Flickr/Leonardo Veras (CC BY 2.0)

Protection of the Family

The Issue

Over the past few years, a troubling new trend at the international human rights level is being observed, where discourses on ‘protecting the family’ are being employed to defend violations committed against family members, to bolster and justify impunity, and to restrict equal rights within and to family life.

The campaign to "Protect the Family" is driven by ultra-conservative efforts to impose "traditional" and patriarchal interpretations of the family, and to move rights out of the hands of family members and into the institution of ‘the family’.

“Protection of the Family” efforts stem from:

  • rising traditionalism,
  • rising cultural, social and religious conservatism and
  • sentiment hostile to women’s human rights, sexual rights, child rights and the rights of persons with non-normative gender identities and sexual orientations.

Since 2014, a group of states have been operating as a bloc in human rights spaces under the name “Group of Friends of the Family”, and resolutions on “Protection of the Family” have been successfully passed every year since 2014.

This agenda has spread beyond the Human Rights Council. We have seen regressive language on “the family” being introduced at the Commission on the Status of Women, and attempts made to introduce it in negotiations on the Sustainable Development Goals.

Our Approach

AWID works with partners and allies to jointly resist “Protection of the Family” and other regressive agendas, and to uphold the universality of human rights.

In response to the increased influence of regressive actors in human rights spaces, AWID joined allies to form the Observatory on the Universality of Rights (OURs).  OURs is a collaborative project that monitors, analyzes, and shares information on anti-rights initiatives like  “Protection of the Family”.

Rights at Risk, the first OURs report, charts a map of the actors making up the global anti-rights lobby, identifies their key discourses and strategies, and the effect they are having on our human rights.   

The report outlines “Protection of the Family” as an agenda that has fostered collaboration across a broad range of regressive actors at the UN.  It describes it as: “a strategic framework that houses “multiple patriarchal and anti-rights positions, where the framework, in turn, aims to justify and institutionalize these positions.”

 

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Type

Selena “Rocky” Malone

Category
Droits des LGBTQI
Region
Pacifique
Cause of death / disappearance

Accident

Engagée auprès de jeunes lesbiennes, gays, bisexuels, transgenres, intersexuels, queers, et transgenres (appelés Brotherboys-BB et Sistergirls-SS dans la communauté aborigène en Australie), Rocky faisait preuve de vision et d'un leadership inspirants.

Rocky avait commencé sa carrière auprès de la police du Queensland en tant qu'agent de liaison. Faire une différence était très important pour elle. Elle a mené un travail de soutien impressionnant auprès de jeunes de cette communauté en tant que responsable du service jeunesse « Open Doors » (portes ouvertes). Rocky a œuvré dans des situations complexes liées spécifiquement aux questions de genre et d'identité sexuelle.Elle avait un don naturel dans ce domaine: c’était une leader communautaire solide, une femme sereine, une amie fidèle, une personne aimante et attentionnée ainsi qu’une actrice du changement. Rocky était membre fondatrice d’IndigiLez Leadership and Support Group. 

En 2016, à la Cour suprême de Brisbane, l'ancien juge de la Haute Cour, Michael Kirby, a cité le nom de Rocky lorsqu'il a loué le travail du service juridique de la communauté LGBTI au fil des années. Rocky s'est engagée très fermement en faveur des droits humains de la communauté « LGBTIQBBSG », elle a repoussé les limites et induits des changements de manière respectueuse et aimante.

 

Rocky Malone, Australia

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Upasana Agarwal

Upasana is a non binary illustrator and artist based out of Kolkata, India. Their work explores identity and personal narratives by using a visual remnant or evidence of the contexts they work with. They are especially drawn to patterns which to them communicate complex truths about the past, present and future. When Upasana is not illustrating they organise and run a queer and trans community art centre in the city. 

Upasana’s Exhibition

What languages will be included in the Forum?

English, French, Spanish and Mandarin.

Я являюсь индивидуальной(-ым) активисткой(-том), не сотрудничающей(-им) в данный момент ни с какой группой, организацией и/или движением – могу ли я принять участие в опросе?

Нет, мы очень ценим вашу работу, но в данный момент мы не собираем информацию об отдельных активистках(-тах).

Zita Kavungirwa Kayange

Category
Civil & Political Rights
Region
Africa
Sub Sahara Africa

Zita was a women’s rights activist who defended the rights of rural women in Greater Kivu.

She was the first Executive Director of UWAKI - a well known women’s organisation. Through her work with Women's Network for Rights and Peace (RFDP), and the Women's Caucus of South Kivu for Peace, she committed her life to helping to restore peace in the Eastern DRC. She spoke out strongly against the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war.

In 2006, she put herself forward as a candidate in the first democratic elections in the DRC. Although she did not win, she continued to advocate for women’s rights and the South Kivu community remembers her fondly. 

 

Zita Kavungirwa Kayange, Republic Democratic of Congo

Beijing Sin Ataduras: el poder de los movimientos feministas jóvenes

En asociación con activistas feministas jóvenes y organizaciones lideradas por jóvenes, AWID está organizando, en forma autónoma, Beijing Sin Ataduras, en paralelo con Beijing+25. 

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What happens to the activity proposals submitted through the CfA?

  1. Activity proposals will initially be screened by AWID staff.
  2. Organizers of shortlisted proposals will then be invited to participate in a voting process, to choose among the shortlisted activities. Those with the most votes will be included in the Forum program. AWID may make a few adjustments to the final selection to ensure our program has an adequate balance across regions, constituencies, issues and methodologies.  
  3. Our Forum Content and Methodology Committee will reach out to the organizers of selected proposals to support them in further developing their activities.

We will update the outcomes of this process in the website in due time.

Como posso aceder ao inquérito?

O inquérito está disponível no KOBO, uma plataforma de código aberto para recolher, gerir e visualizar dados. Para participar, basta clicar na ligação do inquérito aqui. Siga as instruções para preencher o inquérito. 

Bessy Ferrera

Category
LGBTQI Rights
Region
Latin America
Date of death / disappearance
Cause of death / disappearance

Killed

Bessy Ferrera was a lifelong defender of the human rights of trans people, sex workers and HIV positive people in Honduras.

Bessy was also a member of Arcoíris, an organisation which supports the LGBTI+ community. She was also a focal point person for the Right Here, Right Now (Derechos aquí y Ahora) Platform of Honduras, and advocated strongly for full citizenship of trans people, and the passing of a gender identity law that would allow trans people to change their gender identity legally.

"Since the beginning of the year [2019] the trans community has been suffering a series of attacks, for defending, for demanding rights." - Rihanna Ferrera (Bessy’s sister)

Bessy was a sex worker, and in early July 2019, was shot to death by two men while working in the streets of Comayagüela. Her assailants were subsequently arrested. 

Bessy is one of many LGBTI+ rights defenders in Honduras, who were murdered because of their identities and work. Other companeras include: Cynthia Nicole, Angy Ferreira, Estefania "Nia" Zuniga, Gloria Carolina Hernandez Vasquez, Paola Barraza, Violeta Rivas, and Sherly Montoya.

Bessy’s case is emblematic of injustice and a much larger problem of the systematic violence the LGBTI+ community faces in Honduras as the state fails to guarantee rights offer and fails to offer protection. This has created a culture of impunity.

Despite the risks LGBTI+ defenders in Honduras face, they continue their work to challenge and resist violence, and fight stigma and discrimination on a daily basis. 

“If I die, let it be for something good not for something futile. I don’t want to die running away, being a coward. If I die, I want people to say that I died fighting for what is mine.” - member of Arcoíris 

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dancer with angel wings

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Do I need a visa to attend the Forum in Taipei?

You DO NOT need a visa to attend the Forum in Taipei if you hold a passport from one of the following countries (the allowed length of your stay varies from one country to another):

Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Eswatini, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan*, Republic of Korea, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Marshall Island, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Palau, Paraguay, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tuvalu, the United Kingdom, the United States of America,and Vatican City State, Belize, Dominican Republic, Malaysia, Nauru, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Singapore.

People with any other passport WILL NEED A VISA to come to Taipei.

Please note:

It is likely that, once you have registered to attend the Forum, you will get an event-related code that will allow you to apply for your visa electronically regardless of your citizenship.

We will let you know more about this when the Registration opens.

هل استطلاع "أين المال" متاح للأشخاص ذوي/ات الإعاقات؟

نعم، انه متاح للأشخاص أصحاب/ صاحبات الإعاقات السمعية، البصرية، النظرية والفكرية المختلفة.

Yelena Grigoriyeva

Category
Derechos de LGBTQI
Region
Europa
Asia
Date of death / disappearance
Cause of death / disappearance

Asesinato

Yelena Grigoriyeva, a menudo conocida entre sus amigxs como Lena, fue una destacada defensora de los derechos LGBT en Rusia.

Formó parte de movimientos democráticos, anti-guerra y LGBT. En su activismo, fue una crítica feroz del Presidente Vladimir Putin y su administración, y expresó su oposición a la anexión por parte de Rusia de la península de Crimea de Ucrania y al maltrato de prisionerxs.

Yelena se declaró bisexual a principios de 2019. "Su salida del armario fue una sorpresa para mí, y no la aprobé. Le dije: ‘Escucha, Lena, ya estás en la mira por tu actividad política. Te acabas de clavar otro blanco en el pecho’". - Olga Smirnova

Yelena, de hecho, recibió múltiples amenazas de muerte y, según algunxs de sus conocidxs, figuraba en un sitio web homofóbico que instaba a sus visitantes a que persiguieran a las personas LGBT. Yelena denunció las amenazas a la policía, pero el Estado ruso no le proporcionó ningún tipo de protección.

Sin embargo, Yelena, a pesar de vivir en una sociedad en la que la oposición política, así como lxs integrantes de la comunidad LGBT y lxs defensores de sus derechos, se enfrentan a una violencia continua y creciente, siguió haciendo campaña por la justicia social y la igualdad.

"No se perdió ni una sola acción. Y la detuvieron tantas veces que hasta perdí la cuenta", Olga Smirnova (compañera activista de la oposición y amiga).

Yelena fue asesinada el 21 de julio de 2019, cerca de su casa. Las autoridades detuvieron a una persona sospechosa pero, según algunas fuentes, muchxs amigxs y compañerxs activistas creen que es un chivo expiatorio y que, en realidad, se trata de un asesinato político deliberado.

Para los familiares y amigxs de Yelena, su caso sigue sin resolverse aunque la persona sospechosa haya confesado.

En 2013, Rusia aprobó una ley que prohíbe la difusión de lo que describió como "propaganda gay". En 2014, Human Rights Watch publicó un informe al respecto.

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Appels à participation

Discussion en ligne sur le souci de soi et le bien-être collectif

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