Austria: Families fight Austria's gay marriage ban

The latest case to challenge the same-sex marriage ban in Austria on the grounds that it makes children in the family illegitimate was heard in court this week. Following a change in the law in January 2015, same-sex couples are now allowed to adopt the children of their partners in Austria, although they are still not allowed to marry.

According to gay rights organisation Rechtskomitee Lambda, Austria is the only country in the world which has granted full adoption rights for same-sex couples but not allowed the parents of these children to marry. The lawyer representing a lesbian couple and their four-year-old child argued at the hearing that the ban infringes on the rights of the child because they are forced to grow up illegitimately to unmarried parents.

During the hearing, the judge told the couple’s lawyer Dr Helmut Graupner that he shared his point of view but suggested that it might be necessary to apply to the constitutional court for a change in law.

"Austria made the second, third, fourth and fifth step before the first", he said earlier this year. "The marriage ban must fall, for the sake of the children". Read more via the Local

Canada: Indigenous languages recognize gender states not even named in English

"Back in the old days," Cat Criger, a Cayuga elder, recently told me, "our indigenous responsibilities were charted out for us like 'water carrier' or 'fire keeper,' but we wouldn't wait for a woman if we were thirsty or for a man to throw wood in the fire if we were cold."

The way he described it, gender roles had a sense of fluidity in many traditional communities.

Non-binary gender conformity, two-spirit identity and gender queer issues are all topics being talked about at the Native Youth Sexual Health Network.

Fallon Andy is Anishinaabe from the Couchiching First Nation, in Treaty 3 territory. As the media arts justice facilitator, Andy's role at the NYSHN is to use art, memes and GIFs to talk about violence inflicted on two-spirit and queer bodies.

Andy's real passion? Pronouns. "What I want is a really drastic shift in the language – that being gender-neutral pronouns," Andy says.

Andy does not identify with a gender-specific pronoun such as "he" or "she," preferring the use of "they" or "them" instead, signifying that they do not think of themselves as male or female, but somewhere between or beside those two binaries. And while it may seem like a particularly modern gesture, Andy says that, in many indigenous cultures, gender neutrality was commonplace and only interrupted at contact with Europeans.

"It started happening to indigenous bodies during those institutional times where people were regulated," they say, referring to colonial schools that enforced gender roles.

Andy says that, traditionally, their Anishinaabemowin language was more inclusive of both genders. Instead of saying sister, brother, son, daughter, mom or granddaughter, people were simply "child," "sibling" or "parent," according to Andy.

Furthermore, in other communities, elders and knowledge keepers say two-spirit people were embraced as special and powerful, and were even honoured in some communities as medicine people or healers.

Andy is part of a support circle under the umbrella of the NYSHN, which brings together grandparents, mentors and indigenous community members who identify as two-spirit and/or along the queer spectrum. Indigenous languages have words for gender states that are not expressed in English, as well, and the NYSHN allows for the exploration of these identities.

In Cree, for example, "aayahkwew" means "neither man or woman." In Inuktitut, "sipiniq" means "infant whose sex changes at birth." In Kanien'keha, or Mohawk language, "onón:wat" means "I have the pattern of two spirits inside my body." Read more via Globe & Mail

Guyana: Social Protection Minister calls for LGBT inclusion

While acknowledging that LGBT people are not accorded equal rights in the work environment, Social Protection Minister Volda Lawrence last week called for their inclusion in the promotion of gender equality.

“Yes, if we intend to promote gender equality, we cannot pretend that this group is non-existent. In our workplaces, in our institutions, we have to embrace these individuals and use their potential and skills for the benefit of economic, social and political progress. We must accord them the same process of inclusion, recognition and upward mobility irrespective of their sexual orientation and gender identity,” Lawrence said at a Women’s Empowerment Cocktail and Reception, at the British High Commissioner’s Residence in Georgetown.

The event was organised to celebrate marginalised women and was hosted by the British High Commission, Georgetown, in collaboration with Red Thread, Guyanese Women Roundtable, Guyana Trans United and the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination.  Read more via Stabroek News 

Scotland is training a small army of LGBT-friendly police officers to stamp out hate crime

Scotland’s police force has ramped up its commitment to tacking anti-LGBT hate crime. LGBTI charity the Equality Network is collaborating with Police Scotland to deliver a training programme for police at locations around the country – aimed at helping police support victims of hate crime, and increasing public confidence in police.

The more than 60 new LGBT Liaison Officers are intended to be the hub of a network across Scotland, that is accessible to the local LGBT and intersex communities. Superintendent Jim Baird of Police Scotland’s Safer Communities Department said: “Tackling hate crime is a priority for Police Scotland. We are delighted to have worked with the Equality Network. 

"Research and studies show hate crime against the LGBTI community is often under reported. We hope that these specially trained officers will encourage more LGBTI people to come forward with the confidence in Police Scotland to help reverse this trend.” Read more via PinkNews

US: White House appoints first transgender person as primary LGBT Liaison

President Barack Obama has appointed Raffi Freedman-Gurspan as the White House’s primary LGBT liaison, making her the first transgender person in the role. 

“Raffi is a great choice,” said Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality. “President Obama has said he wants his administration to look like America, and they have moved to include trans Americans. Raffi’s skills and personality make her the exact right person for this important job.”

Freedman-Gurspan became the first transgender staffer appointed to the White House in 2015, working as the outreach and recruitment director in the presidential personnel office. In her new role — as the Outreach & Recruitment Director for Presidential Personnel and Associate Director for Public Engagement — Freedman-Gurspan becomes the White House’s lead point of contact for LGBT groups on all issues. Read more via Buzzfeed

Op-ed, When governments curtail our freedoms, LGBT people are first in the firing line

There have been three instances of late of government censorship across the world: the Kenyan government wrestling with Google as it tries to ban a music video, Indonesia grappling with social media companies to try and remove certain emoticons, and most recently, the Chinese state editing out certain storylines from television programs. These developments all have something vital in common: they are all attempts to erase LGBT people from the public eye.

The justifications given by these states are similar enough. The Kenyan Classification and Film Board refused to license the video for Same-Love Remix by Art Attack because it “does not adhere to the morals of the country”. Indonesia banned emojis showing couples of the same gender holding hands claiming that “social media must respect the culture and local wisdom of the country”. And the Chinese government has banned television storylines featuring same-sex couples as part of its crackdown on “vulgar, immoral and unhealthy content”. The message is the same: LGBT people offend the majority, and so their existence should not be recognised.

These actions are troubling in and of themselves. However, it is also concerning on a deeper level, as it highlights the well-established link between LGBT persecution and authoritarianism.  Read more via New Statesman

Lebanon: Op-ed, How public health can affect LGBT Rights

When I think about LGBT rights in Lebanon, a swinging pendulum comes to mind. Slow progress met with backlash and arbitrary detention. A recent study showed that 81% of a representative Lebanese sample believed homosexuality was not normal. Nevertheless, LGBT activists stood fast in this environment and fought the institutional discrimination facing this community. LGBT health advocates even managed to stir up conversation on sexuality among their peers and the broader community.

Arguments rooted in public health principles supported many LGBT rights issues. Until 2012, forensic doctors performed anal tests, humiliating and torturous acts conducted on gay men and transgender women to ‘prove’ that they had anal intercourse. LGBT health activists successfully pressured the Lebanese Order of Physicians to ban them. As a consequence, the Order started investigating physicians who performed these tests and publically threatened to suspend their medical license.

The Lebanese experience proves that public health can be a tool used in fighting against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. But reflecting on these successes also highlights that health care disparities still persist in Lebanon and other countries where LGBT communities face stigmatization. 

Read more via Center for Transatlantic Relations Equality Blog 
 

International Women’s Day: the issues faced by sexual and gender diverse women

On a day that champions the achievements of women while recognising the ongoing struggle of gender inequality, Anna Brown believes it’s important to highlight women who face intersectional discrimination – because of both their sexual and gender identities.

International Women’s Day is an annual celebration of women around the world, one that Brown sees as a significant opportunity to raise awareness around women in the LGBTI community:

“Around the world lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and intersex women face human rights abuses such as corrective rape, physical attacks, and even murder. As queer women in Australia we have an important role to play in standing in solidarity with women across the world. For instance, we need to ensure that our government’s foreign policy initiatives on women and girls are inclusive of lesbian, bisexual, trans, and intersex women.” 

 Read more via Star Observer
 

Australia: Meet the trans kids fighting for the right to transition

Access to medical treatment changes transgender people’s lives. It can mean the difference between employment and homelessness, education and dropping out, wellbeing and depression, anxiety and suicide. But for many, it remains out of reach.

Australia is the only Western country where transgender people under the age of 18 must seek court permission to start taking cross-sex hormones. At best, experts say, the delay causes emotional trauma and financial stress. At worst, it’s a matter of life and death. Read more via Buzzfeed

South Africa: Minister of Justice calls on Africa to respect LGBTI people

South Africa’s Minister of Justice has called on African nations to accept the human rights of LGBTI people and to change their attitudes towards sexual orientation and gender identity.

Delegates from across the continent participated in the “Africa Regional Seminar on Finding Practical Solutions for Addressing Violence and Discrimination Against Persons Based on Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression.” The seminar brought together officials, human rights groups, international and regional bodies, civil society and academics.

In his speech, Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Advocate Michael Masutha said that the seminar had its roots in the resolution adopted by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights in May 2014 condemning violence and other human rights violations against the LGBTI community. The historic resolution, while largely ignored by African governments, also condemned attacks by states against people on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Masutha said that at the heart of efforts to protect LGBTI Africans from “horrendous violations” was the understanding “that we must change societal attitudes”.  Read more via MambaOnline