State-Sponsored Homophobia 2019

Journal of Human Rights, 2014

Social Sciences

Today, intersex people of Europe and Latin America are subjected to different degrees of invisibility and discrimination for being part of bodily diverse communities. Thus, these experiences have been addressed as violations of intersex human rights. This research intends to explore intersex human rights across Europe and Latin America through a scoping review and legal research, including the review of activist documents. It seeks to study the experiences of violence suffered by intersex people, the role of states in promoting justice, and the possibilities offered by a human rights framework to guarantee a dignified life for bodily diverse communities. This research also illustrates that, although regional, cultural and social landscapes differ in both continents, intersex groups are subject to constant violations of their human rights, and they struggle for recognition and for their bodies to be respected outside the binary categories of sex and gender. Furthermore, European and ...

2017

It is a pleasure and an honour to be part of this symposium celebrating the work of Di Otto. Di has been a guiding light through much of my academic journey, from her pioneering work on NGOs,1 which inspired my PhD thesis on the relationship between civil society and the European Court of Human Rights, 2 to her more recent consideration of how queer theory might be applied to international law.3 On a more personal level, her generosity in encouraging and supporting younger feminist scholars of international law is, in my experience, unparalleled.

THE LEGAL FRAMEWORKS AND POLICIES TOWARDS THE LGBTIQ COMMUNITY IN MALTA AND POLAND, 2020

LGBTIQ persons are present in all Council of Europe Member States. Having been prone to stigmatisation and homophobia, combatting discrimination based on sexual orientation has been one of the main crucial aspects of the policies and legal frameworks that have been shaped throughout the years. The label LGBTIQ has been used as a self – designatory cluster to denote the group concerned in various political and human rights discourse. In this dissertation, this collective designation being referred to is merely used as an umbrella term. However one could also note, that many who are considered to fall under this category may individually not feel the need to identify themselves under this designation, with some also arguing that human rights issues pertaining to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer persons are significantly different for each subgroup concerned. In the 1940s, lesbian and gay persons in Europe started to meet collectively in groups and set up organisations to represent them, even at a time when homosexuality was still considered to be a criminal offence. In the following decades to come such groups and organisations were gradually established in many member states in Western Europe along with other prominent social movements throughout the 60s and 70s. The International Lesbian and Gay Association was founded around this time, with its European regional section (ILGA – Europe) officially set up in 1996. A critical factor is to ensure that anti-discrimination laws are in place, meaning that activists through time have campaigned to ensure that they are included in such antidiscrimination laws based on sexual orientation. This dissertation will shed light on Malta’s behaviour and political manoeuvres on LGBTIQ rights issues, and how they have shaped policies and legislation to become the EU member state who has achieved the highest standards when it comes to areas of equality which undoubtedly put LGBTIQ persons in the picture. These legal frameworks and policies will be mirrored alongside Poland which has received a hefty amount of criticism from the European Community over their handling of the issues being put forward to them by the LGBTIQ community and activists alike. One of the research questions “Poland has LGBT protection laws in place, but in practice, how far are these laws being observed and enforced, and how can this be compared to Malta?” will identify how certain laws have been amended and how there still seems to be a certain element of resistance in terms of LGBTIQ rights when it comes to areas of observation and enforcement. The major findings are that in comparison to Malta; Poland despite making improvements towards their legislation, it seems that some legal grey areas are still present when considering that LGBTIQ persons still struggle to receive recognition or legal impetus to benefit from redundancies or insurance benefits like heterosexual couples currently do. The research will present the controversies that have arisen from these doings and the political reaction being sparked by the international community.

Book Chapter , 2020

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1948 did not explicitly mention the rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. After decades of neglect, relevant progress has been made due to an effective global LGBT advocacy. In 2011, the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHCR) adopted for the first time a resolution on human rights, sexual orientation, and gender identity; in 2013, the campaign ‘Free and Equal’ was launched by the High Commissioner of Human Rights; and, in 2016, an Independent Expert (IE) was appointed. This article reviews some key aspects behind the process that extended the principles of equality and non-discrimination enshrined in the UDHR to ensure that people may not be discriminated against in the enjoyment of their fundamental rights on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity, and in its conclusion presents the current challenges that global LGBT activism faces.

Legal Studies, 2018

This paper presents the findings from the first qualitative study to consider the relationship between intersex experience and law, representing a significant contribution to a currently under-researched area of law. Since 2013 there has been a global move towards the legal recognition of intersex, with Australia, Germany and Malta all using different techniques to construct and regulate intersex embodiment. This paper is the first to compare and problematise these differing legal approaches in the legal literature. In doing so it demonstrates that many of these approaches are grounded in ideas of formal equality that lead to the entrenchment of vulnerability and fail to build resilience for the intersex community. Through engagement with the intersex community a more contextual account of substantive equality is enabled, encouraging new approaches to law and social justice. Our qualitative study revealed that prevention of non-therapeutic medical interventions on the bodies of chil...

United Nations Treaty Bodies’ jurisprudence on sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics: Policy Paper, 2019

This Policy Paper is a part of ILGA World’s Treaty Bodies’ Strategic Litigation toolkit. It provides information about the concept, aims and components of strategic litigation in general and on the human rights of LGBTI people specifically. It also contains basic information about Treaty Bodies and their working methods, as well as procedural aspects of bringing individual complaints to the Committees. It presents the analysis of existing Treaty Bodies’ jurisprudence on SOGIESC issues and pending cases, and identifies gaps and opportunities for future developments. Further, it includes six regional-specific sections with background information on LGBTI strategic litigation before Treaty Bodies, as well as evidence, recommendations and thoughts on the topic from activists, lawyers and experts working in the regions. Finally, it contains tables with brief information about Treaty Bodies’ jurisprudence, pending cases and useful resources and contacts. We hope that this publication, as well as the full toolkit, will help LGBTI advocates in different parts of the world to use litigation strategies more effectively and creatively to bring positive changes to their communities.

Millennium, 2018

Three recent books are discussed which offer queer analyses of attempts to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people from violence and discrimination using the international human rights regime. A common theme is the way in which equal rights are invoked and institutionalised to address prejudice, discrimination and violence. The take, however, is critical: while it may be a remarkable turn of events that the United Nations (UN) and similar institutions have become LGBTI advocates, such Damascene conversions generate their own dilemmas and rarely resolve structural and conceptual paradoxes. This article foregrounds the curiosity of queer scholars engaged with the application of human rights to matters of sexuality and gender, observes how they articulate the paradoxes and dissatisfactions that are produced in this normatively and politically charged field, and draws out the limitations and complexities of rights politics in combating systemic exclusion. Résumé La discussion porte sur trois ouvrages récents, qui utilisent la théorie queer pour analyser des tentatives de protection de membres de la communauté LGBTI contre la violence et la discrimination par le biais du régime international des droits humains. Un thème commun est la manière dont l'égalité des droits est convoquée et institutionnalisée afin de répondre au préjudice, à la discrimination et à la violence. Ce point de vue est toutefois crucial: les Nations Unies et d'autres institutions similaires, il est vrai, ont changé la donne de manière remarquable en devenant porte-paroles des groupes LGBTI, mais les conversions si éclatantes génèrent souvent leurs propres dilemmes, et manquent généralement de résoudre les paradoxes structurels et

State-Sponsored Homophobia is the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association's annual flagship publication. It is an in-depth guide to what law we know exists in the world, has regional essays by legal experts and advocates, and contains maps and charts illustrating such laws.

2008

Intersex-A Challenge for Human Rights and Citizenship Rights Author: Annette Brömdal The purpose with this dissertation is to study the Intersex phenomenon in South Africa, meaning the interplay between the dual sex and gender norms in society. Hence, the treatment by some medical institutions and the view of some non-medical institutions upon this 'treatment', have been studied in relation to the Intersex infant's human rights and citizenship rights. The thesis has moreover also investigated how young Intersex children are included/excluded and mentioned/not mentioned within South Africa's legal system and within UN's Convention on the Rights of the Child. Furthermore, because Intersex children are viewed as 'different' on two accounts-their status as infants and born with an atypical congenital physical sexual differentiation, the thesis' theoretical framework looks at the phenomenon from three perspectives-'the politics of difference', human rights, and citizenship rights directed towards infants. The theoretical frameworks have been used to ask questions in relation to the empirical data, i.e. look at how the Intersex infants are 'treated' in relation to their status as 'different'; and also in relation to the concept of being recognized, respected and allowed to partake in deciding whether to impose surgery or not. Moreover, what 'treatment' serves the best interest of the Intersex child? This has been done through semi structured interviews. In conclusion, some of the dissertation's most important features are that since the South African society, like many other societies, strongly live by the belief that there are only two sexes and genders, this implies that Intersex infants do not fit in and become walking pathologies who must be 'fixed' to become 'normal'. Moreover, since most genital corrective surgeries are imposed without being medically or surgically necessary, and are generally imposed before the age of consent (18), the children concerned, are generally not asked for their opinion regarding the surgery. Lastly because early corrective surgery can have devastating life lasting consequences, this ultimately means that the child's human rights and citizenship rights are of a concern. These conclusions do however not ignore the consequences one has to endure for the price of being 'different'.

This study focuses on two concepts in regard to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) movement: Nancy Fraser's conceptual framework of recognition, redistribution and representation as conditions for social justice and Ronald Holzhacker's three modes of interaction of LGBT civil society organisations (CSOs) with their respective political environment. Human rights framings are the link between these two differing approaches, in explaining the shift in interpretations and the development of the framing of the rights of LGBT persons in terms of human rights framings to accommodate LGBT rights claims as a legitimate human rights concern. This study aims to come to an informative conceptual model of evaluation which can serve to further the understanding of the LGBT movement's interaction and work in differing political environments in the European context. It can also be used to outline the goals and demands deemed reasonable to be pursued in each of the three outlined social settings, firmly grounded into a human rights paradigm. An attempt will be made to offer some alternatives regarding the LGBT movement in relation to human rights framings that have become somewhat traditional and rather narrow. This study aims to provide an alternative model of combining two very different fields of study in order to propose a fresh insight into a much contested subject with the view of expanding LGBT concerns into related fields of study which can prove enriching.

This study focuses on two concepts in regard to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) movement: Nancy Fraser’s conceptual framework of recognition, redistribution and representation as conditions for social justice and Ronald Holzhacker’s three modes of interaction of LGBT civil society organisations (CSOs) with their respective political environment. Human rights framings are the link between these two differing approaches, in explaining the shift in interpretations and the development of the framing of the rights of LGBT persons in terms of human rights framings to accommodate LGBT rights claims as a legitimate human rights concern. This study aims to come to an informative conceptual model of evaluation which can serve to further the understanding of the LGBT movement’s interaction and work in differing political environments in the European context. It can also be used to outline the goals and demands deemed reasonable to be pursued in each of the three outlined social settings, firmly grounded into a human rights paradigm. An attempt will be made to offer some alternatives regarding the LGBT movement in relation to human rights framings that have become somewhat traditional and rather narrow. This study aims to provide an alternative model of combining two very different fields of study in order to propose a fresh insight into a much contested subject with the view of expanding LGBT concerns into related fields of study which can prove enriching.

Ch. 10 in Disability, Human Rights, and the Limits of Humanitarianism, 2014

In December 2012, Organisation Intersex International (OII) released an open letter to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights . Delegates from six continents called for an end to human rights abuses of intersex persons, including the subjection of intersex athletes to degrading ‘gender verification’ tests, the continued use of harmful prenatal treatments to prevent intersex conditions, and the subjection of intersex infants and children to medically unnecessary surgeries. These concerns were well founded. Intersex individuals, whose bodies defy easy classification as male or female, pose a problem for states that adhere to a binary model of sex. The majority conflates intersex features with deformity and (dis)ability. This perspective justifies a ‘treatment’ regimen of surgical and hormonal intervention, along with rigid gender socialization, aimed at transforming the intersex person into a normative male-assigned man or female-assigned woman. The United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (CRPD) provides a strong foundation from which to challenge these approaches to intersexuality. CRPD embraces a fluid concept of disability with social and environmental dimensions; emphasizes relationships among disability, gender, and age; and offers safeguards in regards to the physical and mental well-being of disabled individuals. Unfortunately, uncritical adherence to the binary model of sex prevents the UN from effectively advocating on behalf of the intersex community. This paper will explore various avenues through which the UN might work more effectively on intersex issues, including (but not limited to) the application of CRPD.