Global Equality

On December 19th, Rainbow Railroad released “No Safe Way Out: Human Rights Violations Against LGBTQI+ people under the Taliban”. The report provides qualitative analysis based on 1,739 requests for help submitted to Rainbow Railroad between August 2021 and August 2022. Accounts from individuals throughout the report describe coordinated and repeated tactics used by the Taliban to target and persecute LGBTQI+ communities. For the first time based on requests for help, Rainbow Railroad is able to provide details on the extreme violence towards LGBTQI+ people and those who support them perpetrated by the Taliban.

These findings corroborate and update earlier reports of abuses against LGBTQI+ people by the Taliban.

“In writing this report, it became clear how all-encompassing the threats are towards LGBTQI+ people in Afghanistan under Taliban rule,” said Kathryn Hampton, the primary author of the report and Head of Impact at Rainbow Railroad. “This report is a jarring summary of violence faced by individuals suspected of being members of the LGBTQI+ community – violence they’re facing just for being who they are, or loving who they love. Conducting this research was heartbreaking and deeply alarming. Our recommendations are even more urgent following disturbing recent reports by Taliban officials of public floggings of LGBTQI+ people before thousands of onlookers.”

According to individuals who have reached out to Rainbow Railroad for help, the Taliban is targeting LGBTQI+ people due to their sexual orientation, gender identity, expression, or sex characteristics. Individual accounts included in this report detail multiple tactics used by the Taliban to identify and find LGBTQI+ people, including identifying them from social media photos or videos, during searches of belongings and cellphones at checkpoints, and through emboldening community members to surveil and report on LGBTQI+ people. The report details how individuals are encouraged to report on their own friends, colleagues and family members if they are suspected of being LGBTQI+, or risk facing punishment themselves.

A number of LGBTQI+ people reported being beaten and subject to physical violence by the Taliban both inside of, and concerningly, outside of detention settings, either in their homes during an unlawful search, or in public places to ‘make an example’ of members of the LGBTQI+ community. Rape and sexual violence were mentioned in many requests for help, including sexual assault by family,community members, and members of the Taliban themselves in an environment of impunity.

Rainbow Railroad also reviewed several documents, reportedly issued by Taliban officials, which indicate that these violent incidents may even be coordinated actions based on official Taliban policies.

“This report demonstrates the extreme risk that LGBTQI+ Afghans are facing everyday. Those reaching out to Rainbow Railroad are in serious danger,” said Rainbow Railroad Executive Director Kimahli Powell. “We have hundreds of LGBTQI+ Afghans who are at severe risk ready to travel. It’s up to governments, including the governments of Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom, to partner with us to respond urgently.”

In the first year of Taliban rule, from August 15, 2021 until August 22, 2022, Rainbow Railroad received 3,797 requests for help from LGBTQI+ Afghans. Rainbow Railroad has facilitated the relocation of 247 Afghans for resettlement to safer countries since August 2021, and have also provided 648 Afghans with financial assistance, shelter support, mental health support, and other forms of assistance.

View (or download) the report below:

TORONTO, May 17, 2022 /PRNewswire/ – Rainbow Railroad — an international organization that helps LGBTQI+ people escape violence and persecution to find a path to safety — is signaling the urgent need to provide a pathway to safety for LGBTQI+ people around the world, especially in Afghanistan, in partnership with the Canadian government.

Last year, 7,096 LGBTQI+ individuals reached out to Rainbow Railroad from around the world. This included over 3,300 LGBTQI+ Afghans who have reached out to Rainbow Railroad since August 15, 2021. Right now, 300 LGBTQI+ Afghans are ready for imminent travel and resettlement in a safer country. But they’re stuck, and waiting for a way out.

“The Canadian government and Prime Minister Trudeau have the opportunity, authority, and historical precedence needed to expedite the resettlement and support of vulnerable LGBTQI+ individuals,” said Rainbow Railroad’s Executive Director, Kimahli Powell. “It has already implemented an emergency program to support at-risk Ukrainian civilians feeling conflict. A similar program would provide urgent help to the LGBTQI+ Afghans in contact with Rainbow Railroad.”

After the fall of Kabul last year, Canada made a commitment to resettle 40,000 people and keep LGBTQI+ Afghans safe. While Canada has made strides towards this commitment, Rainbow Railroad continues to see an ever-increasing number of LGBTQI+ Afghans who need safety and support.

LGBTQI+ people in Afghanistan face a high risk of lethal violence from the Taliban and their supporters. LGBTQI+ Afghans who make it across the border to neighbouring countries are not safe either – many of these countries criminalize same-sex intimacy and gender diversity. For LGBTQI+ Afghans, resettlement to a country like Canada is their only option.

Rainbow Railroad asks the Government of Canada for a direct referral partnership to create additional targeted and expedited resettlement pathways for high-risk LGBTQI+ Afghan refugees, and more broadly, for LGBTQI+ refugees from around the world.

Without proactive crisis response plans for LGBTQI+ refugees, government responses remain reactive, and ultimately risk leaving vulnerable people behind.

“This is a real opportunity for the Canadian government to step up and be a leader in the global fight for LGBTQI+ rights, and in the ongoing global migrant crisis,” says Powell. “We stand ready to work together to make this happen, and call on Mr. Trudeau to implement this partnership right away.”

Rainbow Railroad is asking the public to fill out a petition, found at safewayout.ca to signal their support for this effort with a goal of getting 50,000 signatures before the start of Pride Month.

About Rainbow Railroad:

Rainbow Railroad is an international charitable organization with headquarters in New York and Toronto that helps LGBTQI+ people seeking safe haven from state-enabled violence and persecution in countries where same-sex intimacy and diverse gender expressions and sex characteristics are criminalized. Rainbow Railroad is a registered Canadian charity and 501(c)3 organization in the USA. For more on Rainbow Railroad, visit www.rainbowrailroad.org.

SOURCE Rainbow Railroad

What LGBTQ+ people need to know right now about the Russian invasion of Ukraine
By Ellen Shanna Knoppow

Right now, in Ukraine, transgender people are forced to go without their prescribed hormones. “Pharmacies are out of stock of pretty much everything,” said Lenny Emson, executive director of KyivPride, a non-governmental organization in Ukraine’s capital city.

Emson is bigender and uses she/he and him/his pronouns. On Saturday, March 6, day 10 of the Russian invasion, this reporter spoke with Emson via Zoom. For security reasons, Emson did not disclose his location. “I’m in a safe place,” s_he said.

The following interview has been condensed and edited.

What do LGBTQ+ people in Ukraine fear most about the Russian invasion?

First of all, we are in solidarity with the people of Ukraine, so we feel about [the] Russian invasion that it never should happen, and we will fight to the last drop of our blood. We will not ever live under Russian laws. We will never obey Russia. We will never be occupied and live as Russians do, without human rights, without any rights, and standing on [our] knees, literally.

Conditions for LGBTQ+ people in Russia are much harsher than in Ukraine. Do you see that as a coming threat right now?

I think it’s not right for us. It’s a big threat that they will really introduce some repressions towards LGBTQI people and human rights activists. That is our fear.

For now, as LGBTQI activists, we’re not thinking of “What are we going to do when Russia is going to occupy us?” Our line of thinking is different: What can we do to prevent this from happening? So our work is kind of divided in two directions. One is to evacuate the most vulnerable population. We evacuate trans people, we have evacuated people with children from [the] LGBTQI community. And those who can fight, those who can be in territorial defense or in the Army, they join…and they fight. I know, personally, trans people who are joining the military to fight against Russia, and queer people now who are joining territorial defense units to help. I just want the world to understand that LGBT people in Ukraine [are] joining the fight. We’re not running from Russia.

How can we help? There is a post on the KyivPride Facebook page with a list of organizations providing direct aid.

I would be very grateful if you could spread it and you can spread the word. These organizations right now, they are concentrating their efforts in different parts of Ukraine. So KyivPride, we work nationally. We help all people all over Ukraine. We help people with money for food and relocation, and we have transportation means organized by different organizations. [See links to additional organizations below.]

What are the conditions like for LGBTQ+ people in Ukraine right now? For example, I understand transgender people are finding that hormones are impossible to come by.

Pharmacies are out of stock of pretty much everything. We are working with our partners from abroad, and we are trying to get some medications from there and to get them to Kyiv and to other cities where people need them. It’s kind of at the very beginning; this happened within a week.

What would you like LGBTQ+ people outside Ukraine to know about the LGBTQ+ community there?

We would like you to know that we have like 30 years of fight for LGBTQ rights behind our backs. We’re fighting for these rights and freedoms for [the] LGBTQI community, and we’re not going to just let it go. Last year, in 2021, KyivPride gathered 7,000 people on the streets of Kyiv. We were marching together for LGBTQI rights, for human rights. So unlike Russia, we are really big and we really value our freedom. We are very different from Russia, and we are not going to obey Russian laws and Russian oppression towards human rights, [like] we see right now happening in Russia for the last many, many years.

Many of us here feel helpless. What can individuals do? How can our government help?

How can government help and how can individuals help, this is very much connected, ’cause we would like individuals to go to the government and to ask people that have power to use this power for good.

We need our sky closed. “Close the sky,” this is a narrative that has been around from the very beginning of the war. So “close the sky ” is literally to ban all [Russian forces] from flying above the Ukrainian territory. That means that Russia would stop bombing. And this is what we need right now…because we need to live. In order to fight for human rights, we need to be alive. This is number one. That’s why “close the sky” is a very broad LGBT demand to the American government. We need to be alive in order to be LGBT and be a community.

As well, we’re asking all individuals not only just to donate to us…but be on our side. When you go on social media, and when you see posts in support of Russian propaganda, for example, posts denying that there is a war in Ukraine, posts denying that people are dying, posts supporting Putin or supporting Russia, please report. Please complain. There must be no place for Russian propaganda in social media; there must be no place for Russian lies on the Internet. Please. You can do this. This could be your big input in the fight against Russia.

Any final thoughts? 

It’s hard to say anything because nobody has expected this. I know all the warnings from [the] American government…all these reports from the intelligence services…but who could believe this could happen in the 21st century — a ground war, really? Who could believe that this man would go and bomb Ukrainian cities? Who could believe? This is not real. When you look at all this footage from bombed cities, your brain does not want to recognize it as a reality, your brain tries to switch it off. It’s such a big stress to realize that this is happening in real time, so that’s why… no words here. What can we say?

KyivPride is a Ukrainian non-governmental organization that aims at contributing to full respect for human rights for LGBT+ people in Ukraine, at encouraging an appreciation for these rights by raising LGBT+ visibility and participation in social processes. In addition to its activities throughout the year, KyivPride organizes an annual event called the KyivPride-week. KyivPride accepts donations via 24 Pay, Google Pay and credit card. 

Surge in Threats, Rape, Assault, Wrongful Detention
OutRight International

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Afghans and people who do not conform to rigid gender norms in Afghanistan have faced an increasingly desperate situation and grave threats to their safety and lives under the Taliban, OutRight Action International and Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.

The 43-page report, “’Even If You Go to the Skies, We’ll Find You’: LGBT People in Afghanistan After the Taliban Takeover” is based on 60 interviews with LGBT Afghans. Many reported that Taliban members attacked or threatened them because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Others reported abuse from family members, neighbors, and romantic partners who now support the Taliban or believed they had to act against LGBT people close to them to ensure their own safety. Some fled their homes from attacks by Taliban members or supporters pursuing them. Others watched lives they had carefully built over the years disappear overnight and found themselves at risk of being targeted at any time because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
 

“We spoke with LGBT Afghans who have survived gang rape, mob attacks, or have been hunted by their own family members who joined the Taliban, and they have no hope that state institutions will protect them,” said J. Lester Feder, senior fellow for emergency research at OutRight Action International. “For those LGBT people who want to flee the country, there are few good options; most of Afghanistan’s neighbors also criminalize same-sex relations. It is difficult to overstate how devastating – and terrifying – the return of Taliban rule has been for LGBT Afghans.”
 

Most interviewees were in Afghanistan, while others had fled to nearby countries. In addition to worrying about these countries’ laws against same-sex relations, interviewees outside Afghanistan lacked proper immigration status, so were at risk of being summarily deported.

Afghanistan was a dangerous place for LGBT people well before the Taliban retook full control of the country on August 15, 2021. In 2018, the government of then-President Ashraf Ghani passed a law that explicitly criminalized same-sex sexual relations, and the previous penal code included vague language widely interpreted as making same-sex relations a criminal offense. LGBT people interviewed had experienced many abuses because of their sexual orientation or gender identity prior to the Taliban’s return to power, including sexual violence, child and forced marriage, physical violence from their families and others, expulsion from schools, blackmail, and being outed. Many were forced to conceal key aspects of their identity from society and from family, friends, and colleagues.

However, when the Taliban, who had been in power from 1996 to late 2001, regained control of the country, the situation dramatically worsened. The Taliban reaffirmed the previous government’s criminalization of same-sex relations, and some of its leaders vowed to take a hard line against the rights of LGBT people. A Taliban spokesperson told Reuters in October, “LGBT… That’s against our Sharia [Islamic] law.”

A Taliban judge told the German tabloid Bild shortly before the fall of Kabul, “For homosexuals, there can only be two punishments: either stoning, or he must stand behind a wall that will fall down on him.” A manual issued by the Taliban Ministry of Vice and Virtue in 2020 states that religious leaders shall prohibit same-sex relations and that “strong allegations” of homosexuality shall be referred to the ministry’s district manager for adjudication and punishment. 

Despite making repeated pledges to respect human rights, the Taliban have engaged in widespread rights abuses since retaking control of the country, including revenge killings, systematic discrimination against women and girls, severe restrictions on freedom of expression and the media, and land grabbing. In this context, marked by systematic abuse of power combined with virulent anti-LGBT sentiment, Taliban officials and their supporters have carried out acts of violence against LGBT people with impunity.

A gay man said that Taliban members detained him at a checkpoint, beat him, and gang-raped him, telling him, “From now on anytime we want to be able to find you, we will. And we will do whatever we want with you.” A lesbian said that after the Taliban takeover, her male relatives joined the Taliban and threatened to kill her because of her sexual orientation.

Most people interviewed believed their only path to safety was asylum in a country with greater protections for LGBT people, but very few LGBT Afghans escaping Afghanistan are known to have reached a safe country. Only the United Kingdom has publicly announced that it has resettled a small number of LGBT Afghans. Organizations assisting LGBT Afghans say that hundreds of people have contacted them, seeking international protection and resettlement.
 

“The Taliban have explicitly pledged not to respect LGBT Afghans rights,” said Heather Barr, associate women’s rights director at Human Rights Watch. “It’s critically important for concerned governments to urgently put pressure on the Taliban to respect the rights of LGBT people, ensure that assistance they provide Afghanistan reaches LGBT people, and recognize that LGBT Afghans seeking asylum face a special risk of persecution in Afghanistan and neighboring countries.”

For more information, please contact:

• For OutRight Action International, in Michigan, J. Lester Feder (English, Spanish): +1-703-785-1747 (mobile); or jlfeder@OutRightInternational.org. Twitter: @jlfeder                                         
• For OutRight Action International, in Washington, DC, Neela Ghoshal (English, French): +1-917-935-9087 (mobile); or nghoshal@outrightinternational.org. Twitter: @NeelaGhoshal

• For Human Rights Watch, in Islamabad, Heather Barr (English): +1-646-479-2703 (mobile); or barrh@hrw.org. Twitter: @heatherbarr1
• For Human Rights Watch, in New York, Graeme Reid (English): +1-203-606-5847 (mobile); or reidg@hrw.org. Twitter: @Graemecreid

***To download video

Arrests and prosecutions for consensual same-sex sexual acts, or for diverse gender expressions, continue unabated across the world. And yet, they are considerably under-reported.

Our Identities Under Arrest is a new publication by ILGA World offering a global overview of the enforcement of laws criminalising consensual same-sex sexual acts between adults and diverse gender expressions.

The report reviews hundreds of cases in which law enforcements subjected LGBT and gender-diverse persons to fines, arbitrary arrests, prosecutions, corporal punishments, imprisonments and more – up to (possibly) the death penalty.

Governments often argue that criminalising laws are ‘dormant’, but this report offers evidence that such claims are largely inaccurate. How – and how often – they are enforced can vary abruptly and in unpredictable ways, making both our communities on the ground and asylum seekers who managed to flee live perpetually under threat.

The Our Identities under Arrest report will be of great value to the advocacy work of human rights defenders. It will assist asylum seekers and the legal experts working on their cases. And it will provide researchers, media outlets, governmental and global agencies with the necessary information to build a holistic picture of how the criminalisation on the grounds of sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression really looks like.

Click the link below to read the full report:

A new report from OutRight Action International, the Citizen Lab, and the Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI) documents the state of website censorship in some of the most challenging countries in the world for LGBTIQ communities. The report shows prevalent censorship of LGBTIQ website content, reflecting prevalent levels of LGBTIQ-phobia and active silencing of LGBTIQ voices by certain states. The study combines network measurement techniques with interviews from local experts, providing novel insight into the technical obstacles many users face in accessing LGBTIQ news, health, and human rights websites.

The report focuses on Indonesia, Malaysia, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). These countries are known for having some of the most challenging environments for the promotion and protection of human rights in the world. The documented online censorship in these jurisdictions prevents LGBTIQ people from accessing important information, silences LGBTIQ voices, and obstructs the efforts of civil society who are fighting for LGBTIQ rights.

The report provides detailed technical and policy examinations of each country, finding:

• The highest blocking consistency was found in Saudi Arabia, where most LGBTIQ URLs were found blocked more than 75% of the times tested.
• The highest number of LGBTIQ URLs found blocked was in Iran.
• Russia had the highest number of networks that block LGBTIQ URLs. 
• In all six countries, LGBTIQ-related content is wrongly conflated with pornography and subjected to laws outlawing such content.
• Censorship leads to self-censorship, especially where punitive actions against LGBTIQ communities are intensifying.

OutRight Action International, Citizen Lab, and OONI also found that in some of these countries, the criminalization of same-sex relations and transgender identities, in addition to the shrinking space for civil society online and offline, has hampered coalition- and movement-building efforts.

Deputy Executive Director of OutRight Action International, Maria Sjödin, comments:

“For so many LGBTIQ people around the world, the ability to connect online is the only opportunity to find community and access life-saving information. Censorship cuts off an important lifeline, further demonizes the LGBTIQ community, and obstructs the work of LGBTIQ organizations. Such censorship, typically justified by discriminatory or arbitrarily applied laws, is in violation of international standards of freedom of expression and access to information. As long as states continue to censor LGBTIQ websites, the international community, private sector actors and civil society must do what they can to protect these fundamental rights.”

Access the report here.