UN: Banning homosexuality fosters hate crime and homophobia, says report

Criminalising homosexuality amounts to torture in many of the 76 countries where same-sex relationships are outlawed, a United Nations report has declared. Prof Juan Mendez, the organisation’s special rapporteur on torture, has called for decriminalisation in his latest submission to the UN’s human rights council on the grounds that the bans – which sometimes carry the death penalty – legitimise homophobia and hate crimes.
 
In one of the strongest denunciations of laws that are enforced in many African, Asian and Middle Eastern states, Mendez, a former Argentinian political prisoner, urges governments to reconsider their statute books: “A clear link exists between the criminalisation of LGBT persons and homophobic and transphobic hate crimes, police abuse, community and family violence and stigmatisation,” his report says. 
 
The report says that in countries where homosexuality is criminalised “men suspected of same-sex conduct are subject to non-consensual anal examinations intended to obtain physical evidence of homosexuality, a practice that is medically worthless and amounts to torture or ill-treatment”.

The UN special rapporteur’s statement will provide legal support for groups such as the London-based Human Dignity Trust  which campaigns to overturn criminalisation. Read more via Guardian 

The Gender Fluid Tribes of the Colombian Amazon

My first experience of photographing LGBT tribe communities was the muxhes of the Oaxaca isthmus in Mexico, where I'm from. They are part of a homosexual community that has transcended the idea of gender to assume an exaggerated female identity—based on the constant search for beauty. You might say they have developed a so-called "third gender." I photographed their world for several years.

Later, I got involved with a photography project in the Colombian Amazon jungle called 20 Fotografos Amazonas. I wanted to immerse myself in the jungle—in its colors, its myths, its legends. It was there I discovered the Ticuna tribe, another homosexual community with strong similarities with the Oaxaca muxhes. I was struck by how similar their skin color was, how both tribes were preoccupied with the accentuation of excess, and, above all, how the identities of both communities are shaped by femininity. Read more via Vice

Australia’s first out gay MP uses maiden speech to speak out for gay people

Australia's first openly gay MP in the House of Representatives used his maiden speech to denounce homophobia and people who “peddle prejudice”.

Trent Zimmerman won the seat of North Sydney in a by-election after his predecessor, former federal Treasurer Joe Hockey, quit politics in 2015. After he was sworn into parliament a month ago, Zimmerman vowed to work for the rights of LGBTI people and for the issues important in his electorate.

At 12.30pm today, he rose to deliver his first speech as an MP, flanked by marriage equality advocate and far north Queensland Liberal MP Warren Entsch who wore a rainbow tie in support. Zimmerman’s speech proved to be popular, going viral and trending on Twitter nationally for more than five hours at the time of print.  Read more via Star Observer

Australia: Christian lobby seeks anti-discrimination 'override' for plebiscite campaign

The leading advocates for a "no" vote on same-sex marriage are pushing the federal government to "override" anti-discrimination laws during the upcoming plebiscite campaign. The Australian Christian Lobby are calling for the temporary change to ensure the "no" camp can speak freely during the debate to legalise same-sex marriage.

ACL managing director Lyle Shelton told Fairfax Media his organisation was very concerned about fairness during the campaign as state anti-discrimination laws in particular have "such a low threshold". Mr Shelton warned those who argued against same-sex marriage would be faced with the "constant threat of quasi and full-blown legal action." Anti-discrimination laws vary, but include laws against "any public act that could incite or encourage hatred, serious contempt or severe ridicule."

The Law Council of Australia said any exemptions to discriminatory behaviour when it came to marriage equality "should be construed as narrowly as is absolutely necessary": "People cannot use their religious beliefs as an excuse for unlawful discrimination in business and the same principle would apply to public political campaigns," president-elect Fiona McLeod said.  Read more via SMH

Peru: “I have rights” photo exhibition depicts the lives of transgender people

Transgender people often face violence, unemployment and poverty, owing to ignorance and prejudice. Such stigma and discrimination places transgender women at a higher risk of HIV infection. 

All people are equal and no one should be discriminated for any reason. “In our country it will take a lot to make this affirmation a reality,” the Peru’s Ombudsman Eduardo Vega Luna said in response to the situation. However, he called for “more awareness campaigns that encourage citizens to look at the future with hope and without violence and discrimination.”

One such activity was recently organized by UN organizations in Peru and civil society organizations: The exhibition, “Yo tengo derechos”, meaning “I have rights”, presented photographs taken by Danielle Villasana. 

The photographs in the exhibition—part of the United Nations Free and Equal campaign—showed transgender people with their colleagues and family members in their daily lives as students, artists, professionals and activists. In their testimonies for the exhibition, transgender people spoke about happiness, love and how they cope with daily struggles. Read more via UNAIDS

UNAIDS calls for 20 billion condoms by 2020

Every day, more than one million people acquire a sexually transmitted infection (STI) and every year there are estimated to be around 80 million unintended pregnancies. Condoms are proven to be 98% effective in preventing STIs and HIV. In addition, male and female condoms prevent unintended pregnancies when used correctly and consistently.

Despite increased use of condoms over the past two decades, studies show that reported use of condoms during a person’s most recent sexual encounter with a non-regular partner ranged from 80% in some countries to less than 30% in others. There is an urgent need for countries to strengthen demand for and supply of condoms and water-based lubricant.

UNAIDS is calling for increased investments by donors and governments for the promotion and distribution of male and female condoms in order to ensure everyone has access to condoms to protect themselves and their partners from HIV, STIs and unintended pregnancies: “Investing in condoms saves lives,” said UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director Luiz Loures. “It is unacceptable that so many people are becoming infected with HIV and sexually transmitted infections because they do not have access to something as easy to use, effective and low cost as condoms.” Read more via UNAIDS 

Celebrate individuality and stand out on Zero Discrimination Day

 On 1 March, people around the world joined together to celebrate Zero Discrimination Day. Discrimination remains widespread—gender, nationality, age, ethnic origin, sexual orientation or religion can all unfortunately be the basis for some form of discrimination. In only four out of 10 countries worldwide do equal numbers of girls and boys attend secondary school and 75 countries have laws that criminalize same-sex sexual relations.

Discrimination in health-care settings also continues to be widely reported. Imagine a young woman newly diagnosed with HIV being told by her doctor that she must be sterilized, a sex worker facing violence or abuse from a nurse, a disabled person denied access to proper advice about their sexual health, a gay man frightened of disclosing his sexuality to medical staff, a person who injects drugs dying after being refused treatment or a transgender person attempting suicide after being turned away from a clinic. Health-care settings should be considered as safe and caring environments, however, such cases are happening too frequently throughout the world.

 Read more via UNAIDS

Human rights contestations: sexual orientation and gender identity

This article asks if and why sexual orientation and gender identity-related rights should connect to a human rights framework. To answer that question it begins by addressing how we understand what makes human rights resonate or not resonate and if addressing a contentious issue such as sexual orientation or gender identity from within a human rights frame advances or detracts from such resonance.

The argument developed in response is anti-foundational: i.e., that human rights' resonance has not come from some universally valid extra-political foundational source but, rather, comes from how human rights have been transformed (at times) into tools that become relevant to everyday struggles of marginalised peoples.

Considered in that context, including recognition of sexual orientation and gender identity-related rights may be extraordinarily difficult, but also presents an opportunity to re-conceptualise human rights in a way that reflects the sort of bottom-up demands that keep human rights relevant.  Read more via International Journal of Human Rights

US: Black and latino queer men face a public health emergency with HIV

Sobering news came from the CDC Tuesday: According to a major new study that covers all 50 states and DC, about 1 in 2 black and 1 in 4 Latino men who have sex with men are projected to be diagnosed with HIV in their lifetime if current trends hold. As a comparison, the study found that white MSM face odds of 1 in 11, while members of the MSM community as a whole are looking at a 1 in 6 chance.

The new study, which used diagnoses and death rates from 2009-13 to extrapolate into the future, also looked at geography and found that individuals living in the South encounter more risk than those in other regions of the country. Washington, D.C., saw the highest rate at a 1 in 13 chance of an HIV-positive diagnosis.

That’s a lot of numbers, but the takeaway is this: Black and Latino MSM, in facing a risk of HIV infection that’s wildly disproportionate to other populations, are embroiled in a genuine public health emergency. Of course, this won’t come as news to advocates already working on HIV/AIDS among those groups; but it reiterates the need for education, community-specific messaging, and, above all, access to prevention tools in the effort to stem the tide.  Read more via Slate 

UN: Banning homosexuality fosters hate crime and homophobia, says report

Criminalising homosexuality amounts to torture in many of the 76 countries where same-sex relationships are outlawed, a United Nations report has declared. Prof Juan Mendez, the organisation’s special rapporteur on torture, has called for decriminalisation in his latest submission to the UN’s human rights council on the grounds that the bans – which sometimes carry the death penalty – legitimise homophobia and hate crimes.
 
In one of the strongest denunciations of laws that are enforced in many African, Asian and Middle Eastern states, Mendez, a former Argentinian political prisoner, urges governments to reconsider their statute books: “A clear link exists between the criminalisation of LGBT persons and homophobic and transphobic hate crimes, police abuse, community and family violence and stigmatisation,” his report says. 
 
The report says that in countries where homosexuality is criminalised “men suspected of same-sex conduct are subject to non-consensual anal examinations intended to obtain physical evidence of homosexuality, a practice that is medically worthless and amounts to torture or ill-treatment”.

The UN special rapporteur’s statement will provide legal support for groups such as the London-based  Human Dignity Trust which campaigns to overturn criminalisation. Read more via Guardian 

US: Father aims loaded gun at daughter after she comes out as lesbian

A man has been arrested in North Dakota for aiming a loaded gun at his teenage daughter after she came out as a lesbian. Police responded to a phone call at about 6.45pm Sunday from Bakir’s daughter, who said he was going to ‘blow her head off.’ Bakir surrendered the gun to officers and said he did not intend to harm his daughter but was just upset that she is a lesbian, court papers said.  

Read more via Gay Star News