O.N. and D.P. v. Russia (CEDAW, 27 March 2020): negative stereotypes against lesbian women

2.1    The authors are a lesbian couple, who have maintained a stable relationship for several years.

2.2    On the night of 19 to 20 October 2014, the authors were going home in Saint Petersburg when, at about 12.47 a.m., at a subway station, they noticed two unknown men following them. They continued on their way, followed by the men to the exit from the station, then along the street towards their flat. On their way, the authors openly demonstrated their relationship, hugging, kissing and holding hands. At one point, one of the men attacked the first author from behind, hitting her. He then hit both authors on the head, face and body, shouting homophobic insults and threatening to kill them if he met them again. Meanwhile, the second man filmed the attack with his mobile telephone. Shortly afterwards, the men left.

7.10  The Committee considers that the present case shows a failure by the State party in its duty to uphold women’s rights, particularly in the context of violence and discrimination against women on the basis of their sexual orientation and to eliminate the barriers that the authors faced in seeking justice in their case, in particular negative stereotypes against lesbian women, and to ensure that law enforcement officials strictly apply the legislation prohibiting gender-based discrimination against women.

Trans activists demand compensation for the forced sterilisation in the Netherlands

The Netherlands, like many European countries, required sterilisation for trans people to access legal gender recognition up until 2014. Following a trend in the region of pushback against these requirements, Transgender Netwerk Nederland (TNN), the Dutch organisation for sex diversity (NNID) and individual victims have now decided to demand financial compensation for the harm caused by forced sterilisation. The current law is in the process of being further reformed, and activists are also pushing back on remaining restrictive requirements and seeking non-binary inclusion and accessible procedures for minors. Read more.

Send your reports on hate incidents that happened in 2019 to ODIHR!

The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) publishes hate crime data every year on 16 November. This provides an overview of hate crimes reported by governments and hate incidents reported by civil society. They are asking civil society groups to report incidents that happened during the 2019 calendar year by 30 April.

https://hatecrime.osce.org/civilsociety

New Article: Tashwill Esterhuizen, Decriminalisation of consensual same-sex sexual acts and the Botswana Constitution: Letsweletse Motshidiemang v The Attorney-General (LEGABIBO as amicus curiae), African Human Rights Law Journal (Vol. 19, no. 2, 2019)

https://journals.co.za/content/journal/ju_ahrlj

U.N. urges nations to protect LGBT+ people amid coronavirus

NEW YORK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – The United Nations on Friday urged countries to protect LGBT+ people against discrimination when seeking health care during the pandemic, saying they may be hesitant to seek medical services and be especially vulnerable to the coronavirus.

Members of the LGBT+ community with HIV or AIDS may have compromised immune systems or a higher chance of being homeless than the wider population, making social distancing and safe hygiene difficult, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said in a statement.

“LGBTI people are among the most vulnerable and marginalized in many societies, and among those most at risk from COVID-19,” Bachelet said.

“We know that efforts to tackle the pandemic will only work if everyone’s rights to life and health are protected.”…

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-lgbt-trfn/u-n-urges-nations-to-protect-lgbt-people-amid-coronavirus-idUSKBN21Z3AK

Italy: Child Can’t Have Two Moms (Corte di cassazione 3 April 2020)

https://www.churchmilitant.com/news/article/italy-child-cant-have-two-moms

USA: American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Idaho sues state over transgender athlete law

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Idaho filed a lawsuit Wednesday challenging a newly-passed Idaho law that bans women who are transgender or intersex from participating on women’s and girl’s school sports teams.

The Idaho law provides that a student’s sex, if disputed, will have to be proven by a physical exam in which the healthcare provider may verify the student’s sex through examining “the student’s reproductive anatomy, genetic makeup, or normal endogenously produced testosterone levels.” In its complaint, the ACLU of Idaho asserts that the Idaho law both “discriminates on the basis of sex” and “invades fundamental privacy rights.”

The ACLU of Idaho is requesting that the US District Court for the District of Idaho find that the law is unconstitutional and therefore void.

The post ACLU of Idaho sues state over transgender athlete law appeared first on JURIST – News – Legal News & Commentary.

Bosnia takes first small step towards recognising same-sex relationships

Full-time internship opportunity at ILGA World (Geneva)

ILGA World is looking for an intern to provide assistance to the organisation’s communications efforts. This is an excellent opportunity if you have a demonstrated interest in using your communications skills to raise awareness of human rights issues, and want to gain experience working for an international human rights organisation that represents LGBTI networks, communities and movements on a global stage. The internship is for a period of six months and virtual. The intern can be based anywhere with good internet connection and will receive a financial compensation of CHF (Swiss Francs) 750 per month.
Read more and apply by 19 April.

United Nations Special Rapporteur: ‘States should not use religious beliefs to justify women and LGBT+ rights violations’

The United Nations Special Rapporteur, Ahmed Shaheed presented his report on freedom of religion or belief to the Human Rights Council on 2 March. “I firmly reject any claim that religious beliefs can be invoked as a legitimate ‘justification’ for violence or discrimination against women, girls or LGBT+ people. The right to freedom of religion protects individuals and not religions as such,” he said in the report. (Image: UN Photo/Amanda Voisard)
Read more about the report.