LGBT ALLY TOOLKIT

Ally is a verb, not a noun. Contents

• Letter of Introduction …………………………………………………………………………….3 • Strengthening Your Community…………………………………………………………………4 • Acting As An Ally …………………………………………………………………………………5 • LGBT Rights Issues & Campaigns • LGBT Rights in the US …………………………………………………………………..6 • Urgent Action: Free Rosmit Mantilla…………………………………………………….7

Additional resources available at www.amnestyusa.org/lgbt

2 Dear Amnesty Activist,

Amnesty International believes that all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, should be able to enjoy the full range of human rights, without exception.

However, every day, across the globe, people face discrimination, violence, imprisonment, torture or even execution because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, or their work to advocate for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals. Persecution on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, real or perceived, violates the basic tenets of international human rights law as described in Article 7 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: “All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law.”

The LGBT community and its allies have had victories in the past several years, including the 2015 Supreme Court decision Obergefell v. Hodges that legalized marriage equality throughout the U.S. There has also been devastating tragedy with the mass shooting in Orlando’s Pulse nightclub. On June 12, 2016, the murder of 49 people, many of them LGBT people and people of color, demonstrated an utter contempt for human life. All people should be able to live safely and without fear of violence because of who they are, who they are attracted to, or who they love.

In many countries, the refusal of governments to address violence committed against LGBT people creates a culture of impunity where such abuses can continue and escalate. Often, state authorities themselves commit such abuses. Across the globe, 75 countries still criminalize same-sex consensual relations between adults, and others effectively criminalize same-sex activity by imposing anti-LGBT “propaganda” laws, and limiting a person’s ability to change their gender identity on legal documents.

Among other concerns, Amnesty International calls on states to: 1) Ensure all allegations and reports of human rights violations based on sexual orientation or gender identity are promptly and impartially investigated, and that perpetrators are held accountable and brought to justice. 2) Take all necessary legislative and administrative measures to prohibit and eliminate prejudice at every stage of the administration of justice, and 3) protect human rights defenders at risk because of their work on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Amnesty International is also committed to educating and preparing activists to speak out about these cases. The Ally Toolkit provides background information, advice on community outreach and inclusion, and highlights actions you can take in response to specific instances of human rights abuse experienced by LGBT people. With a stronger background and vocabulary, Amnesty activists will be able to support LGBT human rights in their communities and across the world.

Sincerely,

The AIUSA LGBT Human Rights Coordination Group

For more information contact the Coordination Group at [email protected] or find us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/AIUSALGBT) or Twitter (https://twitter.com/AIUSALGBT).

3 Strengthening Your Community

It’s important for non-LGBT folks to learn how to be a good ally for the LGBT human rights movement, or for LGBT people to further educate themselves. Reach out to the LGBT community and make connections to strengthen your advocacy work. Be open and responsive to the needs and concerns of the community. Stand together for human rights!

BEING AN ALLY

Listen to LGBT voices Be willing to talk Be open-minded Confront your own prejudices about gender-appropriate roles and behaviors Don't assume that all your friends and co-workers are straight Speak out against statements and jokes that attack LGBT people Defend your LGBT friends against discrimination Use non-gender specific language and learn about the diversity of gender and sexuality Learn about LGBT inequality and policy Issues Educate yourself about LGBT histories, cultures, and concerns

ACTIONS YOU CAN TAKE

Write letters to your political representatives asking them to support legislation that positively affects LGBT people! When discriminatory laws are raised in your communities, express your concern by: Starting a letter writing campaign Calling your representatives Use visual markers on your car, in your home, or at workplace, to show your support Identify local businesses who are LGBT friendly Join an LGBT community group, support ally programs or start one in your area. Activities could include: Hosting a speaker — invite LGBT advocates to speak Hosting a LGBT film night Planning a vigil and inviting other groups and organizations Tabling at your school, community events, street fairs, etc. Support Amnesty LGBT urgent actions and cases!

4 “Hope will never be silent.” -Harvey Milk

Do Your Homework and Stay Informed. Learn about the diversity of gender and sexuality, LGBT history, culture, inequality, and policy issues. Listen to the THINGS TO DO: experiences and voices of LGBT people. Sometimes, this means listening without commenting. Reflect on what you learn and hear.

Don’t Make Assumptions. Don’t make assumptions about anyone’s gender, sexuality, or identity. Don’t assume that your friends, family members, co-workers, etc. are straight or identify as male or female. Gender, sexuality, and identity exist on a spectrum. Think About Your Own Identity. How do you identify your own gender and sexuality? What does your identity mean about how you interact with the world? How might your identity and experiences be different from someone else’s?

Understand Your Privilege. Having privilege does not mean that your life has been easy, that you are wealthy, or that you’ve never struggled or worked hard. Privilege means that there are issues and struggles you will never have to experience or think about just because of who you are. This means that as straight and/or cisgender allies, you have rights and privileges that LGBT people do not. How can you use your privilege to educate others and work on LGBT rights?

You Will Make Mistakes. It’s Ok. Listening to and supporting marginalized communities is a learning process that takes time and work. Often, this means we are working on correcting problematic behavior, and mistakes are bound to happen. It’s ok! Don’t get defensive; listen. Be accountable, apologize, recognize what happened and why, and keep on working.

STEP UP, STEP BACK

Step up: Speak up about LGBT rights and remember, those rights aren’t limited to marriage equality. They include youth homelessness, workplace discrimination, health care access, disproportionate violence against trans women of color, and more. Fight against LGBT discrimination. Speak out against statements and jokes that attack LGBT people. Have conversations about prejudices, challenge conceptions about gender roles and behaviors.

Step back: When LGBT people are speaking and sharing their experiences and stories. Listen, listen, listen. Don’t speak over LGBT voices, make sure you are not taking credit for what LGBT communities are saying or the work they have done. Use your privilege to promote LGBT voices instead of speaking on their behalf.

5 LGBT Rights in the US

While the Supreme Court’s ruling that same-sex couples have the same right to marriage as heterosexual couples in Obergefell v. Hodges in June 2015 represented a long-awaited victory for LGBT rights, there are still more obstacles for the LGBT community when it comes to full equality under the law. Currently, there are no federal protections against employment discrimination for LGBT workers, neither are there comprehensive federal laws protecting the LGBT community from other forms of discrimination: so, an LGBT person can get married to the partner of their choosing in all fifty states, but can still be be fired from their job, kicked out of their home, or denied access to health care, depending on the state where they live.

LEARN MORE TAKE ACTION

• Good news! On July 23rd, 2015, The Equality Act • Call your Congressman or Senator to support the was introduced in Congress, which would amend the Equality Act. To find your Congressional Civil Rights Act of 1964 to explicitly prohibit representative, go to www.house.gov/representatives/ discrimination based on sexual orientation and find/. To find your Senator’s contact information, go to gender identity on a federal level. To learn more www.senate.gov/senators/contact/. about the Equality Act, check out www.hrc.org/ campaigns/support-the-equality-act/ • Testify! If your local or state government is attempting to pass anti-LGBT laws, like those allowing • What is the status of your state’s nondiscrimination discrimination in public accommodations (often laws? Check out transequality.org/issues/resources/ referred to as “bathroom bills”), Religious Freedom map-state-transgender-non-discrimination-laws Restoration Acts (RFRAs), or other forms of discrimination, organize with your local LGBT • For information on discrimination against LGBT community and testify why you oppose discrimination individuals ranging from employment to credit, check against LGBT people. out the Center for American Progress’s video series on comprehensive nondiscrimination protections at • Use social media like Twitter and Facebook to share www.americanprogress.org/issues/lgbt/view/? how discriminatory laws impact your community and tag=nondiscrimination-protections share the resources! URGENT ACTION:

FREE ROSMIT MANTILLA - PRISONER OF CONSCIENCE

Opposition member, LGBTI activist and prisoner of conscience Rosmit Mantilla is at risk of being transferred to a common prison where his physical integrity may be in jeopardy.

On 20 January, Rosmit Mantilla’s lawyer learned that the public prosecutor on his case had requested that he be transferred to a prison following an incident in the National Bolivarian Intelligence Service headquarters in Caracas, the capital, where he is currently held. A judge must now rule on whether to grant the transfer.

According to his lawyer, on 15 January Rosmit Mantilla and three other detainees protested to demand health care for another inmate who was feeling unwell. During the protests the authorities claimed that the prisoners damaged security cameras. The four men were charged with damages to the security cameras.

Prison conditions in are notoriously harsh and Rosmit Mantilla’s lawyer fears that if he is transferred his physical security might be at serious risk, especially since he is a well-known lesbian, gay, bisexual transgender and intersex (LGBTI) activist.

Rosmit Mantilla, a member of the opposition political party (Voluntad Popular), has been detained in the National Bolivarian Intelligence Service headquarters since 2 May 2014 on charges linked to the anti-government protests of 2014. He is a prisoner of conscience who has not used or advocated violence and is being tried in spite of the lack of any solid evidence against him. He must be immediately and unconditionally released.

Please write immediately in Spanish or your own language:

• Calling on the authorities to release Rosmit Mantilla immediately and unconditionally as he is a prisoner of conscience who has not used or advocated violence, is being held without any solid evidence against him and his trial is politically motivated;

• Calling on them to ensure that while in detention they guarantee his right to life and physical integrity;

• Calling on them to carry out full and impartial investigations into the allegations of denial of medical care of a detainee in the National Bolivarian Intelligence Service headquarters in Caracas and to guarantee that all charges against Rosmit Mantilla and the other three inmates in connection with the protest to demand health case are based on clear evidence or

7 PLEASE SEND APPEALS TO: Attorney General of the And copies to: Republic Ombudsman President Dra. Luisa Ortega Díaz Sr. Nicolás Maduro Moros Edificio Sede Principal del Defensor del Pueblo Presidente de la Republica Ministerio Público, Esquinas Av. Urdaneta - Frente a El Final Avenida Urdaneta, de Misericordia a Pele El Ojo Universal Esquina de Bolero, Palacio Avenida México Centro Financiero Latino, de Miraflores Caracas, Venezuela Piso 27 Caracas, Venezuela Fax: +58 212 578 3239 Caracas, Venezuela Twitter: @NicolasMaduro Email: Fax: +58 212 5077025 Salutation: Señor [email protected] Email: Presidente/ Salutation: Dra. Fiscal/Dear [email protected] Dear President Attorney General

Also send copies to: Charge de Affairs Maximilien Sanchez Arvelaiz, Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela 1099 30th St. NW, Washington DC 20007 Fax: 1 202 342 6820 I Phone: 1 202 342 2214 I Email: [email protected] OR [email protected]

Please let us know if you took action so that we can track our impact! EITHER send a short email to [email protected] with “UA 20/16” in the subject line, and include in the body of the email the number of letters and/or emails you sent, OR fill out this short online form to let us know how you took action. Thank you for taking action! Please check with the AIUSA Urgent Action Office if taking action after the appeals date.

Additional Information

The Public Prosecutor’s Office has charged Rosmit Mantilla with public incitement and intimidation, obstructing a public highway, arson involving public and private buildings, violent damage and conspiracy to commit a crime, in the context of the anti-government protests that took place between February and July 2014.

The charges are based on a statement by an unidentified individual alleging that Rosmit Mantilla had received funds in order to finance the anti-government protests and on evidence the National Intelligence Service officials claim to have found during a search of Rosmit Mantilla’s home, such as leaflets urging people to join the protests and envelopes containing money. Amnesty International considers that the Public Prosecutor’s Office has failed to present credible evidence linking Rosmit Mantilla to the crimes of which he is accused. For example, the charges of public incitement, arson involving public and private buildings, violent damage are based on the fact that he had leaflets urging people to join the anti-government protests.

On 30 January 2015, after nine months of pre-trial detention and procedural delays, the investigating judge ordered that there was sufficient evidence and that Rosmit Mantilla should face trial. Nearly a year after this ruling, the trial is advancing at a slow pace amid concerns of undue delays.

On 6 December 2015, Rosmit Mantilla was elected as a member of the National Assembly and granted parliamentary immunity.

During the pro and anti-government protests that took place in Venezuela between February and July 2014, at least 43 people died, including six members of the security forces, and 878 were injured, of which approximately 300 were members of the security forces, as a result of excessive use of force and violence perpetrated by law enforcement officials, anti-government protestors and armed pro-government groups. Some victims were subjected to torture and other ill-treatment.

In addition, 3,351 people were detained. The vast majority have been released, but hundreds are still facing prosecution for their alleged involvement in violence during the protests. After reviewing information presented by the Public Prosecution Services on a number of those who remain in detention, Amnesty International was able to confirm that some detainees had been arbitrarily detained.

In spite of reforms to the prison system, prison conditions remain harsh. Lack of medical care, food and clean drinking water, unhygienic conditions, overcrowding and violence in prisons and police stations remain a concern. In this context, the prison authorities are unable to protect the rights of prisoners, such as the rights to health and physical integrity. Uprisings and protests, including self-harming, to demand better prison conditions remain common. Scores of inmates die or are injured every years as a result of violence in prison facilities, during the same period. The large number of weapons in detention facilities remains a concern.

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