LGBULLETIN #154 – TWO WEEKS IN LGBTI NEWS (3-16 APRIL 2020)

This is a brief selection of news showing how Covid-19 is affecting LGBTI communities worldwide. Share more stories at [email protected]

Worldwide

UNAIDS condemns misuse and abuse of emergency powers to target marginalised and vulnerable populations

GATE releases list of Covid-19 emergency funds sources

North America

Florida police chief allegedly claimed cop died of Covid-19 because he was gay

Meet the drag queens taking on the ultimate sewing challenge – making protective equipment for healthcare workers

Africa

Calls from Cape Town’s Pride shelter for support during lockdown

Latin America and the Caribbean

Chilean survey to assess impact of Covid-19 on our communities

Europe and Central Asia

LGBT+ group sues Ukraine religious figure linking coronavirus to gay marriage

Ireland’s former prime ministerLeo Varadkar resumes medical practice in crisis

ILGA chapter campaigns

ILGALAC

ILGA-Europe

ILGA World

Poland: Parliament debates regressive abortion and sex-education laws during national lockdown

The Polish Parliament has opted to debate two controversial bills to restrict access to abortion and inclusive sex education while the country is in lockdown due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

Initially introduced in 2018 and 2019, both bills were met with widespread protest, which put off their adoption. Some activists now fear that the government is attempting to push the legislation through during the lockdown when the public is unable to mobilise and gather. During the first reading, the majority of MPs directed the proposals for further works in the committees: the bills could now be proceeded at any time.

“Given its track record of undercutting the rule of law, it is fitting that the government would move to pass abusive laws when the public demonstrations that have met these laws before are prohibited,” said Hillary Margolis, senior women’s rights researcher at Human Rights Watch.

The “Stop Abortion” bill further restricts the already limited access to abortions, which in Poland are currently only permitted in cases of rape, danger to the mother’s life or health, or when there is severe damage to the foetus. The latter category will be removed under the bill, meaning that foetuses unlikely to survive will need to be carried to term. Activists from across the region have decried this as a violation of reproductive rights, though President Andrzej Duda has stated his support for this move.

The “Stop Paedophilia” bill would criminalise “anyone who promotes or approves the undertaking by a minor of sexual intercourse or other sexual activity”, though advocacy groups have criticised it for its potential to undermine comprehensive sex education and discussions of LGBTI issues. Local advocacy group, Kampania Przeciw Homofobii (KPH), has stated that the bill is backed by a group of religious fundamentalists who have linked LGBTI identities to paedophilia in previous campaigns.

KPH added that despite the current restrictions on movement and gatherings in Poland, communities are already protesting the move from their balconies, while out buying food, and online.

“We have been and will be ready to act,” they said. “Authorities, we are watching you!”

IACHR finds Peru responsible for anti-LGBTI torture and discrimination

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) has declared Peru responsible for the violation of the rights of a trans woman who was illegally detained and assaulted by police in 2008.

Police detained the woman – who at the time self-identified as a gay men – without cause, beat her, insulted and shouted at her because of her identity, and then raped and tortured her. Upon being released the victim filed a complaint against the perpetrators, though her case was dismissed, forcing her to approach the IACHR for redress.

Ruling the attack a hate crime, the IACHR further found that the state “did not act with due diligence to investigate sexual torture, violating the rights to guarantees and judicial protection,” and ordered the government of Peru to adopt wide-ranging measures to better protect the rights of people with diverse sexual orientations and gender identities.

This is the first time that the IACHR has considered a case of discriminatory torture and has been hailed as a major win for human rights defenders in the region.

“This ruling is extremely significant because it establishes very clearly the obligations of States to protect LGBTI people against acts of violence based on prejudice motivated by sexual orientation and gender expression,” said Chris Esdaile, Legal Advisor at REDRESS, the organisation which had been providing legal support to the victim. “It provides key parameters to identify if torture has been committed for discriminatory reasons, as well as important standards for the authorities to investigate these cases effectively.”

United States: US relaxes MSM blood-donation limitations, though confusion among donors remains

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced the reduction of the blood-donation deferral period from one year to three months for men who have sex with men (MSM), people with tattoos, travellers from regions with a high prevalence of malaria, and women who have had sexual contact with MSM, citing the “unprecedented challenges to the US blood supply” during the coronavirus pandemic. This means that gay, bisexual and other MSM will no longer need to abstain from sex for the full twelve-month period before being eligible to donate blood.

Recent reports, however, indicate that numerous gay men and MSM continue to be turned away by blood-donation services despite the FDA stating that the new policy could be adopted with “immediate effect”. One would-be donor in California said: “I hadn’t had sex in the past three months,” but “the computer rejected my eligibility to donate and I was told ‘you have to remain abstinent from male to male sex for at least one year to be eligible to donate.’”

“I was so upset,” said another man in New York on his experience. “I genuinely want to be able to contribute to help somebody and right now they’re basically putting out messages that they need blood that there’s shortage of blood. But at the end of it, they sent me home.”

Blood donation services from across the country have stated that these and other deferrals are due to them not having received amended application forms, and not having had the time to train staff and update their procedures. Linda Goelzer, a spokesperson for one such centre in Dallas, Texas, has called it “unfair” that they are being blamed for the delays when “every blood centre in the country has been advocating for these changes”.

“We have to go through some very rigorous protocols to make these changes so that we can still keep safety in the blood supply and in the process,” said Goelzer. “When the FDA says the word ‘immediately’ that means something totally different in our world. It takes about three months to implement this stuff but [the FDA] is relying on us to communicate that to the public.”

Australia may soon ease gay blood donation restrictions https://t.co/jkBzokpIZm #auspol #lgbt #gay pic.twitter.com/RnRDWYN8rJ

— QNews (@qnews_media) April 15, 2020

Australia: Blood-donation limitations for MSM loosened, pending government approval

Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has formally revised its policy on the blood donation deferral period from twelve months down to three for men who have sex with men (MSM), sex workers, and donors who have had sexual contact with a number of “high risk” groups.

Formerly any MSM wishing to donate blood would have to abstain from sex with other men for a year before being eligible to do so, due to fears around the transmission of HIV. But before the new policy can be implemented by the country’s blood donation agency, Australia Red Cross Lifeblood, the decision will need to be approved by Commonwealth, state and territory governments.

“This decision is an important improvement that better aligns Australia’s blood donation policy with scientific evidence,” said Darryl O’Donnel, CEO of the Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations (AFAO). “This decision brings us in line with comparable nations such as Canada, and the United Kingdom.”

Various groups, including AFAO, did however question the rationale of excluding men using pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and other HIV-preventing medicines from the policy, while others have criticised the new three-month deferral period given that sexually active heterosexual donors are rarely required to abstain from sex in this way.

Local LGBTIQ group just.equal’s spokesperson, Rodney Croome, has said that the three-month deferral “will not significantly increase the amount of safe blood available for transfusion,” and that the system should cater to individual circumstances. “We urge the TGA and the Red Cross Lifeblood service to adopt a new policy of screening all donors for the safety of their sexual activity rather than the gender of their sexual partner.”

Indonesia: Police will not charge group that burned trans woman alive with murder

Police in Indonesia have said that they will not bring murder charges against a group of men who assaulted a trans woman before dousing her in petrol and burning her. Rather, authorities will pursue a charge of aggravated assault, which holds a maximum penalty of twelve years.

Budhi Herdi Susianto, the North Jakarta police chief, stated that the victim was accused of theft but that the group did not intend to burn her. A friend of the woman has alleged that it was premeditated, however.

Usman Hamid, the Indonesian representative of Amnesty International, has criticised the police force’s “lacklustre” response, saying that “police need to take investigative actions that are impartial and independent. They can’t seem like the perpetrators’ lawyers.”

“We still maintain that what the suspects did was carry out a despicable murder,” added Usman.

Organisations across the region have held memorials and candle-lit vigils for the woman and continue to call on greater action from authorities.

“Her death should be a reminder to many Indonesians that transgender women deserve justice and equal rights,” said Andreas Harsono, a researcher at Human Rights Watch. Harsono added that the incident is indicative of the rising hostility toward LGBT people in Indonesia.

South Africa: 2008 homophobic hate speech case to be settled in Constitutional Court

South Africa’s Constitutional Court is slated to make the final ruling on a case of alleged hate speech by former journalist, John Qwelane, which has been sparking debate across the country for twelve years. In 2008, Qwelane published an op-ed entitled ‘Call me names, but gay is not okay’, in which he compared same-sex sexual activity to bestiality and urged politicians to remove the sexual orientation equality clause from the constitution.

After a complaint was laid by the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), Qwelane was found to be guilty of hate speech and in breach of the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act (PEPUDA).

However, in 2019 the Supreme Court of Appeal ruled PEPUDA to be “vague”, and argued that the law infringed on peoples’ right to freedom of expression. The ruling against Qwelane was struck down and Parliament ordered to amend the law in order to align itself with constitutional rights. The case was thus referred to the Constitutional Court, which will hear the matter on 7 May.

Qwelane’s lawyers argue in papers filed to the Constitutional Court that, per existing legislation, the article cannot be considered hate speech as it does not call for “violence or harm against a group” and that “simply causing hurt or offence is not enough.”