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Media Representation of LGBTQ People in Latin America and the Caribbean

Elena Robertson
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0
Media Representation of LGBTQ People in Latin America and the Caribbean

This report presents the findings of a media classification study. The study classified media reports as either positive/neutral coverage; incomplete coverage; or negative coverage; and with either a positive statement tone; neutral statement tone; or negative statement tone. Media was analysed for source (i.e. legal experts, journalists, NGO staff); population ‘categories’ (i.e. LGBTQI, trans men, low-income, deprived of freedom/incarcerated) and use of language (human-rights informed, hate speech, moralising).

The report provides a comprehensive overview of its research methods and databases.

The research revealed that 4 out of 5 clips (articles/videos etc) had a positive coverage tone which is not indicative of low levels of homophobia: many of these stories were about discrimination, violence, and human rights abuses of LGBTQI people. 58% of all clips included statements from people with diverse SOGIE or other diverse SOGIE sources, meaning LGBTQI people were able to speak for themselves. The report then presents finding on source tone (positive overall) before exploring data on who is represented in these media clips.

Overall, the report found that media takes a positive tone towards the LGBTQI community—but that this is indicative of knowledgeable journalists rather than societal acceptance. The report then provides recommendations for strengthening news coverage.

Media Representation of LGBTQ People in Africa

Elena Robertson
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0
Media Representation of LGBTQ People in Africa

This report presents the findings of a media classification study. The study classified media reports as either positive/neutral coverage; incomplete coverage; or negative coverage; and with either a positive statement tone; neutral statement tone; or negative statement tone. Media was analysed for source (i.e. legal experts, journalists, NGO staff); population ‘categories’ (i.e. LGBTQI, trans men, low-income, deprived of freedom/incarcerated) and use of language (human-rights informed, hate speech, moralising).

The report found that, overall, South African news media coverage of LGBTQI+ issues and communities is by far the best across nearly every indicator. Botswana had the second most positive stories while Malawi was in the middle. Uganda was the only country that featured a majority of negative statements, and had the fewest stories that were positive or neutral in coverage tone. Kenya and Uganda use ‘homosexuality’ as an abstract concept, unlike in South Africa and Botswana, where news stories humanise LGBTQI+ people by using their names (where safe and with consent) and amplifying their voices.

Localisation: Opportunities and challenges for protection in disaster response

Elena Robertson
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Localisation: Opportunities and challenges for protection in disaster response

The research paper includes the following key points:

Case for and against local actors as protection actors

  • Current literature on the relationship between protection and localisation is primarily about conflict-related emergencies.
  • Arguments exist that reducing the involvement of international actors will further reduce funding for non-conflict related protection.
  • Among the arguments for supporting local actors as protection actors is the argument that local actors will provide protection strategies that positively contribute to the agency of individuals in times of crises.
  • The research paper argues that the localisation debate needs to be shifted away from an international-national dichotomy towards an understanding that seeks a complementary approach that includes a combination of actors.

Comparing contexts of protection: disaster and conflict response

  • Threats to civilians in disasters usually result from displacement and the breakdown of law and order (e.g. the exacerbated vulnerabilities of groups). Protection issues are linked to physical, social and economic barriers that impact people’s ability to access assistance and services, and the marginalisation of vulnerable groups in the community (such as sexual and gender minorities).
  • Disaster-affected states can experience conflict and harmful cultural practices that complicate protection responses.
  • Traditional strategies play a role in how communities cope with the effects of disasters.
  • While there are international protections (in the form of human rights instruments etc.) for people affected in non-conflict disasters, no comprehensive international legal treaty exists.
  • Additionally, international protections are not necessarily included in national laws, or may only be included in non-enforceable ways. 

Challenges and opportunities for protection in localised disaster response:

  • The research paper categorises opportunities and challenges under the following points: Differing concepts of protection, Different prioritisation and perspectives, Multiple mandates, Gender and cultural norms and biases, Humanitarian principles, and Representation and accountability.
  • Within this section the paper highlights some of the impacts of differing knowledge, perspectives and approaches of international and local actors on protection activities; such as the cultural norms and practices for keeping people safe, and identifications of particular at-risk groups by international actors.
  • This section of the paper notes that crises provide opportunities to influence established culture and gender roles, and as such localising responses can allow affected individuals to take on leadership roles. However the paper also acknowledges that times of crises can further exacerbate biases and further discriminate groups that are already marginalised, such as sexual and gender minorities.

The research paper concludes with a list of questions to guide further research grouped under the 6 points in the ‘Challenges and opportunities for protection in local disaster response’ section, with the additional point of ‘protection outcomes and complementary roles’. These questions are used to guide further field research in the Pacific.

Livelihood, Exclusion and Opportunity: Socioeconomic Welfare Among Gender and Sexuality Non-Normative People in India

Elena Robertson
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0
Livelihood, Exclusion and Opportunity: Socioeconomic Welfare Among Gender and Sexuality Non-Normative People in India

This report paper analyses the socioeconomic experiences of sexual and gender minorities in India, with a specific focus on these experiences within Manipur and Odisha. These states were chosen due to the increase in the last five years of community, government, NGO and donor-backed initiatives on economic inclusion of people with non-normative genders and sexualities. This report analyses the economic inclusion of sexually and gender diverse people in India through exploring key ideas such as the barriers and facilitators to inclusion, strategies to improve inclusion and government poverty alleviation programmes. Both primary and secondary research methods are used throughout this report. The report is broken into three key elements, legal policy and background; key findings and community responses to inclusion.

Legal Policy and Background

This section discusses three key elements. Firstly, the legal and policy background that crafts the socioeconomic context in which diverse SOGIESC people in India live. Secondly, the government poverty alleviation programmes that contribute to creating economic inclusion. Lastly, a focus on some of the arising issues that may contribute to the accessibility of such government programmes, such as ration cards and proof of identity documentation.

Key Findings

There are a variety of barriers to accessing social security schemes in India for those with diverse sexuality and gender. One key issue is the accessibility for such schemes by trans women. Many transgender women have access to such schemes however not in their desired gender. Many critical documents such as passports and ration cards do not have consideration of diverse sexualities and genders. There are also other barriers to accessing social security schemes such stigmatisation of gender non-normativity at a ground/grassroots level.

Community Responses

This section discusses community-level responses to government programmes and schemes. Some responses include the concern for transgender children in schools and their vulnerability to discrimination, Furthermore, some trans leaders are advocating for trans women exclusive colleges, as they do not believe mainstreaming efforts will work, and discrimination will continue to prevail. Overall, this paper provides an analysis on the inclusion of gender non-normative people in social security efforts and their socioeconomic experiences in India, specifically Manipur and Odisha. While the Indian government contains contradictions and many uncertainties for non-normative sexual and gender identities, there is a strong basis for governmental strengthening to showcase dedication to economic inclusion.

LGBTI Training Package

Elena Robertson
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LGBTI Training Package

This training package includes a series of modules designed to introduce participants to foundational knowledge (such as terminology, global issues and the discrimination and persecution faced by LGBTI persons); to enable participants to understand how to sensitively conduct interviews; operational protection for LGBTI migrants; a series of thematic topics; and a special module by request on refugee status determination.

LGBT Exclusion in Indonesia and Its Economic Effects

Elena Robertson
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0
LGBT Exclusion in Indonesia and Its Economic Effects

The LGBT Exclusion in Indonesia and Its Economic Effects examines the evidence that discrimination occurs against LGBT people can hold back economic growth in Indonesia.

Key findings from the report include:

Waria are often unable to get work, stay in school, or open a bank account because the gender listed on their identification cards does not match their gender presentation.

LGBT people and those perceived as LGBT report high levels of harassment in school, which may reduce educational attainment and reduce economic productivity later in life. In some regions, LGBT people rely heavily on work in the informal employment sector, particularly sex work and jobs in salons.

Studies of Indonesians LGBT show that most have experienced violence, resulting in increased economic burdens. Stress associated with prejudice produces higher rates of depression and suicide, impairing economic productivity.

The report compares the Indonesian economy to India where similar study has been completed.  It is estimated that the loss resulting from LGBT exclusion in Indonesia would be from 0.1 percent to 1.4 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), or $862 million to $12 billion. The report shows that public attitudes in Indonesia are far less accepting of homosexuality than attitudes in India, so this estimate of Indonesia’s estimated financial loss is considered conservative.

Indian Ocean Tsunami Through the Gender Lens: Insights from Tamil Nadu, India

Elena Robertson
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0
Indian Ocean Tsunami Through the Gender Lens: Insights from Tamil Nadu, India

In 2004, an earthquake off the coast of Sumatra caused an enormous tsunami, 11 countries, killing more than 225,000 people and injuring hundreds of thousands more. In India, more than 12,000 people were killed, the majority of whom lived in Tamil Nadu. Nearly 75% of fatalities in India were women, and thus a body of work on the gendered impacts of natural disasters emerged. Pincha’s book takes this analysis further, highlighting the differential impacts on women, men and aravanis, a third-gender group in Tamil Nadu. This study seeks to expand ‘the understanding of gender mainstreaming by including Aravanies [sic].’ This study was the first to specifically investigate the experiences of third-gender people in the Indian Ocean tsunami.

More than 150 FGDs were held with different groups of men, women, adolescent girls and aravanis in more than 45 tsunami-affected areas. The report provides a brief history of gender mainstreaming in the development sector before moving into methodology, methods and findings. The findings are organised by general theme.

The first sections cover issues of survival (access to relief, conditions of temporary shelter, livelihoods etc)—these sections reveals that while there were no official deaths of aravanis, five aravanis died in Nagapattinam district. Aravanis were almost entirely excluded from relief processes, and there were significant gaps in attention to the needs of women (i.e. Muslim women were not provided burquas). Aravanis were excluded from temporary shelter and slept in the open.  Subsequent sections cover impacts on health and wellbeing (including the general lack of access to food and nutrition for aravanis; the pressure to undergo reverse-sterilisation for people who had previously had tubal ligation; and gendered occupational health hazards); aravanis (lack of) access to social security; and overall failure of NGOs and response entities to direct interventions towards aravanis.

The report then provides recommendations for addressing some of the greatest challenges and gaps identified earlier in the study. The report highlights that a gendered analysis of roles, norms and behaviours in pre-emergency settings would have revealed the gender roles and norms that later impacted recovery; it would have also made stakeholders—humanitarian actors, government officials—aware of the consequences of the tsunami on the aravani population

Home is Where the Heart Is: Sexual Orientation Discrimination and the Right to Adequate Housing in International Law

Elena Robertson
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0
Home is Where the Heart Is: Sexual Orientation Discrimination and the Right to Adequate Housing in International Law

In this Note for the Geo Wash Int’l L Rev, Smith discusses the ways in which LGBTI people are overrepresented in homeless populations and the international legal mechanisms and instruments that mandate non-discrimination in the right to adequate housing. Smith argues that housing is guaranteed for LGBTI persons through international legal mechanisms that prevent discrimination.

Smith first establishes the international instruments protecting the right to adequate housing before delving into regional international instruments (the Charter of the Organisation of American States, for instance); the customary international law protecting the right to adequate housing (France’s Law of 31 May 1990, for example); international instruments through which to enforce non-discrimination; and domestic enforcement of non-discrimination access to adequate housing. Smith then provides evidence to the protection of sexual orientation as an internationally protected status before analysing the obligation of parties to protect the right to housing for LGBTI people under non-discrimination instruments and mechanisms.

The Rainbow Group in Mae La camp

Elena Robertson
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0
The Rainbow Group in Mae La camp

The author shares their experience growing up in Mae La refugee camp on the Thai-Burma (Myanmar) border, including their role in creating a group for people with diverse SOGIESC. UNHCR encouraged the group to formalise as a community-based organisation but the author and other group members felt that doing so would compromise the safety and security of members. The group started with 7 members who worked to create a more positive perception of people with diverse SOGIESC in the camp, and to challenge intolerant attitudes. The Rainbow Group began taking a visible role in weddings, funerals and hosting dance classes to engage with the community.

The Rainbow Group remained unfunded as they did not formally become a CBO. The author notes that tolerance may have increased, but that acceptance and genuine changes in attitudes did not eventuate. The author eventually left the camp in order to seek employment in a nearby town—the Rainbow Group has disbanded, but the author feels that he and other people with diverse SOGIESC cannot safely be repatriated to Myanmar.

Kaleidoscope: Findings and reflections on LGBTQI+ movements in Mexico

Elena Robertson
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Kaleidoscope: Findings and reflections on LGBTQI+ movements in Mexico

This report explores the challenges and opportunities for advancing the rights of LGBTQI+ people and communities in Mexico.

The report opens with an overview of the context, focusing on opportunities and challenges. These include the need for a change in federal government, growing importance of legal action, the new generation of LGBTQI+ leaders, growing conservatism, inclusion of LGBTQI+ faith-based groups, increase in fascist discourse and extreme violence against LGBTQI+ populations.

The report then looks at existing LGBTQI+ movements in Mexico, covering the achievements, perception, representation in movements, intergenerational communication, collective political agenda, strategies used by LGBTQI+ movements, support infrastructure and security, protection and human rights defense. The report then looks at funding of LGBTQI+ movements before making conclusions about the current challenges and opportunities, and recommendations for those interested in supporting the movement.

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