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Sexual and Gender Equality: Moving Beyond Myths and Fears in Policy Discussions

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Sexual and Gender Equality: Moving Beyond Myths and Fears in Policy Discussions Sexual and gender equality: moving beyond myths and fears in policy discussions A resource for informed parliamentary debates Briefing Note Shaun Martinez London, August 2020 Acknowledgements and disclaimer This briefing note on ‘Sexual and gender equality: moving beyond myths and fears in policy discussions’ is the product of Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD). It was made possible through funding received from the Department for International Development UK. This briefing note has been authored by Shaun Martinez and published in August 2020. The author would like to thank all the LGBTIQ+ activists that responded in depth to the online survey about LGBTIQ+ inclusion in preparing this guidance note and like to particularly thank Andrés Ignacio Rivera Duarte, Jholerina Angel-Khoetage Timbo, Mehlab Jameel, Michelle Yesudas and Sally Goldner for sharing their expertise with the author enriching the content of the note. The views expressed in the note, as well as errors and mistakes, are of the author alone. All photographs used in this briefing note were reproduced with the consent of the person photographed. Table of Contents 1. An Introduction 4 Global situation 6 Definitions 5 Cultural, vernacular, precolonial understandings of SOGIESC 7 Introduction to current global narratives 8 2. International human rights law 9 Introduction to international human rights law 9 The Yogyakarta Principles 9 UN Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity 10 So-called ‘conversion therapy’ 11 National Human Rights Institutions 11 3. Rights to equality and non-discrimination 14 The rights to equality and non-discrimination 14 Decriminalisation 14 Self-determination 15 SOGIESC-based discrimination and economic social and cultural rights 15 The right to freedom of religion or belief 16 Multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination 16 Existing constitutional protections 16 4. Rights to privacy 19 Rights to self-determination, bodily autonomy, physical integrity under rights to privacy 20 Trans youth and children and the right to privacy 21 5. Rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association 24 6. Engaging with LGBTIQ+ communities 28 Equal rights to participation 28 The principle of ‘Nothing About Us Without Us’ 28 Effective engagement 30 Champions, celebrity activists, representativity 30 Sustained engagement 30 1. An introduction ‘Parliamentarians have a critical role to play in repealing discriminatory legislation, adopting protective laws, holding inquiries on human rights violations, consulting with LGBTIQ+ people, speaking out against violations and supporting effective and independent National Human Rights Institutions.’1 ‘We need policy makers to open up, to be sensitised. People still think of gender in terms of black and white, in binary terms with nothing in-between. If we are to grow as a nation, we must think beyond what we know, because there are endless possibilities in the world for us to be human.’ Jholerina Angel-Khoetage Timbo, Transgender Activist, Namibia Photo Stock / Alamy Rupeta Oleksandr Takeaways: 1. Definitions of terms commonly employed by activists and others 2. Cultural and linguistical understanding of identities 3. Global human rights-based narratives Global situation International human rights law protects Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex and Queer (LGBTIQ+) individuals from discrimination and violence, yet LGBTIQ+ people around the world suffer from systematic violation of their rights. In more than 68 countries, consensual same-sex sexual relationships are criminalised.2 In six of these countries, the penalty is death. In over 77 countries unclear or prohibitive restrictions exist to changing names and gender markers in official documents and deny individuals rights to self-determination. In only nine countries do explicit legal protections exist for Intersex individuals. Where protections exist LGBTIQ+ activists face severe restrictions on their rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association by laws intended to prevent advocacy for the protection of the human rights of LGBTIQ+ people. Criminal laws are not the only problem. Widespread ostracism and stigmatisation mean that LGBTIQ+ individuals are frequently denied access to basic services, including education, housing and health care. Crimes perpetrated against LGBTIQ+, including sexual assault and murder, go unprosecuted and unpunished. LGBTIQ+ individuals find it difficult to report cases to the police, for fear of re-victimisation. 1. Living Free and Equal UN 2016 https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/LivingFreeAndEqual.pdf 2. https://ilga.org/downloads/ILGA_World_State_Sponsored_Homophobia_report_global_legislation_overview_update_ December_2019.pdf Sexual and gender equality: moving beyond myths and fears in policy discussions - 4 Definitions Reaching a common understanding of how individuals or function by medical, surgical or other means) and define their deeply felt lived experiences and often the other expressions of gender, including dress, speech and intersection of one or more signifiers is fraught with mannerisms.5 challenges.3 Couching discussions on the equal application of all human rights and the right not to be discriminated Gender expression is understood to refer to each person’s against on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, presentation of the person’s gender through physical gender expression and sex characteristics (SOGIESC) can appearance – including dress, hairstyles, accessories, avoid offence. Asking how an individual identifies and their cosmetics – and mannerisms, speech, behavioural patterns, preferred pronouns can benefit further engagement on names and personal references, and noting further that the rights of LGBTIQ+ people. The definitions that follow gender expression may or may not conform to a person’s have been taken from authoritative resources such as gender identity.6 ILGA, Amnesty International, the UN and the Yogyakarta Principles. Sex characteristics is understood to refer to each person’s physical features relating to sex, including genitalia and Cultural and linguistical interpretations that often pre- other sexual and reproductive anatomy, chromosomes, date the more modern terminology currently understood hormones, and secondary physical features emerging from as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex and Queer puberty.7 (LGBTIQ) exist in parallel and need to be recognised when engaging with LGBTIQ+ people. The addition of the ‘+’ Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, alludes to the complexity and diversity that exists in our Intersex, Queer – LGBTIQ+ humanness. Following are some of the widely accepted definitions understood for the purposes of international human rights law. ‘The “+” is important as many groups are not included and the “+” symbolises the fact that Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, Gender they are included when we talk about the Expression and Sex Characteristics - subject…’ Dawn Butler (Labour MP, UK) 20188 SOGIESC Sexual orientation is understood to refer to each Lesbian: a woman who is sexually and emotionally person’s capacity for profound emotional, affectional attracted to women.9 and sexual attraction to, and intimate and sexual relations with, individuals of a different gender Gay: a man who feels sexual and/or emotional desire or the same gender or more than one gender.4 exclusively or predominantly for persons of his own sex. NB: The term ‘gay’ should not be used as shorthand for the Gender identity is understood to refer to each person’s full range of SOGIESC identities. If the intention is to cover deeply felt internal and individual experience of gender, all without intentionally excluding any sexual orientation which may or may not correspond with the sex assigned at or gender identity/expression and/or intersex persons, birth, including the personal sense of the body (which may then it is recommendable not to use only the term gay, and involve, if freely chosen, modification of bodily appearance instead use LGBTIQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex and queer people). 3. http://yogyakartaprinciples.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/A5_yogyakartaWEB-2.pdf (…)sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics are each distinct and intersectional grounds of discrimination, and that they may be, and commonly are, compounded by discrimination on other grounds including race, ethnicity, indigeneity, sex, gender, language, religion, belief, political or other opinion, nationality, national or social origin, economic and social situation, birth, age, disability, health (including HIV status), migration, marital or family status, being a human rights defender or other status. 4. https://yogyakartaprinciples.org/introduction/ 5. Op. cit. 6. http://yogyakartaprinciples.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/A5_yogyakartaWEB-2.pdf 7. Op. cit. 8. https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2018-07-03/debates/FA46FE2B-7360-4B42-93D9-D42997870F47/ LGBTActionPlan?highlight=lgbt%20myths#contribution-89692149-F7C7-4432-A852-B47A27710CBA 9. https://ilga-europe.org/sites/default/files/ilga-europe_glossary_final_170714_www.pdf Shaun Martinez - 5 Bisexual: when a person is emotionally and/or sexually Queer is also a political identity that is couched in queer attracted to persons of more than one sex. theory and aligns itself with progressive feminisms with the aim, as a starting point, to create universal access to basic Transgender: refers to those trans people who live rights, inter
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