While we continue to face the terrible impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, with LGBTQI communities suffering more than most, there are reasons to be cautiously hopeful for LGBTQI human rights this year. Around the world, activists are continuing the struggle for equality, defending our communities and campaigning for change.
Same sex relations will be formally decriminalised in Angola, with our grant partners in The Commonwealth Equality Network pushing for progress from the Caribbean to Asia. There will be calls to ban conversion therapy worldwide, and campaigns for marriage equality from Estonia to India.
LGBTQI activists will be demanding progress on intersex rights, from Albania to Argentina. In India, our grant partner the Centre for Law and Policy Research recently published ‘Beyond the Binary’, a policy brief advocating for better legal protections for the intersex community. And globally, the Intersex Human Rights Fund – GiveOut’s first partner focusing on intersex rights – is supporting fifty organisations campaigning for intersex equality around the world.
“Intersex movements have continued to be tireless in their efforts to build community solidarity, advocate for their rights to bodily integrity, raise awareness of and fight for their human rights.”
Intersex Human Rights Fund
The struggle for trans rights will continue, and there will be calls for new legal protections for LGBTQI people against discrimination. Our grant partner ILGA-Europe is supporting a campaign for legislation on homophobic and transphobic hate crime in Italy. And in Jamaica our grant partner TransWave recently launched the country’s first Trans and Gender Non-Conforming Healthcare Strategy to advance the health and wellbeing of trans people.
Many of us are looking to the U.S., where the Biden-Harris administration represents new opportunities for our community and has already taken early measures to advance equality. And with its new LGBTIQ Equality Strategy, the European Commission has committed to play a stronger role in supporting our communities. The UK too has made new commitments to fund equality globally and will host a global LGBTQI conference postponed from last year.
“We need improvement to basic services, including psychosocial support. And we need transgender people to be able to access public health services as their authentic selves.”
Renae Green, Associate Director of Policy and Advocacy, TransWave
Around the world, the LGBTQI movement is forging new intersectional, cross-movement alliances with the Black Lives Matter movement, democracy and climate movements. Indeed, the pandemic may prove to be the dress rehearsal for the greatest crisis of our time – the climate emergency. LGBTQI people will be affected in particular ways and our movement has an important role to play in demanding action. To support vital work at this intersection, GiveOut will be launching a ground-breaking new initiative.
A new era of responsible business beckons, with growing recognition that businesses have a role to play in supporting social progress, including LGBTQI equality. GiveOut is looking to build new corporate partnerships to strengthen our movement. Later this year, look out for GiveOut’s report with some of our partners on how businesses can help resource the LGBTQI movement.
With your continued support and that of our community globally, other social justice movements, friendly governments, the private sector and other allies, we can make significant progress towards LGBTQI human rights and equality globally in 2021.
Thank you so much for standing with the movement as we build towards a more equal future.