LGBULLETIN #181 – THE MONTH IN LGBTI NEWS (18 DEC 2020 – 21 JAN 2021)

ALERTA La ley de Interrupción Voluntaria del Embarazo fue aprobada por 38 votos a favor y 29 en contra en Argentina pic.twitter.com/P0u4v4Tcae

— ILGALAC (@ILGALAC) December 30, 2020

#EsLey: Argentina legalises abortion

Argentina has become the largest Latin American country to legalise abortion. As 2020 was coming to an end, the country’s Senate approved the historic law change by 38 votes in favour to 29 against, with one abstention.

The bill, which legalises terminations in the first 14 weeks of pregnancy, was approved by Argentina’s lower house in December 2020, after being put to congress by the country’s president, Alberto Fernández.

The law explicitly refers to “women and people with other gender identities with gestational capacity”, thus including also trans men, transmasculine persons and non-binary people who were assigned female at birth.

Pro-choice activists are hoping that the passing of the law in Argentina will inspire other countries in the region to follow suit. Since then, the debate around abortion has already moved forward in Chile, where Congress has started discussing a bill that was first introduced two years ago. The proposal would seek to decriminalise the termination of pregnancy up to 14 weeks.

United States: President Joe Biden signs 17 executive orders, including to enforce LGBTQ employment equality

On his first day in office, incoming United States president Joe Biden signed an executive order directing federal agencies to protect LGBTQ people under all federal sex discrimination laws.

According to the White House website, the Order “builds on the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Bostock v. Clayton County (2020) and ensures that the federal government interprets Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as prohibiting workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.”

“Biden’s Executive Order is the most substantive, wide-ranging executive order concerning sexual orientation and gender identity ever issued by a United States president,” commented Human Rights Campaign president Alphonso David.  “By fully implementing the Supreme Court’s historic ruling in Bostock, the federal government will enforce federal law to protect LGBTQ people from discrimination in employment, health care, housing, and education, and other key areas of life. “

The Executive Order was only one of 17 signed by the incoming president during his first day in office, including declarations re-joining the Paris climate agreement, overturning the ban on travel from a handful of Muslim-majority countries, and strengthening the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

Other substantive changes in policies have been announced, too: Antony Blinken, Biden’s pick to lead the State Department, said that he plans to swiftly appoint an LGBTI envoy, and allow embassies to fly the Pride flag, while Dr. Rachel Levine has been selected for the role of assistant health secretary, becoming the first out trans official to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

LGBTI rights groups welcome judgements finding Croatia and Romania in violation of the European Convention on Human Rights

Over just five days, the European Court of Human Rights issued two important judgements affecting our communities, as it found Croatia and Romania in violation of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Ruling on the Sabalic v Croatia case, the Court found that the response of Croatian authorities to a hate crime against a lesbian woman was “particularly destructive of fundamental human rights”.  The woman had been hospitalised after being violently attacked and threatened by a man outside a nightclub, and yet he was only convicted of minor-offence proceedings and given a fine.

The Court found that “such a response (…) is not capable of demonstrating the State’s Convention commitment to ensuring that homophobic ill-treatment does not remain ignored by the relevant authorities”, and that it could rather be considered “as a response that fosters a sense of impunity for the acts of violent hate crime.”

In a separate ruling, the European Court of Human Rights also found Romania in violation of the European Convention, as the country lacked a clear and foreseeable legal framework for the legal gender recognition.

The case was brought by two applicants whose requests to see their gender legally recognised were repeatedly rejected, as national courts continued requiring proof that they had undergone gender-affirmation surgery.

The European Court of Human Rights observed that such unreasonable requirements had presented both applicants with an impossible dilemma: either they were forced to undergo the surgery, contrary to their right to respect for their physical integrity, or they had to forego recognition of their gender identity.

The decision was welcomed by activists: “We call upon the Romanian state to respect its obligations,” said TGEU Board member Antonella Lerca, “and to immediately introduce a legal gender recognition procedure that is quick, transparent, and accessible and based on self-determination.”

Uganda: Covid-19 worsened insecurity for people of diverse SOGIESC, report finds

The misuse of Covid-19 response provisions has worsened the insecurity of our communities in Uganda, a new report has found.

Released a few weeks before the country’s recently concluded presidential elections – a time characterised by widespread violence and human rights abuses – the research conducted by Sexual Minorities Uganda indicated how misinterpretations in the Covid-19 response have led to several re-occurring human rights violations against the LGBTIQ+ community – including  arbitrary arrests and detentions, lack of due process, and inhumane and degrading treatment while in custody.

The situation appeared to worsen even further in the run-up to the elections, when activists saw “increased harassment against LGBT persons and those who speak up for their rights”.

Repeated homophobic remarks by politicians prompted UNAIDS to express concern for the vilification of our communities, which could lead “to heightened violence, stigma and discrimination against them and reduce their access to HIV and other essential services”.

Campaigners also said last month’s arrest of human rights lawyer Nicholas Opiyo was also contributing to an increasingly tense environment. Opiyo was arrested by plain clothed-police men on 24 December and released on bail a few days later, prompting United Nations human rights experts and Pan Africa ILGA amongst others to express concern over the intimidation and harassment of human rights defenders in the country.

This week has been intense with LGBTQ rights
1. a cosmetic entrepreneur was charged with insulting Islam for dressing in their self determined gender
2. RUU 355 proposed amendment scapegoating LGBTQ people
3. Muhyiddin telling other countries to have hate speech law (on SOGIESC)

— PELANGI Campaign (@pelangicampaign) January 22, 2021

Malaysia: government mulls harsher laws against our communities

In a worrying development, the government of Malaysia may be considering amendments to a  Syariah Courts act to increase heavier penalties for members of our communities.

Malaysia has a dual legal system, formed of secular laws and sharia laws – the latter applying only to Muslim citizens. According to the Borneo Post, a politician serving in the prime minister’s department in charge of Religious Affairs has stated that current punishments “are not giving much effect” on members of our communities, and called on harsher provisions.

He also urged the general public to report persons of non-conforming gender expression to authorities and claimed that “all state religious agencies and enforcers have been instructed to take action against those who do not behave accordingly”.

These statements were met with great concern by civil society organisations. “In the state of emergency where government has almost absolute power, this is terrifying”, Pelangi Campaign commented, while Lawyers for Liberty was quoted as saying that such provisions would be in breach of the Federal Constitution, which forbids discrimination on the basis of gender.

Australia: new research shows “overwhelming support” for trans equality

Almost four in five Australians agree that trans people deserve the same rights as protections as anybody else, a new poll commissioned by Equality Australia has shown.

More indicators of supportive public attitudes emerged from the survey: 66% of Australians think that religious schools should not be able to fire someone or expel a student for being trans, and that young people should be able to access healthcare that supports them to live as their true selves.

“Despite all the debates in social media and among some commentators, the broader community remains committed to supporting trans Australians to live fulfilling lives with dignity and respect,” commented Equality Australia Board member Ryan Phillips.

The country has recently undergone its Universal Periodic Review at the United Nations: while UN member States praised Australia for introducing marriage equality, they also urged the country to do more on LGBTI human rights, especially for its trans and intersex citizens.