarship, guides to examining your local community needs, and sources to develop your pastoral plan.
Fear and Loathing: In Jamaica, two surveys found that over 90% don’t want to see “buggery” laws changed. Resistance to changing “buggery” laws is one reason the Sexual Offenses Act has not been amended despite ongoing efforts, according to advocates. The Sexual Offenses Act is problematic because it leaves many victims unprotected as rape is defined only as forced vaginal penetration by a penis. The Act also criminalizes “buggery” which includes both consensual and non-consensual anal sex. The Jamaica Observer reported that many fear changing the Sexual Offenses Act would lead to a repeal of the other laws that also criminalize “buggery” and “acts of gross indecency”.
Activist Maurice Tomlinson reflected on the ongoing negative impact that these laws—inherited from British Colonialism—have had across the Caribbean, noting that:
“Imposed anti-sodomy laws and homophobic religious rhetoric have resulted in Global South societies mired in sometimes deadly hate for queers.”
Belgium police are investigating groups on the messaging app Telegram and Instagram in which thousands of users call for violence against LGBT people. Police became involved after a video of a young person being attacked in the city of Louvain went viral.
In the Netherlands, the group LGBT Asylum Support announced they had received over 60 reports of discrimination, threats, and violence against LGBTQ asylum seekers in just two months. They called on the Minister for Migration, Ankie Broekers-Knol, to create separate housing for LGBTQ asylum seekers. Separate housing was authorized several years ago; however, it was filled with non-LGBTQ asylum seekers last year due to overcrowding.
Winds of Change: The Initiative Sankofa d’Afrique de l’Ouest (ISDAO), an activist-led group financially supporting LGBTQI communities in West Africa, released its first report outlining progress made across Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Togo, and Senegal. ISDAO’s achievements are a direct result over six years of development by regional activists to address communities often overlooked by donors.
The Guardian spoke with South African cultural icon, artist, and activist Beverley Ditsie about her life and the overlapping discrimination she faced from being a black lesbian during apartheid. An activist her entire life—she was one of the cofounders of South Africa’s first Pride—she described how she became disenchanted with early movements that overlooked the needs of the most marginalized:
“The word might be new, but our realities have always been intersectional.”
Writing for Politico, Belarusian activist Andrei Zavalei described what it means to fight for both democracy and LGBTQ rights in a country where violence and discrimination against queer people is normal. A contested presidential election in early August has sparked mass opposition protests and severe police brutality. Zavalei said that, in the past, LGBTQ activists were careful to keep their queer identities hidden during democracy protests for their own safety. However, as the democracy protests grow larger, Zavalei says his community is growing bolder:
“When this is over for others, it won’t be over for us. As we try to invent strategies of advocacy relevant for our local context, the experience of being inside a totalitarian system for 26 years will be useful. Our rainbow flags have come out. We won't be putting them away.”
In Lebanon, among the many tragedies of the deadly blast that devastated Beirut, killing hundreds, injuring over 6,000 people, and leaving an estimated 300,000 homeless, the country’s oldest LGBT+ organization, Helem, saw their community center in ruins. Despite the trauma, staff and volunteers have come together to rebuild while also supporting community kitchens and dispensing emergency aid. (Donate to support Helem’s work through OutRight. Support other LGBTQ Lebanese groups through GoFundMe.) Executive Director Tarek Zeidan said he was surprised by LGBT+ community members that stepped up to help Helem without being asked:
“I cannot explain what it feels like to be lifted when you buckle at the knees by the very same people you feel responsible for lifting.”
On the March: The first ever Pride event to unite the entire African continent and the African Diaspora, “Pride Afrique”, took place virtually over three days. Created by a broad coalition of LGBTQI+ activists, grassroot organizations, and allies, the event showcased “three-dimensional stories” through performances, discussions, and key speakers to inspire LGBTQI and allies. Organizers aimed to inform the world that “our sexual and gender identities are very much part of this continent’s history and narrative”. Watch now in Arabic, English, French, and Portuguese!
China’s largest and oldest Pride organization, Shanghai Pride, announced they have cancelled all upcoming activities and will host “no more public large-scale LGBT activities in the Chinese mainland” after 11 years of art and film festivals, job fairs, discussions, and Pride week. Sixth Tone reported that many were shocked at the news which came only a month after the success of the 12th annual Pride festival. Although no official reason was given for the cancellations, on her personal Facebook page, founder Charlene Liu noted:
“This decision was difficult to make but we have to protect the safety of all involved.”
Sports and Culture: Disney released the documentary “Howard” about Oscar-winner Howard Ashman, lyricist for Disney’s most famous musicals of the 1990s, who passed away due to HIV/AIDS before the release of his final film Beauty and the Beast. (Check out the trailer!) Directed by Don Hahn, it encourages viewers to see his musicals as a product of his love story with his long-term partner Bill Lauch. Reviewer Kevin Fallon praised the film for not holding back:
“This is a film that censors no aspect about Ashman’s life as a gay man and gives space to the brutality of the AIDS epidemic and how, through Ashman, it shaped what would become one of the most defining eras in Disney history.”
For India’s Independence Day (15 August) filmmaker Jomin Varghese shared the challenges he went through to create his short film “Let Love Be” which follows several LGBTQ people leaving Pride and coming back to their regular lives.
Check out the documentary short film “Sweetheart Dancers” showcasing Sean and Adrian—a Ute and Navajo two-spirit couple who were determined to compete in “sweetheart competition”. The Native American competition occurs at many pow wows with prizes that can top $10,000 and is reserved for heterosexual couples in long term relationships. Watch now!
top photo by Alegandro Gómez