Fact: LGBTIQ+ rights are human rights

Systemic exclusion, various kinds of violence, and discrimination are still being imposed on LGBTIQ+ people to deal with, individually and on a daily basis. Criminalization and stigma have further hindered access to basic human rights and needs, as many countries continue to foster a culture of social homophobia and transphobia. The COVID-19 crisis did not make things any better and LGBTIQ+ people were vulnerable to the worst effects of the virus and the fallout it created.

This section features a selection of the Heinrich-Böll-Foundation's contributions to LGBTIQ+ activists’ fights across the globe.

Where do we stand? The overlook of LGBTIQ+ rights across the globe

Analysis

Feminist and LGBTIQ+ issues are almost as diverse as the communities themselves, yet both movements are discriminated against, marginalized, often attacked, and violated, simply because of their non-conformity to conventional and hegemonic notions of gender.

By Adna Kalajdzisalihovic Vuga , Naida Kucukalic , Joanna Barelkowska , Kai Münch and Jana Prosinger

What does LGBTIQ+ stand for?

The abbreviation stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersexual, queer persons and the “+” includes all genders and all diverse sexual orientations.

Understanding and using the language/terminology is one of the key components of ensuring an inclusive and respectful approach to the topic. LGBTIQ+ describes a variety of people with diverse sexual orientations and gender identities. What is in common for all LGBTIQ+ people is experiencing every day, structural, and political discrimination. All those who are not within the socially coded ideal are struggling worldwide for human rights, recognition, and the right to lead their relationships, their identity, and their lives in a self-determined way.

It’s only feminism if it’s intersectional!

The focus on justice allows us to think about feminist and LGBTIQ+ struggles together. Different forms of justice, be it reproductive, economic or those related to access to health care, affect women as well as LGBTIQ+ people. Both groups include people who are most vulnerable and exposed to patriarchal violence and oppression. Our aim here is to identify the structural causes of unjust power relations and work together towards their change.

Gender identity and sexual orientation

Gender identity and sexual orientation are a wide spectrum that continues to be pressed into a normatively constructed binary gender conception for far too long. In its work, the Heinrich Böll Foundation wants to inform people about the social constraints and, together with its partners and many others, advocate for people to be able to live their gender identity and sexual orientation free from punishment and discrimination.

Struggle for equality: Sexual orientation, gender identity and human rights in Africa

The conference sought to analyse the challenges faced by the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) communities in Africa. It provided a platform for the discussion of strategies aimed at creating an environment on the continent where sexual minorities can enjoy the full range of human rights and are recognised as full citizens.

By Kristin Palitza

Queering Malay Identity Politics in the Malaysian Digital Space

Article

The internet we have today has become as real as any social spaces we occupy in-person. So much of our lives are integrated digitally now and opting out of the digital space is no longer a choice for us. Today, to be online is to exist and to be seen.

By Serene Lim

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Veiled Bodies of Muslim Nonnormative Sexualities: Notes from a Youth Ethnography in Turkey

The veiling experiences of two LGBTI+ women in Turkey open questions about the discursive constructions of femininity, masculinity, piousness, LGBTI+ secularity, and how these are used in political rhetoric.

By Zeynep Kuyumcu

Our Campaign #MyIntersexStory – personal accounts by intersex people living in Europe

First-person accounts given by intersex people and parents show that up to this day the human rights of intersex people are being violated throughout Europe. #MyIntersexStory

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LGBTIQ+ and COVID-19

“History has shown us that in times of crisis those most marginalized tend to suffer disproportionately compared to the broader population.”

Vulnerability Amplified, a report published in May 2020 by OutRight Action International

One Queer Fight for Southeast Asia amid a Pandemic of Fear and Oppression

Opinion

As the COVID-19 pandemic draws to a close, it will leave the vulnerable, especially countless LGBTQIA+ persons, desperate for deliverance and justice. In this regard, the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Intersexphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT) has become more significant than ever. It calls us to seek those who are scared and traumatized, and lift them from the rubbles.

Hard-Won Progress on Gender Equality Destroyed: The Impact of the COVID-19 Crisis on Women and LGBTIQ

2020 was expected to be the feminist super year - the anniversaries of the UN Resolution on "Women, Peace, and Security" and the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action were supposed to be celebrated, and discussions about the lack of their implementation to be held. Instead, this became the year that, according to UN Women, would destroy 25 years of feminist achievements.

By Birte Rodenberg , Merima Šišić and Jana Prosinger

Better Mental Health for LGBTIQ+: Harnessing Awareness for Vulnerabilities in the Pandemic

Article

More than a year after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a global pandemic, the virus continues to ravage the Asia-Pacific with catastrophic human, social, economic, and developmental costs. Many LGBTIQ+ persons experienced increased vulnerability on top of systemic human rights violations and social inequity many currently shoulder as the pandemic places more stress on health systems and social safety nets.

Bandeira LGBT no Congresso Nacional do Brasil

Same-sex marriage under attack in Brazil

Analysis

In Brazil, the conservatives in Congress attack the rights of the LGBTQIA+ community. Thiago Amparo explains why same-sex marriage, which has been possible since 2011, is a thorn in their side and how this lines up with other attempts to challenge former decisions of the Supreme Court.

By Thiago Amparo

LGBTIQ+ rights are human rights

Protecting LGBTIQ+ people from violence and discrimination does not require a new set of human rights laws or standards. Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights treaties safeguards the human rights of LGBTIQ+ people – since they are human rights. However, marginalised people are exposed to serious human rights violations, either structurally or discursively. One thing is for certain, there should be no hierarchy in respecting human rights. Human rights are for everyone.

Two women at the Gay Pride March in Johannesburg 2013

LGBTI Civil society organizations and the rights to peacefully assemble and associate

Civil society organisations can be a vanguard of progress for the LGBTI community. Despite the growing number of laws and policies impeding LGBTI advocacy, activists and organisations successfully challenge these trends.

By International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL)

Die ASEAN-Flagge und die Regenbogenfahne vor blauem Himmel

Global LGBT Rights and the Rise of Anti-LGBT Rhetoric in Indonesia

The public discourse in Indonesia has turned against LGBT people. However, behind closed doors, the Indonesian government still supports projects for LGBT groups.

By Hendri Yulius

The Yogyakarta Principles +10

Reflection

International human rights law and the rights of trans people. The Yogyakarta Principles plus 10 reflects on how international law has evolved in this area.

By Dodo Karsay

Rainbow-Falg at the London Pride Parade 2009

Stephen Whittle: “The Yogyakarta Principles provide guidance and are a constant reference point”

Ten years after the creation of the Yogyakarta Principles, “Principles on the Application of International Human Rights Law in Relation to Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity”, Caroline Ausserer speaks with Professor Stephen Whittle, one of the experts that elaborated them.

By Caroline Ausserer

Rethinking the Mobility (and Immobility) of Queer Rights in Southeast Asia - Image: LGBT Rights in Southeast Asia

Rethinking the Mobility (and Immobility) of Queer Rights in Southeast Asia: A Provocation

Background

Seventy years since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) by the United Nations General Assembly. While all human beings are deemed born automatically free with equal rights, the very definition of human itself in practice is not always neutral.

By Hendri Yulius

Pink river with green grass in Phalaborwa, South Africa

Natural resource struggles: Shrinking spaces for civil society

Study

Governments and corporations are driving the demand for water, land and organic resources of all kinds as never before. Citizens are fighting for their rights and working to preserve their livelihoods. Our study "Tricky Business" shows how the mechanisms of expropriation work. [external_media:soundcloud.com/boellstiftung/tricky-business-bollfocus]

Responses to anti-LGBTIQ+ and anti-feminist movements

The anti-gender and anti-LGBTIQ+ networks are rising worldwide and influence the politic discourse in many countries. However, LGBTIQ+ people have always existed all over the world. Their social, political and legal security is almost as diverse as the community itself. LGBTIQ people are fighting against anti-feminist narratives, policies and politics every day globally and locally: about participation, human rights and the freedom to love whomever you want and to be whoever you want to be.

Pro choice protest, bloody week, in front of Brandenburg Gate, protesters holding a poster which says "against abortion? Don't habe one, We heart choice (heart with rainbowflag)

Pan-European Anti-feminist and Anti-LGBT Mobilization

The anti-gender movements in Central and Eastern Europe have led to anti-democratic turns in gender and sexuality policies. The best counterstrategy is to reveal such movements’ underlying objectives, strategies, participants, and stakeholders.

By Iza Desperak

Feature: How LGBTI activists fight for their rights worldwide

Across the globe, lesbians, gays, bisexuals, trans- and intersexuals (LGBTI) are coming under increasing attack as more repressive laws, discrimination and violence aggravate their living conditions. This dossier describes the restrictions confronting them and the strategies they are formulating to counter these developments.

Queer Feminist Perspectives on Political Homophobia and Anti-Feminism in the Middle East and Europe - Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs

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