Australia’s Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Murray Watt is “concerned” after Iran reportedly summons the Australian Ambassador to the country after sharing a pro-LGBTQ+ post on Instagram.
The embassy shared the post to mark Wear It Purple Day on 30 August, a date that “strives to foster supportive, safe, empowering and inclusive environments for rainbow young people” in Australia.
Reuters reported that Iran summoned the Australian Ambassador, Ian McConville, to the ministry in the capital Tehran in response to the social post, which was dubbed as “norm-breaking” and “promoted homosexuality”.
Watt has since responded to the news, saying that the reaction from the Iranian government is “concerning”.
He told ABC News Breakfast on 4 September: “Certainly, the Albanese government’s views and our values are that we support all Australians, regardless of their sexual orientation, their gender, their race.”
The Minister added: “I am concerned to see this reaction from the Iranian government to the activities of the Australian Embassy.
“We’re very proud about the fact that our embassies promote Australian values internationally, and I’m very concerned to see an overseas government seemingly take action against an Australian Embassy that is upholding Australian values.”
Watt was asked whether there would be any “counter-reaction” in Australia, to which Watt responded: “It’s probably a little bit early for me to be predicting that.
“But I’m sure these are things that Penny Wong [Australia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and leader of the Government in the Senate] and others will be taking into account,” he concluded.
The original social media post in question read: “Celebrating ‘Wear it Purple Day’ with a splash of purple in every corner, and some delicious cupcakes made with love.
“Today, and every day, we’re dedicated to creating a supportive environment, where everyone, especially LGBTQIA+ youth, can feel proud to be themselves. Let’s keep championing diversity and inclusion for a brighter, more inclusive future,” the post went on to proclaim.
The Iranian Labour News Agency quoted McConville as saying the post was not meant to be an insult to the Iranian people or their values and the Islamic Republic was not mentioned in the post, which remains live on the embassy’s Instagram account.
Homosexuality is illegal in Iran and same-sex acts between men are punishable by death, while women face the possibility of 100 lashes. There are no protections for LGBTQ+ people from discrimination, and conversion therapy is believed to be widely performed.
Last year, Nicolette Mason, the founder of the Iranian Diaspora Collective, a non-partisan, queer-led, multi-faith group, told PinkNews that the country’s younger citizens wanted “to be able to live freely like the rest of the world”.
The Dominican Republic’s Constitutional Court will hear a challenge on August 30, 2024, to laws that criminalize consensual same-sex conduct by officers in the police and armed forces, Human Rights Watch said today. In an amicus curiae brief, Human Rights Watch said that these discriminatory laws violate the rights under international law of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) officers to equality, privacy, and the ability to work without fear, among others.
“These draconian laws are a stain on the Dominican Republic’s human rights record and contribute to an unchecked discriminatory environment in the police and armed forces,” said Cristian González Cabrera, senior researcher at Human Rights Watch. “State-sanctioned bigotry has no place in a democratic society governed by the rule of law and in a region that has mostly disavowed the criminalization of private sexual acts between people of the same sex.”
The Dominican Republic does not ban same-sex conduct by private individuals. Yet, it lags behind on LGBT rights, lacking comprehensive civil anti-discrimination legislation, same-sex marriage or civil union rights, and gender identity recognition for transgender individuals, Human Rights Watch said. In recent months, LGBT activists have criticized a proposed criminal code for not providing protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity, including hate crimes provisions.
In 2019, a viral video exposed a Dominican army sergeant in a same-sex encounter, leading to his dismissal. The army cited a “duly proven serious fault that tarnishes the morals and ethics of the institution.” The sergeant filed an appeal. An administrative court dismissed his case in 2021 on procedural grounds, but the sergeant filed a new appeal and is awaiting a final decision.
In 2014, the then-director of the National Police told a congressional committee that existing legislation “does not allow people who are homosexual” to be part of the force. In response to questions about what would happen to homosexual officers already in the police force, the then-director asked for them to be identified, news reports said.
Anderson Javiel Dirocie de León, one of the lawyers leading the constitutional challenge, told Human Rights Watch: “The discriminatory provisions mean that LGBTI officers serve in constant fear of being discovered, sanctioned, and losing everything, including their livelihood. The provisions convey a message from the state that LGBTI people are inherently unfit to perform public functions and can be considered criminals for being who we are.”
In 2004, the Dominican Republic’s congress passed a broad criminal procedure reform that limited the ability of the police and the armed forces to criminally sanction officers, but made clear that those institutions retain their administrative “disciplinary powers.” In 2019, the Constitutional Court clarified that criminal cases against officers should be heard by ordinary criminal courts, but it did not strike down the provisions on sodomy in the security forces’ codes of justice.
In recent years, countries in the region, including Peru, Ecuador, Venezuela, and the United States, have scrapped laws that criminalize same-sex conduct by officers.
In its amicus curiae brief, Human Rights Watch said that the criminalization of same-sex conduct violates international standards, including the rights to be protected against arbitrary and unlawful interference with one’s private and family life and to one’s reputation or dignity, as emphasized by the United Nations independent expert on sexual orientation and gender identity.
While the provisions under constitutional challenge prohibit same-sex conduct only in the military and police context, they make the Dominican Republic one of the few remaining countries in the Americas to criminalize same-sex conduct.
“President Luis Abinader and Congress should not wait for the Constitutional Court ruling and should promptly introduce legislation to repeal these outdated and discriminatory laws that meddle in officers’ private lives,” González said. “Repealing these laws would send a strong signal to LGBT people and the world that the principles of equality and nondiscrimination are of the utmost importance in the Dominican Republic.”
Gay Brazilians have become targeted as a slew of murderers have been using dating apps to target gay men, Reuters reports.
One victim, Leo Nunes, was murdered on Lover’s Day in Brazil after he met someone on Hornet, a gay dating app. He was killed in a middle-class neighborhood in Sao Paulo.
One suspect has been arrested, however the string of crimes has yet to stop. People report being robbed and attacked after meeting up with assailants using fake profiles.
Straight men may be at risk, too, of “love cons,” where straight men are lured to a remote location to meet with a woman and are instead kidnapped and robbed.
Criminal groups are targeting LGBTQ+ people because of their known reluctance to interact with law enforcement.
“Because of structural homophobia, criminals know that LGBT people are vulnerable. They know they will be more easily intimidated,” said Wanderley Montanholi, a lawyer for the family of Heleno Veggi Dumba, a gay doctor who was murdered in April in Sao Paulo after an attempted robbery.
Three suspects have been arrested for Dumba’s killing, however none are charged as of yet.
Five gay men have been killed through these apps since March of 2024, although the number may be higher as deaths go unreported to police.
Brazilian police declined to comment to Reuters about murders linked to gay dating apps, mentioning only the “love cons.”
Gabriel, a gay man who did not give his surname to Reuters, was robbed by the same profile on the same street as Nunes. “One man put a gun to my stomach and asked me the password of my phone,” he said, which led to his bank accounts being accessed and his money and credit cards stolen.
According to Gabriel, the profile remained on Hornet for weeks after it was flagged, in spite of multiple people flagging it as well. Law enforcement declined to comment on the cases of Gabriel and other individuals who had been attacked.
Gerry Monaghan, head of operations at Hornet, said to Reuters that “all reports are looked at and reviewed by Hornet.” He also said that the company added additional staff to handle reporting and that they changed their reporting system to prioritize issues based on severity. He did not elaborate on this.
A spokesperson for Grindr said that they are “aware that in Brazil, digital platforms such as ours are occasionally abused to target LGBTQ+ people.” He referenced security features in the app and referenced their participation with law enforcement.
A humanitarian agency in Colombia sought the guidance of a local organization supporting LGBTQ+ communities to better address the needs of VenezuelanLGBTQ+ migrants, resulting in improved responsiveness to their needs. Following the devastating 2015 earthquake in Nepal, a local LGBTQ+ organization trained humanitarian partners to understand and address the overlooked needs of LGBTQ+ communities. In Ukraine, LGBTQ+ organizations partnered with humanitarian groups to better reach those in need of protection, temporary housing, cash assistance, and other forms of life-saving support in the context of Russia’s full-scale war.
What do these stories have in common? They all demonstrate that, in times of crisis, meaningful inclusion of LGBTQ+ people in humanitarian action is not only possible but critical.
Ringo Chiu/Shutterstock
While LGBTQ+ people share common vulnerabilities with all affected populations in humanitarian crises, they also have specific and diverse needs not faced by others. These may include protection from bias-driven violence and scapegoating, access to safe transport and shelter that respects queer families and individuals, and specialized medical care from hormone treatments to HIV-related medications.
These stories and others are documented in a new joint report by Outright International and Edge Effect. In They Know What We Don’t: Meaningful Inclusion of LGBTIQ People in Humanitarian Action, the authors intentionally sought out positive stories of inclusion and collaboration between LGBTQ+ organizations and humanitarian agencies with the hope of inspiring change in a sector that has long struggled to meet the needs of queer people sufficiently.
Unfortunately, the case studies documented in the report are not typical. Far too often, pre-existing stigma and discrimination leave many LGBTQ+ people left out and left behind when a crisis hits. Other factors that hinder adequate support include a lack of understanding among mainstream humanitarian agencies, hostile sociocultural, political, and legal contexts, and an unwieldy humanitarian bureaucracy.
The Outright-Edge Effect report, however, does not dwell extensively on the well-documented shortcomings of the humanitarian system. Instead, the report sourced interviews with humanitarian workers and activists and utilized case studies from Colombia, Lebanon, Myanmar, Nepal, and Ukraine. The report seeks to illuminate examples of humanitarian actors and LGBTQ+ community organizations working toward equitable partnerships to ensure timely humanitarian assistance with dignity and respect.
In one example, Mercy Corps created a remunerated partnership with Caribe Afirmativo in Colombia to reach LGBTQ+ migrants. Through this collaboration, each organization’s capacity was strengthened through open, safe sharing of expertise, resulting in more effective programming. Other examples include jointly developing LGBTQ-sensitive toolkits and guidelines to enact non-discrimination, duty-of-care, and other policies at all response levels.
Across all examples is this simple fact: partnerships between LGBTQ+ organizations and humanitarian actors work best when the voices of local LGBTQ+ people are centered in programmatic decision-making.
LightField Studios via Shutterstock
Among other findings, the research clarifies that strengthening inclusion cannot rely exclusively on the goodwill of internal allies within the humanitarian system. Inclusion must be institutionalized, resourced, and integrated into action plans and response strategies. In addition, inclusion must be part of larger cross-sector efforts to improve localization and decolonize aid. Humanitarian organizations are well-placed to build bridges between local LGBTQ+ organizations and humanitarian coordination structures that lead needs assessments and determine response strategies.
The report’s findings also highlight some pitfalls. For example, while LGBTQ+ actors should be at the forefront of initiatives that aim to meet their needs, an overreliance on these organizations without adequate support or acknowledgment of challenges at the local level can result in fatigue and frustration. Humanitarian organizations must learn to work collaboratively with LGBTQ+ communities to harmonize their strengths, safety needs, and capacities.
Finally, it is crucial to recognize the diversity within LGBTQ+ populations and find a balance between targeted programming and sensitizing mainstream programming to meet LGBTQ+ needs. The LGBTQ+ umbrella captures various identities and experiences that may inhibit or enhance visibility, access to services, and trust in institutions. The intersecting components of individuals’ identities will inform their needs, preferences, and capabilities.
The report is being published at a time when humanitarian crises are taking place globally, from Gaza to Sudan to Afghanistan. Outright and Edge Effect are well aware of addressing the humanitarian needs of LGBTQ+ people in conflict, post-conflict, and other disaster areas. This requires inclusive responses and a commitment from governments and non-governmental organizations to prevent conflict and crises.
A sincere commitment to humanitarian principles compels action toward improving outcomes for all people, including LGBTQ+ populations. It’s time to dismantle the barriers that have prevented their full inclusion in humanitarian action.
Outright International works with partners around the globe to strengthen the capacity of the LGBTIQ+ human rights movement, document and amplify human rights violations against LGBTIQ people, and advocate for inclusion and equality.
Edge Effect strives to ensure that the rights, needs, and strengths of people with diverse sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions, and sex characteristics are addressed within the humanitarian and development sectors.
Voices is dedicated to featuring a wide range of inspiring personal stories and impactful opinions from the LGBTQ+ and Allied community. Visit Advocate.com/submit to learn more about submission guidelines. We welcome your thoughts and feedback on any of our stories. Email us at voices@equalpride.com. Views expressed in Voices stories are those of the guest writers, columnists and editors, and do not directly represent the views of The Advocate or our parent company, equalpride.
A gay man from Britain who was jailed in Qatar after being entrapped by the police has finally been permitted to leave by Qatari authorities and has returned to the United Kingdom after months of imprisonment in inhumane conditions.
Manuel Guerrero Aviña, a gay man who has British/Mexican citizenship, was arrested in February 2024 in Qatar, where homosexuality is illegal. Aviña was a former employee of Qatar Air Lines. He was convicted of drug possession in a so-called “honey trap.”
Aviña said he responded to fake messages on Grindr that were actually sent by the police.
He was lured to a location in Doha, where the profile he was messaging with said would meet other gay men, he says. In Doha, the police were waiting to arrest him. The police say they found methamphetamine in his apartment during the arrest, which Aviña says they planted there.
He was jailed on February 4, and was given a suspended six-month prison term and a fine at Al Sadd Criminal Court in the capital city of Doha in June.
While jailed, Aviña was deprived of antiretroviral medication that he needs as an HIV-positive man. He was also forced to sign documents pertaining to his imprisonment that were written in Arabic, which he does not speak, without a translator. He said that he was forced to identify which contacts in his phone were his sexual partners, and subjected to “psychological torture.”
Aviña’s family and LGBTQ+ rights advocates around the world launched a campaign for him to return home, which was finally successful this week.
The X account @QatarFreeManuel announced yesterday, “At this moment Manuel flies free and dignified towards London! We are grateful for the unwavering support in this fight for justice. There is no doubt that ‘solidarity is the tenderness of peoples.’”
A statement posted on the accounts reads, “Manuel and his family thank you for your tireless support in this emblematic struggle against injustice, against homophobia and in favor of human rights for all people. But, as the saying goes, the struggle goes on, it is not over, and it will not end until there is justice for all people. Manuel’s case, and all the cases we have defended, teach us that only organisation, solidarity and courage can change this world and its injustices.”
Aviña himself spoke about his release, saying, “Although I welcome the fact that I can leave the country, I still condemn the unfair trial I have been subjected to and the torture and ill-treatment I endured during my preliminary detention.”
“I urge the UK and Mexican governments to raise concerns with the relevant Qatari authorities about the unfair trial and the violations of due process,” he added.
Michelle Carranza, 22, did not want to be another trans woman murdered in her native Honduras.
“They don’t accept us there. They kill us, they discriminate us, they rape us,” Carranza said, speaking to NBC News and MSNBC against the backdrop of the Statue of Liberty.
A year and a half ago, she fled Honduras with Gretta Mazariegos, 29, and Gretta’s younger brother, Isaac, 20, two friends who are also part of the LGBTQ+ community.
Michelle Carranza.Andres Gonzalez / NBC News
“To live in Honduras and be part of the LGBT community is all about survival,” Gretta Mazariegos said. “We were persecuted multiple times because we are part of the LGBTQ community.”
“We had to leave our country because of discrimination, beatings,” Isaac Mazariegos said.
Carranza said they were first harassed by members of street gangs known as Maras, after they refused to work for them. One time, the Maras broke into her apartment, destroyed her furniture and left her threatening messages with homophobic language, she said.
They say they were almost killed in a park in Honduras when they were chased by men with machetes who were yelling homophobic slurs.
“That’s when I told Gretta, ‘The best thing is for me to leave Honduras because I feel that here I will eventually be killed,’” Carranza said.
Facing deadly risks — and undertaking a dangerous journey
Gretta Mazariegos left Honduras to save themselves and their brother. When Isaac was 14 years old, their parents kicked them out of their house because they are LGBTQ+.
“I had to become a very resilient person for my brother,” Gretta Mazariegos said. “I could bear the yelling, the beatings, the tortures, but when I saw that my brother was also experiencing that, my role went from being his brother to being his father or mother.”
On Feb. 7, 2023, they left for Guatemala, eventually making their way to Chiapas, Mexico, and later to Tijuana, near the U.S. border.
“When leaving my country, I never imagined the number of dangers that I was going to face,” Carranza said as she dried her tears.
In Tijuana, a meeting with a man who had befriended Carranza turned violent.
“He said, ‘You’re going to die today. You’re not going to see the sunlight again. You will be dead in this hotel today,’” Carranza said. “And he then grabbed me by the hair and threw me on the bed … He almost killed me. That man raped me,” Carranza said.
Some time later, health officials arrived to administer HIV tests where Carranza was staying at the Garden of Butterflies shelter.
“I got tested regularly, but the man who raped me, he raped me without protection,” Carranza said. “I go outside with the nurse, and he said, ‘Your test came back positive.’” Later a doctor confirmed Carranza had contracted HIV.
These three friends survived, but many in the LGBTQ+ community do not.
The Organization of American States reports that the average life expectancy of trans women in Latin America is no more than 35 years of age.
In Mexico, activists have recorded at least 231 murders of LGBTQ+ people in the last three years.
Around the world, at least 67 countries have national laws criminalizing same-sex relations between consenting adults, and, in 12 countries, consensual and private same-sex sexual acts may even carry the death penalty, according toHuman Rights Watch.
In Tijuana, the three migrants waited for seven months for an appointment through the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s CBP One app, which is used to schedule migrants and asylum-seekers to present themselves at a U.S. port of entry.
Their appointment was on June 8, 2024, just four days after President Joe Bidenannounced new border restrictions.
They entered the border legally in Calexico, California, where border officials documented their entry and released them with a preliminary court date for October 2024.
Hoping to request asylum, despite the hurdles
Carranza and her friends want to request asylum but cannot afford a lawyer, so they are now looking for free legal services. For now, they are trying to collect all the evidence they have of the abuse they faced.
Under U.S. law, persecution due to sexual orientation, gender identity or HIV status are grounds for asylum, explained Bridget Crawford, director of law and policy at Immigration Equality, which represents LGBTQ+ migrants and asylum-seekers. The organization is currently reviewing their cases.
“An asylum-seeker must prove that they have a well-founded fear of persecution on account of a ‘protected ground.’ The protected grounds are your race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group. LGBTQ status is widely recognized as meeting the definition of ‘particular social group,’” Crawford said.
“Typical evidence that might help an LGBTQ refugee prove their claim are things like police and medical reports detailing attacks or injuries, letters or declarations from partners or others who can credibly attest to the applicant’s LGBTQ status and the facts of their claim, membership in LGBTQ organizations, pictures and dating profiles, a psychologist’s evaluation, articles and reports about conditions for LGBTQ people in a person’s home country,” Crawford said.
Crawford said it is common for LGBTQ asylum-seekers to face barriers when collecting evidence and documentation, such as police reports and medical records.
“This might be because they couldn’t go to the police. It might be because police officers perpetrated the abuse. It might be that they had to flee so quickly, they couldn’t gather that type of evidence,” Crawford said.
Carranza said that after they were chased by men with machetes in Honduras, they went to the police.
“The police told us that if we didn’t have evidence, like video, photos or someone who could testify as a witness, then our word wasn’t worthy,” Carranza said. “In Honduras, the police and the narcotrafficking are all in collusion.”
The only official document they have is a complaint that a lawyer helped them file with the municipality of Villanueva in Honduras. They say they may have other conversations, images and videos saved on their phones that could help them prove their case.
Crawford said that Carranza and her friends would probably have to explain in their case that they were unable to get police reports because they were dismissed by the officers. “They would have to get affidavits from witnesses, ideally who would also be available to testify, corroborating what happened,” Crawford said.
“In theory, detailed, consistent and credible testimony alone is sufficient to prove a claim provided an applicant can explain to the judge why corroborating documentary evidence was unavailable, but this is often very hard to do, especially if an applicant is not represented by an attorney and trying to navigate the complicated immigration process in a language they don’t understand,” Crawford said.
Michelle, Gretta and Isaac now live in Trenton, New Jersey, with friends. They have new hope now that they are safe in the U.S. as they await their first court date.
Crawford said generally the first court appearance is a short hearing before a judge, in which the asylum-seeker tells the judge if they intend to apply for any relief, such as asylum. “This is not where an asylum-seeker will present evidence on their asylum case. That happens later at what is called an ‘individual hearing,’” Crawford said.
Gretta Mazariegos said there are “so many things I want to do,” so many plans. “I want to continue my studies — I want to collaborate with this country by working.”
Isaac Mazariegos said, “I feel protected to be here, because in my country I couldn’t be myself because of so much discrimination.”
As for Carranza, “we now feel liberated,” she said. “We are happy and emotional about being in this country.”
The Supreme Court of Nepal has ruled that Rukshana Kapali, a transgender woman, should be legally recognized on all documents as a woman without having to submit to medical verification. The judgment is the latest in the court’s history of progressive rulings on sexual orientation and gender identity, which has earned Nepal a positive global reputation on LGBT rights.
Following a 2007 supreme court order, authorities have been issuing some documents listing gender as “other” or “third gender” for more than a decade on the basis of the person’s self-identification. Despite the court order, the lack of a clear central policy has created problems. Trans people in Nepal today who want to change their gender markers to “female” or “male” are typically forced to undergo surgery, which requires traveling outside the country, and then in-country medical assessments, including invasive examinations of post-operative genitals. Even people who are attempting to obtain documents marked “other” are subjected to this humiliating and unnecessary medical scrutiny.
The Yogyakarta Principles – drafted and signed in 2006 by a group of experts, including a former Nepal parliament member and LGBT rights advocate Sunil Babu Pant – state that each person’s self-defined sexual orientation and gender identity is “integral to their personality” and is a basic aspect of identity, personal autonomy, dignity, and freedom. The principles are clear that gender recognition may involve, “if freely chosen, modification of bodily appearance or function by medical, surgical or other means.” These principles were the basis of the Supreme Court of Nepal’s 2007 order and are cited in Kapali’s new court victory as well.
Kapali, a trans woman law student, has sued the government of Nepal over 50 times since 2021 – pushing for rights-based legal recognition of gender identity. And while this recent judgment sets a precedent for trans rights, the order only applies to Kapali, meaning others will have to petition courts to be legally recognized according to their gender identity.
A better solution is a central policy. The government can and should make the system work for everyone by issuing a directive that allows people to self-identify their gender on official documents, without medical or other verification.
The parents of a transgender teenager who took his own life have called for more support for youngsters waiting for care.
15-year-old Jason Pulman was found dead in Hampden Park, Eastbourne, East Sussex, in April 2022. He had been on an NHS gender identity service waiting list for more than two years.
Jason, who was trans masc, had been referred in 2020, but was told several months later that there was a 26-month wait just for a first appointment.
In April, an inquest jury found systemic failures by a range of services supporting Jason could have contributed to his death. Mark Pulman had noted that his stepson became increasingly frustrated over the lack of support and appeared to have “given up,” adding: “I know it broke Jason.”
The teenager’s mother, Emily, urged national services to do more to support trans under-18s on the waiting list. “They need so much more resources and not to have one appointment that’s years away,” she said.
“There needs to be regular input with these kids, so it’s not just about their gender, it’s about their mental health overall.”
Information collected by PA Media and reported by The Guardian suggests that more than 5,700 under-18s are waiting an average of 100 weeks for a first appointment.
Waiting times have only been exacerbated by the closure of what was England’s only youth gender clinic, at The Tavistock Centre in North London.
Jason’s stepfather believes that the numbers are “hugely underestimated” and added that he hopes families are given faster responses and emotional support.
“We want to change the system and we want to change it for the families because it’s a very lonely, isolating place to be when you think you’re the only person whose child is going through this,” he told the BBC.
“I don’t want people to think [being] transgender and suicide are the same thing, because they are not. I don’t want people to automatically be fearful. If your child feels [they are transgender], you’ve got to believe them and support them.”
Families of trans children need to take charge of the system and not to let it “take charge of you,” he added.
“Be on the phone, email them, push for more information,” he urged. “Never take it on face value that this [appointment] is going to be the answer to your problems because there’s going to be more support needed, like counselling for the whole family.”
In Colombia, armed groups are targeting transgender women along with other so-called undesirables in a violent campaign of “social cleansing” across the country.
Paramilitaries in Colombia—still operating despite a peace agreement with the country’s largest rebel group, the Farc, in 2016—killed more than 40 transgender women last year, according to reporting in The Guardian.
Eight more died between February and April this year, activists say, in an effort by armed groups to create a “parallel state” where trans women and others seen as damaging to society are punished or killed.
In Caquetá, a sparsely populated department in southern Colombia and a rebel stronghold, flyers began appearing on the streets and circulating through WhatsApp warning of “social cleansing” of “fa***ts, lesbians and men and women who destroy homes,” all of whom would be considered legitimate military targets.
One was Tatiana Cespedes, 51, a trans hairdresser who was working in her home salon when three armed men burst in and warned her she had a week to leave town or she would be killed. After hiding for several days, she packed a small bag and fled with her dog in the night.
Cespedes said she’s lived through similar periods of rebel conflict and endured the sexual violence that accompanies it.
“All I did was bear their desires because every time they got drunk I had to pay the price,” she said. “At times three, four, and up to five men would knock on my door and I was forced to open it. If I refused, they would assault me.”
Another trans woman from Caquetá, Yesenia Rodríguez, said she and other trans women in Colombia are limited in their ability to make a living because of discrimination and forced into sex work because of a lack of opportunities.
“When I started my transition, I used to work at night. At that time we would receive flyers announcing social cleansing of drug addicts, prostitutes, and fa***ts. Luckily, nothing happened to me, but a friend of mine was killed,” she said.
“As a young woman, I didn’t have any other option but to sell my body to survive. But now that time has passed it is difficult for me to work even in this.”
The 2016 peace agreement between the Farc and the Colombian government was supposed to end decades of conflict and included a formal recognition that LGBTQ+ people were victims of the conflict, along with a guarantee of political participation. That promise has fallen away with the armed groups’ resurgence and renewed threats to the LGBTQ+ community.
A famous London LGBTQ+ landmark is set to reopen after almost 10 years thanks to the efforts of campaigners.
The Black Cap on London’s Camden High Street was a haven for LGBTQ+ Londoners from the 1960s onwards, eventually becoming one the city’s premier stages for cabaret and drag acts as well as a place to drink.
Among those whose careers started there was Paul O’Grady’s much-loved Lily Savage, drag act Hinge and Bracket, and RuPaul’s Drag Race stars Bianca Del Rio, Adore Delano, BenDeLaCreme, Raja Gemini and Trixie Mattel.
The bar was forced to close in 2015 because of planning issues and determined campaigners have been pushing for it to reopen almost ever since.
Now, with the help of Camden Council, a company called Kicking Horse Three is set to open “The Cap’s” doors once again.
Kicking Horse Three’s Kirk Spencer, who also runs Newcastle LGBTQ+ venue Bobby’s, will oversee management of the venue, which will include food service, Alex Green of campaign group Black Cap Community told Attitude.
Green said the venue will offer a “cleaner and improved version of what was there before,” with the addition of four lettable bed-and-breakfast rooms on the upper floors, which will be aimed at artists and performers.
The ground floor will remain the bar area, while downstairs will provide performance space.
“Squatters moved in on New Year’s Eve and caused a lot of damage, which could have scuppered the whole project,” Green said. “They stole everything.”
Black Cap Community is conducting a survey to ensure the public have a say in the venue’s programming. You can give your views here.
