FIGHTING FOR LGBTI RIGHTS

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: june 2018 :: RMTnews 27 Amnesty International works and campaigns on behalf of individuals who experience violations of their human rights, including those who face discrimination, harassment and violence because of their real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. All over the world, people experience horrific treatment and abuse because of who they love or how they identify. Over 70 countries worldwide continue to criminalise same- sex relationships, including 45 in which sexual relationships between women are outlawed. In Iran, Sudan, Saudi Arabia and Yemen, homosexuality is punishable by death. The same applies in parts of Somalia and northern Nigeria. There are also some countries where homosexuality has been decriminalised but where LGBTI people still face huge problems. In Egypt for example, same-sex relations are technically legal, but last year saw a huge homophobic crackdown take place. The story is no better for trans people. The Trans Murder Monitoring Project, an initiative that analyses homicides of trans people, recorded that between 2007 and 2014, there were over 1700 murders of trans people globally. Due to systematic marginalization and humiliation, studies in the United States and Canada have also found high rates of suicide among trans people. High suicide rates have also been found in Europe, a region where trans people face discrimination and hostility in society and law. In 2014, Amnesty commissioned a report called ‘The State Decides Who I am’, documenting some of the barriers faced by trans people wishing to legally change their gender, which range from having to receive mental health diagnosis, undergo sterilisation as well as other medical treatments. This is a violation of human rights. The rights of intersex people are often disregarded and discarded too. Intersex people have genital, chromosomal or hormonal characteristics that do not correspond to the given standards for ‘male’ or ‘female’. Because of this, intersex people can face stigmatisation, discrimination and violence from birth. In Uganda, Kenya, South Asia, and China, infanticides and abonnements have been reported. Medical interventions to modify the sex characteristics of intersex people also take place in many countries. Amnesty released a report in May 2017, called ‘First, Do No Harm’ which found intersex children in Germany and Denmark are subject to invasive, non-emergency, irreversible surgery to fit gender stereotypes. The above is only a glimpse into the situation faced by LGBTI people across the world. To give the full picture would require many articles. And despite progress, there is still no country in the world where LGBTI people are free from stigmatisation, discrimination or violence. Even in the UK, where huge strides have been made towards equality, our community still needs to fight to ensure our rights are secured, protected and respected. This is why Amnesty exists and why we continue to campaign. We’re currently fighting with Sakris Kupila – who is going to speaking at the next TUC LGBT conference in July - and the trans community in Finland. Whilst there has been much progress in Europe since we released the report – ‘The State Decides Who I am’ – which I mentioned earlier with regards to the legalities of legally changing a person’s gender, discrimination continues. Sarkis is being denied legal gender recognition because he refuses to undergo a humiliating process that involves a mental disorder diagnosis and enforced sterilisation. He is calling for reform of Finland’s gender recognition procedures, which violate the rights of trans people to be free from cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, to the highest attainable standard of health, to privacy, and to recognition as a person before the law. We’re campaigning for this alongside him. We also continue to call for an impartial investigation into the horrific abduction, torture and killing of gay men in Chechnya and are working with intersex organisations to raise awareness of the human rights abuse suffered by intersex people. We also want to ensure that people fleeing their country through fear of discrimination or persecution because of their sexual orientation or gender identity don’t face unjust treatment when claiming asylum here in the UK and not treated unfairly by the system. You can join us in this fight by signing up to Amnesty UK’s LGBTI Network for free here. By signing up, you’ll receive monthly updates about our work and how you can take action on our campaigns. You can also follow us on Twitter and Facebook. The trade union movement has a proud history of supporting the rights of LGBTI people. By continuing to work together and standing shoulder to shoulder in the fights against injustice, we can be a force for the change in the world. It is worth recalling that in the late seventies, industrial tribunals set precedents that made it legal for UK employers to sack LGBT employees because of their sexuality. It is the steadfast commitment of UK unions that forced the government to protect LGBT employees at work. In many countries, such blatant workplace discrimination, harassment and victimisation is still perfectly legal. It is our unions, locally, nationally and globally that have the opportunity to stand up for the LGBT members wherever we work. FIGHTING FOR LGBTI RIGHTS Amnesty UK’s LGBTI Network campaigns officer Ryan Stalley explains the work of the organisation Incoming RMT LGBT+ conference president Alex Grant stands with Sakris