|
Every week, the world is provided with evidence on how our communities are still facing human rights violations. Our friends at ILGALAC published a new book about hate crimes against LGBTI persons in Latin America and the Caribbean. Another report issued by the Human Rights Commission of New Zealand highlighted how discrimination is still a reality for many - especially those living at an intersection of identities, and an OECD study has shown that, although significant improvements have been made over the last decades. countries are only halfway to full legal inclusion of LGBTI people.
This has also been a week of fighting back. In Poland, our communities - who have been defined as “not people” by some politicians during the recent presidential campaign - are standing their ground with a powerful video raising their queer, human voices. In the United States, over 680,000 people are backing an online petition to demand justice for a Black trans person, whose death was initially deemed a suicide by police.
And as we keep on with our fight, we need to rejoice for the good news giving us hope for the future. An Indian high court ruled that, even if same-sex couples aren’t allowed to marry in the country, for them to live together is neither illegal nor a crime. In Gabon, the lower house of parliament has voted to decriminalise consensual same-sex relations.
We have come a long way, and a long way we still have to go. Let’s celebrate our small and big victories, remember the ones we lost - and until we may all march safely in the streets again, we hope to see you at Global Pride: we will be there for you, as always.
|
