IACHR Publishes Report on Violence against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Intersex Persons

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights published a regional report on the violence perpetrated against LGBTI persons or those perceived as LGBTI [...] Some countries in the region have made significant progress in recognizing the rights of LGBTI persons, but there are still high rates of violence in all countries of the region.

As the many testimonies included in the report show, this violence tends to be extremely brutal and cruel. Moreover, the everyday violence that affects LGBTI persons is often invisible, as it is not reported to the authorities or covered by the media.

The report focuses on violence against LGBTI persons as a complex and multifaceted social phenomenon and not just as an isolated incident or individual act. Different sexual orientations and identities challenge fundamental heteronormative notions about sex, sexuality, and gender. The report also analyzes how the situation of violence faced by LGBTI persons intersects with other factors such as ethnicity, race, sex, gender, migration situation, status as a human rights defender, and poverty.

When States do not carry out thorough and impartial investigations into violence against LGBTI persons—as in the majority of cases—this leads to impunity for these crimes; this sends a strong message to society that violence is condoned and tolerated, which generates even more violence and leads victims to distrust the justice system.  Read more via OAS

Guyana child care & protection agency says gays can adopt

Director of the Childcare and Protection Agency (CPA), Ann Greene, has brought firmly into focus the fact that there are no laws barring homosexuals from adopting or being foster parents.

Greene stated emphatically that the agency does not discriminate, and under her direction she encourages anyone to apply for the care and protection of vulnerable and neglected children: “There is nothing in the law barring gay people from adopting or applying to be foster parents. The Childcare and Protection Agency does not discriminate, and under my direction the agency is more than willing to try it.”

Traditionally, heterosexual couples are selected to be foster parents or adopt children, but the agency has recently begun exploring other options in its quest to find more comfortable and secured homes for orphans and other vulnerable children.  Read more via Kaieteur News 

Australia: Bill allowing Victorian same-sex couples to adopt passed, will become law

A bill allowing same-sex couples to jointly adopt in Victoria was passed in state parliament and will become law, after the amendment to allow religious services to discriminate based on sexuality was voted in in the lower house.

The Adoption Amendment (Adoption by Same-Sex Couples) Bill originally removed faith-based exemptions, but this was amended by the upper house and sent back to the lower house yesterday where the changes were approved. The hundreds of children being raised by same-sex couples around the state will now have the opportunity to be jointly adopted by both parents.

Rainbow Families co-convenor Amelia Bassett she was disappointed that religious exemptions were maintained and passed in parliament: “We’re disappointed the legislation wasn’t passed as it was intended to be and we wish it had been otherwise, but at the end of the day we feel we’ve achieved something really great.”  Read more via Star Observer

Mexico: Surrogacy ban for gay men and foreigners

The only state to allow gay surrogacy in Mexico has now limited the service to native couples only. State legislators in Tabasco last week voted to limit surrogacy services to heterosexual, Mexican couples effectively banning gay men and foreigners. Furthermore, couples hoping to use a surrogate must include a woman aged 25-40, who will have to provide proof that she is medically unable to conceive or bear a child.

Legislators say they made the decision to “strengthen” surrogacy laws in order to avoid impoverished women in the country from being exploited.

Mexico has become an increasingly popular destination for gay couples from the US wishing to start a family. The country becomes the latest to ban surrogacy for same-sex parents and foreigners this year. In August, the Nepali Supreme court issued an injunction suspending commercial surrogacy across the country. New laws banning surrogacy in Thailand came into effect earlier this year – ending access previously available to gay couples.  Read more via PinkNews

Human Dignity Trust releases pivotal research on criminalisation and democratic values, good governance & well-being

The Human Dignity Trust has produced a series of ground-breaking notes explaining how criminalisation interacts with various key areas of democratic values , good governance and well-being.

These notes highlight how crucial decriminalisation is for states to prosper and uphold their core democratic principles. They demonstrate the variety of lenses through which criminalisation's damaging effects can be seen, from exacerbating HIV to harming businesses to undermining the rule of law.

In combination they make it abundantly clear that the decriminalisation of homosexuality must be a global priority. Topics include: Democratic Values, Rule of Law, Role of Business, Public Health, International Human Rights Law, International Organisations, and Rights in Times of Conflict. 

Read more via Human Dignity Trust
 

Jamaica: Why the sodomy law must go

A new constitutional challenge to the Jamaican anti-sodomy law that criminalises all forms of intimacy between men was launched. There is overwhelming evidence that the law provides licence for abuse, discrimination and, too often, the assault, torture and murder of LGBTI Jamaicans, including through cases of violent ‘corrective rape’ perpetrated against lesbian and bisexual women. In fact, one senior police officer has said that anti-gay attitudes will not change until the law changes.

There are also well recognised public-health reasons to abolish this colonial relic, including the fact that its existence continues to drive men who have sex with men underground and away from effective HIV prevention, treatment, care and support interventions. Consequently, Jamaica has the highest HIV prevalence rate among MSM in the Western Hemisphere, if not the world - around 33 per cent.

The challenge being launched will be the second attempt to use local courts to abolish the law. The first case was withdrawn in 2014 when the claimant and his family received death threats. In that case, more than a dozen religious organisations were allowed to intervene in defending the law. 

 Read more via Jamaica Gleaner
 

Armenia: Amendments to constitution adopted

Amendments to the Armenian constitution have been adopted, the country’s Central Election Commission said. The Commission turned down the application of the Armenian National Congress to declare the elections invalid. 

A PINK Armenia representative noted that one amendment changes the wording on marriage rights and redefines marriage as between man and woman.

"The previous constitution Article 35 stated: Men and women of marriageable age have the right to marry and found a family according to their free will. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and divorce. Now, with the ''amended''  Constitution, Article 34, states: Men and women of marriageable age have the right to marry with each other and found a family according to their free will. Thus, the new Constitution is limiting the freedom of marriage to opposite sex, Armenia has joined the countries who have a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage."  Read more on the Armenian referendum here 

Slovenia: Voters reject equal marriage in referendum

Voters in Slovenia headed to the polls Dec 21st in a bid to reinforce a ban on same-sex marriage. The Central European country’s Parliament passed a bill to legalise same-sex marriage earlier this year, to outcry from parts of the Slovenian public.

A referendum was forced after opposition gathered 80,00 signatures. With nearly all of the 620,261 votes now counted, the country has recorded 225,428 Yes votes (36.5%) in favour of equal marriage, and 391,818  No votes (63.5%) opposed.

A number of nearby countries have passed bans on marriage equality in recent years, including neighboring Croatia, which held a referendum in 2013. Those against the implementation of the equality law have used the outdated argument that children need a mother and a father, and that children do worse if they have same-sex parents. Read more via Buzzfeed 

Venezuela: Meet Tamara Adrián, Venezuela’s crusading trans politician

Among those elected in Venezuela's recent election was Tamara Adrián, a lawyer and human-rights campaigner. She is the first transgender member of the Parliament in Venezuela and only the second trans member of a legislature in the whole of Latin America, the first being Michelle Suárez Bértora in Uruguay last year.

That Adrián won the seat at all is an achievement—but that it happened in Venezuela is extraordinary. Venezuela now has chronic food shortages, an official unemployment rate of 18%, and inflation of 159%, the highest in the world. The Bolivar, the nation’s currency, is so worthless people have begun using it as napkins. Adrián said her demands for equality and a better economy for Venezuela are closely bound, citing studies by organizations like the World Bank which show that equality not only makes society more just, it raises productivity as well.

In the short term, Adrián will also force the Venezuelan Parliament to be more civilized. She said: “In the past, in this Assembly, people have been calling each other ‘mariconson,’ which is ‘faggot,’ basically. It’s unacceptable to say that in a Parliament. My presence will require tolerance and I will very strongly request that respect.

“On the other hand, as I have in my agenda the fight for equality, as soon as possible I will be pushing forward for getting a discussion on a gender identity law, anti-discrimination law, and equal marriage law. These three laws are indispensable.”  Read more via the Daily Beast 

Ireland: End exemptions to LGBT equality law for schools and hospitals

Fresh off of the country’s first same-sex weddings, Ireland’s government is pushing forward with more changes – amending LGBT equality law exemptions for schools and hospitals.

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, the Minister of State for Equality, confirmed plans to push ahead with a bill this week that will alter the state’s Employment Equality Act. Section 37 of the existing law grants specific exemptions from sections protecting LGBT people to “religious, educational or medical institutions” – permitting them to discriminate “in order to maintain the religious ethos of the institution”.

However, the TD pledged: “As marriage equality becomes a reality today, on Wednesday we amend Section 37 to end LGBT & other discrimination in schools & hospitals.” He said: “Marriage equality was a wonderful achievement, and Ireland should be very proud of being the first country to bring in marriage equality by popular vote. But if you’re 13 years of age, and you’re just coming out and you’re nervous, marriage equality might feel a very long way away."  Read more via PinkNews