Scotland is training a small army of LGBT-friendly police officers to stamp out hate crime

Scotland’s police force has ramped up its commitment to tacking anti-LGBT hate crime. LGBTI charity the Equality Network is collaborating with Police Scotland to deliver a training programme for police at locations around the country – aimed at helping police support victims of hate crime, and increasing public confidence in police.

The more than 60 new LGBT Liaison Officers are intended to be the hub of a network across Scotland, that is accessible to the local LGBT and intersex communities. Superintendent Jim Baird of Police Scotland’s Safer Communities Department said: “Tackling hate crime is a priority for Police Scotland. We are delighted to have worked with the Equality Network. 

"Research and studies show hate crime against the LGBTI community is often under reported. We hope that these specially trained officers will encourage more LGBTI people to come forward with the confidence in Police Scotland to help reverse this trend.” Read more via PinkNews

US: White House appoints first transgender person as primary LGBT Liaison

President Barack Obama has appointed Raffi Freedman-Gurspan as the White House’s primary LGBT liaison, making her the first transgender person in the role. 

“Raffi is a great choice,” said Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality. “President Obama has said he wants his administration to look like America, and they have moved to include trans Americans. Raffi’s skills and personality make her the exact right person for this important job.”

Freedman-Gurspan became the first transgender staffer appointed to the White House in 2015, working as the outreach and recruitment director in the presidential personnel office. In her new role — as the Outreach & Recruitment Director for Presidential Personnel and Associate Director for Public Engagement — Freedman-Gurspan becomes the White House’s lead point of contact for LGBT groups on all issues. Read more via Buzzfeed

Op-ed, When governments curtail our freedoms, LGBT people are first in the firing line

There have been three instances of late of government censorship across the world: the Kenyan government wrestling with Google as it tries to ban a music video, Indonesia grappling with social media companies to try and remove certain emoticons, and most recently, the Chinese state editing out certain storylines from television programs. These developments all have something vital in common: they are all attempts to erase LGBT people from the public eye.

The justifications given by these states are similar enough. The Kenyan Classification and Film Board refused to license the video for Same-Love Remix by Art Attack because it “does not adhere to the morals of the country”. Indonesia banned emojis showing couples of the same gender holding hands claiming that “social media must respect the culture and local wisdom of the country”. And the Chinese government has banned television storylines featuring same-sex couples as part of its crackdown on “vulgar, immoral and unhealthy content”. The message is the same: LGBT people offend the majority, and so their existence should not be recognised.

These actions are troubling in and of themselves. However, it is also concerning on a deeper level, as it highlights the well-established link between LGBT persecution and authoritarianism.  Read more via New Statesman

Lebanon: Op-ed, How public health can affect LGBT Rights

When I think about LGBT rights in Lebanon, a swinging pendulum comes to mind. Slow progress met with backlash and arbitrary detention. A recent study showed that 81% of a representative Lebanese sample believed homosexuality was not normal. Nevertheless, LGBT activists stood fast in this environment and fought the institutional discrimination facing this community. LGBT health advocates even managed to stir up conversation on sexuality among their peers and the broader community.

Arguments rooted in public health principles supported many LGBT rights issues. Until 2012, forensic doctors performed anal tests, humiliating and torturous acts conducted on gay men and transgender women to ‘prove’ that they had anal intercourse. LGBT health activists successfully pressured the Lebanese Order of Physicians to ban them. As a consequence, the Order started investigating physicians who performed these tests and publically threatened to suspend their medical license.

The Lebanese experience proves that public health can be a tool used in fighting against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. But reflecting on these successes also highlights that health care disparities still persist in Lebanon and other countries where LGBT communities face stigmatization. 

Read more via Center for Transatlantic Relations Equality Blog 
 

International Women’s Day: the issues faced by sexual and gender diverse women

On a day that champions the achievements of women while recognising the ongoing struggle of gender inequality, Anna Brown believes it’s important to highlight women who face intersectional discrimination – because of both their sexual and gender identities.

International Women’s Day is an annual celebration of women around the world, one that Brown sees as a significant opportunity to raise awareness around women in the LGBTI community:

“Around the world lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and intersex women face human rights abuses such as corrective rape, physical attacks, and even murder. As queer women in Australia we have an important role to play in standing in solidarity with women across the world. For instance, we need to ensure that our government’s foreign policy initiatives on women and girls are inclusive of lesbian, bisexual, trans, and intersex women.” 

 Read more via Star Observer
 

Australia: Meet the trans kids fighting for the right to transition

Access to medical treatment changes transgender people’s lives. It can mean the difference between employment and homelessness, education and dropping out, wellbeing and depression, anxiety and suicide. But for many, it remains out of reach.

Australia is the only Western country where transgender people under the age of 18 must seek court permission to start taking cross-sex hormones. At best, experts say, the delay causes emotional trauma and financial stress. At worst, it’s a matter of life and death. Read more via Buzzfeed

South Africa: Minister of Justice calls on Africa to respect LGBTI people

South Africa’s Minister of Justice has called on African nations to accept the human rights of LGBTI people and to change their attitudes towards sexual orientation and gender identity.

Delegates from across the continent participated in the “Africa Regional Seminar on Finding Practical Solutions for Addressing Violence and Discrimination Against Persons Based on Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression.” The seminar brought together officials, human rights groups, international and regional bodies, civil society and academics.

In his speech, Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Advocate Michael Masutha said that the seminar had its roots in the resolution adopted by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights in May 2014 condemning violence and other human rights violations against the LGBTI community. The historic resolution, while largely ignored by African governments, also condemned attacks by states against people on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Masutha said that at the heart of efforts to protect LGBTI Africans from “horrendous violations” was the understanding “that we must change societal attitudes”.  Read more via MambaOnline

Nigeria: The trials of modern LGBT life

excerpt: I’ve dedicated some time to write articles on the gay issues in Africa, with a special focus on my home country, Nigeria. The great thing about sharing my story, aside from creating awareness, is that I’ve met lots of African gays who share their own stories, including a friend of mine, Sam, who was in Lagos, when he went to a café to meet up with a guy he found on Grindr last year. The guy followed him from the cafe and asked Sam for his phone. Suddenly, two guys appeared, telling Sam to cooperate. It dawned on him that this was a set up.

Instinctively Sam began yelling, “Thief!” to draw attention from passers-by. He had no gay content on his phone so these men couldn’t prove anything. The men began yelling, “Gay, Gay, Gay!” thinking the passers-by would attack Sam. Sam, with the confidence that there was no evidence of his sexuality, told them he’d get the police involved.

Three passers-by stopped and asked what was wrong. The men told them that Sam was gay and they set a trap for him. They said they had proof that Sam was gay. By then, eight people had joined the onlookers. A lady spoke up, “If he is gay, what’s your business?” Someone else said, “Homosexuality is legal is several countries, what’s your point?” Read more via EQ views

Human rights contestations: sexual orientation and gender identity

This article asks if and why sexual orientation and gender identity-related rights should connect to a human rights framework. To answer that question it begins by addressing how we understand what makes human rights resonate or not resonate and if addressing a contentious issue such as sexual orientation or gender identity from within a human rights frame advances or detracts from such resonance.

The argument developed in response is anti-foundational: i.e., that human rights' resonance has not come from some universally valid extra-political foundational source but, rather, comes from how human rights have been transformed (at times) into tools that become relevant to everyday struggles of marginalised peoples.

Considered in that context, including recognition of sexual orientation and gender identity-related rights may be extraordinarily difficult, but also presents an opportunity to re-conceptualise human rights in a way that reflects the sort of bottom-up demands that keep human rights relevant.  Read more via International Journal of Human Rights

Spirit Awards: 'Tangerine' Star Mya Taylor Makes History as First Transgender Winner

"There's very beautiful transgender talent. So, you better get it out there and put it in your next movie," Taylor joked at the podium.
Mya Taylor made history at the 31st Film Independent Spirit Awards on Saturday when she became the first transgender actress to ever win at the annual ceremony.

The actress was nominated for best supporting female, beating out Cynthia Nixon (James White), Jennifer Jason Leigh (Anomalisa), Marin Ireland (Glass Chin) and Robin Bartlett (H.) to take home the trophy.

"First of all, no one tells you how nervous you're gonna be when you're up against other big actors for an award. There are so many things that go through your head, like 'Am I gonna trip on this long-ass dress getting up here?'" she joked at the podium upon accepting her award. "I have had a long journey through my 2015 because I had come from almost nothing and then got this role and this movie, and my life just did a total 360." Read more via Hollywood Reporter