Dear friends and colleagues,
As we adjust to the new realities of life during this complex time, we applaud the leaders, the healthcare workers, the journalists, the activists, and the neighbours who continue to speak up, reach out, and stand firm so that human rights are not lost. Please continue to share your stories with us: [email protected]
From the UN: Secretary-General António Guterres released a new report that warns that the public health emergency of COVID-19 is “fast becoming a human rights crisis”. The report calls on governments to make human rights central in their response to the pandemic. It provides six key messages to guide concrete actions with specific examples of good practices that can be implemented. It emphasizes that implementing these practices now will have long lasting effects:
“We are all in this together. In what world do we want to live when this is all over? The way in which we respond now can help to shape that future – for better or for worse.”
UNAIDS and MPACT released a joint statement expressing “deep concern” over reports that LGBTI people are “being singled out, blamed, abused, incarcerated and stigmatized as vectors of disease during the COVID-19 pandemic” in several countries. They provided 12 specific actions governments could take to help protect LGBTI people including denouncing misinformation that “scapegoats, slanders, or otherwise blames LGBTI people”, stopping raids on LGBTI-led groups, and safeguarding access to life-saving medical support.
UNAIDS and RedLacTrans (The Latin American and Caribbean network of transgender people) released a joint statement calling on governments to protect, support, and respect LGBTI people during the response to COVID-19. They warned that quarantine measures that are based on gender particularly impact trans and gender-diverse people and urged leaders to include adequate legal instructions to protect these groups.
A group of eleven UN experts, including Victor Madrigal-Borloz, Independent Expert on sexual orientation and gender identity, and Professor Nils Melzer, Special Rapporteur on torture, issued a joint statement condemning authorities in Uganda for using emergency powers to target LGBTI people. In March, an LGBT shelter was raided and 19 people perceived to be LGBT persons were arrested. They were later charged for allegedly breaking social distancing measures. The experts warned:
“Using COVID-19 emergency powers for other purposes, such as targeting particular groups under the guise of protecting health, jeopardises the whole response system.”
The Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, Ms. Dubravka Šimonović, issued a call for submissions for her report on the responsibility to criminalize and prosecute rape as a grave and systematic human rights violation. The report will make recommendations that will help countries bring their criminal justice response to rape up to international standards. ILGA World is seeking information on rape, sexual violence, and particularly so-called “corrective rape” against lesbian and bisexual women and trans and intersex persons to contribute to the report.
HIV, Health, and Wellness: As the world races to find an effective treatment and vaccine for COVID-19, some experts are worried that the fight against HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis will be left behind. Executive Director of the Global Fund, Peter Sands, warned that undermining the continued progress against the existing epidemics would cost lives. Meanwhile, Bill Gates announced that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has pivoted its “total attention” to COVID-19. The foundation’s $40 billion endowment has been primarily focused on HIV, malaria, and polio eradication.
Winnie Byanyima, UNAIDS Executive Director, warned that “the global HIV epidemic hasn’t gone away” and urged countries to maintain efforts to treat and prevent HIV. UNAIDS has provided three new documents with guidance to maintain and prioritize HIV prevention services in the context of COVID-19.
Several large-scale HIV prevention trials announced that HIV trials have been paused, shortened, or postponed due to COVID-19. Affected trials include studies on vaccines, treatments, and new PrEP delivery models.
A new article in AIDS and Behavior found that, in the US, the HIV Continuum of Care and Prevention (testing, accessing PrEP, and primary care) already has been severely impacted by COVID-19. Community-based organizations report that all services are disrupted and many are limited to unreliable or inaccessible online platforms. The authors emphasized that there is a critical need for research to re-evaluate the delivery of HIV services within the new post-COVID-19 reality.
From Nigeria, LGBTIQ people living with HIV worry they will be unable to refill their medications during the lockdown. Olumide Makanjuola, a sexual health and rights activist, noted that because of criminalization and stigma, LGBTIQ people, sex workers, and injecting drug users access their healthcare and obtain medications through “niche, non-governmental organisations” whose operations are restricted at this time.
From Uganda, HIV-positive health worker Simon Peter Bukenya has been volunteering to bike over 80 kilometres (50 miles) every day to deliver HIV medications to those in the community unable to travel to health centers due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Community organizations in the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan are creating new strategies to coordinate access to HIV treatment despite lack of public transportation, curfews, and checkpoints. However, many in these countries fear that using the services will result in stigma and discrimination as their HIV status is exposed.
APCOM hosted “Gear Up. Get Set”, a virtual session to share experiences and help community-based organizations learn about methods of providing care while mitigating risk to COVID-19. APCOM plans to continue hosting sessions to reach community partners providing HIV care. Meanwhile, Frontline AIDS released a new practical guidance for implementing programs to remove human rights barriers to HIV services.
From the US, the Williams Institute published a new paper which found that around 320,000 transgender adults have one or more pre-existing conditions that increase their risk of serious COVID-19 illness.
From Eastern Europe and Central Asia, the Trans* Coalition published results of a survey of trans and non-binary people living across the region. The survey found that many respondents have compromised immune systems, chronic conditions, HIV, and other surgical health issues that put them at increased risk of COVID-19.
UNICEF, in collaboration with several East Asian and and Southeast Asian-based organizations, launched a survey to evaluate the impact the pandemic is having on LGBTIQ youth. The survey is open until May 15th for people under 35-years-old living in the region.
The American Academy of Pediatrics published a new revised guidance for addressing male adolescent sexual health. The guide aims to empower doctors to feel comfortable asking about sensitive issues and includes updates on sexuality, sexual history, issues of consent, contraception, sexually transmitted infections and vaccines, and sexual dysfunction.
More HIV, Health, and Wellness
From the World of Politics: From South Africa, President Cyril Ramaphosa praised the achievements of the Emergency Response Action Plan to combat violence against women and children. He also released a new National Strategic Plan on Gender-Based Violence after nearly two years of collaborative work from a committee of government, civil society, development partners, researchers, and scientists. He emphasized that the Plan is focused on a human rights-based approach to assure the equality of all genders including the LGBTQI+ community:
“Gender-based violence impacts black and white, young and old, rich and poor, heterosexual and people with diverse sexual orientation, gender-conforming or non-gender conforming, urban and rural.”
Germany's Bundestag (parliament) passed a bill banning so-called "conversion therapy" for people under 18-years-old. Practicing or advertising it will lead to a fine of up to €30,000 ($33,000) and one year in prison. Parents who force children to undergo the practice can be charged with violating their duty of care. Germany joins Ecuador, Brazil, Taiwan, and Malta as the only countries to have nation-wide bans on "conversion therapy".
From Turkey, the President of the Diyanet (department of religious affairs), Ali Erbaş sparked controversy with a sermon he delivered blaming gay people and premarital sex for the spread of HIV. Several political and civil society leaders spoke out criticizing the sermon. However, President Erdoğan defended Erbaş’s remarks. Erdoğan condemned the Ankara Bar Association for filing a complaint against Erbaş, saying that an attack on the Diyanet is an attack on the state. Ankara’s Public Prosecutor's Office has launched an investigation charging the Ankara Bar Association with “degrading religious values”. Several other Bar Associations and Human Rights Defenders have released statements in defence of the Ankara Bar and called for an end to investigations against LGBTI+ organizations.
From Brazil, President Jair Bolsonaro denounced the WHO and suggested that he should not follow their advice on the pandemic. In a now-deleted Facebook post, he asked if Brazil should also follow the WHO's education policy which he claimed encourages masturbation and same-sex relations. Bolsonaro advisor Arthur Weintrub repeated the claim in a tweet suggesting the WHO encourages masturbation and gender ideology.
In the UK, The Times reported that the Minister for Women and Equalities, Liz Truss, announced new plans to reform the Gender Recognition Act by this summer. The government held a public consultation on reforms to the Act in 2018, however the results were not made public. Activists and parents objected to Truss's plans in which she suggested that people under 18-years-old should not have access to gender-affirming care—which she mistakenly described as “irreversible”. She also suggested “protection of single-sex spaces”, a phrase commonly used to prevent trans people from accessing public spaces. Many have posted objections and over 40,000 people have signed a petition against Truss’s comments.
In the US, Politico reported that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has finalized revisions to Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act. These revisions, first proposed in 2019, would remove protections that prohibit healthcare professionals, health facilities, and insurance providers from discriminating on the bases of sex, gender identity, or pregnancy termination. Advocates called the change “especially cruel in the midst of a global pandemic”. An administration official defended the change, pointing to a recent Federal District Court ruling that found that the protections violated the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
Also in the US, due to the pandemic, the government cancelled the final public hearing on the proposed “Commission on Unalienable Rights” and is only accepting written submissions. The Commission was established in 2019 by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to issue advice on “the role of human rights in American foreign policy”. The Commission has been heavily critiqued for its approach to international human rights protections. Among the submissions, 167 human rights organizations, scholars, and activists released a joint letter expressing “grave concerns” and urging that the Commission should not prioritize freedom of religion above all other rights as “human rights are interdependent and indivisible”. The Human Rights Watch raised concerns that the Commission will downgrade the rights of LGBT people, women, and girls.
From Canada, over 300 organizations and experts have called on the government to institute “robust human rights oversight” of all federal, provincial, territorial, and municipal responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. Among their recommendations, they urge that Indigenous knowledge keepers and human rights commissions should have an official advisory role. They also state that oversight committees must include members of impacted communities. Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada, Alex Neve, reflected:
“We need more than good intentions to ensure that human rights promises become human rights realities. That is where implementation, oversight and accountability play a vital role.”
BMJ Global Health published a rapid analysis of the COVID-19 task force's established by 24 country governments. Among their conclusions they found that decision-making bodies rarely include civil society or experts on health, social, and societal consequences of the pandemic. The authors note that task forces need to be more inclusive and multidisciplinary:
“The COVID-19 crisis is not simply a health problem but a societal one—it impacts every single person in society one way or another.”
More from the World of Politics
The Politics of Union: Japanese NGO “Famiee Project” announced it will start issuing “partnership certificates” to same-sex couples this July. Over 40 municipalities currently offer similar certificates. However, they can be difficult to obtain, carry no legal rights, and are not recognized outside the city they were issued. The Famiee certificate will enable companies to set a standard across Japan. At launch, at least 17 companies will accept them in order to provide spousal and family benefits to employees.
In February last year, 13 Japanese same-sex couples filed suit against the government demanding marriage equality; however, a ruling may not come for several years. Last June, the Constitutional Democratic Party and the Japanese Communist Party submitted a bill to introduce marriage equality through adopting gender neutral language. Urged on by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Japan is currently considering constitutional reforms, although marriage equality is unlikely to make progress.
In Finland, 1,500 couples have gotten married in the past three years since the Marriage Act was passed enabling same-sex couples to marry and adopt children. Now, for the first time, the Rainbow Families Association Sateenkaariperheet announced that two couples have successfully adopted children.
More from the Politics of Union
Let the Courts Decide: In Brazil, the Supreme Federal Court unanimously found unconstitutional a municipal law that banned schools in the city of Novo Gama from discussing issues related to so-called “gender ideology” including sexual orientation, gender identity, gender roles, and reproductive rights. Eliseu Neto, director of the LGBTI Alliance in the Senate, called the ruling a victory against censorship, noting:
“It is the function of education to talk about diversity, above all, to combat machismo, LGBTphobia and protect minorities and vulnerable groups.”
In China, a court in Zhoushan, Zhejiang Province has accepted a child custody case for the first time between two lesbians. The couple was married in 2016 in the US and used IVF to each give birth to a child. (The marriage is not recognized in China.) Now separated, the women are asking the court to determine who has custody of their children. For several years, gay and lesbian couples across Asia have been targets of marketing by reproductive companies. LGBT Rights Advocacy China noted that in the current legal system gay families must choose “one out of two”—that is, they must choose which is the biological parent, while the other has no clear legal relationship.
In the UK, a court of appeal ruled that a trans man who gave birth to his child must be listed as “mother” on the birth certificate. Freddy McConnell, who has a gender recognition certificate affirming he is a man, said he will appeal to the Supreme Court to be listed as “father” or “parent”.
In Australia, the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal upheld a decision by the Medical Board of Australia to suspend a doctor who posted on social media offensive statements against LGBTQI people, women, and racial and religious groups. The Tribunal remarked that the posts which “appear to endorse or call for violence and/or genocide” have “the real potential to undermine public confidence” in the medical profession. The Australian Christian Lobby pledged to bankroll an appeal.
In a historic move, the US Supreme Court began hearing cases virtually and allowing the public to listen via a livestream. Among the cases selected for review is a question of whether religiously affiliated employers can choose to deny contraception health insurance coverage to employees. Writing for Slate, David Gans reviews the complicated history of the case and what the ruling could mean for healthcare moving forward.
Regarding Religion: In the small Italian town of Torvaianica, Catholic Reverend Andrea Conocchia was surprised to find a group of migrant transgender women, many of whom were sex workers, at his church desperate for food. When Conocchia’s supplies ran out, he helped the women to record an audio message and write to Pope Francis to share their stories of need. Pope Francis responded quickly and the charitable arm of the papacy led by Cardinal Konrad Krajewski wired money to support them through the church. Connochia described this as a blessing:
“I would say that we treat these people as if they were invisible. If the coronavirus had never happened, I might have never met them in person. They might have never asked for help in a church and maybe we wouldn’t have had the chance to dialogue, know each other, and share.”
A new biography of the former Pope Benedict XVI has been published in Germany. "Benedikt XVI.- Ein Leben” (Benedict XVI - A Life) features a new interview in which he says that the Catholic Church is threatened by “seemingly humanist ideologies” and links “homosexual marriage”, abortion, and “the creation of human beings in the laboratory to the “spiritual power of the Anti-Christ”—as reported by the AFP and others.
Fear and Loathing: Global environmental and social justice organization, the Arcus Foundation and South Africa-based organization “Iranti” made available a new report examining violence and crimes against LGBTIQ people in Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, South Africa, and Uganda. The report evaluates the existence of NGOs to address anti-LGBTI violence, available government and criminal justice support, and the strength of data collection on these issues.
The Williams Institute released “Stress, Health, and Wellbeing of LGBT People in Colombia” — a comprehensive report based off of the largest survey of LGBT people in the country. It found that despite many gains in civil rights protections, there continues to be serious violence and discrimination that contribute to LGBT people experiencing high levels of psychological distress and suicidal ideation.
Across Israel, protesters rallied against domestic violence and murder after the Social Services Ministry reported that five women have been killed during the COVID-19 lockdown.
From the US, the Human Rights Campaign warned there have been nine violent deaths of trans or gender non-conforming people reported since January. Five of those deaths have been in Puerto Rico including the recent murder of two young trans women burned to death. Police have arrested two men in connection with their murder; however, activists say they feel “hunted” and urged police to prosecute the murders as a hate crime.
From Iran, Leah Carter looked at how, despite being legal, gender reassignment surgeries remain expensive, mentally traumatic, and dangerous. Shadi Amin, director of support group 6rang, noted that most doctors are “beauty surgeons” and aren’t specialized in trans issues:
“Your rights will be violated before, during, and after the surgery.”
Writing for OpenDemocracy, Manuella Libardi looked at how COVID-19 restrictions based on gender have impacted transgender, non-binary, and gender-nonconforming people in Panama, Peru, and Colombia.
Writing for Reuters, Rachel Savage looked at how the pandemic and a prolonged lockdown is impacting intersex people, many of whom already have increased health risks.
Reports continued to come from around the world on the dire situation faced by sex workers managing COVID-19 restrictions, condom shortages, and limited access to food and medicines during the pandemic. Sex workers across Canada, France, the UK, Greece, India, Uganda, Brazil, Mexico, Panama, Thailand, Malaysia, and the US spoke to reporters about their desperation for relief. The International Committee On The Rights Of Sex Workers In Europe issued a call to action, noting:
“In this time of acute global crisis there is a pressing need for sex workers to finally be listened to and their demands implemented.”
Journalist Stefanie Glinski spoke to Afghani men who survived rape and sexual servitude as “dancing boys” or bacha bazi—a now outlawed practice. Researcher Ali Abdi says there are likely hundreds of former dancing boys in Afghanistan who must deal with their trauma in secret due to stigma against same-sex relations.
Winds of Change: The Victory Institute hosted a livestream panel with UN Independent Expert Victor Madrigal-Borloz and several civil society leaders from Honduras, Colombia, Peru, Brazil, and the Dominican Republic to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on LGBTI people in the region. Madrigal-Borloz emphasized that the pandemic is exacerbating the poverty, and barriers to education, health, housing, and work that LGBTI people have already faced due to discrimination and violence. Watch the event now!
The Equal Rights Coalition Civil Society Working Group submitted a report that identifies the healthcare, economic, and social impacts of the pandemic on the community with specific examples of how LGBTI people are already being disproportionately impacted. It offers 12 recommendations to mitigate the effects on marginalized and vulnerable people.
OutRight Action International published “Vulnerability Amplified: The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on LGBTIQ people”. The unique report combines in-depth interviews from LGBTIQ people across 38 countries with research from previous emergency situations to identify strategies and interventions for the current response.
Nigerian non-profit group “Lawyers Alert” released six months of data on human rights abuses documented through their online tool that are associated with “petty offences”, sex work, and being a sexual minority. The tool helps capture details on the abuses that Lawyers Alert hopes will support parliamentarians’ efforts on decriminalization.
From Russia, a new poll conducted by the Levada Center found that 21% of respondents believe LGBT people should be “eliminated” and 32% believed they should be “isolated from society”. Researcher Ekaterina Kochergina noted that “eliminate” in the survey means “to make something disappear from your reality,” not to physically destroy. This is a very slight improvement from the previous survey conducted in 2015. Sociologist Karina Pipia noted that the emergence of nonprofits working to improve the image of vulnerable people in the eyes of society is having an impact:
“Over the past 30 years, there has been a weakening of stigmatization of socially vulnerable categories and an expansion of the norm according to when it is necessary to help, rather than isolate from them.”
From the US, a new survey of over 40,000 people found that 72% believe that nondiscrimination laws should protect gay and lesbian people in jobs, public accommodations, and housing. There was a large increase in support for marriage equality—62% favor marriage compared to 53% in 2015. However, there has been a slight decline in those who believe businesses should not be allowed to refuse products or services to gay people.
From Guatemala, Jonathan Bertucchi spoke to Manu Tzoc and Enrique Morales about the many challenges Indigenous LGBTQ people face fighting for healthcare, safety, and dignity in the conservative, multiethnic, and multicultural country. Yet, as Tzoc explained, he wouldn’t change who he is:
“I know that it is a constant struggle, but being queer is a very necessary social and political commitment in a racist, classist, macho, and religious fundamentalist country.”
In North Sulawesi, Indonesia, LGBT activists are using Facebook to raise funds and distribute goods to their neighbours who have been overlooked by social agencies during the pandemic. As Rajawali Coco explained:
“We are not [rich], in fact, we are also in need. However, we would like to share with those who have been affected by this difficult situation.”
Journalist Tim Teeman spoke to members of SAGE, the US’s largest LGBTQ elder advocacy organization, about the high risks LGBTQ seniors have in the face of COVID-19. Despite food and housing insecurities, limited access to healthcare and medications, and the mental health impacts of isolation, seniors shared how they have coped and maintained hope. Ellen Ensig-Brodsky urged her peers to remember that you do not need to be alone:
“If you reach out, it will give you a sense of connection, and you may be helping someone else. It creates a pathway to the future and shows who’s there for you.”
Sports and Culture: In a TV interview, Egyptian actor Hesham Selim revealed that his child, Nour, is transgender. Selim praised Nour’s courage and shared the challenges he faced attempting to obtain identity documents.
From Russia, Anastasiia Fedorova wrote about the “new wave of queer music” across the country. Dmitry Kozachenko, co-founder of the queer culture website Ozine, explained that more openly queer artists are emerging via social media despiste anti-gay propaganda laws:
“It’s clear that it’s important for them to be incredibly open with their audience... When society and the state claim that your love is ‘not normal’ and you can’t show it anywhere, it results in a quiet protest”.
The 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Drama was awarded to Michael R. Jackson, a gay, black musical theatre writer, for his musical A Strange Loop—Check out a clip! The New York Times called the musical, which is about a gay, black, musical theatre writer, a “self-portrait in an endless hall of mirrors”, reflecting:
“This jubilantly anguished musical burrows so deep into the shadows of its hero’s tormented mind that you wonder if it will ever emerge into the light.”
