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MANUFACTURING MORAL PANIC: Weaponizing Children to Undermine Gender Justice and Human Rights

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MANUFACTURING MORAL PANIC: Weaponizing Children to Undermine Gender Justice and Human Rights MANUFACTURING MORAL PANIC: Weaponizing Children to Undermine Gender Justice and Human Rights Research Team: Juliana Martínez, PhD; Ángela Duarte, MA; María Juliana Rojas, EdM and MA. Sentiido (Colombia) March 2021 The Elevate Children Funders Group is the leading global network of funders focused exclusively on the wellbeing and rights of children and youth. We focus on the most marginalized and vulnerable to abuse, neglect, exploitation, and violence. Global Philanthropy Project (GPP) is a collaboration of funders and philanthropic advisors working to expand global philanthropic support to advance the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) people in the Global1 South and East. TABLE OF CONTENTS Glossary ...................................................................................... 4 Acronyms .................................................................................................. 4 Definitions ................................................................................................. 5 Letter from the Directors: ......................................................... 8 Executive Summary ................................................................... 10 Report Outline ..........................................................................................13 MOBILIZING A GENDER-RESTRICTIVE WORLDVIEW .... 14 The Making of the Contemporary Gender-Restrictive Movement ................................................... 18 Instrumentalizing Cultural Anxieties .......................................... 20 Contemporary Faith-Based, Gender-Restrictive Groups ........... 24 Manufacturing Moral Panic: The Strategic Opposition to “Gender Ideology” ................................................................ 27 A Note on the Covid-19 Pandemic ............................................ 37 CASE STUDY 1. PERU: HOW GENDER-RESTRICTIVE GROUPS MAY LOSE THE LEGAL BATTLE, BUT WIN THE COMMUNICATIONS AND CULTURAL WAR ................... 40 Overview .................................................................................... 40 I. Key Events: From CSE Curricular Reform to Objections to “Gender” .... 41 II. Context .................................................................................................... 48 III. The Messaging Strategy Behind the Don’t Mess With My Kids Movement ........................................................................................ 53 IV. Spreading and Mobilizing disinformation ................................................ 59 V. Conclusion ............................................................................................... 61 2 CASE STUDY 2. BULGARIA: HOW CHILDREN’S, WOMEN’S, AND LGBT RIGHTS GOT LOST IN TRANSLATION; THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE MOST EFFECTIVE GENDER-RESTRICTIVE MOVEMENT IN EASTERN EUROPE ...................................................62 Overview ....................................................................................62 I. Key Events: Tracking the Success of Gender-Restrictive Groups ...........64 II. Context ....................................................................................................69 III. Messaging and Communication Strategies .............................................73 IV. Spreading and Mobilizing disinformation ................................................78 V. Conclusion ...............................................................................................80 CASE STUDY 3. GHANA: HOW FAITH-BASED, GENDER-RESTRICTIVE GROUPS SOWED HOMOPHOBIA AND REAPED POLITICAL AND SOCIAL POWER ............81 Overview ....................................................................................81 I. Key Events: The Making of the “CSE Controversy” ................................83 II. Context ....................................................................................................88 III. The Messaging Strategy: G.H.A.N.A. Against the “LGBT Agenda” .......92 IV. Conclusion ..............................................................................................100 RECOMMENDATIONS ..................................................101 How to Fund ..............................................................................101 What to Fund ............................................................................104 ANNEX: KEY GENDER-RESTRICTIVE PLAYERS.............106 I. Key Gender-Restrictive Players: Perú ..................................106 II. Key Gender-Restrictive Players: Bulgaria .............................109 III. Key Gender-Restrictive Players: Ghana ...............................111 CONSEQUENCES ........................................................114 THE TEAM ...................................................................118 REFERENCES ...............................................................119 3 GLOSSARY ACRONYMS CRC Convention on the Rights of the Child CRIN Child Rights International Network CSE Comprehensive Sexuality Education CSO Civil society organization DMWMK “Don’t Mess With My Kids” campaign in Peru. In Spanish: “No Te Metas Con Mis Hijos” (NTMCMH) or “Con Mis Hijos No Te Metas” (CMHNTM) GPP Global Philanthropy Project IC Istanbul Convention ILGA International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association LGBT lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender LGBTI lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex NCPHSRFV National Coalition for Proper Human Sexual Rights and Family Values, an interfaith, gender-restrictive group in Ghana NGO nongovernmental organization OSF Open Society Foundations SHRR Sexual Health and Reproductive Rights SOGIE Sexual orientation, gender identity/expression UN United Nations UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund WHO World Health Organization USA United States of America USAID United States Agency for International Development USSR Union of Soviet Socialist Republics 4 DEFINITIONS 1. Child Rights’ Framework Children In 1989, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, defined “children” as every human being below the age of eighteen years, unless majority is attained earlier under the law applicable to the child (CRC, 1989). However, the UN also uses a statistically oriented definition, which considers children to be people under 14 years (UN, 2021). In this report, we will use the first definition of children, because the Committee on the Rights of the Child, the group of experts who monitor the implementation of the CRC, clarified that: “all Convention rights apply equally to all children under 18 years, irrespective of age. No explicit distinction is made under international human rights law between children of different ages. However, […] the implementation of rights must take account of children’s development and their evolving capacities. Approaches required to ensure the realization of rights of adolescents differ significantly from those required for younger children” (Committee on the Rights of the Child, 2016). Regardless of their age, children are entitled to special care, protection and assistance, because of their vulnerability, and physical, mental and emotional needs (CRC, 1989). Transition from childhood to adulthood. This process has a biological and a social component and is influenced by the contexts in which children live. Its beginning and end are not clearly identifiable, because “puberty occurs at different ages for boys and girls, and different brain functions mature at different times.” (Committee on the Rights of the Child, 2016). Because of this, the Committee on the Rights of the Child, often define adolescence as a period of childhood between 10 and 18 years of age. Youth Persons between the ages 15 to 24 years. It is sometimes referred to as a statistically oriented definition, which might overlap with adolescence and early adulthood (UN, 2021). Family Sociologists define “family” as a socially recognized group usually joined by blood, marriage, cohabitation, adoption, and/or shared caregiving responsibilities, that forms an emotional connection and serves as a key social and economic unit. The CRC defines it as “the fundamental group of society and the natural environment for the growth and well-being of all its members and particularly children, [which] should be afforded the necessary protection and assistance so that it can fully assume its responsibilities within the community” (CRC, 1989). Family structures are highly diverse and vary greatly depending on context. Moreover, families can include single- parent and multigenerational homes, as well as caregivers and members of all genders, sexual orientations and gender identities. Child rights Human rights of children as defined in the CRC. The minimum entitlements and freedoms that should be afforded to children so that they can live with dignity, while at the same time having the care and protection necessary for their wellbeing (Centre for Child Protection, n.d.). These rights must be ensured to all children, “without discrimination of any kind, irrespective of the child’s or his or her parent’s or legal guardian’s race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national, ethnic or social origin, property, disability, birth or other status.” (CRC, 1989). “Gender identity” and “sexual orientation” (see definitions below) are among the categories for which children should not be discriminated against.1 This means that the rights promoted in the CRC also apply to LGBT children (Canavera, 2020).
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