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Lesbian Day of Visibility: Human Rights Violations Persist
April 26, 2018| Contributed by Rashima Kwatra - OutRight Communications Officer
Issues impacting the lesbian community all around the world are often silenced, unaddressed, and sidelined. In this patriarchal, misogynistic, homophobic, and transphobic world, lesbians face double discrimination: first for identifying as women and second for their sexual orientation. Lesbians who express themselves as butch, are gender non-conforming, or present themselves outside of society’s accepted gender constructs, can often face even harsher victimization.
The Earth Day Connection to LGBTIQ Human Rights
April 22, 2018| Contributed by Mikelle Benfield - OutRight Communications Intern
Earth Day, since its inception in 1970, has been a time to celebrate the environment and advocate for its protection. Occasionally, we need protection from Earth’s ecological systems when natural hazards turn into disasters among our communities. Vulnerability, in a disaster context, can be defined as characteristics that influence a person’s ability to respond, cope, recover, and adapt to the impact of a natural hazard. The physical characteristics of a natural hazard are important in creating a disaster, but vulnerability is also a vital component as to why disasters happen. This vulnerability comes from their society and can result in some people finding themselves more vulnerable than others when dealing with a disaster situation.
One Year Since Gay Purge in Chechnya, Perpetrators Remain Unprosecuted
April 10, 2018| Contributed by Rashima Kwatra - OutRight Communications Officer
At the beginning of April 2017, Novaya Gazeta, a Russian newspaper, broke the news that more than 100 men perceived to be gay or bisexual were rounded up, sent to secret detention centers, and tortured in Chechnya. Reports since then have estimated that more than 20 men were murdered or died while in detention and the number of those detained could be as high as 200.
OutRight Signs On To Coalition Statement Opposing the Confirmation of Mike Pompeo
April 6, 2018| Contributed by OutRight
OutRight joins 60+ LGBTIQ reproductive rights and human rights organizations to oppose the confirmation of Mike Pompeo as the new Secretary of State. During his 6 yrs in Congress, Pompeo established a record in opposition to womens rights, women’s health and human rights. His legislative record illustrates his hostility towards SRHR and would do nothing to end the rapid devolution of women’s rights at State Department. Read coalition statement below:
There’s an ‘Echo’ Reverbing for LGBTIQ human rights in Quezon City
April 4, 2018| Contributed by Mikelle Benfield - OutRight Communications Intern
With the placement of a big rainbow-decorated sticker on the outside of the building, it becomes official: the barangay is now LGBTIQ friendly.
LGBT communities brace for criminalization
April 3, 2018| Contributed by Grace Poore, Regional Program Coordinator for Asia, OutRight
The Indonesian parliament is expected to vote in favor of proposed Criminal Code amendments that will criminalize consensual same-sex behavior and sex outside of marriage (extramarital and premarital). This vote will disproportionately impact lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people along with thousands of heterosexual adults in intimate non-marital relationships.
Commission on the Status of Women Civil Society Guide
April 3, 2018| Contributed by OutRight UN Program
A Brief History: The CSW was founded in 1946 and is a “functional commission” of the UN’s Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). It advises them on issues related to gender and sexuality alongside UN Women (more details here). In 1996, the Commission became the lead monitoring role in assessing progress and gaps in the 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (read more on this here).
A Guide to the Agreed Conclusions
March 30, 2018| Contributed by OutRight UN Program
Download PDF version: https://www.outrightinternational.org/sites/default/files/AGuideAgreedConclusions.pdf
Joint civil society letter to the Ethiopian Government on recent arrests of journalists and human rights defenders
March 27, 2018| Contributed by OutRight
In a letter to the Ethiopian Prime Minister-designate, a coalition of 40 civil society organisations express their concern regarding the recent arrests of journalists and human rights defenders
Sara Ramirez, Lori McCreary and Jessica Stern Discuss Responsible Storytelling
March 13, 2018| Contributed by Mikelle Benfield - OutRight Communications Intern
This week, OutRight Action International’s Executive Director, Jessica Stern, took part on a panel at the BUILD Series Studio with TV series Madam Secretary’s Sara Ramirez and Lori McCreary.
OutRight Events at CSW62
March 6, 2018| Contributed by OutRight
Advocating for the rights of women everywhere is inclusive within OutRight’s overall mission to further human rights and opportunities for LGBTIQ people. The month of March, however, allows the aims of OutRight and many others to pay special focus on the empowerment of all women. This comes with the celebration of International Women’s Day on March 8th and the 62nd session on the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) March 12-23.
Intersectional Women's Day 2018
March 6, 2018| Contributed by OutRight
The path towards achieving gender equality and the protection of human rights for all people, no matter their sexual orientation or gender identity, is long and difficult. While we have made enormous gains in the past decade, a rise of opposition globally stands to stem progress.
Film as Activism? Impact Beyond the Oscars
March 1, 2018| Contributed by Mikelle Benfield - OutRight Communications Intern
“A film alone cannot change the world, it has to be seen, heard, and felt.” - Susan Sarandon
The same statement can be applied to activism, where efforts to bring about social change need to be seen, heard, and felt in order to change the world. Is it possible that film and activism can work together, where advocacy for social change is done through the medium of film? And if so, how can we make sure these films get seen, heard, and felt?
OutRight Signs On With 170 Other Organizations Condemning Recent US State Department Directive
February 28, 2018| Contributed by OutRight
OutRight with one hundred and seventy other organizations signed on to a community letter to Secretary of State Tillerson in response to the media reports detailing the United States State Department plans to eliminate content from the 2018 Human Rights Report on women’s and LGBTQ people’s rights. The letter has been shared with the State Department and many offices on the Hill, who are also quite galvanized by this issue. Politico reported:
Pride House and Visibility of LGBTIQ Athletes at the Olympics
February 22, 2018| Contributed by Mikelle Benfield - OutRight Communications Intern
It’s safe to say that Sochi’s Olympic Village was not a LGBTIQ-friendly community, especially if you compare it to this year's PyeongChang’s Olympic Village
