UN Committee against Torture to reprimand Nepal, UK over IGM Practices

This week it's the turn of the UK to be questioned over Intersex Genital Mutilations at the 72nd Session of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC). UN-CRC recognises IGM as a 'harmful practice' (like FGM) and as'violence against children', has recently reprimanded Ireland,France, Chile and Switzerland, and only last week questioned Nepal over IGM practices.

UK government bodies, while admitting to the harm done by IGM practices, are quick to actively shield IGM perpetrators from human rights criticism by simply declaring the ongoing practice in the UK a thing of the past:

“Until recently [intersex people] would usually undergo genital surgery at a young age to given them characteristics which are clearly either male or female. Medical professionals are now more likely to advise waiting until the child is older and able to provide informed consent to surgery, because of the implications surgery can have on future health and function.” - House of Commons, Women and Equalities Committee (2016).

On the other hand, the “Society for Endocrinology UK guidance on the initial evaluation of an infant or an adolescent with a suspected disorder of sex development (Revised 2015)” generally advocates early unnecessary surgeries as legitimate, framing the human rights issues involved as mere “controversies”: Read more via STOP IGM

Australia: Victoria budgets $30 million to support LGBTI citizens

Victorian budget statement is a big win for LGBTI people, with the state’s government investing in several services and facilities.

Confirming Premier Daniel Andrews’ announcement last week, $15 million will be set aside for an LGBTI Pride Centre, which will showcase queer art and history, co-locate LGBTI advisory, health and support services, and feature community spaces which will provide a safe environment for LGBTI Victorians to meet and socialise.

The $29 million package also includes $4 million for a grants program to strengthen the sustainability of LGBTI community organisations and to support LGBTI community leaders who help Victorians live free from discrimination.   Read more via Same Same 

Digital Pride: The first online, global Pride festival

The LGBTI Pride movement is going fully online for the first time with a new global event – Digital Pride.
Created by Gay Star News, the Digital Pride festival was the first Pride anyone, anywhere in the world can join in – all they need is a smartphone, computer or tablet.

Live-streamed video discussions on topics ranging from identity and isolation to international LGBTI rights. Celebrities, politicians, activists and YouTube stars will be joining in with video messages and the world’s leading social media channels will help amplify the message of LGBTI love.

Scott Nunn, Gay Star News director, said: ‘For a lot of people going to a Pride is not an option. They could risk their lives by trying to be open and proud about who they are. ‘The LGBTI community connects digitally more than any other way and we have used our power online to accelerate change around the world.  Read more and check out the discussions via Gay Star News

Hong Kong: To host the gay Olympics? ‘the Gay Games needs to come here because we need to improve LGBT rights’

As Hong Kong eyes up hosting the 2022 “gay Olympics”, the international federation behind the global sports event says it could ultimately choose the Asian city in a bid to shine a light on its poor same-sex rights record.

Hong Kong was listed this week as one of 17 other cities in the running to host the Gay Games, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington DC, Tel Aviv and Cape Town - but the territory could be the first and only Asian city to be nominated to host the competition. 

The Gay Games was first hosted by San Francisco in 1982 and since then has gone on to become the largest international sport and cultural gathering for athletes, musicians and artists. Read more

Netherlands: The silent gay witch hunt of 1730

In 1730, the people of the Netherlands (then sometimes called the Dutch Republic) lost their damn minds, killing dozens of gay men. Nothing like it had yet happened in Europe, and nothing like it would happen again until the Nazis.

The Utrecht sodomy trials (Utrechtse sodomieprocessen) were a large-scale persecution of homosexuals that took place in the Dutch Republic, starting in the city of Utrecht in 1730. Over the following year, the persecution of "sodomites" spread to the rest of the nation, leading to some 250 to 300 trials, often ending in a death sentence. Read more via Daily Xtra

UK: School pupils produce films to take on homophobic bullying

Pupils across Wales have been producing anti-homophobic films as part of a project tackling bullying in schools. Figures released by equality charity Stonewall, found over half to young gay people experience homophobic bullying and 40 per cent of those bullied have attempted, or thought about attempting, to end their own lives.

Now schools across Wales are producing a series of eight short films dealing with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender bullying as part of a project run by the Iris Prize Festival. Among those taking part in project are pupils from Aberdare Community School, who chose to focus on bisexuality in their film.

All the films are available to watch for free on Youtube and pupils at the school hope their feature will help others learn more about homophobic discrimination.  

Read more via ITV

UK: Young gay, bisexual men six times more likely to attempt suicide than older counterparts

Conducted by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and funded by Stonewall, the study found gay and bisexual men under the age of 26 were six times more likely to attempt suicide or self-harm compared to men in that group aged over 45. They were also twice as likely to be depressed or anxious. The researchers say the results reinforce the importance of mental health interventions reaching those who need them most, as well as people who actively seek help.

The study is the first to examine the mental health differences within gay and bisexual men in the UK. Using data from the Stonewall Gay and Bisexual Men's Health Survey, the researchers analysed responses of 5,799 gay and bisexual men aged 16 and over living in the UK. Depression, anxiety, attempted suicide and self-harm were examined against a range of life factors. Age, ethnicity, income and education were all found to have a large impact on mental health.

Black gay and bisexual men were twice as likely to be depressed and five times more likely to have attempted suicide than the white majority. Men in the lower wage bracket were more likely to be depressed, anxious, attempt suicide or self-harm. Those with lower levels of education were twice as likely to experience one of those issues compared to those with degree level education, only in part due to earning a lower wage. Read more via Science Daily 

Australia: LGBT youths are turning to Facebook to find a safe place to live

Increasingly, LGBT youth are turning to “Queer Housing” groups on Facebook to find housemates they trust will be accepting. The groups have cropped up across Australia’s biggest cities and beyond – Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide, Canberra, Albury-Wodonga.

Admins say they fill a crucial gap between underfunded emergency service providers and generic house-hunting websites, where LGBT people might end up with people who seem friendly but don’t accept their sexuality or gender.

Adelaide woman Shaylee Leach started the Queer Housing Adelaide group after experiencing “secondary homelessness” – bouncing between friends without a stable roof over her head.  The higher rates of mental illness and unemployment experienced by LGBT people can make house hunting difficult.  Read more via Buzzfeed

South Africa: Student movement splinters as patriarchy muscles out diversity

It was a shocking series of images: a young woman - Thenjiwe Mswane - being violently handled by a group of young men. Mswane was part of a largely feminist and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersexed, queer and asexual (LGBTIQA+) student group. They had gathered at Johannesburg's University of the Witwatersrand to protest against the exclusion and marginalisation of groups and members of the #FeesMustFall movement from a recent campaign. She was attacked by other members of the #FeesMustFall movement after she'd confronted them with her group's concerns.

In 2015 South Africa's student movement was an impressive force. But cracks are appearing along party political, ideological and class lines. More recently the question of gender, and the equality of LGBTIQA+ individuals, have come to the fore.

A strident fringe at universities, with limited but vocal support off campuses, asserts that addressing the equality of women and the marginalisation of LGBTIQA+ people is a "distraction" from the unity of black struggle and that it must wait until after some mythical revolution. Others, also enjoying some support in wider society, insist that the equality of women and LGBTIQA+ people must be part of any genuinely radical action.  Read more via the Conversation

Albania: Supporting the 5th Tirana Gay (P)Ride

The most important LGBTI pride event in Albania marks this year its 5th anniversary and many courageous Albanians from Albania, Kosovo and Macedonia are sending their public support through photos of the hashtag ‪#Kurajo (meaning Courage).

Aleanca LGBT and ProLGBT, two main organizations for LGBTI rights in the country are posting each days these photos which in turn are becoming viral in social media.

“A photo might be nothing, for some people”, wrote in her Facebook Xheni Karaj, a lesbian activist, “but for us a photo means great hope that one day we will finally live a free life without prejudices, without forcing ourselves into double lives and without hiding the person we love! And courage is the thing not only us as LGBTI need, but also our allies”.  Read more and watch via Historia Ime

International Humanitarian Organization releases first-of-its-kind glossary of terminology for LGBT individuals

Organization for Refuge, Asylum & Migration (ORAM) has released a first-of-its-kind glossary of terminology to assist humanitarian professionals to communicate with people of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities. The 124-page glossary, “Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Gender Expression: Essential Terminology for the Humanitarian Sector” contains the most appropriate and culturally sensitive terms for communicating with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals in five languages.

In most of the world’s languages, terminology related to the lives of LGBT individuals is limited and often times pejorative. Only a small handful of languages contain substantial culturally appropriate lexicons. This phenomenon is largely a function of the cultures in which these languages developed; until very recently, sexual and gender diversity was taboo in virtually all of the world’s cultures. 

“The development of this ground-breaking glossary of LGBT terminology in five distinct languages is designed to benefit the work of humanitarian and refugee professionals around the globe,” continued Grungras. “By providing professionals with this helpful field guide, it will allow them to better address issues unique to LGBT people, encourage truthful self-disclosure and will hopefully create a greater awareness and understanding of the perspectives of those LGBT people with whom they interface with on a daily basis.”   Read more via MileHighGay