State Dept. report reveals ongoing abuse, conversion therapy

The State Department’s annual human rights report that was released on Monday details the prevalence of so-called conversion therapy and the treatment of intersex people around the world.

The report notes LGBTQ+ and intersex rights groups in Kenya have “reported an increase in so-called conversion therapy and ‘corrective rape’ practices, including forced marriages, exorcisms, physical violence, psychological violence, or detainment.” The report cites the Kenya ational Commission on uman ights that said “infants and children born with physical sex characteristics that did not align with either a typical male or female body were subjected to harmful medical practices for years in attempt to normali e them.

A landmark law that extended legal protections to intersex enyans took effect last uly.

The report notes “many reports of conversion attempts conducted or recommended by evangelical and Catholic churches” in Brazil, even though the country has banned conversion therapy. It also cites the case of Magomed Askhabov, a man from the Russian republic of Dagestan who “demanded a criminal case be opened” against a rehabilitation center in the city of Khasavyurt in which he and other residents “were physically abused and subjected to forced prayer as part of their ‘treatment’ for homosexuality.”

“There were reports police conducted involuntary physical exams of transgender or intersex persons,” notes the report. “The Association of Russian-speaking Intersex reported that medical specialists often pressured intersex persons (or their parents if they were underage) into having so-called normalization surgery without providing accurate information about the procedure or what being intersex meant.”

The report notes Afghan culture “insists on compulsory heterosexuality, which forced LGBTQI+ individuals to acquiesce to life-altering decisions made by family members or society.” The report also refers to LGBTQ+ and intersex activists in the Philippines who criticized former President Rodrigo

Duterte after he “mockingly” endorsed conversion therapy and joked he had “cured” himself of homosexuality.

The report indicates “social, cultural and religious intolerance” in Kiribati “led to recurrent attempts to ‘convert’ LGBTQI+ individuals informally through family, religious, medical, educational, or other community pressures.” ungarian law prohibits ransgender or intersex individuals from changing their assigned sex/gender at birth on legal and identification documents and there is therefore no mechanism for legal gender recognition. he report also cites statistics from the tt r Society, a ungarian B and interse rights group, that indicate one out of B and interse ungarians have gone through some form of ‘conversion therapy.’” he report notes then-British rime inister Boris ohnson’s government in April 2022 announced plans to ban conversion therapy based on sexual orientation in England and Wales. Activists sharply criticized the exclusion of Transgender people from the proposal, and the British government later cancelled an LGBTQ+ and intersex rights conference after advocacy groups announced a boycott. resident oe Biden last une signed a sweeping B and interse rights e ecutive order. Secretary of State ntony Blinken at the beginning of this year’s report notes the mandate directed the State Department to specifically include enhanced reporting on so-called conversion ‘therapy’ practices, which are forced or involuntary efforts to change a person’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression, as well as additional reporting on the performance of unnecessary surgeries on interse persons. uman rights are universal, Blinken told reporters on onday as he discussed the report. hey aren t defined by any one country, philosophy, or region. hey apply to everyone, everywhere.” he Biden- arris administration in released a memorandum that committed the U.S. to promoting LGBTQ+ and intersex rights abroad. awmakers in ganda on uesday approved a bill that would further criminalize LGBTQ+ and intersex people in the country. Consensual same-sex sexual relations remain criminalized in dozens of other countries around the world. ctivists in kraine with whom the Washington Blade has spoken since Russia launched its war against the country in February 2022 have said LGBTQ+ and intersex people who lived in Russia-controlled areas feared Russian soldiers would target them because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. The report’s release also coincides with Republican efforts to curtail LGBTQ+ rights in states across the U.S. ntigua and Barbuda, Barbados, St. itts and evis and Singapore decriminali ed consensual same-se se ual relations last year. he report notes Chile s marriage e uality law took effect on arch , , but lists violence against B and interse people as one of the significant human rights issues in the country. Swit erland, Slovenia and Cuba also extended marriage rights to same-sex couples in 2022. he report cites the case of Brenda D a , a rans Cuban woman with I who is serving a -year prison sentence because she participated in an anti-government protest in uly . he report also notes several B and interse ournalists including elson lvare airata and ancel oreno left the country because of government harassment and threats.

Congress requires the State Department to release a human rights report each year.

The State Department released the report hours before .S. mbassador to the . . inda homas- reenfield hosted a meeting at the nited ations that focused on the integration of LGBTQ+ and intersex rights into the U.N. Security Council’s work.

The report notes LGBTQ+ and intersex rights advances around the world in 2022.

The Cuban government also blocked the websites of Tremenda Nota, the Blade’s media partner on the island, and other independent news outlets.

MICHAEL K. LAVERS

arold hillips, director of the White ouse ffice of National AIDS Policy (ONAP), said Monday that Congress must increase funding to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic, including for programs designed around the lives and needs of Americans who are living with the disease.

“We have the support of the Biden-Harris administration, and we have the support at HHS, but without congressional funding we can’t get there,” said Phillips, who delivered his remarks during the AIDS United annual AIDSWatch conference in Washington, D.C.

Phillips echoed remarks by other speakers in calling for Congress to increase appropriations funding for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Ryan White I IDS rogram, but he also emphasi ed the importance of “making space for people living with HIV in other aspects of the budget.”

Consistent with the Biden-Harris administration’s focus on employing a whole-of-government approach, Phillips said stakeholders must understand that while “HIV is, yes, a public health threat,” the disease is also “the result of systemic and structural racism,” an intersectional problem requiring more than narrowly focused biomedical or public health responses.

Therefore, he said, these conversations about matters like HIV’s impact on Black lives, or considerations for aging folks who are living with the disease, must be held at places like the White House Gender Policy Council, the National Economic Council, and the U.S. Department of