Equality Rising by Human Rights Campaign

EQUALITY RISING

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“COURAGEOUS LGBT ADVOCATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD ARE STANDING UP FOR EQUALITY EVEN WHILE FACING VIOLENCE, INTOLERANCE AND DISCRIMINATION. I THANK MY PEERS ACROSS THE GLOBE— AND I ASK EVERYONE TO JOIN US IN STANDING WITH THEM. TOGETHER, WE CAN KEEP EQUALITY RISING.” —CHAD GRIFFIN, HRC FOUNDATION PRESIDENT

HRC GLOBAL EQUALITY REPORT 2014

EQUALITY RISING

LETTER FROM HRC FOUNDATION PRESIDENT CHAD GRIFFIN The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation is proud to present the inaugural edition of Equality Rising — HRC Foundation’s snapshot of the global equality movement in 2013. This publication comes on the heels of last year’s announcement of HRC’s Global Engagement Program.

This report is short. It’s by no means exhaustive. We hope you read it cover to cover, then spread the word about where LGBT rights stand in the world today. We must be empowered with knowledge to be strong partners and allies in the global equality movement.

HRC’s goal has always been fundamental fairness and equality for all, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. But we feel strongly that we cannot simply celebrate progress here at home while our colleagues in the global lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) movement face new challenges and opportunities for progress every day.

As you will see in this publication, courageous LGBT advocates from around the world are standing up for equality even while facing violence, intolerance and discrimination. I thank my peers across the globe — and I ask everyone to join us in standing with them. Together, we can keep equality rising. Sincerely,

HRC’s Global Engagement Program is a source of solidarity in this international struggle. We call out Americans, like Brian Brown of the National Organization for Marriage, who are exporting their hate and intolerance abroad. We collaborate with dedicated advocates across the globe to support their movements’ objectives. And we have strengthened our government affairs work, advocating for a U.S. foreign policy that supports the human rights of all LGBT people. This publication, Equality Rising, is our first annual update on the global equality movement. It’s a broad snapshot, discussing progress in LGBT visibility, marriage equality and transgender rights as well as setbacks and horrifying persecution that has occurred in countries like Russia, Nigeria and Uganda.

HRC GLOBAL EQUALITY REPORT 2014

Chad Griffin HRC Foundation President P.S. Equality Rising will be published annually, and we have already begun next year’s publication. If you’re an LGBT advocate from outside the United States, please keep us up to date with happenings in your movement by emailing EqualityRising@hrc.org.

TABLE OF CONTENTS 3

INTRODUCTION

VICTORIES AND VISIBILITY

5 9 10 14

MARRIAGE EQUALITY SIDEBAR: CATHOLIC CONFUSION TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX RIGHTS GROWING VISIBILITY

SETBACKS AND VIOLENCE

17 18 25

SIDEBAR: AMERICANS EXPORTING HATE SETBACKS AND VIOLENCE SIDEBAR: TRANSGENDER VIOLENCE

CONCLUSION

Protesters in India after homosexuality was recriminalized as a result of a December Supreme Court ruling. © Hindustan Times via Getty Images

HRC GLOBAL EQUALITY REPORT 2014

INTRODUCTION For LGBT people around the world, 2013 was a proverbial roller coaster, with joy on the upswings and terror on the downslides. Our hearts leapt as we saw an unprecedented rush toward full marriage equality in places like New Zealand and as nations made progress on transgender rights in places like South Korea. We also saw bursts of visibility across the globe. In Turkey, activists painted public steps in the colors of the rainbow. And in Singapore, a record 21,000 people showed up at an LGBT celebration called Pink Dot, which lit up the sky with 21,000 rays of iridescent pink light. But the shadow of hatred darkened parts of the world where government officials chose to enact hateful laws that disregard the basic humanity of LGBT people, sometimes supported by American anti-LGBT leaders like Brian Brown and Scott Lively. Russia passed an â&#x20AC;&#x153;anti-propagandaâ&#x20AC;? law that outlaws all public gestures of support for LGBT equality. In Uganda and Nigeria, new laws were passed further criminalizing homosexuality and prohibiting individuals, corporations and civil society organizations from supporting LGBT rights. These new laws, as well as existing laws that criminalize LGBT people in more than 80 countries, put LGBT individuals in the crosshairs of violence. We lost openly gay Cameroonian activist Eric Lembembe when he was murdered in his home during the summer, and reporting by Transgender Europe shows a horrific number of transgender individuals being murdered across the globe. Equality Rising is divided into two sections. The first section celebrates our victories during 2013 and highlights an increased level of LGBT visibility around the globe. The second part focuses on community setbacks and the violence LGBT people face because of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity. In an ever more connected world, we must realize that the pursuit of equality in any given country is inevitably linked to a broader global equality movement. We can achieve equality more quickly if we work together to advance this shared goal.

HRC GLOBAL EQUALITY REPORT 2014

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FIVE COUNTRIES ON THREE DIFFERENT CONTINENTS OPENED THEIR DOORS FOR THE FIRST TIME TO MARRIAGE EQUALITY.

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Uruguay and Brazil joined Argentina as the second and third South American nations to endorse marriage equality.

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MARRIAGE EQUALITY DE FORA The year 2013 was a breakthrough year for one of the most visible symbols of equality: legal marriage rights for same-sex couples. Five countries on three different continents opened their doors for the first time to marriage equality.

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URUGUAY and BRAZIL joined Argentina as the second

and third South American nations to endorse marriage equality. Uruguay enacted civil unions in 2008 and its parliament passed legislation enabling same-sex couples to marry in 2013. Uruguay’s president signed the legislation into law as part of a broader wave of social reforms, enabling same-sex marriages to begin in August 2013. Brazil — South America’s most populous nation, with more than 200 million citizens — had been inching toward marriage equality for almost a decade. The nation opened common-law marriages to same-sex couples in 2004. In 2011, Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court determined that same-sex couples should have the same legal rights as heterosexual couples, which opened up civil unions to same-sex couples nationally and led several states to amend their guidance for issuing

HRC GLOBAL EQUALITY REPORT 2014

marriage certificates to allow for same-sex marriage. Shortly thereafter, in May 2013, Brazil’s National Justice Council ruled that same-sex couples must have access to marriage equality nationally. Elsewhere in the Americas, the UNITED STATES had a breakthrough for marriage, with the U.S. Supreme Court deciding two important cases on marriage and the number of states offering marriage equality expanding rapidly. During June 2013, the Supreme Court declared that the federal government could no longer refuse to recognize valid marriages between same-sex couples. Suddenly, the marriages of same-sex couples who were married in states offering same-sex marriages were recognized not just by the state in which they were married but also by the federal government, meaning that same-sex married couples could now access the 1,138 rights and benefits that the federal government provides opposite-sex married couples. The Supreme Court also ended the challenge to California’s notorious Proposition 8 — which excluded same-sex couples from marriage in California — thereby returning marriage equality to same-sex couples in the United States’ most populous state.

Before the Supreme Court ruled on either of these cases, Delaware, Minnesota and Rhode Island enacted marriage equality laws. In the six months after the cases, Hawaii and Illinois followed suit. Meanwhile, New Jersey and New Mexico declared that same-sex couples could marry. And, a federal judge in Utah ruled that the state’s anti-marriage equality amendment was unconstitutional, adding to a sea of cases across the United States challenging state-level same-sex marriage bans. By the end of 2013, over one-third of Americans lived in a state with marriage equality, which was nearly double the number of Americans similarly situated in 2012. In Europe, support for marriage equality grew as well. FRANCE became the ninth European country to enact marriage equality legislation. The parliament passed the bill in April and French President François Hollande signed it into law in May. The marriage equality debate in France was tense, with a large, well-funded protest movement taking to the streets to oppose the bill. At times the protests erupted in violence, and American anti-LGBT advocate Brian Brown joined in this protest movement, helping with tactics, software and advice. Soon after France enacted marriage equality, the British parliament passed a marriage equality law which took effect in March 2014 in ENGLAND and WALES, nearly a decade after the United Kingdom first passed its civil partnerships law. Of note, this marriage equality law was enacted by a Conservative-led parliament with Prime Minister David Cameron saying, “I don’t support gay marriage despite being a Conservative. I support gay marriage because I am a Conservative.”

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On April 17th, 2013, NEW ZEALAND became the first Pacific nation to allow same-sex couples access to marriage. When its parliament passed its marriage equality bill, the gallery broke out into what some describe as one of the most beautiful celebrations of a marriage equality victory. The gallery launched into song, singing a traditional Maori love song, “Pokarekare Ana,” a YouTube moment soon viewed by more than a million people worldwide.

HRC GLOBAL EQUALITY REPORT 2014

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“I DON’T SUPPORT GAY MARRIAGE DESPITE BEING A CONSERVATIVE. I SUPPORT GAY MARRIAGE BECAUSE I AM A CONSERVATIVE.”

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“IF SOMEONE IS GAY AND HE SEARCHES FOR THE LORD AND HAS GOOD WILL, WHO AM I TO JUDGE?” —POPE FRANCIS © Giulio Origlia / Getty Images

HRC GLOBAL EQUALITY REPORT 2014

CATHOLIC CONFUSION Pope Francis made headlines in 2013 when he said, “If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?” As the leader of the Catholic Church and a symbolic leader for many people of faith across the globe, Pope Francis’ words were met by many with great joy. Pro-LGBT Catholics have been living in a spiritual wilderness, watching the faith they love cause harm to the people they love. For them, this new pope seems to be ushering in a new day of reconciliation. However, a few days after the pope’s uplifting interview, news came out that the Vatican had excommunicated a priest because of his support for women’s ordination and marriage equality – a disturbing contrast to the interview. But the timing of this incident is important. While reported much later, the incident took place early in the pope’s papacy and the process to excommunicate the priest had likely begun under Pope Benedict XVI. When Pope Francis was first elected, LGBT Catholics and allies took note of a moment in his not-so-distant past as a potential preview of what might be expected from his papacy. In 2010, as Argentines were considering a law in support of marriage equality, Pope Francis — then Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio — expressed opposition to such a law. As the measure was discussed among Argentine bishops, Cardinal Bergoglio suggested civil unions as a

HRC GLOBAL EQUALITY REPORT 2014

compromise and the “lesser of two evils.” When the law passed, some note that the church took a welcoming approach and the Argentinian hierarchy returned its focus to more familiar Jesuit issues, like assisting the poor and sick. The pope, like all leaders, should be judged by both his words and actions. On the one hand, it seems LGBT and allied Catholics may be radically more welcomed by the church today than they were under Pope Benedict. But it also seems as if anti-LGBT dogma hasn’t changed. The potential to have an LGBT-accepting and affirming Catholic Church is stronger than it has ever been in modern times. The impact of a more inclusive church would touch over a billion Catholics around the world, who account for about half of all Christians and 16 percent of the total global population. However, despite the effect the Catholic Church could have on protecting the lives of LGBT people, the path forward to an inclusive church is still shrouded in questions.

TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX RIGHTS Transgender and intersex rights moved forward as well in 2013. In Europe, both the NETHERLANDS and SWEDEN got rid of a 1970s-era requirement that obligated people to be sterilized before they could change their gender in identity documents. And GERMANY became the first European nation to pass a law allowing newborns with ambiguous genitalia (often identifying as intersex) to be registered as neither male nor female but as a third, undesignated option, X. In South Asia, NEPAL created what some observers are calling the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s broadest third-gender identity category for its basic citizenship documents. This third category is open to anyone who does not wish to be identified as either male or female, for any reason. Nearby, BANGLADESH began offering a more limited third-gender option on at least some identity documents. The third-gender option is open only to South Asiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s culturally traditional group called hijras who are generally born either with ambiguous genitalia or as physically male but live in a feminine identity. The hijra identity is a third-gender option, which is distinct from identifying as either male or female. As a result of state recognition, those who identify as hijras now have

HRC GLOBAL EQUALITY REPORT 2014

access to several new state protections, including priority access to education, housing and health services. Still further east, in SOUTH KOREA, a court ruled that transgender people can change their legal gender status without undergoing genital surgery, responding to applications from five transgender men, at least one of whom had spent decades facing disbelief from potential employers, hospitals and government offices that struggled to reconcile his appearance with the gender on his IDs. The decision modified a 2006 South Korean Supreme Court ruling that allowed transgender people to update their gender status but required them to undergo gender reassignment surgery before being able to do so. In the Americas, the UNITED STATES inched forward as well. DELAWARE passed the Gender Identity Nondiscrimination Act, which adds gender identity to the list of groups explicitly protected from discrimination and hate crimes. CALIFORNIA enacted a first-of-its-kind law in the United States that guarantees students in grades K-12 the right to use school facilities, and to participate in sex-segregated activities, such as sports and other afterschool activities, that correspond with

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the student’s expressed gender identity. OREGON and the DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA dropped proof-of-surgery requirements for updating name and gender on birth certificates. And the U.S. Senate passed a gender identity-inclusive federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would prohibit employment discrimination in the United States based on sexual orientation and gender identity if it were to become law.

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Farther south, PUERTO RICO passed an LGBT nondiscrimination law banning employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity and expression, and added those groups to the island’s domestic violence laws as well. Also, in ARGENTINA, a six-year-old girl took advantage of a new gender identity law passed in 2012, which declares that gender identity is defined by the way a person perceives gender. The girl had been assigned male at birth, and authorities at first rejected her gender change petition, arguing that a child younger than 14 years old lacked the maturity to make that decision. But after her family appealed to the government of the Province of Buenos Aires, the proper documentation was granted.

HRC GLOBAL EQUALITY REPORT 2014

LAKSHA

AFTER AUTHORITIES PAINTED THE STEPS GRAY AGAIN, ACTIVISTS TOOK OUT THEIR PAINT CANS TO SPREAD RAINBOWS ACROSS THEIR OWN STEPS AND, FOR A FEW WEEKS, LGBT ACTIVISTS AND TURKISH ANTI-AUTOCRACY ACTIVISTS SHARED A SYMBOL.

Stairs in Istanbul, Turkey painted the colors of the rainbow. © AFP / Getty HRCImages GLOBAL

EQUALITY REPORT 2014

HRC GLOBAL EQUALITY REPORT 2014

GROWING VISIBILITY In many parts of the world, LGBT individuals have become more visible than ever before — marching in Pride parades, being positively portrayed on TV, running for elected office or being out in the workplace. In addition, allies to the community in some of these places are becoming more vocal, standing beside their LGBT loved ones and opening up human rights advocacy coalitions to LGBT participation. However, in other parts of the world it takes real courage for LGBT people and their allies to stand up and be visible. People can be fined, attacked, shunned, rejected, fired from their jobs or even killed for who they love or who they are. Yet around the world, despite such consequences for being out, LGBT people found many ways to say “we exist.” In the Americas, CURAÇAO held its first-ever Pride celebration week. Nearly 700 individuals attended parties, street fairs and educational seminars that were sponsored by local hotels, restaurants and bars. BRAZIL’S Rio de Janeiro launched marriage equality with 130 couples saying “I do” in a mass wedding, celebrating the city’s first same-sex civil marriages. In the couples’ pictures, flashed around the world, there is obvious joy and profound happiness. In the Balkans and Eastern Europe, activists held Pride marches even though authorities tried to stop them and anti-LGBT groups attacked. Advocates in MONTENEGRO hosted the country’s very first Pride demonstration despite violent opposition. During the event, 150 individuals marched through the capital, and nearly 2,000 police officers held back rock-throwing protestors yelling “kill the gays.” In neighboring SERBIA, hundreds marched through Belgrade for the first Pride event since a violent 2010 march that left 150 people injured. Even though authorities had banned the event for fear of more right-wing violence, LGBT forces went ahead and marched, and were protected by police. In UKRAINE, after more than 60 lawmakers signed a petition demanding that Kiev prevent a planned Pride, city officials went to court to stop the march, and the court agreed to ban the demonstration. Nevertheless, a determined band of roughly 100 activists marched anyway, turning Pride into a “private” event farther from the city center. Despite official antagonism, police protected the marchers, arresting 13 anti-LGBT extremists, leaving other protestors chanting, “Ukraine is not America, Kiev is not Sodom.”

HRC GLOBAL EQUALITY REPORT 2014

Farther east in AZERBAIJAN, a group of gay friends wearing masks to protect their identities held a “mini rally” by walking through the capital, Baku, carrying rainbow flags, in the country’s first-ever LGBT Pride celebration, with no violence or opposition. In TURKEY, there was a surprise outbreak of rainbow steps in Istanbul after one retired engineer decided to paint the Findikli Stairs the colors of the rainbow, “to make people smile.” Many Turkish Twitter users assumed it was a message supporting LGBT rights, and took pictures and posted messages of support. After authorities painted the steps gray again, activists took out their paint cans to spread rainbows across their own steps and, for a few weeks, LGBT activists and Turkish anti-autocracy activists shared a symbol. Further east in the harsh climate of IRAN, where homosexuality is punishable by death, a small group of LGBT activists wearing masks marked the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia by bravely standing in a Tehran park carrying signs with LGBT slogans. In Africa, activists in UGANDA held their second annual Pride gathering in August on a sandy beach in Entebbe. More than a hundred LGBT people came together for a celebration to take a stand for their rights. Uganda’s first parade had ended with arrests and beatings, but during Pride 2013, advocates demonstrated extreme courage as police silently stood by at the event’s periphery. Farther south, in LESOTHO, where male homosexuality is a crime and gender variant individuals have faced extreme violence, a small group was granted a government permit to hold a public march recognizing the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia. In Asia, MONGOLIA held its first ever Pride week mid-September, with discussion groups on LGBT rights and health, a PFLAG meeting, and a queer film festival. And on the Pacific Rim, in SINGAPORE, where public demonstrations are often frowned upon, a record 21,000 LGBT people and allies dressed in pink at the June Pink Dot rally in Speakers’ Corner in Hong Lim Park to celebrate the theme “Freedom to Love.” After three hours of performances and speeches, the LGBT celebration ended with the crowd holding pink LED lights to form a huge pink dot, right across the street from the offices of the attorney general, who is defending the colonial-era sodomy law that is being challenged in the courts. Meanwhile, around the world, a record number of openly LGBT people held public office. As of 2013, both

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BELGIUM and LUXEMBOURG have openly gay prime ministers, while GERMANY now has an openly lesbian environment minister and, in the UNITED KINGDOM, a parliament member

came out as bisexual. A glass ceiling was also cracked when a British member of the European Parliament came out as transgender. Across the Atlantic, in the UNITED STATES, Tammy Baldwin was sworn in as the first openly lesbian U.S. senator, Kyrsten Sinema was sworn in as the first openly bisexual U.S. representative and the U.S. Senate confirmed its first openly gay federal appeals judge. And, further south in the Americas, MEXICO elected its first openly gay mayor, and CHILE elected its first openly gay lawmaker.

HRC GLOBAL EQUALITY REPORT 2014

AMERICAN EVANGELICALS ARE TRAVELING AROUND THE WORLD TO HELP BUILD ANTILGBT CAMPAIGNS, PRESERVE SODOMY LAWS, AND PREVENT MARRIAGE EQUALITY. Banners unfurled by African activists at a sports event in Cape Town, South Africa. © Shaun Roy / Gallo Images / Getty Images

HRC GLOBAL EQUALITY REPORT 2014

SETBACKS AND VIOLENCE AMERICANS EXPORTING HATE As the anti-LGBT movement loses ground in the United States, many of its prominent activists have gone abroad to “advise” other countries on how to “protect themselves from homosexuality.” Some of those visits have gotten media attention, as was the case with SCOTT LIVELY, an evangelical activist who lives in Springfield, Mass. Lively spoke at an infamous 2009 anti-LGBT conference in UGANDA that provided fuel for street violence and inspired the “kill the gays” bill. He has also toured Eastern Europe and met leaders in the Russian Orthodox Church and Russian policymakers to encourage them to pass their “anti-propaganda” laws. Lively is only one of those who travel the world teaching “profamily” groups how to shut down

HRC GLOBAL EQUALITY REPORT 2014

LGBT individuals and organizations. American evangelicals are traveling to AUSTRALIA, BELIZE,

against repealing the country’s sodomy law.

JAMAICA, NIGERIA, RUSSIA, UGANDA, UKRAINE and elsewhere

Infamous anti-LGBT propagandist PAUL CAMERON , whose “scholarship” has been discredited by the American Sociological Association and the American Psychological Association, traveled to RUSSIA to speak with Russian policymakers. We also saw the continued spread of the insidious 2012 Regnerus report, a junk science study that claims children are harmed when raised by loving same-sex-headed families. Although it has been discredited by hundreds of scholars and the American Sociological Association here in the United States, last year it was cited to promote anti-LGBT policies in CROATIA, FRANCE, POLAND, RUSSIA, and the UNITED KINGDOM.

around the world to help build anti-LGBT campaigns, preserve sodomy laws, and prevent marriage equality. BRIAN BROWN , executive director of the National Organization for Marriage, has begun traveling around the world, including to RUSSIA and FRANCE , to work with the anti-marriage faction, and to the CARIBBEAN and to SPAIN , where he spoke to the World Congress of Families about how to defeat LGBT equality. PETER LABARBERA , president of Americans for Truth about Homosexuality and a lifetime anti-LGBT activist, and BRIAN CAMENKER , of the hate group MassResistance, went to JAMAICA in 2013 to argue

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SETBACKS AND VIOLENCE While our achievements in 2013 lifted us incredibly high, we also saw setbacks in many nations around the world. We were battered by hate crimes on every continent. Shocking new laws were passed and legislation was introduced aimed at criminalizing not just our private lives but also support for LGBT equality.

Those who violate this law can be arrested and fined. Foreigners who publicly support LGBT equality in Russia can be detained for up to 15 days and deported. Organizations that violate the law, including TV stations, websites and newspapers, can be fined and forced to suspend operations for 90 days.

A rash of anti-LGBT laws broke out in Russia and Eastern Europe. RUSSIA enacted a law banning “propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations to minors,” which effectively outlaws public support for LGBT equality. This federal law was enacted after similar regional laws were put into place beginning in 2006. Advocates for these laws claim they “protect children from homosexuality.” In reality, they chill speech, prevent positive depictions of LGBT people and encourage discrimination and violence.

Russia has prosecuted and fined at least three individuals under this law, and frightened the entire LGBT community. November saw violent attacks on a Moscow gay bar and a St. Petersburg LGBT group. An extremist group, “Occupy Pedophilia,” which disturbingly equates homosexuality to pedophilia, has terrorized LGBT youth by luring them to meetings, torturing them and posting videos of the attacks on social media. And, amid this environment, closed-door strategy meetings of Russian

HRC GLOBAL EQUALITY REPORT 2014

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Russia enacted a law banning “propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations to minors,” which effectively outlaws public support for LGBT equality.

LGBT advocates were secretly recorded and aired on television — putting these advocates and their work in the crosshairs of danger. The anti-propaganda law was only part of the legislative assault on LGBT Russians. In July, Russia enacted legislation banning same-sex couples from adopting Russian children. The legislation also bans adoption by any unmarried individuals who live in countries with laws permitting same-sex marriages. In September, a member of Russia’s parliament proposed a law that would deny gay parents custody of their own children, claiming that children are better off in orphanages than with gay parents. The bill was tabled, but observers fear it could return in the future.

HRC GLOBAL EQUALITY REPORT 2014

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Russian police detain LGBT rights activists during a rally in St. Petersburg, Russia. ÂŠ Dmitry Lovetsky / Associated Press

HRC GLOBAL EQUALITY REPORT 2014

Russia was not alone. MOLDOVA’S parliament passed a law punishing “propagation of any other relations than those related to marriage and the family in accordance with the Constitution and Family Code.” Individuals violating the law would face a fine, while businesses or organizations would have their activities suspended for up to a year. Fortunately, just three months after the law was enacted, the Moldovan parliament repealed the law as Moldova’s interest in joining the European Union, which recognizes anti-LGBT laws as human rights violations, outweighed its decision to promote intolerance. Nearby, LITHUANIA’S parliament voted to consider five separate anti-LGBT bills, including a ban on gender reassignment, a ban on adoption by same-sex couples and regulations of LGBT public events. As UKRAINE was rocked by protests centering on the question of whether it will ally itself with Russia or with the European Union, LGBT rights were used as a bogeyman. Wealthy businessman Viktor Medvedchuk, said to have close ties to Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, funded a group called Ukrainian Choice, which put up billboards saying that joining the European Union would result in gay marriage. LGBT rights were used throughout the region as a wedge issue to persuade citizens to ally with Russia instead of the West. Farther west, a Catholic citizens’ group, In the Name of the Family, led a campaign in CROATIA for a constitutional amendment to define marriage as between one man and one woman. Despite objection to the amendment from elected leaders, Croatian voters approved it in December. However, the Croatian government, with an eye toward being part of Western Europe, immediately responded to passage of the amendment by saying it would pursue civil unions for same-sex couples. In the Arab Gulf states, a government official from KUWAIT announced that the states were developing

a medical test to “detect” homosexuality and prevent gay visitors from entering any of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, which include BAHRAIN, KUWAIT, QATAR, OMAN, SAUDI ARABIA and the UNITED ARAB EMIRATES . These countries already criminalize homosexuality, being punishable by death in Saudi Arabia. The situation for some LGBT Africans went from bad to worse in 2013. Across the continent, over three dozen nations already criminalize homosexuality, often a product of criminal codes left in effect following British colonization. NIGERIA, as a former British colony, has long had such a law. At the end of 2013, the Nigerian National Assembly passed a law that further criminalizes

HRC GLOBAL EQUALITY REPORT 2014

“RARELY HAVE I SEEN A PIECE OF LEGISLATION THAT IN SO FEW PARAGRAPHS DIRECTLY VIOLATES SO MANY BASIC, UNIVERSAL HUMAN RIGHTS.” —NAVI PILLAY, U.N. HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS, ON ANTI-LGBT LEGISLATION PASSED IN NIGERIA

same-sex relations and affection. In addition, the bill disturbingly makes it criminal, with up to 10 years in prison, to register, operate, associate with, support or belong to an LGBT group. Since the law was enacted in early 2014, dozens of LGBT Nigerians have been arrested, tortured and publicly flogged. Days after Nigeria’s law passed, Uganda’s parliament passed its long-threatened “kill the gays” bill, albeit with the penalty amended to life in prison for “aggravated homosexuality.” Its language also makes it a crime for individuals, corporations, media organizations, non-governmental organizations and others to engage in the “promotion of homosexuality.” This is punishable with up to seven years in prison. While Nigeria and Uganda have gotten attention for their new anti-LGBT laws, CAMEROON prosecutes more people for consensual same-sex intimacy than almost anywhere else in the world. In January 2013, a young woman complained to police about harassment and death threats from another woman; police arrested her and the other woman, her former girlfriend, and charged them with lesbianism. They were sentenced to nine months in prison. Cameroon saw a particularly horrifying wave of homophobic violence starting in June, with break-ins, burglary and arson at the offices of a lawyer who defends those charged with being gay and two groups that support LGBT rights. In July 2013, LGBT activist Eric Lembembe was murdered in his own home. Two weeks later, a mob stoned Henry Mbah to death after catching him in an intimate situation with another man; police arrested and tortured the other man but not the individual who

HRC GLOBAL EQUALITY REPORT 2014

murdered Mbah. In August, two separate mobs assaulted a pair of transgender women and a gay teenager in the same market area. And these are just some of the attacks that were reported. In South Asia, LGBT advocates and allies in INDIA suffered a shocking setback when the Supreme Court of India reinstated Section 377, the sodomy law, which had been struck down by the Delhi High Court in 2009. For four years, India’s government had refrained from enforcing the law. However it’s now back in force, after the Supreme Court said that only the parliament can repeal it. In the world’s second most populous nation, gay men can once again be prosecuted for “unnatural offenses.” In the southeast Asian nation of BRUNEI, the sultan announced in October 2013 that he was introducing Sharia law into the nation’s penal code. Under conservative interpretations of Sharia law — Islamic, religious law — those found engaging in same-sex conduct can be stoned to death. As such, Brunei is set to join seven other countries, including Iran, Saudi Arabia, Mauritania, Yemen, Sudan and parts of Nigeria and Somalia where homosexuality is punishable by death. Farther south, the battle to enact marriage equality legislation in AUSTRALIA is ongoing. Advocates have not secured enough support by the conservative government to pass such legislation. To get around this roadblock, a local marriage equality law was passed in the Australian Capital Territory, but the Australian High Court invalidated the law, annulling more than twodozen same-sex marriages. Without access to marriage equality at home, Australian couples currently account for a quarter of New Zealand’s same-sex marriages.

SOKOTO KANO

MAIDUGU KADUNA

ABUJA ILORIN OGBOMOSO

IBADAN

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NIGERIA MAKURDI

BENN CITY

WARRI PORT HARCOURT

In Nigeria, a public display of a same-sex relationship can be punished with a term of 10 years in prison.

HRC GLOBAL EQUALITY REPORT 2014

YOLA

In the Americas, JAMAICA arguably remains one of the most dangerous places in the Western Hemisphere to be LGBT. Its anti-sodomy law makes those convicted of same-sex conduct “liable to be imprisoned and kept to hard labor for a term not exceeding 10 years.” This law, which is currently being challenged in court, is said to give license to gangs to patrol their streets for moral “criminals.” In July, a gender non-conforming teenager was “chopped and stabbed” to death by a mob after dancing with another man at a street party. In addition, over the summer, there were two confirmed reports of mobs attacking people believed to be gay. Advocates claim that the ferocious anti-LGBT rhetoric and lyrics coming out of the Jamaican dance hall culture can be blamed for promoting homophobia and transphobia. However, in 2013, the world started holding Jamaican dance hall artists accountable for these lyrics. Popular reggae artist Sizzla was banned from a music festival in Jamaica and another one in Amsterdam because of his anti-LGBT lyrics. There were also objections to his Grammy nomination in the reggae category.

Protest at Jamaican High Commission after the murder of a gender non-conforming Jamaican teen. © Dave Evans / Demotix / Corbis

HONDURAS has been plagued by rampant anti-LGBT

violence since 2009, when the current government took power. In October 2013, Honduran LGBT advocates demonstrated, demanding justice for 22 people murdered in 2013 alone because they were perceived as LGBT. In BELIZE, gay activist Caleb Orozco has been denounced as the antichrist, received death threats and had a beer bottle smashed into his face. Farther south, despite legal progress, BRAZIL still sees thousands of complaints of anti-LGBT violence annually, with reports of hundreds of murders.

HRC GLOBAL EQUALITY REPORT 2014

TRANSGENDER INDIVIDUALS FACE VIOLENCE WORLDWIDE Transgender people live on the LGBT movementâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s front lines. Those whose gender identities and expressions differ from their gender as assigned at birth are frequently targeted, tortured and killed, even in countries where lesbians, bisexuals and gay men have made tremendous gains. For the past several years, Transgender Europe (TGEU) has run a global Trans Murder Monitoring Project, collecting and verifying reports through online research and collaborations with advocates and observers around the world. Results are released each year for the annual November 20th Transgender Day of Remembrance. Between November 2012 and November 2013, TGEU verified 238 murders of transgender people. In total, TGEU has collected 1,374 reports of transgender people being murdered in 60 countries since January 2008. Heartbreakingly, of these 238 murders, 22 were transgender teenagers. The Americas led the list of reported crimes, hosting the seven countries with the most verifiable murders of transgender individuals. Brazil saw a stunning 95. For Mexico, it was 40; for the United States, 16; for Venezuela, 15; and Honduras and Colombia had 12 each. Asia reported eight murders in India, while in Europe, Turkey and Italy had five each.

HRC GLOBAL EQUALITY REPORT 2014

Of course, some areas may have low numbers because they are not reporting murders accurately. And, according to TGEU, throughout all six world regions, the highest numbers of reported cases have been found in countries with strong transgender equality movements and organizations that do professional monitoring. These statistics serve as a painful wake-up call to the LGBT community across the world. Governments must enact laws and policies that protect individuals from being the target of violence because of their gender identity or expression. Law enforcement agencies must improve data collection and reporting for these crimes. And, we must continue to engage in public education that can mitigate the stigma and violence the community faces.

Two women share a kiss in front of an anti-marriage equality rally in France. ÂŠ Gerard Julien / AFP Photo

HRC GLOBAL EQUALITY REPORT 2014

CONCLUSION The achievements and setbacks in 2013 make it clear that the world is being pulled in two directions. One direction aims to respect the human rights of LGBT people. The other sees LGBT individuals as a threat to society, family and tradition, unworthy of the freedom to live openly and safely. The gulf between these two directions is getting wider because of unprecedented progress in some places. Disturbingly, this progress has led to reactive anti-LGBT laws and violence in others. We are at a critical time in the global equality movement. Change is happening at a rapid rate. As some LGBT people are nearing legal equality, we must work together to ensure that others are not left behind.

HRC GLOBAL EQUALITY REPORT 2014

ABOUT THE AUTHORS TY COBB is the director of global engagement at the

Human Rights Campaign in Washington, D.C. Cobb works to advance equality for LGBT people around the world. He oversees HRC’s work strengthen to strengthen the global equality movement. Much of his work focuses on collaborating with international LGBT organizations and leaders; exposing U.S. individuals and organizations exporting homophobia and transphobia abroad; and ensuring that the U.S. government is fulfilling its commitment to support the human rights of LGBT people across the globe. Previously, Cobb served as senior legislative counsel at HRC, where he focused on advocacy related to a portfolio of federal issues, including the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and passage of an LGBT-inclusive Violence Against Women Act. He joined HRC after serving as counsel to Sen. Edward M. Kennedy on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee of the U.S. Senate, where he worked toward passage of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act in 2009. Cobb began his professional career as an associate attorney at Bracewell & Giuliani in Dallas and then Sidley Austin in Washington, D.C. He received his bachelor’s degrees at the University of Texas at Austin and his law degree from the University of Texas School of Law. JANE WOTHAYA THIRIKWA is an Atlas Corps global

fellow at the Human Rights Campaign in Washington, D.C. Thirikwa has been involved in LGBT organizing efforts in Kenya for close to five years. She is the programs and communications coordinator at Gay Kenya Trust (GKT), a human rights and media advocacy organization in Kenya. She is also a member of the steering committee of the Gay and Lesbian Coalition of Kenya, the umbrella coalition of LGBTI organizations in Kenya.

HRC GLOBAL EQUALITY REPORT 2014

At Gay Kenya Trust, Thirikwa has coordinated human rights programs, including sensitization of the LGBT community, as well as consultations with the wider civil society movement in Kenya and some government agencies, including the Office of the Attorney General. As part of the public sensitization of LGBT issues, her press statements and op-eds have been published in Kenyan print media. GKT continues to build partnerships with allies committed to the cause for equality for sexual and gender minority persons in Kenya. She holds a bachelor of science degree in communications and public relations from Moi University, Kenya.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS A heartfelt thanks to the many individuals who provided assistance, editing, feedback and other support, including Breanna Bishop, Jay Brown, Limor Finkel, Sharon Groves, Janice Hughes, Karim K., Anastasia Khoo, Jeff Krehely, Tushar Malik, Lisbeth Melendez, Rebecca Parks, Jason Rahlan and Fred Sainz. This publication was made possible by the generous support of the Margaret and Daniel Loeb—Third Point Foundation, the Paul E. Singer Foundation and Paul Boskind. For questions or additional information, please contact us at EqualityRising@hrc.org.

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HRC GLOBAL EQUALITY REPORT 2014