Chile same-sex marriage: Law overwhelmingly approved by parliament

Read: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-59570576

UK government unveils proposal to restrict conversion therapy

The UK Government Equalities Office unveiled draft proposals on in late October to ban conversion therapy for minors and vulnerable adults in England and Wales, seeking to prevent “coercive and abhorrent” practices that try to change sexual orientation or gender identity.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson pledged to outlaw conversion therapy last year after other countries banned it. The Government Equalities Office explained that international evidence suggests there is a strong link between conversion therapy and serious psychological harm.

“Call for Abstracts – LGBTQ+ and the Family”, (on site conference in Berlin 28 January 2022, deadline for abstracts 15 December 2021)

Council of Europe Member now happy with Luthuania’s reaction to judgment regarding extreme homophobic online hate speech in 2014

Decisions

The Deputies

1.         recalled that this case concerns the refusal, due to discriminatory attitudes, to launch a pre-trial investigation into the applicants’ allegations of having been subjected to extreme homophobic online hate speech in 2014, and the lack of an effective domestic remedy;

As regards individual measures

2.         considered that no further individual measures are necessary given that the just satisfaction has been paid and that the authorities reviewed and quashed their initial refusal to launch a pre-trial investigation into the applicants’ complaints of homophobic hate speech found to be contrary to the Convention, launched an investigation ex officio and have progressed rapidly with it;

As regards general measures

3.         noted with satisfaction the wide-ranging and multi-faceted measures taken by the authorities to improve investigations into hate crimes and hate speech, including the adoption of new methodological recommendations, the specialisation of prosecutors and the review of previous decisions to examine whether bias-motivation was an element of a crime or there were any causal links with discrimination; invited the authorities to take all the necessary measures to ensure the effective implementation of the new recommendations in practice;

4.         noted with interest the evolution of the domestic case-law, the capacity-building measures for investigative authorities taken and the statistics indicating an increase of hate crime investigations in recent years;

5.         encouraged the authorities to continue their efforts to identify and eliminate the challenges in investigating and prosecuting hate crimes and to continue with the training and awareness raising of law enforcement officers, prosecutors and judges, possibly drawing on the Council of Europe’s expertise in order to ensure a Convention compliant application of the hate crime legislation, in order to ensure the sustainability of the progress achieved so far; 

6.         welcomed the preventive measures taken by the Lithuanian authorities so far and their determination to continue to monitor and improve their response to hate crimes and hate speech; encouraged them to pursue their efforts, in particular, to finalise their comprehensive strategic plan to address both prevention of and response to hate crimes and hate speech and to work on measures to improve registration and data collection on hate crimes; 

7.         invited the authorities to submit a consolidated action plan/report including all relevant developments and an assessment of the impact in practice of the measures taken so far, as well as information on any additional measures envisaged to monitor the effectiveness of investigations into hate crimes and hate speech in the future, by the end of June 2023 at the latest;

8.         in light of the progress of the individual and general measures taken so far, decided to continue the examination of this case under the standard procedure.

Sport: Commonwealth Games boss wants to discuss Tom Daley’s eye-opening LGBT+ concerns

Read: https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2021/12/03/commonwealth-games-tom-daley-lgbt-sport/

Exciting job opportunities at ILGA World, but deadlines are fast approaching! 
 
We are hiring our new Director of Programmes,
and we have extended the deadline to apply until Wednesday 8 December 2021 at 1pm CET. Follow this link to find out more.

We also have four junior consultancy opportunities 
in our International Junior Professionals Programme!
(deadline to apply: Monday 6 December 2021, 11.59pm CET).
Follow this link to find out more.

The Netherlands formally apologized to trans and intersex persons for forcing sterilisation on those who wanted to see their gender legally recognised

AMSTERDAM (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – The Dutch government has agreed to pay about 2,000 trans people who had to undergo sterilisation to legally change their gender 5,000 euros ($5,993) each in compensation.

Until 2014, Dutch trans people who wished to amend the gender on their birth certificate first had to be sterilised and to alter their bodies, through hormones and surgery, to match their new gender….

Read: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-netherlands-lgbt-sterilisation-idUSKBN28B5UX

UK armed forces to allow some candidates with HIV to enlist

The UK’s Ministry of Defence announced Wednesday that it will permit people with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) to join the armed forces if they no longer have a detectable amount of the virus.

The announcement came on World AIDS Day as part of the Defence Ministry’s continued efforts to recognise breakthroughs in the treatment and prevention of HIV. Under its current policy, people living with HIV cannot join the Armed Forces, and those diagnosed with HIV while serving are no longer deemed “fully fit” to serve. According to the Ministry, the policy change will assist the armed forces in transforming into a more inclusive employer and help remove barriers to ensure that everyone who wishes to serve may do so.

The press release stated that starting immediately, those who do not have HIV but are taking Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) medication to prevent infection may join and serve in the armed forces without restrictions. In addition, service members diagnosed with HIV will be re-recognised as “fully fit” once their HIV is undetectable. The Ministry said that changes to the current policy for people currently living with HIV are expected to take effect in Spring 2022.

The Minister for Defence People and Veterans, Leo Docherty, said, “drug treatment has revolutionised the lives and outcomes of people diagnosed with HIV.” He further added, “as a modern and inclusive employer, it is only right that we recognise and act on the latest scientific evidence. I’m delighted that an exciting and fulfilling career in the armed forces is now open to many more people.”

The post UK armed forces to allow some candidates with HIV to enlist appeared first on JURIST – News – Legal News & Commentary.

Interesting Article: Vaughn Rossouw, “Or any other similar criteria”: Towards advancing the protection of LGBTQI detainees against discrimination and sexual and gender-based violence during non-international armed conflict

in: International Review of the Red Cross (Vol. 102, no. 914, August 2020)

Canadian MPs vote to ban LGBT ‘conversion therapy’

Read: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-59500095

The House of Commons of Canada unanimously adopted a motion Wednesday to pass Bill C-4 banning conversion therapy. The bill became the first to pass Commons in the 44th Parliament, which began on November 20.

The bill defines conversion therapy as a “practice, treatment or service” designed to change or repress a person’s non-heterosexual orientation, non-cisgender identity or gender expression that does not conform to the sex assigned at birth. Ranging from psychoanalytic therapy to electric shocks or nausea-inducing drugs, conversion therapy techniques have widely been discredited as pseudoscientific. Canada’s Department of Justice Minister David Lametti who co-introduced the bill noted that 10% of queer men surveyed were subjected to conversion therapy. He also said that exposure to conversion therapy is associated with drug abuse and suicidal ideation and attempts.

The bill denounces conversion therapy as violating human dignity and equality, recognizing it causes harm to both persons subjected to it and society since it propagates myths and stereotypes about the preference of heterosexuality and cisgender identity and gender expression. Anyone who causes another person to undergo conversion therapy faces imprisonment of up to five years. The bill also criminalizes the promotion, advertisement or derivation of material benefit from conversion therapy with a prison term of up to two years.

In June, backlash ensued when a similar law, Bill C-6, was voted down by 62 Conservative Members of Parliament. While Liberal leader Prime Minister Justin Trudeau claimed in Parliament Wednesday the opposition had signaled resistance again, it was Conservative MP Rob Moore who called for the rapid fast-tracking of the bill through the last two of three reading stages — a motion that was passed unanimously by Commons. The fast-tracking meant that there would be a free vote instead of a recorded vote where each MP must take a stance.

The bill’s passing, called “historic” by MP Mark Gerretsen in Parliament, was celebrated by advocates. The bill has now reached the Senate, where its first reading took place on December 2. If passed by the Senate, the bill will come into force 30 days after receiving royal assent.

The post Canada House of Commons unanimously passes bill banning conversion therapy appeared first on JURIST – News – Legal News & Commentary.