World
Vatican condemns gender-affirming surgery, ‘gender theory’
Pope Francis approved doctrine office’s document on March 25
The Vatican on Monday condemned gender-affirming surgeries and “gender theory.”
The Associated Press reported the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith released the 20-page declaration that took five years to prepare. Pope Francis, according to the AP, approved it on March 25.
The document, according to the AP, says a man and a woman are biologically different and should not try to “make oneself God.”
āIt follows that any sex-change intervention, as a rule, risks threatening the unique dignity the person has received from the moment of conception,” it reads.
The AP notes the document also makes a distinction between gender-affirming surgeries and “gender abnormalities” in children that exist when they are born or as they grow up. The document stresses they can be “resolved” by health care providers.
The Vaticanās tone towards LGBTQ and intersex issues has softened since Francis assumed the papacy in 2013.
Francis publicly backs civil unions for same-sex couples, and said described laws that criminalize homosexuality are āunjust.ā The document the Vatican released on Monday criticizes Uganda and other countries in which consensual same-sex sexual relations remain illegal.
Francis during a 2023 interview with an Argentine newspaper said gender ideology “is one of the most dangerous ideological colonizations” in the world because “it blurs differences and the value of men and women.”
“In its approach to gender, the document relies on the outdated theology of gender essentialism which claims that a personās physical appearance is the central evidence of a personās natural gender identity,” said Francis DeBernardo, executive director of New Ways Ministry, a Maryland-based LGBTQ Catholic organization, on Monday in a statement. “This physicalist perspective shackles the Vatican to the growing consciousness that a personās gender includes the psychological, social and spiritual aspects naturally present in their lives.”
World
Out in the World: LGBTQ news from Asia, Canada, and Europe
Tokyo High Court Japanās same-sex marriage ban is unconstitutional
JAPAN
The Tokyo High Court ruled that the countryās ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, upholding a lower court ruling. This is the second High Court ruling favoring same-sex marriage after the Sapporo High Court came to a similar conclusion earlier this year, and more High Court rulings are expected over the next few months.
The court found that laws restricting marriage to opposite-sex couples “are not based on reasonable grounds” and lead to “discriminatory treatment (of people) based on their sexual orientation,” according to the ruling.
The rulings donāt immediately create a right to same-sex marriage in Japan, but they add pressure on the government to address the unconstitutionality. These cases will likely find their way to the Supreme Court next year.
Same-sex marriage is not currently legal anywhere in Japan, and the government has long asserted that Section 24 of the post-war constitution rules out same-sex marriage. Section 24 states āmarriage shall be based only on the mutual consent of both sexes and it shall be maintained through mutual cooperation with the equal rights of husband and wife as a basis.ā
However, equal marriage supporters point out that Section 24 was not intended to deal with same-sex marriage, but rather to assert the right of individuals to marry the person of their choice, rather than traditional arranged marriages.
A series of recent court victories have gradually opened up recognition of equal rights for same-sex couples in Japan. Five lower courts have found that the ban on same-sex marriage violates the constitution, while only one lower court has upheld the ban as constitutional.
Earlier this year, the Supreme Court found that same-sex couples are entitled to survivorsā benefits for victims of crime.
Additionally, 450 municipalities and 30 of Japanās 47 prefectures have instituted partnership registries for same-sex couples. Although these registries have little legal force, they have helped couples access local services and demonstrate growing recognition of same-sex couplesā rights.
This weekās High Court ruling comes at a time of flux in Japanese politics. During last weekās parliamentary election, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party lost its governing majority, while the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party, which supports same-sex marriage, made huge gains.
Anglo Nippon Politics reports that a very narrow majority of newly elected legislators have expressed support for same-sex marriage, but that the dynamics of the new parliament may make it difficult for the LDP, which hopes to hold onto power with support for smaller conservative parties, to advance controversial issues.
CANADAĀ
The Alberta government under United Conservative Party Premier Danielle Smith introduced four pieces of anti-LGBTQ and anti-transgender legislation last week, prompting protests in the capital Edmonton and in the provinceās largest city Calgary.
Smith had initially announced the legislation in February, amid a general hysteria about transgender youth and school inclusion policies that had swept through conservative parties across Canada.
The four bills ban gender care for trans youth, require parental notification and consent if a trans student wishes to use a different name or pronoun in school, bars trans women from competing in sports in schools and colleges, and requires parental notification and āopt-inā if sexual orientation, gender identity, or human sexuality will be discussed in classrooms.
Opponents criticized Smith for the legislation, which critics said was timed to help Smith in a leadership review held this weekend. Smithās leadership was upheld with more than 91 percent of the vote at the UCP convention in Red Deer on Saturday.
More than 1,000 people showed up at Calgary City Hall to demonstrate against the bills on Saturday, as well as against the UCPās priorities for Alberta, while hundreds more turned up in front of the provincial legislature in Edmonton.
Rowan Morris, an organizer with Trans Rights YEG, told the Edmonton Journal that the bills had galvanized opposition from across the political spectrum, recalling a conversion he had with a conservative supporter.
ā[She said], āMy whole family is here, weāre all conservatives, we will all be conservatives for the rest of our lives, but we recognize that bodily autonomy is a freedom we need to uphold for all Albertans. Whether we agree on how you live your life or not, the government does not have a place in your private medical decisions with your doctor,āā Morris said.
Because of the UCPās majority in the provincial legislature, there is little chance the bills wonāt pass. Voters next go to the polls in Alberta in October 2027.
Voters in Canada have had a chance to weigh in on anti-trans policies this year, and the results have been mixed. In Manitoba and New Brunswick, voters turfed conservative parties from government after they introduced or announced anti-trans policies, while in British Columbia, voters kept the governing New Democrats in office after the opposition Conservatives had announced several similar anti-trans policies.
Last month, voters in Saskatchewan returned its conservative government to power after it introduced a parental notification and consent policy in violation of Canadaās Charter of Rights and pledged to introduce a ban on trans students accessing change rooms and bathrooms in schools if reelected.
GERMANY
The Gender Self-Determination Act came into force on Friday, marking a historic advancement for trans rights in Germany.
Under the new law, anyone will be able to change their legal name and gender by making a simple application at their local registry office.
The new law replaces the Transsexuals Act, which dates from the early 1980s, and required anyone wishing to change their legal gender to get permission from a judge after submitting two psychological assessments.
The law allows name and gender changes for minors. Children under 14 can have the process done by their parents, while those over 14 can do so with parental permission. Youth will also have to submit a declaration that they have sought advice from a psychologist or from a youth welfare specialist.
Also included in the law is a new protection that makes it a criminal offense to out a trans person without their consent.
Gender self-determination is increasingly the norm in Western European countries. Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Spain, Portugal, Malta, Greece, Ireland, Norway, Iceland, and Denmark have all introduced similar legislation in recent years. Additionally, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Uruguay, India, Pakistan, as well as several provinces and states of Canada, the U.S., and Mexico allow gender self-determination.
SWITZERLANDĀ
The Swiss canton of Vaud became the latest place in Europe to ban so-called conversion therapy, as legislation to ban the discredited practice of attempting to change a personās sexual orientation or gender identity nationwide has stalled in the federal parliament.
Vaud is the third of Switzerlandās 26 cantons to ban conversion therapy, following Neuchatel last December and Valais earlier this year. Vaud is Switzerlandās third-largest canton, home to more than 800,000 people.
In 2022, the lower house of the Swiss parliament passed a motion calling on the government to introduce a conversion therapy ban, but the motion was rejected by the upper house earlier this year. Legislators at the time said they wanted to wait for more information from the Federal Council, which was due to report on conversion therapy over the summer.
In the meantime, several other Swiss cantons have begun debating local bans on conversion therapy, including Geneva, Bern, and Zurich.
Doctors and therapists are already prohibited from practicing conversion therapy in Switzerland by their professional associations, but much conversion therapy is carried out by unlicensed individuals.
Conversion therapy has already been banned across much of Western Europe, including France, Germany, Norway, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Malta, Greece, Cyprus, and Iceland. It has also been banned in Mexico, Ecuador, New Zealand, Canada, Taiwan, and in many U.S. and Australian states.
Kenya
Kenyan court awards two gay men $31K
Couple subjected to genital examination, given HIV tests after āunnatural sexā arrest
A Kenyan court has awarded two gay men charged with āunnatural sexā for engaging in consensual sexual relations a total of Sh4 million ($31,000) in compensation.
This is after the Magistrates Court in the coastal city of Mombasa ruled the authorities violated the menās rights in obtaining evidence.
During the arrest, the two men were forcefully subjected to genital examination and HIV tests against their constitutional rights to privacy and the rights of an arrested person, including being allowed to speak with a lawyer.
Section 162 of Kenya’s penal code criminalizes consensual same-sex relations with a 14-year jail term. Prosecutors wanted the court to find the two gay men, who were arrested in 2021, guilty of the offense.
In a ruling issued on Oct. 24, the court, while awarding each of the men Sh2 million ($15,600) in compensation, faulted prosecutorsā unlawful extraction of evidence.
The Center for Minority Rights and Strategic Litigation, a local LGBTQ rights organization, last year petitioned the court not to admit the evidence for having been obtained unlawfully, to stop the hearing, and for the accused to be compensated.
In the petition, CMRSL cited infringement on the gay menās right to human dignity: A ban on cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment, the rights to privacy and a fair trial, rights of an arrested person, and violation of their freedom and security as the constitution and international law mandates.
āThis provision (Section 162 of the penal code) has historically been used by the State to target and harass LGBTQ+ persons based on their gender identity and sexual orientation,ā CMRSL Legal Manager Michael Kioko told the Washington Blade.
The High Court in 2019 declined to decriminalize sections of the penal code that ban homosexuality in response to queer rights organizationsā petition that argued the State cannot criminalize consensual same-sex sexual relations between adults. The constitutionality of laws that criminalize homosexuality is still contested in the appeals court, based on the argument they infringe on the rights to privacy and human dignity.
CMRSL termed the latest ruling āa crucial step toward dignity and human rights for allā while noting that the case was critical in its legal representation efforts to protect the fundamental rights of queer people in Kenya.
The Oct. 24 decision affirms the Mombasa appeals court’s 2018 ruling that struck down the use of forced anal testing in homosexuality cases by terming it as unlawful. Kenyaās National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission brought the case.
The appeals court verdict stemmed from a 2015 case where police in Mombasa obtained a court order to force two gay men to undergo anal examinations and HIV testing at a local clinic after authorities arrested them and charged them with unnatural sex.
NGLHRC, in challenging the court order, argued forced anal examinations are cruel, inhuman, degrading, and breached local and international medical ethics and human rights.
The latest ruling exonerating the two gay men from prosecution is among numerous cases in which CMRSL has represented queer people in court to defend and protect LGBTQ rights in the country.
The case against a gay man in Mombasa charged with an unnatural act (a same-sex affair) and represented by CMRSL in court saw the matter dropped last September. The court last June acquitted transgender women in Lamu charged with committing gross indecent acts between males against provisions of the penal code.
CMRSL represented the trans women.
The group has deployed community paralegals and field monitors to monitor, document, and report queer rights violations.
āThey (field monitors) work closely with LGBTQ+ community paralegals to link survivors to justice by providing legal support and connecting those to pro bono lawyers and legal aid services,ā Kioko said. āOn average, our monitors handle around 10 cases each month, ensuring that violations are addressed and survivors receive the necessary legal pathways to seek justice.ā
CMRSL in partnership with several queer lobby groups, is also challenging the Kenya Films Classification Board in court for banning a movie titled āI Am Samuelā on the pretext it contained gay scenes that violate Kenyan law.
The Kenya Films Classification Board in 2018 also banned the āRafikiā because it contains lesbian-specific content. Petitioners who challenged the ban in court argue the decision violates freedom of expression and other constitutional provisions.
Israel
ILGA World suspends Israeli advocacy group after bid to host conference withdrawn
Decision has prompted praise, criticism
ILGA World has suspended an Israeli advocacy group after it withdrew its bid to host its conference in Tel Aviv.
The Aguda, the Association for LGBTQ+ Equality in Israel, had bid to host the 2026/2027 ILGA World Conference. The ILGA World board of directors was to have voted on the proposal at the 2024 ILGA World Conference 2024 that will take place in Cape Town, South Africa, from Nov. 11-15.
ILGA World on Tuesday announced āthe bid to host our next World Conference in Tel Aviv will not go forward, and will not be put to a vote at the upcoming World Conference.ā The announcement notes the ILGA World Board āheld an emergency meeting and unanimously decided to remove the bid from the Aguda from consideration, and it has also decided to suspend the organization from our membership.ā
The announcement further says the Agudaās bid āwas found in violation of ILGA Worldās aims and objectives set out in our constitution (3.1 and 3.2.)ā
āThe ILGA World board is also reviewing the Agudaās compliance with our constitution and has decided to suspend the organization from our membership to allow for that to happen,ā said ILGA World in its announcement.
The decision to suspend the Aguda comes against the backdrop of the war in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas militants last Oct. 7 killed roughly 1,200 people, including upwards of 360 partygoers at the Nova Music Festival, when they launched a surprise attack against southern Israel. The Israeli government says the militants also kidnapped more than 200 people.
The Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry says Israeli forces have killed more than 41,000 people in the enclave since Oct. 7.
A case that South Africa filed with the International Court of Justice in the Hague late last year accuses Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
The International Criminal Court, which is also in the Hague, in May announced it plans to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and three Hamas leaders ā Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif, and Ismail Haniyeh.
Karim Khan, the ICCās chief prosecutor, said the five men have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza and Israel. (A suspected Israeli airstrike on July 31 killed Haniyah while he was in the Iranian capital of Tehran to attend Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkianās inauguration. Israeli soldiers on Oct. 16 killed Sinwar in Rafah, a city in southern Gaza that borders Egypt.)
āWe know that seeing the Tel Aviv bid taken into consideration caused anger and harm to our communities,ā said ILGA World in its statement. āOur apologyĀ goes to our members, to our host organizations, and our global communities ā and especially to those in South Africa, who will soon host the global movement for our upcoming World Conference.ā
āWe recognize the historical experience with apartheid and colonialism in South Africa: Even the possibility of voting on such a bid in their home country would have been at odds with the unequivocal solidarity for the Palestinian people,ā it adds.
ILGA World also said it supports calls for āstronger governance practices in vetting the proposals we receive.ā
āWe heard our communities, and we must do better in the future: A situation like this must not repeat,ā it said.
The Aguda in a statement said it is ādeeply disappointment that ILGA has chosen to boycott those who work for LGBTQ+ rights and strive towards a more just society.ā
āFor 50 years, the Aguda, the Association for LGBTQ+ Equality in Israel, has worked to support the LGBTQ+ community and uphold human rights for all, including supporting LGBTQ+ individuals in the Arab community, and Palestinian asylum seekers persecuted for their sexual and gender identities,ā reads the statement. āThe Israeli LGBTQ+ identity embraces both service and contribution to the state as citizens, while continuing to fight for the values of democracy and human rights in the society in which we live.ā
The Aguda added Israelās LGBTQ community āshould not bear responsibility for government policy, and we expect the international community to support liberal voices rather than boycott them.ā
āWe are proud to be LGBTQ+ and Israeli, and we will continue to fight for a more equal and safer society,ā said the Aguda.
ILGA World Executive Director Julia Ehrt on Wednesday told the Washington Blade in an emailed statement the organization āhas communicated in writing with the Aguda.ā
āSo far, we have not heard from them other than on social media, but of course they have a right to defend their membership status according to our governance procedures,ā said Ehrt.
Groups ‘complicit in Israeli apartheid or genocide should be expelled’
Charbel Maydaa, the founder and general director of MOSAIC, a Lebanon-based advocacy group that works throughout the Middle East and North Africa, is also the co-chair of ILGA Asia. He is among the activists who welcomed ILGA Worldās decision to withdraw the Agudaās bid.
A thread in response to a post on Maydaa’s LinkedIn page notes ILGA World in 1987 expelled the Gay Association of South Africa after it ārefused to condemn apartheidā in the country āor to get involved in political struggles.ā
āGASA’s stance led to its dissolution, and the formation of new and more progressive LGBT rights groups in South Africa,ā said Gabriel Hoosain Khan, a London-based activist. āOrganizations that are complicit in Israeli apartheid or genocide should be expelled.ā
The International Planned Parenthood Federation also welcomed ILGA Worldās decision. A Wider Bridge, a group that āadvocates for justice, counters LGBTQphobia, and fights antisemitism, and other forms of hatred,ā described it as āoutrageous and unacceptable.ā
ILGA (International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association) supposedly stands for respect for human rights, equality and freedom regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression or sex characteristics,ā said A Wider Bridge in a statement. āBut by singling out Israel and Israeli LGBTQ people for opprobrium, ILGA violates its fundamental principles.ā
The 2022 ILGA World Conference took place in Long Beach, Calif.
āI am appalled and disgusted that ILGA World would ostracize and expel the leading organization in Israel that fights for the civil rights of LGBTQ+ people there,ā said California Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur, who is the former executive director of Equality California, a statewide LGBTQ rights group, on X. āThis is appalling and blatant anti-Semitism and an abandonment of LGBTQ+ Israelis.ā
Shame on @ILGAWORLD. As the former leader of @eqca, CAās LGBTQ civil rights org, I am appalled and disgusted that @ilgaworld would ostracize and expel the leading org in #Israel that fights for the civil rights of LGBTQ+ ppl there. This is appalling and blatant antisemitism andā¦ https://t.co/6zrU1WQQ7J
— Rick Chavez Zbur (@RickChavezZbur) October 30, 2024
Ehrt in her statement to the Blade acknowledged criticisms over ILGA Worldās decision. She also dismissed suggestions that anti-Semitism prompted it.
āILGA World has a long and proven record of fighting for equality for all,ā said Ehrt. āWe have repeatedly called for peace in the region, and continue to work every day to counter racism, xenophobia, islamophobia, and anti-Semitism ā alongside LGBTI-phobia. Our daily work speaks much louder than the baseless accusations we are receiving.ā
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