These are some of the elements which give the picture of the legal status of lesbians and gays in the world as of May 2012 according to the 6th edition of the State-Sponsored Homophobiafear, unreasonable anger, intolerance or/and hatred directed towards people attracted to others of the same gender. More Report presented yesterday, 16th May, in Geneva by ILGA, the International Lesbianadjective/noun to describe a woman whose enduring physical, romantic, and/or emotional attraction is to other women. Women and non-binary people may use this term to describe themselves. More, Gayadjective to describe people whose enduring physical, romantic, and/ or emotional
attractions are to people of the same gender. Men, women and non-binary people may use this
term to describe themselves. More, Bisexualadjective used to describe a person who has the capacity to form enduring physical, romantic, and/ or emotional attractions to those of the same gender or to those of other genders. More, Transadjective/umbrella term to describe a person whose gender identity does not match the sex they were assigned at birth. More and Intersexan umbrella term for the spectrum of variations of sex characteristics that naturally occur within the human species. Intersex people are born with variations of sex characteristics (such as genitals, reproductive organs, hormonal and chromosomal patterns) that are more diverse than stereotypical definitions of male or female bodies. Up to 1.7% of the global population are born with such traits; yet, because their bodies are seen as different, intersex children and adults are often stigmatised and subject to harmful practices – including in medical settings - and discriminated against. More Association, on the occasion of the 8th annual celebration of the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobiarefers to negative cultural and personal beliefs, opinions, attitudes and behaviours based on prejudice, disgust, fear and/or hatred of trans people or against variations of gender identity and gender expression. More.
The State-Sponsored Homophobia Report, authored by Lucas Paoli Itaborahy, is not only a collection of laws criminalizing same-sex sexual acts between consenting adults, but includes also several lists of countries according to the rights LGBT people enjoy in them. The report, usually accompanied by a world map summarising the findings of the report, is this year accompanied also by regional maps of Africa, Asia and Latina America and the Caribbean in seven languages, including Arabic, Chinese and Hindi. Data of the 2011 State-Sponsored Homophobia Report featured also in the first ever United Nationsan international organisation comprising 193 member States. It has the mission of maintaining peace and security, protecting human rights, providing humanitarian aid and ensuring economic and social development across the globe. It is a network of many different bodies and agencies, each of which has a particular role and responsibility. More report on discriminatory laws and practices and acts of violence against individuals based on their sexual orientationrefers to a person’s capacity for profound emotional, affectional and sexual attraction to - and intimate and sexual relations with - individuals of a different gender or the same gender or more than one gender. More and gender identityrefers to a person’s deeply felt internal and individual experience of gender, which may or may not correspond with the sex assigned at birth. More, issued by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in December last year.
Gloria Careaga and Renato Sabbadini, co-secretaries general of ILGA, said: “This report has become a very useful tool not only for ILGA members, but for researchers, governmental representatives and activists all over the world. We are very grateful to all those who worked on it and provided the data and we are very proud to have the chance to offer a global State-Sponsored Homophobia Report and contribute in this way to the struggle in the achievement of LGBTIacronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex people. Although this is not the acronym available to describe people of diverse sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions, and sex characteristics, it is the most commonly used in United Nations spaces and advocacy. More rights”.
Notes
About ILGA
The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association is the only global federation of national and international LGBTI organizations. Since 1978, year of its foundation, ILGA works for equality and human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex people worldwide. ILGA has today more than 900 member organizations from about 110 countries.
About the report
ILGA’s State Sponsored Homophobia Report can be downloaded here
ILGA’s World Map on Lesbian and Gay Right can be downloaded here
A poster version of the World Map as well as the regional Maps in various languages can be found here
For more information on ILGA’s report and maps on State Sponsored Homophobia and ILGA’s activities around the world please contact: stephenbarris@stg.ilga.org
For media enquiries
Please contact ILGA’s Co-Secretaries General, Renato Sabbadini at renato@stg.ilga.org or Gloria Careaga at careaga@unam.mx