APPG Officers Joint Letter to the Minister for Women and Equalities - Draft Bill to Ban Conversion Practices

Officers of the APPG on Global LGBT+ Rights have written to the Minister for Women and Equalities citing concerns that a draft Bill banning conversion practices has not yet been published. The joint letter urges the Government to publish the Bill in April at the latest, as well as seeking assurances that pre-legislative scrutiny will commence immediately thereafter and be completed within this parliamentary session.

Co-Chairs of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Global LGBT+ Rights write to the Prime Minister regarding Gender Recognition

This evening our Co-Chairs have written to the Prime Minister expressing our concerns around the Government’s current course of action on gender recognition. You can read the letter in full below.

Dear Prime Minister,

We write to you as the Co-Chairs of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Global LGBT+ Rights to express our concerns around the Government’s current course of action regarding gender recognition. 

We write following the announcement by the Secretary of State for Scotland, Alister Jack MP, that the UK Government has made an order under Section 35 of the Scotland Act 1998 to prevent the Scottish Parliament’s Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill proceeding to Royal Assent. This is the first time this order has been issued in the history of devolution, considered an option of the last resort. This move, although one we appreciate has not been taken lightly, will bring with it significant ramifications of a social, legal and political nature. We are deeply concerned that the Government’s course of action risks further politicising the very real struggles of the trans community and placing their identities and lives at the centre of a constitutional crisis. 

Trans people are amongst the most marginalised and stigmatised in the UK today and face significant barriers to equality across many areas of life. Hate crimes against trans people increased by 56% over the last year - the highest increase across any protected characteristic under hate crime law (Home Office, 2022). They are twice as likely as non-trans LGBT+ people to undergo conversion practices (National LGBT Survey, 2018) and significantly more likely to take their own life (Women and Equalities Select Committee, 2016).

On 9th January 2023, the Minister for Women and Equalities, Kemi Badenoch MP, made a Written Ministerial Statement to Parliament regarding the Gender Recognition Act 2004 consultation, notifying the House of the Government’s decision to review the list of approved countries and territories listed in Section 1(1)(b) of the Act, which allow for trans people with Gender Recognition Certificates (or international equivalents) from abroad to apply via a simpler fast-track route to obtain a UK GRC. We understand that it is likely that this will involve the removal of countries from this list that adopt a ‘self-identification’ model, including countries in Europe and indeed across the world that we have close cultural ties and trading relationships with. This includes Belgium, Denmark, Iceland, Luxembourg, Malta, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland and Uruguay; as well as territories within Australia, Canada and the United States of America. Given both Spain and Germany are in the passing Bills that adopt a similar model, it is likely they will also fall under this category. We are concerned about the uncertain position this places trans migrants living in the UK, and indeed the impact this decision may have on our bilateral and multilateral relationships. 

The United Kingdom was once a global leader in LGBT+ rights, paving the way for the protection and advancement of LGBT+ communities. Significant milestones in our history include decriminalising same sex relationships, lifting the ban on LGBT+ people serving in the armed forces, equalising the age of consent, equal marriage and statutory LGBT-inclusive relationships and sex education. However, the course of action being taken by Government will not only serve to further damage our reputation at an international level, but leave a legacy of broken trust with LGBT+ communities that may be increasingly difficult to rebuild.

Crucially, we must remember that there are real people being impacted by these ongoing discussions at an inter-personal, parliamentary and national level: trans people across the UK who simply want to be their authentic selves free from abuse, harassment or stigmatisation. 

We hope you will meet with us in the coming weeks to discuss these issues as a matter of urgency.

Thank you very much.

Yours sincerely,

Dame Angela Eagle MP (Co-Chair)

Elliot Colburn MP (Co-Chair)

LGBT+ communities and cervical screening - key takeaways from our roundtable with Jo's Trust

The APPG on Global LGBT+ Rights was pleased to work with Jo’s Trust to hold a roundtable on cervical screening in LGBT+ communities: Exploring the barriers and identifying opportunities to reduce inequalities, hosted by Alex Davies-Jones MP.

Jo’s Trust has written a summary including the key messages from the roundtable, reproduced in full below:

Key things to take away from our LGBT+ roundtable

Posted on: Thursday, 1st April 2021 by Hannah Wright, Policy and Public Affairs Assistant

Cervical screening is one of the best ways to prevent cervical cancer, but there are a wide range of factors which can make attendance hard.  For LGBT+ communities there can be additional challenges. On Wednesday 24th March we joined together with the All-Party Parliamentary Group for LGBT+ Global Rights for a roundtable entitled, “Roundtable on cervical screening in LGBT+ communities: Exploring the barriers and identifying opportunities to reduce inequalities.”

We facilitated this roundtable in order to discuss the specific experiences of cervical screening in LGBT+ communities, explore the barriers and stigmas that exist, and identify opportunities to improve access and reduce inequalities. 

Our expert speakers included: Jacob Bayliss, the CEO of Switchboard; Dr Alison Berner, Clinical Research Fellow in Medical Oncology and Specialist Registrar in Gender Identity; Alex Davies-Jones MP; Baroness Barker representing the APPG On LGBT+ Global Rights; and Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust media volunteer Seb.

So what did we cover?

3 stats

1. 40% of lesbian and bisexual women have been told at some point that they don’t need cervical screening. 

[LGBT Foundation: Are you ready for a Screen test] 

Jacob Bayliss, the CEO of Switchboard, discussed the need to ensure everyone with a cervix has accurate information about cervical screening and feels included in the cervical screening programme. Misconceptions and inaccuracies can stem from gaps in understanding about HPV, risk, and transmission. Education for health professionals, in addition to literature which includes the LGBT+ community is essential to this. 

2. 57% of trans men and/or non-binary people surveyed by Dr Alison Berner had never attended a cervical screening, and 7% had been turned away when trying to attend

New UK-based research presented by Dr Alison Berner found that more than half of a sample of trans and/or non-binary people with a cervix have never attended cervical screening. 

Specific barriers to screening for this community include: gender dysphoria from cervical screening and from the associated correspondence, physical pain, technical difficulty with the procedure, stigma and discrimination, gendered information, and providers that fail to encourage screening to all people with a cervix.  

3. Trans men and non-binary people would like the option of HPV self-sampling  

Previous studies have found that the speculum was the most off-putting aspect of cervical screening for this community [Reference: McDowell et al. (2017) LGBT Health]. A potential solution was presented by Dr Alison Berner from her research, “A Survey of Attitudes to Cervical Cancer Screening in Trans Men and Non-binary People in the UK”.  HPV self-sampling could offer an option for many who feel unable to attend cervical screening, with half of participants in her study saying they would prefer this. Dr Berner called for a dedicated HPV self-sampling pilot for this community, to ensure that as and when it is introduced into the cervical screening programme their needs are met.

3 points to consider 

1. One positive healthcare experience can impact wider healthcare 

Jacob shared how positive experiences of healthcare – like cervical screening – can have a knock-on effect and make people more inclined to seek help or access other services.  The positive impact of inclusive conversations and inclusive care can shape people’s health-seeking behaviour for years to come.

2. Self-advocating is important

Seb shared his experience of attending cervical screening as a trans man. He spoke about the need to establish your own boundaries and share your needs with healthcare professionals. However he also shared this can take its toll and can be “exhausting”. Seb asked healthcare professionals to learn how they can better support the trans population, for example asking for accurate pronouns, rather than waiting for patients to do so.

3. The importance of data 

Jacob reminded us all of the importance of gathering accurate data. For services to best serve communities, they need accurate data in order to inform and shape how they work. It is crucial for them to know who they’re talking to and also who they are currently failing to reach.   

3 ways things can change for the better

1. Changes to the cervical screening programme IT system. 

Our own Information Manager, Imogen Pinnell, shared our concerns that the current IT system used by the screening programme is not fit for purpose and presents a barrier to those who are not registered as female with their GP and have a cervix. Invitations to cervical screening are only generated to those registered as female, with no solution in the current central screening IT system to invite trans men or non-binary people with a cervix whose records show them as Male. This leaves responsibility with individuals to understand and feel able to request an appointment, which presents many challenges. 

2. Visibly inclusive services 

A key question raised by Jacob was, “When someone walks through the door of a practice, what message are they being given?” He called for healthcare services to make it clear that they are inclusive and safe spaces. This was reiterated by Baroness Barker, who has previously written about her experience of attending cervical screening as a lesbian woman. Initiatives like the NHS Rainbow Badge, to looking at the imagery and messaging used in resources, can help make a service feel more welcoming and inclusive. Crucially, an inclusive service or resource cannot be created without the group it is being created for involved from the outset. So listening, asking questions, and co-designing resources is essential. 

3. Increased training opportunities for providers 

Alison Berner called for greater education for healthcare professionals at undergraduate and postgraduate level, and for cultural sensitivity training that extends beyond the current Diversity and Equality offering to be given to all staff in healthcare settings, including receptionists. As Seb shared, “everyone’s body deserves care, love, and health.”

If you have any questions, please do contact Imogen Pinnell (Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust – Information Manager): [email protected] 

Click to watch the recording of the webinar >

We have resources for healthcare professionals who carry out cervical screening, to help you support trans men and/or non-binary people with a cervix. Read them here >

The Human Dignity Trust has just launched an innovative new digital tool to support the reform of outdated and discriminatory sexual offence laws around the Commonwealth

Changing Laws, Changing Lives: Assessing sexual offences laws in the Commonwealth, put together by the Human Dignity Trust, reviews sexual offence legislation in all 54 Commonwealth member states using a set of indicators to assess their human rights compliance in four areas of law - sexual assault, child sexual assault, disability and consensual same-sex sexual activity.

APPG LGBT+ Holds Annual General Meeting for 2021 & Joint event with Queer Britain and the History of Parliament Trust

Christ Bryant MP, Baroness Barker, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and Crispin Blunt MP as part of the Queer Britain event Chris Bryant MP in conversation with The Baroness Barker, Vice-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Global Rights, about Chris's fascinating new book, The Glamour Boys, The Secret Story of the Rebels who Fought for Britain to Defeat Hitler. 

The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Global LGBT+ Rights held its AGM for the year 2021 on 24 February, followed by a joint event with Queer Britain and the History of Parliament Trust, opened by the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport the Rt Hon Oliver Dowden MP to mark LGBT History Month.

The minutes for the meeting are published here, and the video of the discussion is available here.

The Officers elected for 2021 are below:

Chair

Crispin Blunt MP (Conservative)

Deputy Chairs

Baroness Barker (Liberal Democrat)

Dame Angela Eagle MP (Labour)

Elliot Colburn MP (Conservative)

John Nicolson MP (SNP)

Secretary

David Mundell MP (Conservative)


Treasurer

Lord Collins of Highbury (Labour)


Vice-Chairs

Baroness Hunt of Bethnal Green (Crossbench)

Lord Black of Brentwood (Conservative)

Baroness Wilcox of Newport (Labour)

Lord Gilbert of Panteg (Conservative)

Lord Smith of Finsbury (Non-affiliated)

Lord Herbert of South Downs (Conservative)

Lord Cashman (Non-affiliated)

Peter Gibson MP (Conservative)

Stewart M McDonald MP (SNP)

Stephen Doughty MP (Labour)

Conor Burns MP (Conservative)

Hannah Bardell MP (SNP)

Chris Bryant MP (Labour)

Maria Miller MP (Conservative)

This information is also published on the Register of APPGs, which is updated every 6 weeks.

We look forward to continue to work together for LGBT+ equality in the UK and abroad in 2021.

Petitions Committee debate on Conversion Therapy

On Monday 8 march at 6.15pm, there will be a westminster hall debate on the petition “Make lgbt conversion therapy illegal”, led by Elliot colburn mp.

The petition

The petition to Make LGBT conversion therapy illegal in the UK closed on 13 September 2020 with 256,392 signatures. It received a response from the Government in May 2020.

 All petitions which receive more than 100,000 signatures are considered for a debate by the Petitions Committee (the group of MPs responsible for petitions received on petition.parliament.uk). The petition reached 100,000 signatures in June 2020. The Petitions Committee agreed to schedule the petition for a debate. 

Who has signed the petition?

You can view a heat map showing the numbers of signatories by Parliamentary constituencies here: https://petitionmap.unboxedconsulting.com/?petition=300976 

When will the petition be debated?

The Petitions Committee has agreed to schedule this petition for a debate on Monday 8 March at 6.15pm. The debate will last for 90 minutes. 

How can I watch the debate?

The debate will be streamed live on Parliament’s YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vl38dzzn1wc&feature=youtu.be 

Why has this petition been waiting so long for a debate? 

Petition debates usually take place on Monday afternoons in Westminster Hall, the second Chamber of the House of Commons. 

Petition debates were suspended in March 2020 because of Covid-19 and social distancing measures. Debates were temporarily resumed in October 2020, by which time the Committee had a large backlog of petitions to schedule for debate. Petition debates were suspended again in January, following the announcement of the current lockdown. 

Monday 8 March will be the first official petitions debate to be scheduled since new arrangements, put in place to ensure that proceedings comply with public health guidelines, have been announced by the Government. 

The new arrangements mean that petition debates will take place in a hybrid format, so that Members can attend virtually or in person. The sessions will take place physically in the Boothroyd Room in Parliament, where social distancing measures are in place. There will be a limit on the number of MPs who are permitted in the room at any one time.  

In response to the announcement by the Government to allow hybrid proceedings for Westminster Hall debates, the Chair of the Petitions Committee, Catherine McKinnell said: 

“On behalf of the millions of our constituents who have started and signed the 41 petitions currently awaiting debate, I welcome the House’s agreement to resume Westminster Hall debates, and for them to be hybrid, helping to keep Parliament Covid-secure and ensure that as many Members as possible can take part in our debates.  

It is vital for the safety of the staff who are in Westminster keeping the House safe and functioning that we minimise attendance as much as we can, while ensuring we can all represent our constituents in debates. To achieve this, I urge the Government to maintain hybrid proceedings until it is safe for everyone working here to return.”

What action has the Petitions Committee taken on this petition so far? 

On 27 July, the Chair of the Committee and Elliot Colburn MP wrote to the Minister for Women and Equalities to ask for further information on what it needed to  make a decision on proposals for ending conversion therapy.  

The Government responded on 16 September. It said that it was considering both legislative and non-legislative options to end conversion therapy practices and that it would outline plans to end conversion therapy practices in due course. 

Public engagement

Since it started in 2015, the Petitions Committee has committed to do “all it can to maximise the potential for petitioners and other members of the public to be involved with debates on petitions.”

As part of this commitment, the Petitions Committee can organise discussions between the Lead Member of a debate, the petition creator, and other relevant stakeholders, to help inform the debate.

In preparation for the forthcoming debate, you met with Elliot Colburn MP, who will lead the debate on this petition. 

The public engagement took the form of a private, virtual, round table discussion on 26 February. Those involved included petition creators, survivors of conversion therapy, representatives of support organisations and charities, representatives of religious organisations, representatives of the medical profession and academics.  

Previous petitions and work by previous Petitions Committees on this issue

On 5 December 2017, the Committee considered the Government’s response to a petition entitled “Make offering gay conversion therapy a criminal offence” which closed in April 2018. It had an exchange of letters with the Government to ask for a revised response that directly addressed the points made by the petition. 

On 21 March 2017, the Committee considered the Government’s response to a petition entitled “Make offering Gay Conversion Therapy a criminal offence in the UK” which closed in May 2017 with 35,046 signatures. It had an exchange of letters with the Government to ask for a revised response that directly addressed the points made by the petition. 

What will happen in the debate?

Elliot Colburn, a Member of the Petitions Committee will open the debate and talk about the petition. 

Other MPs can then speak about the issue and question the Government on what it’s doing about it. 

A Government Minister has to take part and answer the points raised. They will normally speak at the end.

Will there be a vote?

No. Most debates in Parliament don’t lead to a vote. 

Will there be a change in the law or a change in Government policy?

Debates cannot directly change the law. This is an opportunity for MPs to try to get the Government to commit to acting, or to change its policy.

The process for changing the law is normally started by the Government. Any change in policy will also be a decision for the Government, which is why it’s important for campaigners and MPs to raise awareness of an issue and try to persuade the Government to implement change. 

Why is the debate important? 

Debates put pressure on the Government to act, particularly if lots of MPs take part.  

Debates raise the profile of a campaign inside Parliament and influence decision-making in Government and Parliament. 

The Government Minister has to take part in the debate and put the Government’s position

Scottish Petitions Committee 

The Scottish Petitions Committee has also been considering a petition it has received on ending conversion therapy. You can find out more here:  https://www.parliament.scot/GettingInvolved/Petitions/EndingConversionTherapy 

The Scottish Petitions Committee is independent from the UK Parliament Petitions Committee and questions about the work on this petition should be directed to them. 

Want more information on so-called “conversion therapy”?

• Ban Conversion Therapy Coalition was created in July 2020 calling on the UK Government to commit to a full legislative ban on so-called conversion therapy. They are a coalition of LGBT+ and faith communities and organisations, and mental health practitioners united in calling for the Government to Ban Conversion Therapy and support victims and survivors.

• United Nations Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity published a report on conversion therapy in May 2020.

• Memorandum of understanding on conversion therapy in the UK (July 2019) - the MoU (Memorandum of understanding) is a joint document signed by 20 health, counselling and psychotherapy organisations which aims to end the practice of conversion therapy in the UK.

• The Ban Conversion Therapy Coalition has a list of further resources.

The week in LGBTI news from ILGA World (11-17 December 2020)

The week in LGBTI news
11-17 December 2020

Written by Maddalena Tomassini
Edited by Daniele Paletta

Republished with kind permission of ILGA World.

In this complicated year, our global community has proved once more that we are capable of driving society forward even in the darkest of times. During all 2020, LGBTI people have pushed back and fought harder against each roll-back to our rights, and this week was no different.

Hungary is once again attacking our rights, as the Parliament effectively barred same-sex couples from adopting, and introduced two hostile constitutional amendments. In Nigeria, worrying reports show that our communities have been subjected to violence at the hands of police. 

But, once more, we’re not keeping quiet. In the Cook Islands, a rights group gave a festive twist to its campaign calling for decriminalisation of consensual same-sex relations between adults. In Singapore, our communities wait for the Court of Appeal to hear a constitutional challenge against a similar criminalising law.

Bolivia recognised for the first time a same-sex “free union” - a legal partnership that carries the same rights and obligations as civil marriage. In the United States, the Supreme Court refused to hear a legal challenge against the right of same-sex parents to be both recognised as parents of their children. Meanwhile, almost 400 religious leaders around the world called for countries to overturn their bans on same-sex relations and to end so-called “conversion therapy”.

2020 is coming to an end and, even as we wonder what the upcoming year will reserve us and what the “new normal” will look like, be ensured that ILGA World will remain at your side each step of the way.

The LGBulleTIn will return on 22 January 2021.

Europe and Central Asia

Hungary mounts a new attack on LGBTI rights, bans adoptions for same-sex couples

Hungary intensified its attack on LGBTI rights, as the Parliament adopted a discriminatory law and two constitutional amendments that target LGBTI rights and will bar same-sex couples from adopting children.

Lawmakers passed a bill that will prohibit adoption for non-married couples, and also amended the Constitution adding that “mother is a female and father is a male” and that Hungary “protects self-identity of the children’s sex by birth”. The latter adds another layer of discrimination against trans and intersex people, months after an amendment to the Act on Civil Registration Procedure – which replaced the category of “sex” on the civil registry with “sex assigned at birth” – made access to legal gender recognition impossible.

“These bills further restrict the rights of LGBTI children and parents in Hungary,” said Katrin Hugendubel, ILGA Europe’s advocacy director. “LGBTI children will be forced to grow up in an environment which restricts them from being able to express their identities, and children across Hungary will be refused safe and loving families, as adoption is restricted only to married heterosexual couples.”

“This is a dark day for Hungary’s LGBTQ community and a dark day for human rights. These discriminatory, homophobic and transphobic new laws – rushed through under the cover of the coronavirus pandemic – are just the latest attack on LGBTQ people by Hungarian authorities,” said David Vig, director of Amnesty Hungary.

“Earlier this year, Hungary made it impossible for trans people to change their names and legal gender markers. We are deeply concerned for the health and safety of trans children and adults in Hungary in such a hostile climate,” added Masen Davis, Transgender Europe’s executive director.

More news from Europe and Central Asia

The law prohibiting “gender identity theory or opinion” in educational settings is unconstitutional, Romania’s Constitutional Court ruled.

In England, gay and bisexual men in same-sex long-term relationships will be able to donate blood more easily from later next year.

Campaigners pushing back against trans rights in the United Kingdom have used crowdfunding websites to fund at least 18 lawsuits in the past four years, media reports show.

Latic America and the Caribbean

Bolivia recognises a same-sex “free union” for the first time

Following a two-year legal battle, Bolivia’s civil registry authorized for the first time a same-sex “free union”, a legal partnership that carries the same rights and obligations as civil marriage. Activists welcomed the decision, hoping it will pave the way for a revision of the country’s marriage laws.

In July, the Constitutional Chamber in La Paz had ruled in favour of the two men, as the judges unanimously deemed the administrative decision detrimental to their human rights, and demanded the Registry issue a new resolution in respect of the American Convention on Human Rights.

Bolivia is bound by a 2018 decision of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, which indicated that all couples must be guaranteed the same legal protections and rights - including the right to marriage.

For many in the LGBTI community, this was “a historic day”.

More news from Latin America and the Caribbean

Argentina’s House of Representative voted in favour of the Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy Act, making it easier and safer for all people who can become pregnant to access abortion.

According to reports, Claudia Vasquez Haro became the first trans woman to earn a doctorate at a public university in Argentina.

The Red Iberoamericana de Educación LGBTI held its third meeting to tackle discrimination against trans people in the region’s educational spaces.

Africa

(trigger warning: torture and police brutality) Nigeria: as SARS inquiry goes on, man denounces being tortured on the grounds of his perceived sexual orientation

A man told the inquiry in Edo State that he was molested, tortured, and extorted by Nigeria’s Special Anti-Robbery Squad over allegations of his sexual orientation.

Officially disbanded in October, the SARS unit has been under ongoing judicial inquiries in all the 36 states after protests against police brutality flooded the country, with LGBT people at the forefront.

According to ILGA World’s State-Sponsored Homophobia report, Nigeria’s criminal code punishes same-sex activities between consenting adults with up to 14 years of imprisonment. In some northern states, where the Sharia law is enacted, penalties are even harsher, as men could face the death penalty and women a whipping and/or imprisonment sentence.

In recent years, there have been numerous cases of mass-arrests, raids, violence and extortion by authorities across the State against LGBT individuals and groups. A recent study has also shown that, since the Same-Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act was enacted, violence against our communities in Nigeria has risen by 214%, with the police among the main perpetrators. Last month, a court threw out a case against 47 men who had been arrested in 2018 on the charges of public displays of affection with other men.

More news from Africa

Rights groups in Tunisia are calling for the end of violence and discrimination, and for the charges against the two activists held last week to be dropped.

A gay asylum seeker who escaped Algeria as a teenager after being threatened with death by his family has been ordered by a UK court to return to his country.

(trigger warning: graphic pictures) A recent report documented the hardships and current situation of people with diverse sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions and sex characteristics in Equatorial Guinea.

North America and the Caribbean

United States’ Supreme Court rejects challenge to same-sex couples on their children’s birth certificates

The Supreme Court of the United States has rejected a petition filed by the State of Indiana to challenge the right of two married women to be both placed as mothers on their child’s birth certificate.

The petition concerned the Box v. Henderson case, and it was often framed as a challenge to the Obergefell v. Hodges ruling – the landmark 2015 decision thanks to which marriage equality became a reality in the United States. By refusing to hear the case, the court upheld the lower court’s judgment and maintained the 2017 Pavan v. Smith case as precedent. On that occasion, the court had ruled to overturn an Arkansas Supreme Court decision that allowed the state to bar married same-sex couples from automatically having both parent’s names listed on their children’s birth certificates.

In the past months, activists have feared rollbacks on marriage equality in the United States, especially after two conservative Justices openly suggested that the 2015 ruling should be overturned.

“[This] decision once again affirms that marriage equality under Obergefell v. Hodges means that married same-sex couples are entitled to be treated equally under the law. By refusing to hear this case, the Court effectively reaffirms its ruling in Pavan v. Smith that unequivocally ruled states must issue birth certificates on equal terms to same-sex parents”, said Alphonso David, Human Rights Campaign’s president. “We refuse to allow our love to be treated any differently under law, and will fight to make sure skim-milk marriage never becomes the law of the land.”

More news from North America and the Caribbean

In the United States, The District Court for the Southern District of Ohio struck down a state policy that prevented trans and intersex people born in Ohio from amending the gender marker on their birth certificates.

In the United States, a court in Michigan ruled that businesses in the state are free to discriminate against customers on the grounds of their sexual orientation.

In Canada, a youth organisation which supports young LGBT people along with their extended community of friends, family and allies, has seen a 200% increase in requests for its services since the beginning of the pandemic.

Asia

Singapore’s Court of Appeal to rule on law criminalising same-sex relations

Singapore’s Court of Appeal will soon rule on the Section 377A, the longstanding colonial-relic criminalising same-sex relations between consenting adults, APCOM reports.

In March this year, the Singapore High Court had dismissed three constitutional challenges, arguing that Section 377A “serves the purpose of safeguarding public morality by showing societal moral disapproval of male homosexual acts”. The plaintiffs appealed against the decision – and one of them is also launching anew legal challenge – and the Court of Appeal is set to hear the case on the week of 8 January 2021.

As ILGA World’s State-Sponsored Homophobia report points out, Section 377A of the country’s Penal Code provides for jail terms of up to two years for a man found to have committed an act of “gross indecency” with another man.

“The struggle to abolish this law persists as we continue the slow march towards LGBTQ equality in Singapore,” wrote Daryl Yang, lawyer and LGBTI activist on APCOM.

More news from Asia

A growing number of Japanese high schools are relaxing or scrapping gender regulations around uniforms to be more inclusive towards trans and gender non-conforming students.

Two new documentaries premiered recently, exploring respectively queer identities in Japan and the LGBTQ Sikh community in India.

Oceania

Cook Islands: campaign for decriminalisation continues in a festive way

Pride Cook Islands took part at the Christmas Float Parade this year, as their campaign for the decriminalisation of same-sex consensual activities between adults moves ahead.

“We were so excited to be a part of the Christmas Float Parade in 2020 and say thank you to the community for their support and wish them all a very Merry Christmas,” the group wrote on social media, “Thank you to those who helped put it all together and those who walked, danced and waved their way alongside our merry rainbow float.”

Since the beginning of September, the local group Te Tiare Association, which also organises Pride Cook Islands, have launched a campaign to strengthen their call for the decriminalisation for same-sex activities between consenting adults. According to ILGA World’s State-Sponsored Homophobia, in the country men still face prison terms under the “sodomy” and “male indecency” acts. A first draft of the Criminal Bill (2017) was set to remove the prohibition but has been stalling since. A select committee of MPs is due to present its recommendations to Parliament but, after a three-months deferral at the end of September, it’slikely that the discussion will be further delayed.

More news from Oceania

In Aotearoa New Zealand, the celibacy period gay and bisexual men must observe before being allowed to donate blood has been lowered from 12 to three months.

A newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, has removed a contested opinion piece in which an anonymous mother of a trans teen argued that children access gender-affirming treatments too easily.

ILGA World releases updated State-Sponsored Homophobia report

Today ILGA World released its updated State-Sponsored Homophobia report.

Some key statistics from the report (as of December 2020):

There are 124 UN member States (64% of UN member States) where consensual same-sex sexual acts between adults are legal.

Criminalisation of consensual same-sex sexual acts

69 UN member States still criminalise consensual same-sex sexual acts between adults (67 by explicit provisions of law, 2 de facto).  Additionally, these acts are criminalised in one non-independent territory (Cook Islands, New Zealand) and in certain jurisdictions within two UN member States (Gaza in Palestine and certain provinces in Indonesia)

In 6 UN member States, the death penalty is the legally prescribed punishment for consensual same-sex sexual acts: Brunei, Iran, Mauritania, Nigeria (12 Northern states only), Saudi Arabia and Yemen

In 5 additional UN member States - Afghanistan, Pakistan, Qatar, Somalia (including Somaliland) and the United Arab Emirates - certain sources indicate that the death penalty could potentially be imposed for consensual same-sex conduct, but there is less legal certainty on the matter.

Restriction of rights

At least 42 UN member States have legal barriers to freedom of expression on sexual orientation and gender identity issues

At least 51 UN member States have legal barriers to the formation, establishment or registration of NGOs working on issues related to sexual and gender diversity.

Protection from discrimination

11 UN member States contain constitutional provisions that specify sexual orientation in their anti-discrimination protections

57 UN member States offer broad protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation - including in education, health, the provision of goods and services and/or housing

81 UN member States have laws protecting from workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation

48 UN member States impose enhanced criminal penalties for offences motivated by hate towards the victim’s sexual orientation

45 UN member States have laws that punish acts of incitement to hatred, discrimination or violence based on sexual orientation

4 UN member States (Brazil, Ecuador, Germany, Malta) have nationwide bans against “conversion therapies”.  There are subnational bans in 5 other UN member States: Australia, Canada, Mexico, Spain, United States.

Recognition of rainbow families

28 UN member States recognise same-sex marriage. One non-UN member jurisdiction (Taiwan) has also legalised same-sex marriage.

34 UN member States provide for some partnership recognition

28 States have joint adoption laws, while 32 States allow for same-sex second parent adoption.

The full report and associated maps can be found here.

PM commits to deliver British leadership in funding for Global LGBT+ rights

Prime Minister Boris Johnson commits to deliver British leadership in funding for Global LGBT+ rights  

• Today, whilst presenting the results of the Integrated Funding Review of diplomatic, defence and development programmes to Parliament, Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed that the UK will ensure its rhetorical leadership commitment to Global LGBT+ rights will be delivered.

• The Prime Minister said “yes”, he could now confirm the request in the letters from Crispin Blunt on 4th September and 12th October to the Foreign Secretary, copied to the Prime Minister, for additional funding for programmes that support LGBT+ rights that will make the UK the leading government donor for LGBT+ issues.

• The Prime Minister was advised of Crispin Blunt’s question in advance of today’s statement on the Integrated Review.

In the House of Commons today, the Prime Minister confirmed the UK will deliver world leading funding in the realm of global LGBT+ rights as part of the Integrated Review.   

Answering in response to a question from Crispin Blunt, the Conservative MP for Reigate and Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Global LGBT+ Rights, on whether the Integrated Review now means that the Prime Minister is able to confirm Mr Blunt’s request for at least £55m in funding from the UK’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget, the Prime Minister replied: “Yes it does madam Deputy Speaker.” 

Mr Blunt wrote to the Foreign Secretary on 4th September and 12th October, with the Prime Minister copied in, to highlight the UK’s substantial and growing lag behind leading funders of LGBTI+ rights as a proportion of the ODA funding. The UK’s percentage spending as a proportion of ODA on LGBT+ rights during the last reporting period stood at of 0.08%, £14.6m. This was in itself an artificial high created mostly through spending around one programme. By comparison, over the same period the leading government funder, Sweden, committed 0.4% of ODA (£23.6m), the Netherlands committed 0.18% of ODA (£10.8m) and Norway committed 0.16% of ODA (£8.1m). 

In his letters, Mr Blunt requested the UK’s percentage spending be increased to match those of other leading nations, pointing out that £55m per annum – a very small proportion of ODA spending which in 2019 stood at £15.2bn – would be necessary to deliver on our rhetoric of being the world leader on LGBT+ rights.   

Ahead of today’s exchange in the Commons, Mr Blunt alerted the Prime Minister’s team to his intention to refer to his previous letters to the Foreign Secretary and his request that Global Britain under the Government of Boris Johnson reinforce its rhetoric desire to ensure that Mr Johnson’s government commits to a percentage ODA funding on LGBT+ rights ahead of other leading nations.  

Commenting after the exchange Mr Blunt said: 

“Today is a terrific day for LGBT+ people globally and a wonderful statement about the values of Global Britain. The Prime Minister’s commitment today, albeit amounting to a tiny fraction of total ODA spending, will have inestimable personal value to hundreds of millions of people.  Relief of poverty is not only to be measured in material things, as freedom to be oneself is beyond price.  As the PM pointed out that freedom also delivers economically so this is a profoundly effective use of a very small part of the UK’s ODA expenditure. 

Around the world, 72 jurisdictions criminalise LGBT+ people simply for being who they are. The Prime Minister’s commitment today reinforces the global leadership that the UK has taken on as co-chair of the Equal Rights Coalition, with funding ensuring that the important steps forwards in LGBT+ rights people across the world can be free and safe to be who they are by committing the necessary funding alongside the political leadership.”  

David Sampson, Deputy Director of the Baring Foundation, who have produced the report Leading the Way: The role of global Britain in safeguarding the rights of the global LGBTI+ community, also welcomed the Prime Minister’s announcement today: 

“Today’s statement was a great commitment from the Prime Minister. We are looking forward to seeing that translated into delivery for LGBT+ people around the world. The Baring Foundation would welcome the opportunity to work with FDCO in sharing our expertise in global funding for LGBT+ projects.” 

Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, Executive Director of Kaleidoscope Trust, said: 

"We welcome the Prime Minister's comments and his commitment to upholding the Government's support for LGBT+ rights worldwide, as laid out in the 2018 LGBT Action Plan. At a time of such global uncertainty, the plight of LGBT+ people living in countries that criminalise their existence is more urgent than ever. The UK must continue its strong support of LGBT+ human rights on a global stage" 

Nancy Kelley, CEO of Stonewall said:

“I welcome this support for global LGBT+ rights from the Prime Minister. This is a landmark commitment and could make a real impact on LGBT+ people’s lives across the world. We look forward to working with FCDO and partners to ensure this funding supports communities effectively.”

Notes to editors: 

• The full video and text of Mr Blunt’s question and the Prime Minister’s response can be found below:

  • https://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/a9bed331-34a0-4f31-bd03-1ee0bf912ebc?in=13:11:36&out=13:13:51

  • https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2020-11-19/debates/CA347B2B-EE02-40DF-B5CE-1E8FAA07139E/IntegratedReview

• Only 0.08% (£14.6m) of UK ODA was allocated to LGBT communities around the world across the two years of 2017 and 2018.

• The Baring Foundation have produced a report, endorsed by 14 leading LGBT organisations in the UK, Leading the Way: The role of global Britain in safeguarding the rights of the global LGBTI+ community which outlines the situation of LGBT+ specific funding:

  • LGBT funding is hugely under resourced across the world, including by governments;

  • Just 0.04% of all government development aid globally supports LGBT causes.

  • Only 0.08% of the UK’s Overseas Development Aid (ODA) budget goes to LGBT communities;

  • Despite recent increases, the UK still lags behind countries such as Sweden, the Netherlands and Norway in proportion to ODA. Sweden commits the most at 0.4%.

• The APPG on Global LGBT+ Rights is an informal, cross-party group of UK parliamentarians from both the House of Commons and House of Lords, united in a common aim to improve rights for LGBT+ people globally.

• The Baring Foundation is an independent grant-giving foundation improving the quality of life of people facing disadvantage & discrimination.

• Kaleidoscope Trust works to uphold the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT+) people in countries around the world where they are discriminated against or marginalised due to their sexual orientation, gender identity and/or gender expression.

• Stonewall is Britain’s leading charity for lesbian, gay, bi and trans equality, working to create a world where every single person can be accepted without exception.

Contact the office of Crispin Blunt MP for further information: [email protected].

Trans Awareness Week 2020: We must end the toxic gender identity debate - Crispin Blunt MP

APPG on Global LGBT+ Rights chair Crispin Blunt MP wrote an article for Trans Awareness Week 2020 in Politics Home.

You can read the full article here.

The Week in LGBTI News from ILGA-World (16-22 October)

The week in LGBTI news 16-22 October

Written by Maddalena Tomassini

Edited by Daniele Paletta

Published with kind permission of ILGA World

Prejudice and stigma don’t affect us just for who we are and whom we love, but also for what others believe us to be. In Sri Lanka, a report disclosed an alarming reality of forced physical examinations conducted by authorities to find “proof of homosexual conduct”. In Nigeria, a person could get stopped, questioned and harassed only for being perceived as “queer”, human rights organisations reported amidst the ongoing protests against police brutality.

In many parts of the world, authorities seek to strip our communities of basic rights. In Texas, United States, social workers can now refuse to assist people on the grounds of their sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, or disability. 

This week  also marked some victories. Aotearoa New Zealand elected the most diverse parliament in history, including 13 out queer persons among its 120 members. In Russia, an attempt to target our rights failed, as the Cabinet rejected a package of discriminatory bills. After years of stalling, marriage equality in Chile seems to be moving forward as a Senate’s commission gave the green light to a 2017 draft bill.

Meanwhile, our communities worldwide are still gathering together, albeit virtually: this week, ILGA World member organisations in Europe and Central Asia, as well as in Oceania, are meeting online for their regional gathering and conference.

Asia

(trigger warning: violence and sexual abuse) Sri Lanka: authorities force abusive examinations on perceived queer persons

Sri Lankan authorities have subjected at least seven persons to forced physical examinations in the last three years in an attempt to “provide proof of homosexual conduct”, Human Rights Watch and EQUAL GROUND said.

The exams included forced anal examinations and a forced vaginal examination, which amount to a form of sexual violence and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. The victims also alleged being subjected to other abuses, including whipping and forced HIV tests - the results of which were made public in court.

According to ILGA World’s State-Sponsored Homophobia report, Sri Lanka punishes same-sex intimacy between consenting adults with imprisonment up to ten years. Furthermore, as ILGA World’s latest Trans Legal Mapping Report points out, there are extensive reports about trans people being targeted for their gender expression and arrested by the police under the law on impersonation.

“The recent evidence of violence and harassment against the LGBTIQ community by law enforcement here is gravely concerning,” said Rosanna Flamer-Caldera, executive director of EQUAL GROUND and former co-secretary general of ILGA World. “Sri Lanka must respect its commitment to the UN to protect the fundamental rights of LGBTIQ people, including by ending arbitrary arrests and by banning torture and other mistreatment by the authorities.”

“No one should be arrested, let alone subjected to torture and sexual violence, because of their perceived sexual orientation,” said Neela Ghoshal, associate LGBT rights director at Human Rights Watch. “Sri Lanka’s Justice Ministry should immediately bar judicial medical officers from conducting forced anal examinations, which flagrantly violate medical ethics as well as basic rights.”

More news from Asia

In Israel, a multi-ministry team will soon meet with trans organisations to hear of their struggles and outline proposals to overcome them.

In Japan, three rights groups launched a petition calling for an anti-discrimination law to be enacted before the start of next year’s Olympics. 

The Indonesia Military has been criticised for allegedly imprisoning and dismissing a soldier who engaged in consensual same-sex activities with another officer. 

Africa

Nigerian queer people face harassment and assault from police officers, group says

Nigerian police officers and other state actors harass, assault and extort people whom they perceive to be queer, The Initiative for Equal Rights (TIERs) wrote on social media. According to the group, who has been reporting on police brutality against LGBT+ persons in the past years, officers would stop anybody they perceive as “gay”, questioning them and searching through their devices. If they find anything that points to their sexuality, the person is arrested, threatened, assaulted and extorted.

“They then coerce them through torture and blackmail to reveal the identities of their queer friends or partners,” TIERs wrote. “When they get this information, they either lure such persons or raid their homes and arrest, threaten, assault and extort them as well”.

The situation has worsened in the past months due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with higher levels of extortion and blackmail of gay, lesbian and bisexual people across Nigerian States.

Attacks from state officers are far from the only aggression that LGBT people in Nigeria face. In the context of the recent demonstrations against police brutality, documented on social media under the #EndSARS hashtag, queer protesters were harassed by fellow protesters.

“Nigerians like everyone else across Africa and the globe have a right to participate in peaceful protests against injustices by those that they entrust power with”, said Nate Brown, Executive Director at Pan Africa ILGA. “All these protests are a clear indication that Nigerians are tired of the constant tortures over the years, and enough is enough”.

According to ILGA World’s State-Sponsored Homophobia report, Nigeria’s criminal code punishes same-sex activities between consenting adults with up to 14 years of imprisonment. In some northern states, where the Sharia law is enacted, penalties are even harsher, as men could face the death penalty and women a whipping and/or imprisonment sentence.

More news from Africa

In Uganda, arrest warrants have been issued against two officials accused of torturing 20 LGBT homeless youth who had been arrested for violating Covid-19 measures. 

Oceania

Aotearoa New Zealand elects most diverse parliament in its history

With 13 openly queer people out of 120 elected members, as well as many people of colour and women, the new Parliament that emerged from Aotearoa New Zealand’s recent general election is set to be the most diverse in its history.

According to early reports, the country has now the highest representation of our communities in parliaments across the world, with 10% of the seats won by out MPs.

Prime Minister Jacinda Arden’s Labour party won by a landslide with over 49 percent of the votes, securing 64 seats – nine of which reserved to people from rainbow communities. With 10 seats, the Green party elected four LGBT people. Among them is activist dr. Elizabeth Kerekere,  whose organisation Tīwhanawhana Trust was among the hosts of the 2019 ILGA World Conference in Wellington.

“Now our job is to hold these parties to account on their rainbow policies to improve the rights and wellbeing of our communities over the next three years,” wrote InsideOUT on Facebook.

More news from Oceania

New South Wales’ Legislative Assembly, in Australia, unanimously passed a motion in support of trans and gender diverse people.

During the ongoing Mental Health Month, civil society organisations in Australia are hosting activities to shine a light on LGBTI mental health. 

A trans rights organisation in West Australia announced a new program to provide trans and gender non-conforming people with essential binders.

Europe and Central Asia

Russian Cabinet rejects anti-LGBT bill

The Russian Cabinet rejected a package of draft laws allegedly aimed at “strengthening the institution of the family”. According to the commission that examined the bill, the outlined changes to the Family Code would have tipped the balance “towards the rights of parents” at the expense of children’s rights.

A group of senators had submitted the proposed changes to the State Duma this summer. If approved, those laws would have severely affected our communities: birth certificates would have included “sex at birth” fixed data; they would also potentially have denied trans people the right to marry, as their birth certificates and passports would show different gender markers as a consequence of these laws. Senators also sought to strengthen the existing ban on adoption and custody over children for LGBT people and to close a loophole that has been used in the past to recognise same-sex marriages registered abroad.

The Russian LGBT Network welcomed the news on social media, adding that the Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights had rejected the draft laws as well.

More news from Europe and Central Asia

The British government is planning to include questions about gender identity and sexual orientation in next year’s census. 

Amidst demonstrations taking place in over 60 cities all around Italy, the Parliament scheduled discussing the proposed law against anti-LGBT hate on 27 October. 

In Lithuania, activists released guidelines for next elections, providing information about the candidates’ stances on SOGIESC issues.

In a landmark case, a court in Poland ruled that an employer discriminated against a trans employee by requiring her to wear a male uniform.

North America and The Caribbean

United States: Texas social workers can now refuse to assist LGBT persons and people with disabilities

Texas social workers can now refuse to assist people with diverse sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, or people with a disability. The state’s Board of Social Work Examiners voted unanimously to change a section of its code of conduct on the governor’s request, removing the non-discrimination clause.

Officials and the Board are now facing backlash, as seven advocacy organisations released a joint statement to condemn the decision, claiming it puts already vulnerable people at even higher risk. According to the groups, the change wasn’t scheduled on the agenda and no public comment was allowed.

“The social workers code of conduct previously helped ensure ethical treatment of all clients and prevented bias-motivated misconduct,” said Ricardo Martinez, CEO of Equality Texas. “Now with the removal of sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression from the code, LGBTQ+ folks who experience discrimination could face more obstacles to getting the help they need.”

“There is always a real possibility that trans Texans specifically could be turned away or dissuaded from accessing the medical resources they need,” added Emmett Schelling, executive director of the Transgender Education Network of Texas. “At a time when many in our community require services to make it through an isolating pandemic, attempting to grant providers a license to discriminate is abhorrent.”

More news from North America and The Caribbean

In the United States, Massachusetts’ largest children’s hospital has agreed to a partial ban on unnecessary surgeries on intersex children.

59 percent of students reported that they’ve experienced anti-LGBTQ+ discriminatory policies at their schools in the United States, a study has shown, while almost all students have heard discriminatory slurs. 

Over 100 teen boys wore a skirt at school in Quebec, Canada, to protest sexism, toxic masculinity and homophobia.

Latin America and The Caribbean

Chile: marriage equality bill gets green light from the Senate’s Constitution Commission

The Chilean Senate’s Constitution Commission gave the green light to the Equal Marriage Law by approving the majority of its articles. 

The bill was first proposed in 2017 as a result of a settlement agreement between former president Michelle Bachelet and Movimiento de Integración y Liberación Homosexual (Movilh) entered into at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. In 2018, however, the current president Sebastián Piñera said marriage equality wasn’t a priority. The proposed law has languished since then. 

“One of the most relevant approved articles is Article One, which recognises the kinship marital relationship between spouses, whatever their sex, and not just between a man and a woman,” said Mónica Arias, Movilh’s lawyer. “With this, without a doubt, we can say that the Constitution Commission said yes to marriage equality.”

Meanwhile, Chile prepares for a landmark vote that will determine whether a new Constitution will be drafted to replace the one introduced during the Pinochet era. The referendum was scheduled in response to the massive protests that swept the country last year.In the run-up to Sunday’s vote, ILGALAC hosted a webinar to discuss social struggles, the constitutional plebiscite and LGBTI+ perspectives in Chile: watch it here.

Many LGBTI activists hope for an inclusive constitution that would enshrine equal rights for everyone. In the meantime, anti-LGBT religious groups used national television spaces dedicated to the plebiscite to spread hate against queer people, defining an approval of the plebiscite a “work of Satan”.

More news from Latin America and The Caribbean

UN human rights experts criticised Ecuador’s decision to veto the new Organic Health Code which would have reformed the current health legal framework, protecting LGBT people from “conversion therapy” and intersex children from “medically unnecessary procedures”.

In the City of Mexico, three out of the 18 trans children who requested to have their birth certificate aligned to their gender identity obtained a positive response from the City Council.

Puerto Rico’s Medicaid program is now covering gender-affirming health care, including medications and Hormone Replacement Therapy. 

Full marriage equality in Northern Ireland at last

Finally, marriage equality is fully achieved in Northern Ireland!

Today same-sex civil partnership conversion to marriage were legalised at Westminster.

The first civil partnership conversions can take place from December 7th.

More information can be found here from Love Equality.

The Week in LGBTI News from ILGA-World (9-15 October)

The week in LGBTI news

9-15 October

Written by Maddalena Tomassini

Edited by Daniele Paletta

Published with kind permission of ILGA World

Our family worldwide continues to fight against discrimination and the many ways it affects our lives. In India, the death by suicide of a bisexual woman who had been forced to undergo ‘conversion’ therapy prompted a group to file a petition, asking for those practices to be banned. Queer people need no fixing, as over 60 members of the European Parliament pointed out in an open letter addressing the need for a ban on such discredited practices across the European Union.

Prejudice affects every segment of our daily life. It disrupts our ability to have our relationships recognised - as it is happening in Peru, where the Constitutional Court is failing to deliver a ruling that could pave the way for marriage equality in the country. A study in the United States has cast a light on how, for intersex people, stigma and human rights violations result in alarming health disparities throughout their lives. In Liberia, a man was arrested for allegedly kidnapping and torturing over twenty men, just because he believed them to be gay. In many States, who you are and whom you love can result in barriers for you to donate blood: in Australia, the deferral period for “donors with a sexual-activity-based risk factor” is going to be reduced from 12 months to three - a stop forward, but still not enough, activists say.

Asia

(trigger warning: suicide) LGBT group files petition against “conversion therapy” after bisexual woman dies by suicide

After a young bisexual woman died by suicide, LGBT activists have filed a petition to the Kerala High Court, seeking a ban on “conversion therapy”. The court will hold a hearing on the matter on 28 October.

The woman, who took her own life in May, had claimed in a video on social media that she was being forcefully admitted in “de-addiction centres” after coming out to her parents as bisexual.

Queerala - the group behind the petition with Raghav, trans activist and board member of Malayalee Transmen Association - said they received “several complaints” regarding the discriminatory and harmful practice, also rebuked by the Indian Psychiatric Society. The number of cases has reportedly increased especially since lockdown measures have come into force in March this year, as many queer persons were forced to isolate in non- accepting home environments. “One young woman told us how her parents forced her to see a doctor, who asked to admit her at the hospital so that tests could be run to see if her internal organs ‘were working’, and [if] medicines can be administered on her,” said Rajashree Raju, a Queerala board member. According to Raju, another bisexual woman was prescribed medicines for schizophrenia.

More news from Asia

Five years after the first program to recognize same-sex unions was set up in Japan and with over 50 municipalities certifying them, people in queer relationships are still facing struggles as the central government refuses to recognize them.

In India, the Delhi High Court sought the Centre's response on separate pleas by two same-sex couples, one seeking to get married under the Special Marriage Act and the other seeking registration of their wedding in the US under the Foreign Marriage Act.

Europe and Central Asia

European Parliament members address the need for an EU-wide ban on “conversion therapy”

Over 60 members of the European Parliament (MEPs) addressed the need for a Europe-wide ban on so-called “conversion therapy” in an open letter to commissioners Věra Jourová, Helena Dalli and Stella Kyriakides, stating that it can only be described as “cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment that seek to ‘correct’ something that warrants no ‘fixing’”.

In the letter, the MEPs highlighted how, according to data from the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims, the “highly discriminatory” and harmful practices are enforced in at least 69 countries worldwide, including in EU member states – reportedly, by the use of medication in France; psychotherapy in Austria, Italy and Poland; and exorcisms or ritual cleansing in France and Spain.

“This call is all the more pressing when, as recognised in the recent European Parliament resolution on Article 7 concerning Poland, the Polish Episcopate recently endorsed the idea of ‘conversion camps’ in Poland for LGBT persons,” the letter continued.

“Currently, only Germany, Malta and some parts of Spain have banned these practices and other Member States like France envisage to do so. However, as several Member States are not considering adopting such legislation in the near future, and in the absence of a Horizontal Anti-Discrimination Directive which would have made discrimination on sexual orientation grounds in health matters illegal, the [European Commission] has a responsibility to act.”

More news from Europe and Central Asia

Georgia breached its international obligation by failing to protect LGBTI activists from degrading treatment at the hands of police, the European Court of Human Rights ruled. 

The Parliamentary of the Council of Europe (COE) has adopted a report on upholding human rights in times of crisis, which states that governments have rarely taken the different situations and needs of LGBTI people and minority groups into sufficient account when designing measures to combat the pandemic. This week, a second review report on recommendations on LGBTI issues was also adopted by the COE Committee of Ministers.

Following a similar ruling earlier this year, an Italian court has recognised two children of a lesbian couple as siblings despite being born from different mothers.

Trans women will still be allowed to play women’s rugby at all non-international levels of the game in England. The position, however, is at odds with World Rugby, which last week ruled that trans women could no longer play international women’s rugby on the grounds of alleged “too great” risks of “significant injury”.

As of 2027, new passports in Finland will be issued without a gender marker. 

The government of France has unveiled a national plan to combat hatred and discrimination against LGBT people, which emphasises the importance of inclusive education.

Latin America and the Caribbean

Peru: lawyers, academics and activists express “deep concern” as the Constitutional Court delays ruling on a case for equal marriage

Over fifty lawyers, academics and activists sent a public letter to Peru’s Constitutional Court, expressing “deep concern” as the court has delayed  ruling on a marriage equality case for more than two years.

In June 2018, the court held a public hearing on Óscar Ugarteche’s case against the Registro Nacional de Identificación y Estado Civil (RENIEC). The plaintiff reported that RENIEC had rejected his request to recognise his marriage to a man, registered in Mexico - reportedly arguing that marriage was “between a man and a woman”. The Court was supposed to rule in 30 days, but a decision on the case has been pending since then.

Peru is bound by a 2018 decision of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, which indicated that all couples must be guaranteed the same legal protections and rights - including the right to marriage.

“A favourable ruling could pave the way towards marriage equality, but still [the Court] hasn't issued a decision,” Más Igualdad Peru wrote on social media. “The recognition of equal marriage in Peru is at stake!”

More news from Latin America and the Caribbean

After nine months, the vote on the proposed changes to Mexico City’s Civil Code that would  allow trans minors to align their birth certificate with their gender identity was once again excluded from the local Congress’s agenda.

In Chile, a 21-year-old man has been charged for the murder of two gay activists.

North America and the Caribbean

United States: study reveals alarming health disparities faced by intersex people

One of the largest studies ever conducted on the physical and mental health experiences of intersex adults in the United States has revealed serious disparities faced by people with diverse sexual characteristics.

Many among the 198 persons who took part in the study reported having undergone surgeries during childhood, conducted without their consent. Results also showed unusually high diagnoses of depression and anxiety: 53.6% of participants reported fair or poor mental health, and nearly 32% of respondents told that they had attempted suicide. Over 43% of participants reported fair or poor general physical health (compared to 17.7% in the general population), while 1 in 4 reported living with an income below US$ 20,000 per year. Overall, the study found that participants had worse self-reported health than the general population, and many noted encountering functional difficulties concentrating, climbing stairs, dressing or doing errands.

“This study demonstrates the need to expand research and interventions relating to the health of intersex people,” the authors conclude. “It is also vital to consider how interventions experienced by intersex infants and children affect health throughout the life course, in order to inform decision-making, promote bodily autonomy, and avoid preventable harms.”

“[The report] is a great start toward addressing the social and mental health issues that are overrepresented in intersex adults, whose bodies are shamed and stigmatized so young,” writes co-author Kimberly Zieselman, Executive Director for interACT.

More news from North America and the Caribbean

Our communities around the world are mourning pioneering journalist and trans rights advocate Monica Roberts. She had founded the TransGriot blog in 2006, and worked to foster understanding and acceptance of trans people inside and outside communities of color.

The reported number of trans and gender non-conforming people killed in the United States has hit an all-time high, making 2020 the deadliest year on record. 

The New Mexico Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women task force held a public meeting to address violence against queer and trans people in the community.

A federal court in the United States upheld a previous ruling, stating that two twin boys born abroad to a same-sex couple are officially US citizens. 

At least 574 openly LGBT people will appear on ballots around the United States this November, in a 33 percent increase since 2018’s midterm election.

Africa

(trigger warning: torture and violence) Liberia: ex-Army officer arrested for allegedly kidnapping and torturing 27 men because he believed them to be gay

An ex Military Police officer of the Armed Forces of Liberia has been arrested for kidnapping and torturing at least 27 young men whom he believed to be gay. Survivors believed the number to be higher, and two are still missing and feared dead.

“We are glad that this criminal has been apprehended by the Police,” said a representative of an underground LGBT organisation. “We hope this case will teach others out there that no matter how much different you think someone is, you have no right to assault, mob or take away his/her life. (He) must face justice for his inhumane and criminal act.” According to reports, the suspect had approached his victims by luring them on social media, and argued that he received a “revelation from God to get rid of all gays in Liberia”.

According to ILGA World’s State-sponsored Homophobia report, Liberia still punishes same-sex intimacy between consenting adults with imprisonment up to one year. Furthermore, according to a shadow report submitted by a coalition of Liberian LGBT groups in 2017, individuals suspected of engaging in such acts have been subject to arbitrary arrest and detention: for instance, a man was allegedly detained without trial from 2010 to 2013 after he was “outed” in the media.

More news from Africa

An Algerian court sentenced two men to prison terms and 42 other people to suspended terms after mass arrests at what police alleged was a “gay wedding”, Human Rights Watch said, asking for their immediate release. According to ILGA World’s State-Sponsored Homophobia report, in Algeria any “act of homosexuality against a person of the same sex” could be punished with imprisonment up to two years, while "indecent acts" can lead to a prison sentence of up to three.

A group launched in Uganda a 6-month program to promote self-employment and economic development for LBQ women.

Mauritius hosted a Pride parade, as activists asked for decriminalisation of consensual same-sex activities between adults.

Oceania

Australia to ease deferral period for blood donations in 2021

Australia’s Red Cross Lifeblood donation service announced that long-standing restriction on gay, bisexual and trans donors will be eased from early 2021. Currently, a 12-month celibacy period must be observed before being allowed to donate blood, as the policy revised by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) earlier this year to lower the deferral period to three months has not yet come into force.

“We are pleased that the TGA has approved our submissions to reduce the postponements for whole blood, plasma and platelet donations to three months and can report that our proposal has been agreed to by all Australian governments,” Australia Red Cross Lifeblood announced. “Lifeblood is now in the process of implementing the change which requires updates to our systems including the donor questionnaire form. The change will come into effect in early 2021.”

However, LGBTI advocates argue that changes should go further. Also, Lifeblood’s recent decision to entirely abolish the four-month deferral period for tattooed donors sparked more criticisms. “It is a double standard for Lifeblood to allow donations from tattoo recipients but not GBT people, and it is a double-standard for them to heed science in one instance and ignore it in the other”, said just-equal’s Rodney Croome. “The only explanation for this double standard is that Lifeblood is acting out of prejudice, or in fear of other people’s prejudice, neither of which is an acceptable basis for public health policy.”

More news from Oceania

In Australia, a protest against a bill that would  “prohibit the teaching of the ideology of gender fluidity to children in schools” of New South Wales went ahead despite a ban.

The government of South Australia introduced to parliament a bill to scrap the so-called “gay panic defence”, a discriminatory legal strategy which asks a jury to find that a victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity is to blame for the defendant’s violent reaction. The decision came after activists had launched a petition on the issues which had gathered more than 25,000 signatures.

In Fiji, rights groups have expressed concerns over the multiple reports of police brutality.

World Day Against the Death Penalty - nobody deserves to die for who they are or who they love

On World Day Against the Death Penalty, we condemn that there are 11 jurisdictions in which the death penalty is imposed or at least a possibility for private, consensual same-sex sexual activity.

At least 6 of these implement the death penalty – Iran, Northern Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and Yemen – and the death penalty is a legal possibility in Afghanistan, Brunei, Mauritania, Pakistan, Qatar and UAE.

Nobody should face the death penalty - ever. Especially not because of who they are or who they love.

The Week in LGBTI News from ILGA World (2-8 October)

Published with kind permission of ILGA World

Written by Daniele Paletta

Researched by Maddalena Tomassini

Covid-19 has exacerbated inequalities worldwide, and had a disproportionate impact on LGBTI persons. This week, the latest report by the UN Independent Expert on SOGI to the UN General Assembly has emerged as a strong call on States to ensure that their responses to the pandemic do not discriminate against our communities.

Meanwhile, worrying news has emerged from many corners of the world: in Argentina, a court has failed to recognise the murder of a trans activist as a hate crime, backtracking from a previous historic ruling. In the United States, two Justices at the Supreme Court openly renewed their attacks on marriage equality.

In Japan, a politician has claimed that discussing diversity in schools would lead to having no children in the future. In Bulgaria, a teenage mob organised an attack against a group of peers and posted the footage on social media, in a chilling attempt to target them on the grounds of their sexual orientation.

And yet, despite this concerning news, we continue to see small victories, and to work together in unity to take steps towards equality. During a trial in Kenya, the prosecutor was ordered to stop deadnaming a trans woman in court and to respect her identity. In Aotearoa New Zealand, ahead of the country’s general elections, LGBTI organisations have teamed up to present their demands to the incoming government, and are obtaining encouraging pledges. From all over the world, our communities gathered together virtually this week to celebrate International Lesbian Day.

Latin America and the Caribbean

Argentina: Court refuses to recognise murder of activist Diana Sacayán as a hate crime

In a disappointing setback, the Court of Cassation in Argentina has failed to recognise the murder of activist Diana Sacayán as a hate crime.

While confirming the lifetime prison sentence for the man who killed her, the decision overturned an historic aspect of the 2018 ruling, which had considered the crime as an act of gender-based violence and had listed hatred on the grounds of gender identity among its aggravating factors.

Diana Sacayán, the travesti activist who was among the driving forces behind the law to establish workplace quotas in the public sector for trans persons, was murdered in October 2015: she was only 39 years old. At the time, she was a member of the Movimiento Antidiscriminatorio de Liberación (M.A.L.) and alternate representative of the then-Trans Secretariat on the Board of ILGA World.

Three years later, a 25-year-old man was sentenced to life imprisonment for the crime. The ruling had been considered historic: “The murder of a travesti person had never led to a trial where the victim’s gender identity was recognised among the grounds for the crime,” the plaintiff had explained. “There also are only a few cases of murders of travesti persons that have reached the trial stage, and a sentence was delivered just in four of such cases.” According to reports, the term travesticidio had never been used in courts across Latin America before this trial.

Two years later, however, the Cassation argued that there is no evidence to prove that the murder was a hate crime - a decision that has shocked many across the country. “Similar actions show how a gender perspective is lacking in how justice is administered”, said Eli Gomez Alcorta, minister of Women, Gender and Diversity. “There’s an urgent need for change”.

More news from Latin America and the Caribbean

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has held its first public hearing on the question of marriage equality in Panama. Meanwhile, the country’s Supreme Court of Justice appears to be divided on the issue.

A new report has documented how the governments of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras have failed to effectively address violence and discrimination against LGBTQ people, leading many to seek asylum in the United States – where policies have created additional barriers for them.

In Mexico, the State of Sonora reformed the local Civil Registry Law to guarantee the right to legal gender recognition to people over 18.

In Santa Ana, El Salvador, the Anglican Episcopal Church has opened a shelter for LGBTQ people who are homeless or were forcibly displaced.

At least 29 trans persons have been murdered in Colombia since the beginning of 2020, according to grassroots organisations.

North America and the Caribbean

United States: Supreme Court Justices renew attack on marriage equality ruling

In what human rights organisations have called “a looming threat”, two conservative Justices in the Supreme Court have openly suggested that Obergefell v. Hodges - the landmark 2015 ruling thanks to which marriage equality became a reality in the United States – should be overturned.

The remark came as the Supreme Court decided not to review an appeals court decision in the case brought by Kim Davis, the county clerk who had refused to grant marriage licenses to two same-sex couples.

In a statement to comment on that decision, however, Justice Clarence Thomas and Justice Samuel Alito argued that “the (Supreme) Court has created a problem that only it can fix. Until then, Obergefell will continue to have 'ruinous consequences for religious liberty.”

The comment was met with concerns and outrage by human rights organisations, who openly spoke about a “renewed war on LGBTQ rights and marriage equality”, and noted how the potential appointment of Amy Coney Barrett to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg at the Supreme Court could push its balance to more conservative positions.

“The Court could significantly water down what marriage equality means for LGBTQ couples across the nation”, Human Rights Campaign president Alphonso David commented. “From eliminating hospital visitation rights and medical decision-making in religiously affiliated medical centres to granting businesses a license to discriminate against LGBTQ couples, ‘skim-milk marriage’ would have a devastating effect on our community’s ability to live freely and openly. Our love is valid, our love is equal, and our rights must be.”

More news from North America and the Caribbean

A study has shown that LGBT people in the United States are nearly four times more likely to experience violent victimisation than their peers. About half of these incidents are not reported to the police.

A gay man and a straight woman who have a child together and are emotionally committed to one another can form a ‘conjugal relationship’, a judge in Canada ruled in a spousal immigration case.

An out gay man has been nominated to the Supreme Court of California, United States for the first time in the State’s history.

A new poll conducted in the United States highlighted how the confluence of the Covid-19 pandemic and recent episodes of racial violence have affected LGBTQ youth and their mental health.

Europe and Central Asia

Bulgaria: group of teenagers attacked in a park by peers in homophobic assault (trigger warning: violence)

A group of students aged 14 and 15 has violently attacked a group of peers in a public park in the city of Plovdiv, targeting them on the grounds of their perceived sexual orientation.

According to reports, the young mob claimed to have organised the raid to “cleanse the city park”, recorded their action on camera and posted the video on a social network. At first, a group of girls were violently harassed and insulted; the mob, then, proceeded to throw eggs at them and to beat them up. Police were late to intervene, according to comments on social media. The local prosecution has vowed to investigate, but no comment so far has come from Plovdiv’s mayor or from government officials. According to reports, other similar raids were organised in other cities across Bulgaria, but no reports of incidents have emerged so far.

Most disturbingly, the incident in Plovdiv happened only a few days before the anniversary of the homophobic murder of Mihail Stoyanov, a 25-year old student who was killed in a public park in Sofia in 2008. Also in that case, back then, his murderers had spoken about their will to “clean up the park” from men they had perceived to be gay.

“Unfortunately, such an organised aggression does not surprise us: it only shows why it is so important to talk about hatred, extremism and radicalisation against diversity, especially in schools”, the human rights organisation Single Step commented on social media. “We strongly condemn any such act and will continue to work to educate young people and address issues such as hate speech and school bullying.”

More news from Europe and Central Asia

A court has begun hearing a case brought against the National Health Service’s only clinic serving young gender-questioning and gender-diverse people in England and Wales.

The president of Serbia nominated Ana Brnabic – the first out lesbian women to serve as Prime Minister in the country - to remain in office for another term.

The Council of Europe has held a conference on the Role of the European Convention on Human Rights in advancing equality for LGBTI persons.

Oceania

Aotearoa New Zealand: ruling party vows to ban ‘conversion therapy’ if re-elected, as queer organisations list key demands to incoming government

A few days before the upcoming general elections, political parties across Aotearoa New Zealand are responding to the issues brough forward by eleven LGBTI organisations, which  have joined forces to issue a list of key demands to the incoming government.

Many of the organisations involved have a strong focus on youth issues, and have aptly renamed the working group Youth Sector Rainbow Collective. Their demands - which were sent to the Parliamentary Rainbow Network alongside the current Health, Statistics & Education Ministers – include introducing an informed consent model of care for gender-affirming healthcare, a ban on 'conversion therapy', a national mental health strategy and providing emergency housing for LGBTI young people amongst others.

"Rainbow communities are disproportionately impacted by discrimination in Aotearoa and therefore disadvantaged in workplaces, healthcare settings and schools,” said Tabby Besley, Managing Director of InsideOUT. “There is still work to be done to achieve legal human rights for trans, non-binary and intersex New Zealanders and to protect our communities from things like 'conversion therapy'. Our collective would like to see more political parties take a stand in support of this."

Among the parties’ announcements in response to these requests, one made headlines worldwide: in case of re-election, the Labour party has vowed to ban ‘conversion therapy’, receiving mixed reactions by other parties. The pledge to ban such discredited and unscientific 'treatments' was among the pledges included in the party's recently launched platform on rainbow policies.

More news from Oceania

In Australia, human rights group are calling for more funding for professional and non-religious counsellors, and LGBTIQ+ inclusive training for school chaplains, in the wake of this week’s budget announcement.

The Samoa Fa’afafine Association took part in two national governance consultations to address gender-based violence and children protection, and to shape the law and justice sector plans for the years ahead. “Changes come from within by working together with our communities”, the association said.

Asia

Japan: politician criticised for claiming that diversity education in school would lead to “no children”

A local politician has been heavily criticised across the country for claiming that, should schools be required to teach students about rainbow families and LGBTI issues, the central Tokyo district he represents would cease to exist.

“If lesbians and gays spread (…) completely we will have no residents because it means there will be no children,” Masateru Shiraishi - chairman of the Adachi Ward welfare committee – said during a debate about the proposed law.

Asked by a newspaper to clarify his position, he also claimed that “if LGBT people get focused on in an excessive manner, then children will lose their sense of the need for having and raising more children in the future.”

His remarks have caused outrage to the point of receiving a warning by the assembly speaker as well as by his own party. Human rights organisations have also called out the politician: “The LGBT population does not increase or decrease because of education,” said Yuichi Kamiya, secretary general of the Japan Alliance for LGBT Legislation, calling on Shiraishi to either leave office or retract his remarks.

The backlash on social media was also swift, with Shiraishi’s comments condemned as hate speech that should disqualify him from public office.

More news from Asia

In India, the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights has appointed two expert advisors in a case to ban unnecessary surgeries on intersex children.

In the Philippines, the city of Zamboanga has passed an ordinance which includes sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression among the protected grounds from discrimination. The provision now awaits the mayor’s signature to officially come into force.

In Sri Lanka, recent cases of arrests of persons accused of engaging in consensual same-sex activity have stirred a public debate, while activists pointed out that the legal landscape and law enforcements continue to contribute to the persecution of our communities in the country.

Africa

Kenya: Court directs prosecutor to address trans woman according to her gender identity

A court in the city of Eldoret, Kenya has directed the prosecution to stop referring to a trans woman by her deadname as her case is being discussed, and to respect her gender identity.

The woman is currently facing trial as she is accused of having fraudulently obtained registration documents in 2015. During the proceedings, however, the prosecution has continued to address her with both her name and her deadname – something that the defense lawyer compared to psychological torture – until the judge issued a clear call to respect her gender identity.

As ILGA World’s Trans Legal Mapping Report points out, Kenyan law does not explicitly criminalise trans and gender diverse people, but a number of provisions is still used to target them. In 2019, for example, the woman currently under trial was arrested and charged with “impersonating a female”, and multiple similar cases have been reported across the country.

More news from Africa

Hate crimes against queer persons continue unabated across South Africa, a human rights organisation reported, as three more cases were made public during the past weeks.

A report has cast a light on how incidents of human rights violations against key populations have increased by 86% in Uganda between 2018 and 2020.

The queer activists who had occupied a property in Camp Bay, South Africa as a protest action against inequality and a lack of safe spaces have announced they will leave the house as ordered by the courts, but have appealed for safe accommodation for four of their members.

Marking International Lesbian Day - in solidarity with lesbians around the world

On #InternationalLesbianDay, we stand in solidarity with women in the 44 countries in which private, consensual sexual activity between women is illegal.

The fight for equality goes on until you are free to be you.

Lesbians often face multiple discrimination, including sexism, misogyny and homophobia.

According to Human Dignity Trust:

• 44 jurisdictions criminalise private, consensual sexual activity between women using laws against ‘lesbianism’, ‘sexual relations with a person of the same sex’ and ‘gross indecency’. Even in jurisdictions that do not explicitly criminalise women, lesbians and bisexual women have been subjected to arrest or threat of arrest.

Stonewall’s Out of the Margins project focuses on five main issues where LBT+ communities continue to face severe marginalisation: 

• Economic well-being

• Education

• Health

• Personal security and violence

• Civic and political participation

APPG hosts launch of Stonewall's Bi Report

The APPG on Global LGBT+ RIghts was thrilled to host an event with Stonewall focussing on bi issues in the UK and abroad, with a focus on Peru.

The event was chaired by Baroness Barker, in conversation with

Nancy Kelley, Stonewall CEO
Hafsa Qureshi, Stonewall Bi Role Model of the year 2019
&
Alex Hernández, Más Igualdad Perú

As one respondent to Stonewall’s Bi Report said: ‘Being bisexual means finding yourself excluded by gay people and straight people in social settings. I only tell my friends about my sexuality, meaning it is hidden from my family and my work colleagues. Bisexuality is a hidden sexuality through people’s lack of acceptance.’ Kendra, 32 (Scotland). 

Stonewall’s Out of the Margins report addresses human rights violations faced by lesbians, bi women and trans people (LBT+) worldwide; and it was a privilege to be joined by Alex Hernández, from Más Igualdad Perú who contributed to the report from a Peruvian perspective.

You can watch the event in full below:

Interview with Chair in Politics Home on GRA Reform

Our chair Crispin Blunt MP was interviewed in Politics Home on his reaction to the Government’s response to the Gender Recognition Act consultation, in full below:

After a bitter internal Tory row over the government's long-awaited response to the Gender Recognition Act, Crispin Blunt has vowed to carry on what he sees as a vital battle for trans rights. Georgina Bailey speaks to him

“The current position cannot stand.”

This was the stark warning Crispin Blunt sent Conservative colleagues following a showdown with minister for women and equalities Liz Truss over the Gender Recognition Act in the Commons last week. 

The clash escalated to the point where it was widely reported Blunt had called for Truss to be “sacked” from the equalities part of her brief; though he later issued a somewhat unconvincing clarification: he said he wanted this part of her job (she is also international trade secretary) to be “given to someone else,” as he felt she did “not have the time or necessary empathy to continue”.

Now, the MP for Reigate has pledged: “I and many many others will not let go until the rights trans people are owed in any society that has respect for universal human rights are delivered.”

“We will press for the results of consultation to be honoured… This old parliamentary dog is not letting go of this bone!” Blunt told a WhatsApp group of sympathetic MPs. 

The row began after it was announced that Truss had dropped plans to de-medicalise the process of individuals legally changing gender identity, including removing the need for a medical report, evidence of having lived in their acquired gender for a period of time, and a diagnosis of gender dysphoria. 

It was the latest stage in a fierce debate that has raged ever since it was announced – by then women and equalities minister Penny Mordaunt in 2018 – that the government would consult on updating the 2004 Gender Recognition Act. 

The consultation received over 108,000 responses, of which 7,000 were from trans people, and it quickly became part of the so-called ‘culture war’ on social media, with celebrities like J.K. Rowling becoming part of a storm where women’s rights and the rights of transgender people were pitted against each other. 

This discourse, Blunt says, is a key part of the problem: “They’re not clashing rights, they’re overlapping rights,” he says, before adding: “Trans rights are human rights. Every society should aspire to have universal human rights”. 

Blunt’s view is backed up by nine of the 2019 Conservative intake, who called on the Government last month to “[follow] through on our promises” to the trans community. 

The promises Truss is being held to are not of her making – or even, Blunt claims, her ideology. He alleges that she came into the role “with a particular view”, heavily influenced by women’s groups who do not want to make it easier for trans people to change their gender identity. Representatives for Truss did not respond to a request for comment.

Mordaunt was seen as sympathetic to the claim that the 16-year-old legislation on trans people needed to be changed so that it was easier for them to legally change their gender without a diagnosis, while Truss has said that their main concerns are access to health care and the streamlining of bureaucracy around getting a gender recognition certificate. 

These are both things that the government has committed to addressing, but critics such as Stonewall say the changes “don’t go anywhere near far enough toward… [making] it easier for all trans people to go about their daily life.”. However, those against the concept of self-identification, who had argued a change would undermine women’s rights, welcomed the statement.

With no legislation forthcoming and Truss showing no signs of moving, some trans activists are disheartened. But Blunt and others on the backbenches are not yet ready to give up their fight, which he sees as being over a fundamental conservative tenet – freedom to live how you choose. 

“Don't expect to get elected if you're going to try and tell everybody  how to behave in all circumstances. Because people aren’t going to let you,” he warns.

Blunt says the issue of trans rights is one that takes considerable time and work to understand fully. 

“Unless you're trans or you have a trans person in your family, you're very unlikely to be familiar with the implications of this. And that was my position until frankly, until the summer,” he explains. 

While the consultation was ongoing, debates about whether “self-identification” poses a risk to cis-women, access to single-sex spaces and the rights and protections afforded of transgender children swirled online during the 21-month waiting period, often turning angry on all sides. 

Blunt says he is dismayed at the talk of “balancing” trans rights with women’s’ rights. He points to the fact that 84% of transgender people in the UK have contemplated suicide, and 50% have attempted it. “That is an indicator the rest of society needs to up our game and understanding [in] how to support these people.”

When it comes to “overlapping rights”, the issues of self-identification and access to single-sex spaces are particular causes for concern amongst some campaigners.

Currently, the Equality Act 2010 states that a trader or service provider must not discriminate against someone on the grounds of whether they’re a woman, a man, or a transgender person (with some exceptions). 

Transgender people cannot be excluded from single sex services provided to people of their acquired gender – regardless of whether they have a gender recognition certificate – unless there's a good enough reason. Current examples of exemptions include domestic violence refuges set up for women, and some contact sports. 

The government is not proposing to change any rules on access to single-sex spaces, something Blunt welcomes. In fact, he was more concerned that the rights trans people had on single-sex spaces would be eroded.

However, there is also a fear that the proposals for self-identification would make women’s refuges, prisons and women’s only spaces unsafe.

Blunt has spent time talking to colleagues who hold those anxieties, and says he understands where they come from. 

“Unless you get quite deeply into this and think this through and have both the empathy and the time to get yourself into that place of understanding it's quite easy to think that there are real problems here about men pretending to be women in order to assault women. That men will seek to take improper advantage of rights afforded to people to take a particular gender identity for improper reasons,” he explains.

“There's a fear that has been stoked amongst women about the implications of this. And it is certainly true that far, far too many women have been victims of male violence.”  

Blunt’s answer on the source of the concerns is unlikely to endear him to women’s rights groups: he dismisses these fears as the product of primarily US-based religious zealots, who have “alighted on the trans issue” and tried to split LGB issues away from transgender issues to “manipulate” activists. 

He claims that they are using some women’s rights groups as a front to help enact their belief that “God has ordained what your sex is, and you are not entitled to change your gender identity, and that gender and sex are precisely the same thing.” 

He also says there is a misunderstanding of the term “self-identification”. Blunt supports the government assertion that the process requires formality, but rejects that it requires the current level of medical examination and diagnosis of gender dysphoria.

“That’s the most objectionable bit. Then it's simply a question of what the appropriate formality is around the self-identification… the formality can simply be the same way as one might go and take an oath”, he says. Indeed, the British Medical Association also recently passed a motion calling on the Government to “allow transgender and nonbinary individuals to gain legal recognition of their gender by witnessed, sworn statement”.

But in practical terms, how does he believe fears around self-identification can be assuaged? 

“On evidence. If people are required to undergo a formal self-identification process, where they have done elsewhere in the world where that then led to those people who have self-identified in a different gender to one into the biological sex they were born into. Has there been any threat from those people who so self identify? Has anything actually happened?”

He points to Argentina, the first country to allow self-identification eight years ago, where the only issue he is aware of is where someone fraudulently changed their gender to access their pension earlier. 

“Of course there are threats, there is a threat to women from men. And women will have experienced that intimidation and violence… The threat is not coming from trans women. Of all groups of people from whom women might feel a threat, trans women are probably the least likely source,” Blunt says. 

When discussing how this can practically be tackled, he calls the conduct of the online debate “shocking”. “The opponents of giving trans people the support of universal human rights will often see it as a clash of competing rights between women and trans people.”

“You've had strident women's rights campaigners... who have provoked trans people to respond often in an angry and confrontational way, and that is unsurprising because this is a central assault on their identity,” Blunt says.

So does Blunt, the Conservative MP for Reigate since 1997 who was nearly deselected after coming out as gay in 2010, believe the government is transphobic? 

“I think most people haven't got a clue in this area. Basically, we do not understand trans issues. They are complex. And I think the truth is that Liz [Truss] arrived in the equalities brief with a particular view strongly influenced by the part of the women's lobby that's decided to identify trans [issues] as a problem for them,” Blunt says.

In an attempt to better understand differing views in his party, Blunt met with three Conservative colleagues who were closer to Truss’ alleged viewpoint than his on the issue to try and discern the best way forward. In these discussions, he recognised the anxieties around “shortcuts” being taken when supporting transgender children and the pressure some felt was being applied on particularly tomboyish girls to change their gender identity. 

He attempted to put together solutions to these in a paper he presented to the government – which was condemned by some activists as a “backroom deal” 

His proposals included better regulated, centrally mandated relationship and sex education (RSE) in school, removed from the influence of activist groups on both sides and local parents to put the responsibility on government rather than teachers – although he does believe that parents should be able to remove their children from classes if they wish.   

He is also supportive of proper funding for gender services so that experienced doctors don’t feel pressured to take unseemly shortcuts when advising children and their families.

To his Conservative colleagues, he says that this is a fundamental issue of personal freedom, and warns that the party will face electoral challenges if it is seen to be taking its lead from social conservatives, saying “it is not “defensible” in a “modern society”. 

“People should be free to live their lives as they wish. And if someone takes a decision in their life in a particular way, it is not going to have an impact on the rest of society. The requirement should be to understand and indeed celebrate the diversity that these decisions then bring to our society, and not frown at the lack of conformity to a set of rules that have come from generations past,” Blunt explains.

“The Conservative Party I joined had the torch of freedom as its logo. Personal liberty, and liberty at every level, was what I thought was in the army to defend.”

The Week in LGBTI News from ILGA World (18-24 September)

Republished with kind permission of ILGA-World

Written by Maddalena Tomassini, edited by Daniele Paletta

This week marked a significant moment for our communities: the United Nations has included LGBTI youth in two key initiatives, allowing them to have an active part in the decision-making and conversations that will impact their lives!

But as we celebrate this landmark moment, we stand in solidarity with those in our communities whose long-awaited expectations were let down. In the United Kingdom, a plan to allow self-identification in legal gender recognition processes was scrapped in favour of some adjustments that fall short of addressing trans and gender diverse people’s needs in their everyday lives. In two separate cases in Hong Kong, a Court rejected a request to register an overseas same-sex marriage while ensuring a man’s right to inherit his husband’s house. The results of a survey in Victoria, Australia cast a light on the extent of domestic violence experienced by LGBTIQ+ persons: an issue that needs to be addressed.

Our communities also celebrated some victories: in Chile, the Senate's Human Rights Commission approved an indication to consider ‘conversion therapy’ as an act of arbitrary discrimination, paving the way for a potential future ban. Good news came also from the United States, where for the first time an LGBTQ-inclusive bill was passed unanimously to establish a 3-digit National Suicide Prevention Lifeline where conseullors would need to be trained on our communities’ issues. In South Africa, the Constitutional Court is set to determine what can be considered “hate speech” under the country’s law, as it began hearing a case around a homophobic newspaper article that has dragged on for 12 years.

Europe and Asia Central

The United Kingdom scraps self-identification reform plan despite public support

After years of debate and despite public consultations being highly in favour of a reform, the United Kingdom stepped back from overhauling the Gender Recognition Act (GRA) to allow gender self-identification.

The Act sets out the legal process in England and Wales to update a person’s gender on their birth certificate. As ILGA World’s Trans Legal Mapping Report points out, the current law has a series of abusive preconditions - including having lived in their “acquired gender” (sic) for two years and having received a diagnosis of gender dysphoria.

The reform would have made it possible for a person to legally change their gender without a medical diagnosis. While this plan was scrapped, other adjustments were introduced: the price to update the birth certificates will likely be reduced from 140 pounds (150 euros) to a “nominal amount”, and the process will be moved online.

“While these moves will make the current process less costly and bureaucratic, they don’t go anywhere near far enough toward meaningfully reforming the Act to make it easier for all trans people to go about their daily life,” said Stonewall Chief Executive Nancy Kelley.

Mermaids welcomed the easing of the process but raised similar concerns. “We must repeat our disappointment that none of these proposals offer help to those aged under 18,” the group said. “We are disappointed that the Government reforms make no mention of non-binary identities and fall short of self-declaration, a move which would have brought England and Wales into line with our neighbours in the Republic of Ireland, where society has benefited from a de-medicalised system for gender recognition since 2015, without any problematic outcomes”.

Two years ago, almost two thirds among over 100,000 respondents to a public consultation had supported the idea of removing the current requirements, as the UK Parliament’s All-Party Parliamentary Group on Global LGBT+ Rights noted in a statement. The British Medical Association had also shown support to the reform plan, calling on the government to allow “self-id” and gender-affirming care for trans people under 18-years old. Now, a petition on the British parliament’s website asking for a GRA review “to allow transgender people to self-identify without the need for a medical diagnosis, to streamline the administrative process, and to allow non-binary identities to be legally recognised” has surpassed 120,000 signatures, and will therefore be considered by Parliament.

More news from Europe and Asia Central

Rights groups in Serbia, in collaboration with a popular TV and theatre actor, have created a new campaign to tackle human rights violations against LGBT people, including those that occur in the labour market.

The city of Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, held its first Pride march. Escorted by the police, around 500 people marched in safety.

A trans woman will not be officially recognised as the biological mother of the child she conceived with her wife before transitioning, France’s highest court ruled.

Despite growing international pressure, as rights organisations sent over 340,000 signatures to the EU Commission asking to take action, councillors in the eastern Poland city of Krasnik voted to keep a motion declaring their town “LGBT-free”.

For the first time in Greek jurisprudence, a Court upheld a non-binary person’s request to have their identity recognised.

Asia

Hong Kong’s High Court rejects equal marriage while upholding inheritance rights

The High Court in Hong Kong took two decisions that marked respectively a small victory and a blow to hopes for equality for same-sex couples. In the first case, a homeowner was able to ensure that his husband could inherit his house, while in the second the Court deemed a request to officially recognise a marriage between two men that was registered overseas as “too ambitious”.

As ILGA World’s map on sexual orientation laws shows, Hong Kong currently doesn’t permit either same-sex civil unions or equal marriage. In March 2020, a judicial review ruled that the ban on same-sex couples accessing public housing was unlawful.

While campaign group Hong Kong Marriage Equality (HKME) welcomed the first ruling as “a clear signal to society that unequal treatment of same-sex couples is not justified”, they also expressed disappointment for the “missed” chance of recognising overseas same-sex marriages. “Hong Kong aspires to be a leading world city in the world but we are dragging our feet when it comes to LGBT+ equality,” the HKME statement added.

More news from Asia

The United Nations in Vietnam launched a campaign to promote supportive and safe home environments for LGBTI people through a compilation of letters to their families and loved ones.

Opened to tackle the unemployment that affected the community because of COVID-19, a restaurant in India run entirely by trans staff has become so successful that the crew is considering the opportunity to open a second location.

Oceania

LGBTI adults in Victoria more than twice likely to experience domestic violence, study finds

According to a survey of over 34,000 people, LGBTIQ+ adults in Victoria are more than twice as likely to experience domestic and family violence than their  peers.

According to the study, conducted in 2017 by the Victorian Agency for Health Information and recently published, the 13.4% of respondents had experienced family violence in the past two years, in comparison to 5.1% of heterosexual, non-LGBTIQ+ adults. Almost a quarter of the people interviewed reported high or very high levels of psychological distress; 44.8% of them had received a diagnosis of anxiety and/or depression, compared to 26.7% of their peers.

As Thorne Harbour Health pointed out, the findings also highlighted how many among the 5.7% adults who identify as LGBTIQ live outside the state capital: “We’re not just based in Melbourne and this needs to be reflected in how we provide services and support to LGBTIQ Victorians living in regional and rural settings,” said Simon Ruth, Thorne Harbour Health CEO.

“The findings from this survey give the Victorian Government valuable insight into the health status of our LGBTIQ communities, and it paints a clear picture – LGBTIQ Victorians are continuing to experience health inequality and we need to take action,” added Ruth.

More news from Oceania

Activists speaking up against ‘conversion therapy’ in West Australia have reportedly argued that the government “failed to understand the need for urgent reform and lacked consistency when dealing with the regulation of abuse by religious organisations.”

Two reports concerning older LGBTI people at risk of homelessness in Victoria, Australia, are going to be launched during an online event on October 9th. 

LGBTI organisations in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand have organised “StandBiUs”, a series of in-person and online events to celebrate Bi+ communities.

Africa

South African Constitutional Court holds hearing on journalist’s homophobic article case

After more than a decade of public debate and hearings, the Constitutional Court in South Africa is set to give a final word on John Qwelane case, a former journalist who expressed homophobic views in 2008 in an article published on a national newspaper.

Qwelane had suggested that same-sex attraction is similar to bestiality, claimed he supported the homophobic stances by the then-president of Zimbabwe Robert Mugabe, and urged politicians to remove the sexual orientation equality clause from the Constitution. Since then, the former journalist has never expressed any regret for his words but unapologetically defended his position.

During last week’s hearing, the Constitutional Court heard arguments focusing on what should be defined as “illegal hate speech” under the South African law. Activists and the South Africa Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) contested the idea – upheld by the Supreme Court of Appeal last year – that his words caused no harm to LGBTI people. “[His] utterances fuelled the fires,” said SAHRC lawyer. “They added to a climate that was already hostile”.

More news from Africa

Our communities in Tunisia have been targeted by a wave of hate speech fuelled by a local influencer on Instagram, human rights organisations reported. The groups are also calling on the social media platform to uphold their community guidelines and reject any incitement to violence.

A survey looking into the impact of Covid-19 into the lives of 145 LBTQ women in Benin has highlighted how the pandemic has brought increased job and livelihood insecurity, and has disrupted education opportunities.

The Minister of Home Affairs met with a coalition of trans activists in South Africa and committed to keep working together to address  a wide-range of issues facing trans and gender-diverse communities in the country.

Latin America and the Caribbean

Chile’s Senate Human Rights Commission approves considering “conversion therapies” as “arbitrary discrimination”

The Senate's Human Rights Commission of Chile has approved an indication to ban so-called “conversion therapies”. The vote on the provision happened during the debate around the reform of the anti-discrimination law knowns as “Ley Zamudio”, named after the 24-year old man lost to a horrific homophobic hate crime in 2012. The approved indication states that “any act, practice and/or medical, psychological or psychiatric treatment, or of any other nature that aims to modify the sexual orientation or gender identity or expression of a person or group of persons shall be considered arbitrary discrimination”.

“The approval of this indication is a historic step forward in advancing the ban on ‘conversion therapies’ that continue to exist in many private institutions, clinics and Universities,” said Constanza Valdés, lawyer of the human rights group Agrupación Lésbica Rompiendo el Silencio.

Valdés also addressed the controversy around a previous statement of the Undersecretary of the Minister of Justice, who had opposed the proposed change saying it would negatively affect people who are willing to undergo such treatments. She later backtracked on her words. The bill to reform the anti-discrimination measures will now be put to vote in the Senate.

More news from Latin America and the Caribbean

(trigger warning: violence and murder) The LGBTI community in the region is still under attack. In Chile,  two LGBT activists were found dead in their apartment after a fire was put out - they also showed injuries inflicted by a sharp element; furthermore, organisations also denounced a homophobic attack against a 28-years old man in Lampa. In Honduras, a trans woman was attacked inside a bar with a machete. 

In Argentina, a police officer has been arrested for the murder of a 27-year old trans woman who had been killed at the end of August.

North America and the Caribbean

United States to establish an LGBTQ-inclusive National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

The U.S. House of Representatives unanimously approved a legislation to establish a three-digit number, 988, for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline - making it easier to dial than the current 10-digit one: a key provision to help ease access to crisis services.

The National Suicide Hotline Designation Act also features several provisions specific to LGBTQ people, including requirements for LGBTQ+ cultural competency training for all lifeline counselors and the establishment of an integrated voice response option for LGBTQ+ youth and other high-risk populations to reach specialized care. The bill, now on the President’s desk, had already been approved by the Senate in May. According to the Trevor Project, this is the first LGBTQ-inclusive measure to pass both of the Houses by a unanimous vote. “This passage is a historic victory, (...)and 988 will undoubtedly save countless lives,” said Sam Brinton, vice president of advocacy and government affairs for the Trevor Project. Brinton also pointed out that 40 percent of LGBT youth seriously considered attempting suicide in the past 12 months, with more than half trans and non-binary youth seriously considering it. “This vital legislation will require the Lifeline to provide specialized services for LGBTQ youth and other high-risk groups, and make it so much easier for millions of Americans to find support in moments of crisis”.

More news from North America and the Caribbean

In an eleventh-hour move, Belize decided not to proceed with the Equal Opportunities Bill, after the country’s Council of Churches announced it would have not supported the provision.

The United States queer community mourns the passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, known to be a vocal supporter of LGBTQ rights. Now, concerns arise around the choice of who is going to replace her in the life-long seat at the Country’s highest court. 

The family of an HIV-positive woman has filed a civil rights lawsuit after she died in custody in Texas, United States, where she was reportedly denied antiviral medication and water.

Almost a million households in the United States are made up of same-sex couples, 58 percent of which are married, U.S. Census Bureau last released data shows.

Government receives scrutiny in House of Lords on GRA reform

Today member of the House of Lords questioned the Baroness Berridge, Minister for Women, on the Government’s Response to the Consultation on the Gender Recognition Act 2004.

Lord Collins said:

A consultation over 2 years, over 100,000 responses, the vast majority backing reform. The result – a continuation of lengthy process that the Women and Equalities Committee said “runs contrary to the dignity and personal autonomy of applicants.”

What evidence does the Noble Lord have that medicalisation remains necessary from the jurisdictions which don’t medicalise the process?

The APPG on Global Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Rights presented a report to Liz Truss in July.

We sought to deliver reassurance around trans people -but also to deliver trans rights. Did the Noble Lord see or consider the report & can she explain why it was rejected? - bearing in mind it was backed by the LGBT Groups of the main political parties including her own.

This decision has caused huge hurt to the trans community and Labour believes is simply wrong.

Baroness Barker stated that:

Digitising a system which dehumanises our fellow citizens isn't kindness. It is callous and cynical, as the repeated use of the phrase "trans people and women" makes clear. One question for the Minister. Will the Government amend the Equality Act or guidance issued under it. Yes or no?

Lord Cashman said:

My Lords, the Secretary of State’s response is woefully inadequate and fails to take account of the Government’s own consultation, so it is clear to me that the Secretary of State is not in command of this brief. Indeed, it took her four and a half months to respond to my letter on this issue—this is at a time when gross defamation and misrepresentation of trans people, particularly trans women, has been whipped up by the media and some Members of your Lordships’ House.

Therefore, will the Minister explain how the Government will address the real needs of trans people, as indicated overwhelmingly in the consultation, and will she clarify the statement by the Secretary of State that self-declaration would be abused by men? What evidence of widespread abuse does the Secretary of State have from other jurisdictions that have moved to self-ID, or does the Secretary of State believe that British men are uniquely abusive?

The debate can be watched in full here, and the Hansard record here.