The poor state of LGBT+ rights in Iraq is influenced by a number of factors. Chief among them are certain religion and traditional values, which are frequently cited by religious and political figures as justification for discrimination against the LGBT+ community. The effect cascades from there: A lack of LGBT+ resources or education in local languages to counter these narratives allows them to spread widely, and groups across society—from medical professionals to educators to civic leaders— take advantage, scapegoating LGBT+ individuals to promote their agendas or explain away societal ills.
In societies where scientific and social resources about LGBT+ people are absent, media outlets can play a crucial role in shaping public opinion by providing fact-based coverage and holding those who violate the rights of LGBT+ Iraqis accountable. Though Iraqi media outlets have started covering LGBT+ issues in the last 10 years, they are not yet using their platforms to meet these responsibilities. Just the opposite.
The majority of media coverage today is biased against the LGBT+ community, reinforcing discriminatory ideas that LGBT+ individuals are alien to Iraqi society, and that LGBT+ identities are ailments that must be treated and eradicated. This report will explore how anti-LGBT+ media coverage serves as hate speech against LGBT+ individuals, stifling their march toward equality and inspiring—and passively condoning—violence against them.
For this report, IraQueer searched the websites of more than 60 Iraqi media outlets including newspapers, TV networks, and online platforms using keywords including “homosexuality” ("Al Methliya Al Jinsiya”) and “sexual abnormality”("Al Shuthuth Al Jinsi”) as such terms are the ones that are commonly used by media outlets when speaking about LGBT+ people. The search results that are used in this study are of those media coverage between the years 2012 and May 31st, 2020. IraQueer’s search results led to collecting 208 news items from the 60 Iraqi media outlets. We have conducted a general content analysis for articles, news segments, and TV programs that talked about LGBT+ people to better understand their role in shaping public opinion about the LGBT+ community. Additionally, since, according to the Broadcasting Board of Governors, more than 92% of Iraqis get their information from television channels, we highlight 22 TV programs and news segments and study them as a representative sample of and take a deep dive into the different aspects of their coverage of the LGBT+ community. These 22 programs have been chosen because they are the most recent as they were produced between 2016 and 2020. Finally, we rely on publications produced by scholars, human rights organizations, and other relevant experts to be able to draw conclusions that are credible and fact based.