States must combat racism and the stigmatization of LGBT people

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GENEVA (16 May 2023) On the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia, a group of UN and regional human rights experts have called on States to fight against racism and stigmatization of LGBT people. The experts issued the following joint statement:

We call on States to respect the inherent dignity of all people, without distinction, by adopting measures to eradicate racial discrimination, exclusion, intolerance, hatred, bigotry, violence and the stigmatization of lesbians, gay, bisexual, transgender and gender-diverse (LGBT) people.

Racialization, ethnicity, age, color, disability, national, residential and socio-economic status expose LGBT people to different forms of discrimination that affect their ability to enjoy their human rights and freedoms fundamental without distinction of any kind. To adequately analyze how structural inequalities lead to violence and exposure to risk, it is essential to adopt an intersectional approach. While some people are privileged, most face discrimination and violence, including arbitrary displacement, because of their multiple intersecting identities.

In the few contexts where systematic data collection exists, this strongly suggests that the intersection of anti-blackness and LGBTphobia creates additional barriers to the full inclusion of Black LGBT people in society. Similar dynamics affect other discriminated or racialized groups, such as Arab, Asian, Latin American and Middle Eastern people, people of African or Pacific descent, as well as indigenous peoples, minorities, migrants, refugees and asylum seekers. These factors are exacerbated for sexually and/or gender diverse people and advocates, where the lack of intersectional approaches often prevents culturally relevant engagement, public participation without fear of reprisal, comprehensive medical care needed and even respect for autonomy. .

Persistent gender inequality and lack of understanding of sexual and gender diversities fuel cultural biases and discrimination in laws and policies in various national contexts. Challenging historical exclusion and more contemporary regressions by breaking down stereotypes and ensuring civil society’s access to financial resources, including the laws, policies and practices that impede such access, is a necessity for the global human rights agenda. Traditional beliefs and practices should not be invoked to deny equal rights.

Businesses also have a responsibility to address intersectional harms experienced by individuals, including people with non-binary identities, and to consider social justice as part of their human rights responsibilities under of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. It is not enough to engage in equality and diversity initiatives; these must be accompanied by human rights due diligence assessments that practice non-discrimination.

Disaggregated data on lesbian and bisexual women, trans men, and people of diverse gender identities, based on descent, color, or ethnicity, is virtually non-existent in all latitudes of the world, but the few existing evidence suggests that they experience disproportionately higher rates of discrimination, violence and insecurity. The widespread state and non-state violence against trans women because of their color, for example, is a powerful example of necropolitics in action. Likewise, the disproportionate representation of LGBT youth and older people of color and Indigenous people in homelessness clearly illustrates racism and age as determinants of social, economic, social and political exclusion.

To achieve true equality, states must adopt an intersectional and non-binary approach that meets the needs of the LGBT population in all its diversity and involves them in the development of policies that affect them. This includes, where data security is guaranteed, collecting disaggregated data that takes into account their self-reported race, ethnicity and social status, developing a broader and more authentic understanding of how racism and LGBTphobia intersect, addressing racial and ethnic disparities in access to goods, facilities and services for LGBT and gender diverse people, and understanding the impact and legacy of colonialism on inequalities within and between countries, nation building and the exclusion of these populations. Businesses must also incorporate an intersectional perspective to provide equal opportunity and eliminate discrimination in their operations.

For all these reasons, we also reiterate today our conviction that sexual orientation and gender identity remain indispensable entry points for an adequate analysis of discrimination and violence and the path towards its eradication.

ENDS

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