ILGA LAUNCHES STATE-SPONSORED HOMOPHOBIA REPORT 2017

This year the report is co-authored by Aengus Carroll and Lucas Ramón Mendos.

Download State-Sponsored Homophobiafear, unreasonable anger, intolerance or/and hatred directed towards people attracted to others of the same gender. 2017
in English – in Spanish

EDIT (May 19) –  In an earlier version of the report,  Slovenia was listed as a State with marriage equalitywhere national marriage legislation also includes same-sex couples or gender-neutral reference to the spouses. References to “gay marriage” that are sometimes made by media outlets and decision-makers incorrectly are incorrect, as no country has created a marriage law specifically for same-sex couples.: however, it only has strong partnership legislation. Entries on the country were amended to reflect that. References to the Penal Code of Iran were updated to reflect amendments that came into force in 2015.

Since its first edition in 2006, State-Sponsored Homophobiafear, unreasonable anger, intolerance or/and hatred directed towards people attracted to others of the same gender. has offered a comprehensive compilation of useful and credible data on laws affecting people worldwide on the basis of their sexual orientationrefers to a person’s capacity for profound emotional, affectional and sexual attraction to - and intimate and sexual relations with - individuals of a different gender or the same gender or more than one gender.. This release comes just ahead of the International Day against Homophobiafear, unreasonable anger, intolerance or/and hatred directed towards people attracted to others of the same gender., Transphobiarefers to negative cultural and personal beliefs, opinions, attitudes and behaviours based on prejudice, disgust, fear and/or hatred of trans people or against variations of gender identity and gender expression. and Biphobiathe fear, unreasonable anger, intolerance or/and hatred toward people attracted to more than one gender. to be celebrated on May 17, and it is a fundamental resource in the hands of human rights defenders, researchers, civil society organisations, governmental and UN agencies, allies and media striving for a more just and inclusive society.

“As of May 2017, 72 States continue to criminalise same-sex consensual activity, and in 45 of these States the law is applied to women as well as men,” Carroll notes. “Although law that criminalises same-sex sexual practice is slowly annually decreasing – with Belize and Seychelles being the most recent to repeal such laws in 2016 – persecution and deep stigmatisation persist in many States. On the other hand, enactment of specific legislation that protects us from discriminationunequal or unfair treatment which can be based on a range of grounds - such as age, ethnic background, disability, and diverse sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions or sex characteristics, amongst others. and violence has significantly expanded in recent years, and the real test facing States is meaningful implementation of those laws. Although laws that recognise our relationships and families are also on the increase, less than 25% of the world’s States recognise or protect us – that is a sobering thought.”

It is an unavoidable truth that full equality for lesbianadjective/noun to describe a woman whose enduring physical, romantic, and/or emotional attraction is to other women. Women and non-binary people may use this term to describe themselves., gayadjective to describe people whose enduring physical, romantic, and/ or emotional
attractions are to people of the same gender. Men, women and non-binary people may use this
term to describe themselves. and bisexualadjective used to describe a person who has the capacity to form enduring physical, romantic, and/ or emotional attractions to those of the same gender or to those of other genders. persons is unfortunately still very far from reach.

“A simple look at the maps and charts included in the report – illustrating where criminalisation, protection and recognition laws exist – starkly indicates the absence of positive provisions in most parts of the world. These maps and overview charts are available in English, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, French and Russian on ILGA’s website. We hope that making these materials available in all 6 United Nations’ official languages will help deliver this information to a wider readership,” observes co-author Mendos. “They offer food for thought on how States are faring when it comes to denying or upholding our rights, to scapegoating our communities, or situating us on ideological battlefields in national and international political spaces.”

There are currently 8 UN member States (or parts thereof) where death penalty occurs as a punishment for same-sex consensual sexual acts, and a further 5 States where although the death penalty is technically possible, it is never implemented. In 14 other countries the maximum penalty can vary from 14 years to a life sentence in jail.

This edition of State-Sponsored Homophobiafear, unreasonable anger, intolerance or/and hatred directed towards people attracted to others of the same gender. includes a category looking at sexual orientation-related NGOs: in 25 States there are active barriers to the formation, establishment or registration of such organisations, and 22 States have ‘morality’ or ‘promotion’ laws that actively target public promotion or expression of same-sex and transadjective/umbrella term to describe a person whose gender identity does not match the sex they were assigned at birth. realities.

“With the ongoing rise in the use of digital devices, deployment of these laws becomes all the more sinister,” comments Renato Sabbadini, Executive Director at ILGA. “The ongoing case of Chechnya offers us the most recent, horrific example of such abuses, as survivors have expressed fears that the social media accounts of men perceived to be gayadjective to describe people whose enduring physical, romantic, and/ or emotional
attractions are to people of the same gender. Men, women and non-binary people may use this
term to describe themselves. or bisexualadjective used to describe a person who has the capacity to form enduring physical, romantic, and/ or emotional attractions to those of the same gender or to those of other genders. are being hacked and used to identify and contact others who have not yet been arrested.”