Violence

Yesterday was the anniversary of the UN Declaration on Human Rights, but around the world there is still much violence directed at the LGBT community.

Gender-based violence: lesbian and transgender women face the highest risk but get the least attention
The World Bank
Saurav Jung Thapa's picture
Submitted By Saurav Jung Thapa
11/27/2015

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people have made great strides in the fight for full equality. As of today, 34 countries permit marriage or civil unions for same-sex couples, and many other countries have passed vital non-discrimination protections. For example, in the United States, the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 expanded non-discrimination protections for LGBT people to prohibit shelters and other domestic violence services from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

Sadly, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender women face disproportionate levels of violence at the hands of both strangers and intimate partners.  A recent U.N. human rights report noted that LGBT people are at a disturbingly elevated risk of homicidal violence, highlighting the increased risk that lesbian, bisexual, and transgender women face because of gender-based discrimination. Another study by the Human Rights Campaign and the Trans People of Color Coalition estimates that transgender women in the United States face 4.3 times the risk of becoming homicide victims than the general population of women. Factors such as poverty or belonging to a racial minority exacerbated the incidence and rates of violence experienced. Transgender people are also more likely to experience violence from law enforcement, in homeless shelters, and in healthcare settings. The recent Transgender Day of Remembrance served as a stark reminder that transgender people around the world face disproportionate levels of violence: in the United States alone, at least 21 transgender people have been killed in 2015.

And many times agencies set up to protect victims of domestic violence do not know how to help trans women or gay men. When I first joined Connecticut TransAdvocacy Coalition (CTAC) around the turn of the century there was a trans woman from the Boston who was the target of violence by her male partner and the only shelter that would take her in was down in New York City.

But times have started to change, a domestic violence shelter here in Connecticut asked for training because they had taken in a trans woman.

The article goes on to say,

While the data are daunting, the World Bank can play an important role in improving the lives of LGBT people, including lesbian, bisexual, and transgender women. For example, the Bank should consider bringing in staff that are specialized on LGBT issues, as it has for other marginalized groups. The Bank should also conduct more research on poverty faced by the LGBT community, with a view to informing how future projects address LGBT and poverty issues.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has declared, “All people, without exception, should be free to live a life of dignity no matter who they are or whom they love.” HRC will continue to work to ensure that lesbian, bisexual, and transgender women are protected from violence, discrimination, and stigma.

Meanwhile in Indonesia the Yogyakarta Post reports,

LGBT people still suffer from widespread violent abuse in Yogyakarta
By Bambang Muryanto

“The level of violence against LGBT people in the public sphere in Yogyakarta has remained high,” Mario Prajna Pratama, an activist from LGBT rights advocacy group People Like Us Satu Hati (PLUSH), told thejakartapost.com on Friday.
[…]
He said the violence experienced by LGBT people occurred in the economic, cultural, physical, psychological and sexual fields.

In Yogyakarta, violence against transsexuals has reportedly increased after a regional regulation (Perda) on homeless drifters and beggars took effect last year. Yogyakarta has since been considered an unsafe area for LGBT people. Recently, the police banned a discussion on LGBT issues at the University of Sanata Dharma following threats the organizers received from radical organizations.

I would like to see more done end violence and to insure the human rights for all under the UN Declaration of Human Rights especially in the developing countries.