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OutRight Welcomes Religion Fellows 2022
February 16, 2022| Contributed by OutRight UN Program
OutRight is excited to announce that we have recruited eight activists to engage in our year-long, immersive United Nations Religion Fellowship Program. The Fellowship is aimed to train LGBTIQ people that do work to combat religiously motivated violence and discrimination.
#StartSmall Invests $2 Million in OutRight’s Work To Accelerate Change For LGBTIQ People Around the World
February 15, 2022| Contributed by Katie Hultquist - OutRight's Director of Leadership Giving
OutRight is thrilled to announce that #StartSmall, Jack Dorsey’s philanthropic initiative, is contributing $2 million to support our work to protect and advance human rights for LGBTIQ people everywhere. This generous donation will further OutRight’s vision of protecting and lifting up at-risk LGBTIQ people around the world, including advancing laws and policies for queer and transgender equality, supporting activists and organizations especially in countries that others often overlook, pioneering research documenting the experiences of our global community, and ensuring the inclusion of LGBTIQ people in the recovery from the pandemic and future humanitarian crises.
We'll Keep Fighting in 2022
December 31, 2021| Contributed by Maria Sjödin - Acting Executive Director and OutRight Action International
This year began full of hope, leaving the unprecedented experiences of 2020 behind, and looking forward to rebuilding and recovering. And for so many of us those hopes were, at least somewhat, realized. Vaccines are widely available in many places, travel has resumed, albeit with restrictions, we can meet friends and loved ones. But at the same time, this is far from the reality for many more, including for countless LGBTIQ people around the world who have faced another challenging year.
How Access to Elections Affects LGBTIQ People
December 21, 2021| Contributed by Luiza Veado - OutRight UN Program Officer
In December 2021 LGBTIQ activists celebrated the adoption of the resolution “Strengthening the role of the United Nations in the promotion of democratization and enhancing periodic and genuine elections” during the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly. The resolution includes an explicit reference to sexual orientation and gender identity. Why was this a milestone, and how does access – or lack of access – to elections affect LGBTIQ people?
A Decolonial Journey to Dignity: Reflections on Botswana’s Decriminalization
December 13, 2021| Contributed by Katlego K Kolanyane-Kesupile
For many people the notion of waking up a faultless criminal will forever remain a wild idea and not a lived experience. I, on the other hand, have spent the majority of my maturing years figuring out ways to live a full life while protecting the peace of those who love me – most of all, my mother – who had every right to fear for me. Being a member of the LGBTQ+ community in Botswana had long felt like being on death row, never certain when you’d be charged with marching to the gallows. This all changed on 29 November 2021 when the Government of Botswana lost its appeal to recriminalize consensual same-sex sexual activity as the full bench of judges of the Court of Appeal finally, and most importantly unanimously, upheld the dignity of my community, stripping us of colonial legislative oppression.
OutRight Opens Call for Proposals to COVID-19 Global LGBTIQ Emergency Fund Designed to Increase Vaccine Access
October 29, 2021| Contributed by OutRight International
The global COVID-19 emergency presents tremendous challenges to LGBTIQ people, especially in places with deep poverty and weak health systems or government infrastructure. When a crisis hits “everyone,” the most marginalized become even more vulnerable. LGBTIQ people in many parts of the world cannot count on governments or relief organizations for help.
Cryptocurrency and Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) as a Creative Way to Give to OutRight
October 22, 2021| Contributed by Andrew Schlager - OutRight's Dev and Comms Assistant
It seems like just yesterday we were introduced to “cryptocurrency” as a completely new digital medium of monetary exchange. As cryptocurrency continues to cement itself into the economic ether, the past few years have seen an exponential increase in crypto philanthropy - or donors giving their cryptocurrency to favorite causes. In fact, The Giving Block, which facilitates donations of cryptocurrency to OutRight and other charities, has seen a 1000% increase in cryptocurrency donations in 2021 alone. And OutRight has already raised more than $16,000 from new donors since we began accepting crypto donations in June. Many donors prefer giving cryptocurrency because it is fast, convenient, and can provide tax benefits.
Neela Ghoshal Joins OutRight as Director of Law and Policy
October 14, 2021| Contributed by Andrew Schlager - OutRight's Dev and Comms Assistant
OutRight is thrilled to be welcoming Neela Ghoshal (she/her/any pronouns) as our new Director of Law and Policy! In this role, Neela will be a member of the Senior Management Team guiding the direction of the organization, and oversee OutRight's research, United Nations and Caribbean program teams.
OutRight to Host 7th OutSummit
October 4, 2021| Contributed by
For the seventh year in a row OutRight is gearing up to host OutSummit.
OutSummit is an annual global conference for the human rights of LGBTIQ people organized in partnership between OutRight Action International and CUNY School of Law. It is a space where people from across civil society, State, and private sector boundaries who believe in LGBTIQ equality come together to build momentum for achieving protection of the human rights of LGBTIQ people everywhere.
Flags of the LGBTIQ Community
September 20, 2021| Contributed by
Flags have always been an integral part of the LGBTIQ community. They are a visible representation of identity that people use in celebration, in protest, or even as a casual adornment. There have been many LGBTIQ flags over the years. Some have evolved, like the original Pride flag created in 1978 by Gilbert Baker and flown at the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day parade. While others are constantly being conceptualized and created.
Acronyms Explained
September 20, 2021| Contributed by
The language used to talk about LGBTIQ people is constantly evolving. New terms appear. Terms that were forgotten or unused, even terms that at some point were deemed derogatory, have been reclaimed and have entered into common parlance today. In a move towards inclusivity, the older, shorter, acronym - LGBT - has been expanded.
Love Yourself And You Will Persevere
September 16, 2021| Contributed by Andrew Schlager - OutRight's Dev and Comms Assistant
Yet, the most important lesson I learned from coming out to my father was that other people’s issues with your sexuality should not be YOUR problem! I was lucky and privileged enough to have one parent who was accepting of my sexuality. So many people in the LGBTIQ community do not have this type of support. I want people to understand that for me, living in the closet was not worth it, and coming out to my parents was hard but necessary for me to live happily. For those who experience push back from their loved ones, it is essential that you don’t internalize their problems with your sexuality as your own. The rejection from your family is terrifying and extremely hard to digest, but loving yourself unapologetically and being proud of who you are is the best way to persevere.
Safety, Accountability, Sustainability For Asian LGBTIQ Advocates Working on Gender Based Violence
September 8, 2021| Contributed by Grace Poore - OutRight's Asia Regional Coordinator
The Asia Regional Network on SOGIE & GBV is a feminist, LGBTIQ-led, intersectional network of individuals with expertise on gender based violence faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and queer (LGBTIQ) communities in Asia. Funded and established by OutRight Action International in October 2020, the Network currently has 35 members based in 10 countries in Asia: India, Indonesia, Japan, Myanmar, Malaysia, Nepal, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Timor-Leste. Members convene online for regional forums and webinars to share advocacy, expertise, and good practices for challenging GBV perpetrated against LGBTIQ people. This violence is not only because of their sexual orientation, gender identity and expression (SOGIE), but also due to other factors such as their race, ethnicity, caste, mental and physical disabilities, religion, economic status, age and other identity markers.
In 2021 the Asia Regional Forum expanded its focus to support the wellness of members of the Asia Network on SOGIE & GBV to strengthen the resilience and sustainability of LGBTIQ groups working to stop GBV.
Disability and Sexuality at the United Nations
September 3, 2021| Contributed by Matthew Solomon - Communications Intern
On March 30, 2007, after nearly four decades of work, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and a corresponding Optional Protocol opened for signatures at the United Nations. A record number of opening signatures from 82 nations ensured its status as one of the most successful UN conventions since the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). The convention contains wide-ranging obligations on behalf of signatory states, many of which re-assert values from the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights as well as from the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights with special attention to the particular needs of persons with disabilities (PWD).
Terminology Surrounding Gender Identity and Expression
August 25, 2021| Contributed by Matthew Solomon - Communications Intern
Everyone has a gender identity. For some people, their gender identity corresponds with the gender assigned at birth, for others it does not. Gender identities that differ from the sex assigned at birth, including ones beyond the binary, as well as the ways in which we express them, have existed across the world, for as long as life has existed.
However, only recently are we beginning to see a collective understanding of various terms associated with the topic.
This article aims to provide a non-exhaustive list of concepts and terminology associated with gender identity and expression.