Download In the Shadows: Systemic Injustice Based on Sexual Orientation and Identity/Expression in Myanmar in English.
Myanmar’s criminal laws are outdated and fail to respect and protect human rights, especially the rights of LGBTQ people and rights enshrined in binding international human rights treaties. This is the key finding of the new report ‘In the Shadows: Systemic Injustice Based on Sexual Orientation and Identity/Expression in Myanmar’.
The Denmark-Myanmar Programme on Rule of Law and Human Rights, implemented by the ICJ in partnership with Danish Institute for Human Rights commissioned this report. The report team was made up of ICJ staff who are part of the Denmark Myanmar Programme. Legal review was also provided by advisers from the ICJ team. The report is endorsed by three leading local LGBTQ and human rights organizations and one network : LGBT Rights Network, Colors Rainbow, Kings N Queens, and Equality Myanmar.
The report highlights emblematic cases and recurring human rights violations against LGBTQ people in Myanmar. Research for the report included interviews with 70 respondents from across several states to ascertain their experiences and impressions of the criminal justice system. All testimonies are anonymous and all identities are pseudonyms.
The report highlights the outdated laws that continue to affect the lives of LGBTQ people, including Section 377 of the Penal Code which criminalizes consensual same-sex conduct. Even though not commonly enforced, the fact that this law remains in place since the colonial era legitimizes prejudice, discrimination and extortion against LGBTQ people. India’s Supreme Court decided only last year that criminalization of consensual same-sex relationships under Section 377 is a violation of the Indian Constitution and is in breach of India’s obligation under international law. That is the reason why Myanmar should follow this trend and repeal Section 377 as soon as possible or at least insofar it criminalizes same-sex relationships.
Other criminal provisions that play a large part in justifying abuse against LGBTQ people are the “Shadow Laws” or “Darkness Laws” – the colloquial name of colonial era legislation that can restrict citizens’ ability to be in public after dark without an accepted justification. These provisions – from which the report’s title is drawn – are primary examples of criminal laws that are misused against LGBTQ people and result in ongoing stigmatization, human rights violations and overall injustice. Some of their provisions are vague and overbroad and are therefore open to serious abuse. Law enforcement officials too easily invoke these provisions to harass, threaten, detain and even bring spurious charges against LGBTQ people. Research from the report documents how these criminal laws have been used to enter LGBTQ people’s homes, accuse them of ‘committing unnatural sex’, take them into police custody, and to subject them to abuse.
This report further details the discriminatory attitudes of law enforcement officers, which contribute to LGBTQ people being targeted and subjected to unjust and unfair treatment within the criminal justice system. Read more via ICJ