Human Rights Watch

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Russia: Expanded ‘Gay Propaganda’ Ban Progresses Toward Law

Russia’s State Duma unanimously supported new draft legislation to further restrict freedom of expression regarding sexual orientation and gender identity, Human Rights Watch said today. The proposals prohibit sharing positive and even neutral information about lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people, and publicly displaying non-heterosexual orientations, with hefty fines for noncompliance. The legislation is now pending approval by the parliament’s upper chamber and the president. The original “gay propaganda” ban, introduced in 2013, purported to protect children from “propaganda,” broadly defined to mean any positive or neutral depiction or discussion of non-heterosexual relations. The draft legislation, while maintaining aggravated penalties when […]

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Tennessee Readies First Anti-Transgender Bill of 2023

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Just one day after the midterm elections in the United States, lawmakers in Tennessee filed bills to ban gender-affirming health care for children in next year’s state legislative session. The bill would prohibit medical providers from prescribing puberty blockers, which delay puberty to allow children who are transgender or grappling with their gender to determine their gender identity. The bill would also prohibit gender-affirming hormones and surgery. While gender-affirming surgeries for children are not recommended under prevailing standards of care and are exceptionally rare, interventions to delay puberty are more common and are critically important for the mental and physical health of many transgender people. The American […]

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Gay Men File Appeal in Trumped-Up Chechnya Conviction

 Two men, whom police tortured in Chechnya, are appealing their conviction on false, politically motivated charges, Human Rights Watch said today. The authorities should withdraw the charges against the two men, Salekh Magamadov and Ismail Isayev, who are brothers, void the conviction, immediately free them, and hold to account those responsible for torturing them. On October 25, a regional appeal court in Pyatigorsk will hear their appeal against sentences of eight and six years in prison, respectively, for allegedly providing food to a member of an illegal armed group. “The injustice against Magamadov and Isayev could not be more stark, and […]

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Anti-Trans Bills Also Harm Intersex Children

The spate of anti-transgender legislative proposals across the United States in recent years also threatens to undermine the fundamental rights of intersex children, Human Rights Watch, interACT: Advocates for Intersex Youth, and the SOGIESC Human Rights Initiative of the University of North Carolina Human Rights Law Program said today. MAPPING THE INTERSEX EXCEPTIONS Anti-Trans Legislation Across the United States Permits Rights Violations Against Intersex ChildrenSEE IT HERE  On Intersex Awareness Day, observed annually on October 26th, the groups introduced an interactive map that highlights how lawmakers across the US have included clauses in their bills that allow or encourage human rights violations against children born with intersex variations. […]

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Australia’s FIFA World Cup Team First to Collectively Back Workers, LGBT Rights

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Australia’s national men’s football team, the Socceroos, just became the first FIFA World Cup side to collectively speak up on human rights issues in Qatar. In a powerful video released on October 27, sixteen current and former Australian players, supported by the broader playing group, expressed their solidarity with migrant workers and LGBT people, making it clear that “universal values like dignity, trust, respect and courage should define football values.” Players correctly assessed the situation in Qatar, where important reforms have been introduced but require better implementation. More importantly, they acknowledged that the decision to host the World Cup in Qatar resulted in preventable suffering and […]

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Censoring Sexuality Education is Not a ‘New Idea’

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The “New Ideas” government of President Nayib Bukele appears to be ignoring the potential of sexuality education to foster understanding and reduce violence against sexual and gender minorities. This is not an innovative approach, but rather an antiquated, prejudiced idea. El Salvador’s Education Ministry recently fired the director of the National Institute of Teacher Training and announced a “restructuring” of that institution. The reason? The Institute had greenlit a segment of Let’s Learn at Home—a remote education television show initiated during the pandemic—that explained the concept of sexual orientation. The ministry said the information was not “in adherence with [Salvadoran] reality.” Subsequently, the Institute’s website became inaccessible and currently displays an error message. The segment, […]

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England To End LBQ+ Discrimination in Access to Fertility Services

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The British government has committed to a 10-year strategy to end discrimination against “female same-sex couples” seeking fertility services. The first ever Women’s Health Strategy For England, published by the UK’s Department of Health and Social Care, includes language supporting reproductive rights for lesbian, bisexual and queer (LBQ+) women. It commits the government’s health department to improving transparency and removing discriminatory policies to ensure “female same-sex couples are able to access [National Health Service] NHS-funded fertility services in a more equitable way.” In October, 2021, campaigners Megan and Whitney Bacon-Evans launched a legal case against their local NHS board, stating that its fertility policy […]

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How Targeting LGBTQ+ Rights Are Part of the Authoritarian Playbook

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In the last three decades, protections for LGBT people’s rights have advanced rapidly in many countries and regions. However, rising populist authoritarianism poses a significant threat to this progress because abolishing sexual freedom is often at the heart of repressive political projects. The progress and backsliding in my home country, Colombia, illustrates the process of using democracy to erode rights.   In 2016, Colombia seemed like a legislative paradise for LGBT people. That year, a pinnacle of legislative success was a Constitutional Court ruling that secured a range of family rights for same-sex couples, including marriage and adoption, and protection of LGBT students in […]

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A Push to Silence LGBT Rights in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq

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On September 4, members of the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq proposed an odious bill to Parliament that, if passed, would punish any individual or group who advocates for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. The bill is reportedly gaining momentumamong parliament members. According to the “Bill on the Prohibition of Promoting Homosexuality,” anyone who advocates for LGBT rights or “promotes homosexuality” would face imprisonment up to one year, and a fine of up to five million dinars (US$3,430). The bill would also suspend, for up to one month, the licenses of media companies and civil society organizations that […]

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Vietnam Adopts Global LGBT Health Standard

Vietnam’s Health Ministry officially confirmed on August 3, 2022, that same-sex attraction and being transgender are not mental health conditions, Human Rights Watch said today. The decision brings Vietnam’s health policy in line with global health and human rights standards. Vietnam’s new directive states that “the American Psychiatric Association and the World Health Organization (WHO) have confirmed that homosexuality is entirely not an illness, therefore homosexuality cannot be ‘cured’ nor need[s] to be ‘cured’ and cannot be converted in any way.” “The Vietnamese Health Ministry’s recognition that sexual orientation and gender identity are not illnesses will bring relief to LGBT people and their […]

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