LGBTI activists in Georgia legally challenged the 10-year ban for men who have sex with men and gay men from giving blood donations. The Constitutional Court declared on 17 December that the ban is discriminatory and unconstitutional. The Court postponed abolishment of the disputed provision until 31 March 2020. Read more from Tbilisi Pride’s news article.
A resolution adopted by the European Parliament on 18 December made a strong call for an EU LGBTI strategy to counter the rise of official hate-speech and its consequences across the European Union. The resolution wraps up the debate on public discrimination and hate speech against LGBTI people that was held in plenary in Strasbourg on 26 November. The resolution calls on Poland to firmly condemn discrimination against LGBTI people and to revoke resolutions attacking LGBTI rights. The resolution also reiterates a call on the Commission to adopt an EU LGBTI strategy and a comprehensive, permanent and objective EU mechanism on democracy, rule of law and fundamental rights that includes the protection of LGBTI rights.
On 4 December, the National Council of Monaco unanimously adopted a bill allowing all couples to unite through a civil union contract. It will give rights related to illness and inheritance and allow couples to co-own a lease. “The legal regime of the contract has no effect on the rules of descent, of parental authority and on the rights of the child” said the National Council of Monaco. The recognition of civil unions will come into force after the promulgation of the text by Prince Albert II.
ILGA World and an organising committee of global intersex leaders are holding the 5th International Intersex Forum between 30 March and 3 April 2020 in Bangkok, Thailand. The 4-day Forum will bring together intersex activists, advocates and organisations from all world regions to strategise, exchange and learn from each other. General applications are open until 13:00 pm CET on 29 February 2020.
https://ilga.org/5IIF-fifth-International-Intersex-Forum-apply-now
USA – Illinois: Trans masculine person who gave birth will make history by being named as child’s dad on birth certificate
Ugandan Muslim leader faces life in prison for accidentally marrying a man
SOGICA (Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Claims of Asylum – A European Human Rights Challenge) Conference – 7-8 July 2020, University of Sussex
The deadline for emailing them a submission for the final conference is Monday 22 January 2020.
Registration to attend the conference is also open and is free although we are asking for contributions to our bursary fund to enable project participants and activists to attend.
For full details, please visit the conference page of our website.
US Federal appeals court blocks attempt to discharge members of Air Force due to positive HIV status
The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit upheld a ruling on Friday that blocked the Trump administration’s attempt to discharge members of the Air Force due to their HIV positive status.
The ruling, written by Judge James Wynn, highlights what he describes as the failure of the US government to take into consideration the scientific developments in treating HIV and the effect that has on an individual’s ability to perform his or her job. “[S]uch obsolete understandings cannot justify a ban, even under a deferential standard of review and even according appropriate deference to the military’s professional judgments.”
The original complaint, filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, alleged that two air force members were discharged solely due to the fact that they were carriers of HIV, even though they were asymptomatic and adhered to a strict treatment regime scientifically proven to halt the progression of HIV. Plaintiffs argued that their discharge was a violation of the Equal Protection under the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause. Plaintiffs stated that their HIV status served as a discriminatory basis for discharge even though the disease did not have any bearing on how they carried out their duties.
Service members with HIV do not enjoy the same treatment. Contrary to widespread misunderstandings about HIV a new diagnosis does not have the same ramifications it did when HIV first entered the public consciousness decades ago. For most people living with HIV, medication renders their HIV inconsequential to their daily lives. Service members with HIV continue to contribute meaningful to the military and to their country, just as any other Service member would.
This new ruling will allow plaintiffs to continue to serve in the US Air Force and serve as precedent for discriminatory discharge from not only the Air Force but other branches of the US military.
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Norway nonprofit alleges Grindr shared personal user data with ad companies in violation of EU rules
The Norwegian Consumer Council, a nonprofit organization, released a report Tuesday alleging that dating app Grindr is in violation of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The group has filed formal complaints against Grindr and five ad companies with the Norwegian Data Protection Authority (DPA).
The tests revealed that Grindr shares location and device information with several different companies, and the organization notes that simply sharing the fact that a user has the app installed on their device could potentially reveal that user’s sexual orientation, given that Grindr advertises itself as “the world’s largest social networking app for gay, bi, trans, and queer people.” Grindr also shares a user’s advertising ID, which is a unique identifier attached to a mobile phone and can be used to track users across different services.
While Grindr’s privacy policy informs users that the app shares some user data including the advertising ID with third parties, how that data is processed by those parties is governed by the third parties’ own privacy policies. The report accuses Grindr of “attempting to shift accountability for the advertising technologies that it is using away from itself” when it asks users to read through the policies of all the parties that may receive that data. For example, Grindr lists Twitter’s MoPub as an advertising partner, and encourages users to read the policies of MoPub’s partners, but MoPub itself has over 160 partners, “which clearly makes it impossible for users to give an informed consent to how each of these partners may use personal data.”
The complaints allege that the consent collected by Grindr from users is not a valid consent under the GDPR, and therefore all the data processing conducted by Grindr and the ad companies is unlawful. The complaint requests a full investigation, the erasure of all unlawfully processed personal data, and imposition of the maximum possible fine under GDPR against the companies involved.
Another European data privacy advocate, noyb, announced that it plans to file similar complaints with the Austrian DPA within the next few weeks.
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USA: Tennessee Senate approves bill allowing adoption agencies not to place with same-sex couples
The Tennessee Senate on Tuesday approved HB 836, a bill that would allow child welfare agencies to discriminate against LGBTQ+ families in adoption proceedings based on “religious or moral convictions or policies.” The bill was approved by the House last April and is awaiting review by Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, who has expressed an intent to sign HB 836 into law.
As passed on Tuesday, HB 836 holds that, “No private licensed child-placing agency shall be required to perform, assist, counsel, recommend, consent to, refer, or participate in any placement of a child for foster care or adoption when the proposed placement would violate the agency’s written religious or moral convictions or policies.” Supporters of HB 836 see the bill as a necessary protection against potential lawsuits hostile to religious beliefs. Seven states have enacted similar measures, including Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Alabama, South Dakota, Virginia and Michigan.
HB 836’s passage in Tennessee mirrors efforts by the Trump administration to develop a national rule affording similar protections. President Donald Trump’s proposed rule would do away with an Obama-era measure preventing discriminatory foster care agencies from receiving federal funding.
Tennessee adoption practices are not expected to change should HB 836 become law. Rather, the bill would provide legal protections for agencies that deny adoption to LGBTQ+ families based on religious beliefs and moral convictions. Opponents of HB 836 have expressed concerns that the bill interferes with LGBTQ+ rights and limits the potential for needy children to be fostered or adopted.
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International and Comparative SOGIESC Law - Professor Andreas R Ziegler 