October 26: International Intersex Awareness Day

October 26: International Intersex Awareness Day

Within the framework of International Intersex Awareness Day, the International Institute on Race, Equality, and Human Rights (Race & Equality) calls for an end to the discrimination, exclusion, torture, patholization, unnecessary medicalization, and ‘invisibilization’ of intersex persons and their families in the region.  In this sense, Race & Equality reminds [people] that intersex persons are those whose sexual anatomy does not physically adjust to culturally-defined standards for the ‘feminine’ or ‘masculine’ body.  Having said that, what does that actually mean?  We set forth some questions and answers below so as to best approach this issue:

Is intersexuality the same as hermaphroditism?

No.  Although in the cultural imagination hermaphroditism is associated with the figure in Greek literature that has external sexual characteristics associated with the presence of a penis, a vulva, and breasts, in fact in botany and zoology hermaphroditism refers to the reproductive capacity of a plant or animal that can even self-inseminate.  When we refer to people, there is consensus in the scientific community that it is more appropriate to refer to intersexuality.  Some activists, such as Mauro Cabral, prefer to refer to themselves as intersex persons, thereby lending political value to this discussion beyond medical-legal discussions.

 Is intersexuality the same as transgenderism?

 No.  Although both concepts can converge, it is important to have a clear understanding that:

  1. Intersexuality is a biological characteristic that is associated with persons’ genetic and corporeal development (what we traditionally have called ‘sex’) and can be externally visible in the body of a person from the moment of his/her birth.
  2. Transgenderism is more associated with how a person constructs him/herself over the course of his/her life and how he/she presents him/herself to society (what we refer to as ‘gender identity’), although this process can include corporeal interventions to bring the body more into agreement with the [person’s] gender identity.

If intersexuality is biological and innate to a person, why is it necessary to have an intersex day?

  1. It is important to keep in mind that despite the fact that intersexuality if a biological reality, many people are not aware of this fact and by extension, of the existence of intersex persons.
  2. The denial of this biological reality in the educational arena (it is not taught from a young age) is also reflected in the legal sphere, which only recognizes ‘two biological sexes,’ even though the reality is much broader than that; this produces important consequences in the lives of intersex persons.
  3. The origin of this day dates back to 1996 when intersex activists protested in front of the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Pediatrics in Boston against the genital mutilations and hormonal treatments performed on intersex persons at an early age without their informed consent.

Are intersex persons the victims of human rights violations?

Yes.  Intersex persons have been the victims of multiple violations reflected in various spheres of their lives:

  1. Their existence is denied in the legal and medical arenas, given that in many countries only two sexes are legally recognized: male and female. Nonetheless, this is changing with the recognition of gender neutrality.
  2. As a result of the foregoing, surgical procedures are imposed on intersex persons from a very early age. Current protocols are applied to them, even though that means carrying out unnecessary surgical interventions with the intention of ‘normalizing’ their genitals, without the person first giving his/her informed consent.  It should be noted that these interventions give rise to irreversible consequences in the emotional, physical, and sexual life of those individuals, including sterilization and genital mutilation, without them being medically necessary in the great majority of the cases.
  3. Human rights protection entities – such as the United Nations and the Inter-American Commission – have documents grave violations of intersex persons’ human rights, above all with relation to discrimination, ‘invisibilization,’ the lack of official information, medical treatments they tend to receive since birth and throughout the course of their lives, barriers to accessing their medical charts, and even difficulty with obtaining recognition of their legal status in public identity registries.
  4. According to the testimonies of diverse intersex persons, the nature of the interventions oftentimes gives rise to the need for multiple surgeries at different times in their lives, producing chronic pain, possible health problems, and the need to carry out extremely invasive routine procedures comparable to cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment or torture.

For all of these reasons, Race & Equality condemns the patholization and childhood genital mutilation practices endured by some intersex persons, and calls on the States in the region to assume their international obligations without further delay to protect human rights and comprehensively recognize, guarantee, and protect, with no patholization and in consultation with intersex persons, their human rights.

The International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights together with Trans Siempre Amigas (TRANSSA), and the Observatory on Human Rights of Trans Persons request the immediate and effective investigation of the trans-femicide of Marisa Félix Sánchez

The International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality), express its concern about the severe acts denounce by the civil society organizations Trans Siempre Amigas (TRANSSA) and the Observatory on Human Rights of Trans Persons ( in Spanish ODHPT) related to the trans-femicide of Maris Félix Sánchez who was known as “Haitianita”.  Marisa (registered as Richard Félix Sanchez), was a trans woman, afro-descendant, Haitian, sex workers of 30 years old.

According to complaints made by local organizations the acts took place on the early morning of October 15, 2018 in the municipality of Verón, Punta Cana where Marisa worked as sexual worker since 2015 at the Barceló Avenue of Verón. The public information available suggest that the body of Marisa was found on the same area. Sex workers, coworkers of the victim, assured that they saw Marisa leave with a client wearing a red t-shirt in a motorcycle, they also saw the same person arriving with her dead body. On images that are circulating through social media, it is possible to see Marisa’s bloody body, with a deep wound on the cranial area, with evident signs of violence. 

Similarly, according to public information available, the local police went to the area and found a condom, which allows arguing that the acts could have been preceded by sexual violence.

Race and Equality, together with TRANSSA and, the Observatory on Human Rights of Trans Persons consider that the killing of Marisa is related to a deep-rooted context of crimes motivated by prejudice; specifically, a trans-femicide motivated to the female gender identity of the victim. Likewise, we notice with concern that this act is part of a severe context of physical and sexual violence, and killings of trans women that have been denounced systematically by local organizations like TRANSSA and the Observatory on Human Rights of Trans Persons.

Race and Equality call the attention to the local authorities to initiate an effective investigation of the acts immediately, taking into consideration the context of physical and sexual violence, that maid leads to the conclusion that it was a trans-femicide. All of these, in spite of the legal limitations on the Dominican frameworks that do not include the crime of trans-femicide, nor the gender identity of trans women as a relevant element of analysis during the criminal procedure. 

Because the aforementioned legal limitations, and to avoid impunity, the International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights, call the attention to the local authorities to take into consideration the differential factors that are involved in the case, as the gender identity, race, vulnerability as sexual worker, and the nationality of the victim. We consider it is fundamental to analyze the best application of the articles related with homicide in the Dominican context. Similarly, we call the local authorities to have in mind that the facts could have been related to sexual violence either because of rape or sexual aggression, this is an independent aggression that must be thoroughly investigated.

The International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights on a joint statement with TRANSSA and, the Observatorio de Derechos Humanos de Personas Trans, extend a call to the Office of the Attorney General, the General Attorney Jean Alain Rodríguez, the Unit of Integral Attention of Gender Violence, Intrafamily and Sexual Crimes of Verón, Punta Cana, and to its public prosecutor, to investigate the acts, taking into consideration the multiple differential elements of the case. Likewise, we extend a call to the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights and its Rapporteurship of the rights of LGBTI persons, Women, and Afro-descendant persons; and the United Nations offices on the Dominican Republic and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), to monitor the situation and follow-up the case closely. 

Finally, we request to have all the criminal procedures exhausted to avoid the impunity of the dead of Marisa, because it is necessary that the Dominican government send a clear message of zero tolerance to the violence against trans women as part of the National Plan against Gender Violence, which was launched on November 8, 2017.

We invite you to follow the hashtag of zero tolerance to theviolence against trans women: #NIUNAMENOSRD

International Bisexuality Day: A Day to Remember the Sexual Diversity that Comprises and Complements Our Society

Washington, September 22, 2018 – Each year since 1999, International Sexuality Day is commemorated on September 23rd: a day to remember the sexual diversity that comprises and complements our society, as well as the urgent need to continue working for the recognition of the rights to individual liberty, autonomy, and identity of all persons, regardless of their sexual orientation, and especially the assertion and recognition of the rights of bisexual persons.

To that end, we applaud with appreciation the recent press communiqué on International Bisexuality Day issued jointly by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and experts from the United Nations: we believe that these types of statements are essential in the fight against the ‘invisibilization’ of the barriers and discrimination that impact bisexual persons and provide concrete data that help to eradicate misconceptions that are permeated by stigmas surrounding bisexuality.  To that end, the authors state in the communiqué that bisexuality refers to “the capacity for emotional, romantic, and/or physical attraction to more than one sex or gender.”  From our work with our counterparts in the region, we note with concern the frequency with which the sexual orientation of bisexual persons causes them to experience significant discrimination, in that socially they are categorized as ‘indecisive,’ ‘undefined,’ or ‘promiscuous,’ in this manner alluding to an as-yet ‘undecided’ sexual orientation which needs to be ‘defined’ as heterosexual or homosexual.  The stigmas to which bisexual persons are subject result in the ‘invisibilization’ of their realities and experiences, as well as the lack of awareness regarding the multiple challenges [and] barriers [they face], as well as the violations of their human rights.

According to the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Intersex Association (ILGA), bisexuality and bisexual persons are marginalized in all parts of the world, generating alarming figures of depression, isolation, health problems, and high rates of suicide within this population.  In addition, they indicate that the indices of domestic and psychological violence perpetrated against bisexual persons are much higher in comparison with what is experienced by homosexual or heterosexual groups.  In this same study, ILGA points out that “the reality of bisexual persons is unknown by social organizations and even by groups defending the rights of the LGBTI community” – the reason why there are few or no data from social and governmental organizations regarding the health, education, and access to reproductive rights of this population.  Likewise, the actions implemented by State organizations do not respond to the realities of persons with a bisexual sexual orientation.

In Latin America and the Caribbean, the social reality of bisexual persons is completely unknown.  It is as if they do not exist, given that people tend to feel such persons are “going through a phase or presenting a deviation from [normal] sexual conduct”; as such, no statistics or official data exist on the situation of this community, either at the level of the States in the region or at the level of civil society organizations, as the latter tend to address the situations of bisexual persons to a lesser degree.  In addition to this, the lack of knowledge, research, and comprehension of bisexuality becomes a worrisome limiting factor in identifying or defining barriers faced by bisexual persons.

Bisexuality is highly invisible in human rights practice and discourse; it is thus that this day becomes an opportunity to raise the visibility of the voices, stories, and experiences of bisexual persons, demand protection of the rights of all persons, demand research that will identify their needs throughout the world, and develop pedagogy regarding their reality.

Race & Equality calls on the States in the region, governmental institutions, and the LGBTI movement to fight against all types of discrimination and violence against the bisexual population.  We urge them to consider developing public policies that include bisexuality within [the larger topic of] sexual orientation and consequently, collect official data to internally counteract the violence and discrimination faced by bisexual persons.  Biphobia, as well as any type of expression of hatred or violence against the diverse forms of gender, identity, or sexual orientation are acts that diminish the possibility for constructing societies that are more inclusive, just, and respectful of diversity.

 

SO THAT OUR VOICES ARE HEARD AND INCLUDED! Today We Commemorate the International Day for Afro-Latino, Afro-Caribbean, and Diaspora Women

July 25 marks the International Day for Afro-Latino, Afro-Caribbean, and Diaspora Women. The commemorative date was established in 1992 after a meeting in the Dominican Republic of more than 400 women from diverse Latin American countries, where they analyzed the consequences of racism and sexism in the region. The meeting also provided a space for attendees to articulate joint actions and remember historic struggles to combat these issues.

On this day we remember that the fight to bring down the humiliations caused by discrimination, poverty, and violence is ongoing. Participatory spaces are closed off because of racist and discriminatory logic against women and Afro-descendants which prevail. Women from the region continue to be the victims of a hostile war committed to condemn their voices and their chants, to violate their bodies, and take away their children.

It is important to remember that Afro-descendant women’s organizations have undertaken a lot of efforts to achieve recognition and participation in decision-making spaces. Because of this, we urge all states to promote affirmative actions in favor of including Afro-Latino, Afro-Caribbean, and Diaspora voices in spaces that will permit the promotion of effective public policies that guarantee rights and severely condemn all types of ethnic or racial discrimination.

Today we rise up in resistance for the women suffering the war and apathy in Nicaragua, for the harassment and repression against women in Colombia, especially those who are persecuted for leading life in the territories. We rise up for those women who are not recognized and who are discriminated against in Peru; for the violence and harassment against trans women in Brazil; for the voices of the women in Panama; for the recognition of the rights of all women in the region. We will continue fighting so that our voices are heard, included.

Panel conversation on Advisory Opinion OC-24/17 of the Inter-American Court: “The key to eliminate discrimination is promoting equality. No one should be denied their rights on the basis of sexual diversity

“The right to self-identity and the free development of one’s personality is the most essential human right,” declared Flávia Piovesan – the Rapporteur on the Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Intersex (LGBTI) Persons for the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR)– as she spoke during a public conversation on May 10 organized by the Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. The event took place alongside the 168th Period of Sessions of the IACHR.

The purpose of the event was to discuss the judicial and political implications of Advisory Opinion OC-24/17 of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, entitled “Gender identity, equality and non-discrimination with regards to same-sex couples,” for OAS member States. Representatives of LGBTI organizations from all over the region attended and shared concerns with the Rapporteur on the difficulties facing the LGBTI population. Among those present was Christian King, the Director of TRANSSA (“Trans Always Friends”), who reflected on the struggle of trans persons to exercise the free development of their personality in the Dominican Republic due to the constant discrimination they face. He also believes the DR must enact laws and public policies that guarantee equality for all people, including by providing for the legal recognition of all gender identities. Also present was Julio Jose Martinez, who is the founder of the group of trans men IMBERBE and leader of the Movement for Trans Men, who shared the following:

“In the Dominican Republic, trans men are basically invisible – they have no easy access to treatments that reaffirm their identity, unless they know someone, or they go to illegal places where they ‘self-medicate’ at their own risk. Any medical staff needs to be properly trained in how to administer these procedures and handle these situations. When attending check-ups with the gynecologist, I’ve been called by the name that appears in my identification card, despite strictly asking to be called by my name “Julio Jose.”  This makes me receive even more strange looks from those present in the waiting room and causes me great embarrassment and humiliation.”

In this regard, Rapporteur Piovesan declared that “the most vulnerable group of people in society are distinctly trans people”.

Race and Equality’s Legal Consultant Mariel Ortega presented a legal analysis on Advisory Opinion OC-24 issued by the Inter-American Court. The Advisory Opinion addresses the legal recognition of gender identity and extending rights to same-sex couples. In her analysis, she emphasized that while guidelines for the legal recognition of gender identity postulated in OC-24 were drafted by the Court under its advisory capacity, the opinion is still a binding obligation that all States parties to the American Convention are required to comply with. This is because the Court was interpreting the American Convention and the opinion forms part of Inter-American corpus juris. States are obligated to ensure that their laws and policies comply with the opinion (see below infographic summarizing Advisory Opinion OC-24).

Rapporteur Piovesan stated that there are many challenges involved in the implementation of Advisory Opinion OC-24, signaling that the issuance of this opinion is just the beginning of a long process that requires the commitment of all social groups in order to achieve a real and effective realization of the principles in the opinion. In this regard, the Rapporteur highlighted that one of the key principles of the LGBTI Rapporteurship is to reject the criminalization of non-normative sexual orientations gender identities and expressions, in order to facilitate the creation of a path towards the implementation of the advisory opinion. “Criminalization fosters an environment of cruel violence, hostility and harassment – and generates conditions of human rights violations,” said the Rapporteur. Furthermore, she indicated that the one of the Rapporteurships’ main goals is to protect the rights of LGBTI persons and ensure that no one has less rights because of their sexual diversity. The key to ending discrimination is ensuring equality: “no one should be denied their rights to sexual diversity.”

Finally, the Rapporteur publicly pledged to work to ensure that States incorporate the guidelines discussed in the Advisory Opinion into their public policies and further expressed her full support for the LGBTI community to continue fighting for the acknowledgement of identities, autonomy, and free development of each person’s personality.

General Assembly of the OAS – Presentation of the Report on Violence against LGBTI persons in the Americas in the Dominican Republic

The International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights co-sponsored an event with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the Trans Este Podemos Avanzar – TEPA, and Trans Siempre Amigas -TRANSSA, these last two being Dominican LGBTI rights organizations in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on June 14, 2016. The purpose of the event, held parallel to the General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS) was to present the Inter-American Commission’s report Violence against LGBTI Persons in the Americas.

The co-organizers welcomed the participation of Emilio Álvarez Icaza, Executive Secretary of the Inter-American Commission, who began by summarizing the findings of the report and emphasizing the multi-faceted discrimination faced by lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, trans, and intersex persons in the Americas, and the violent consequences this discrimination produces. Inter-American Commission President, James Cavallaro, and Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression, Edison Lanza, were also in attendance.

Mr. José Luiz Machado e Costa, Ambassador of Brazil to the OAS, noted that his country has been at the forefront of the push for the inclusion of LGBTI rights on the OAS agenda, and that civil society organizations have played a large role in this effort; including the resolution on sexual orientation and gender identity that Brazil always propose and co-sponsor.

Carlos Quesada, Executive Director of the Institute, spoke about the importance of the Commission’s report for LGBTI human rights activists in the region, and the need to utilize the recommendations included in said report for advocacy purposes. Representatives from the other two co-sponsoring organizations also urged the over ninety attendees to strategically advocate with domestic stakeholders for the implementation of the Commission’s recommendations.

This event was also marked by discussions highlighting intersectionality and the benefits of forming alliances with other groups facing varied forms of discrimination, especially at the regional and international levels. Alejandra Sarda from the LGBTI Coalition of LGBTI organizations in the Americas expressed that in Argentina they have been used already information from the report. Cristian King, Executive Director from TRANSSA expressed that the report included all the problems faced by members of the LGBTI community in the Dominican Republic; while Monica Ruiz from TEPA highlighted all the violence that the Trans community faced, not only in the Dominican Republic, but in the entire continent; especial from police and other state actors.

Participation in General Assembly of the OAS – Inter-American Forum of Afro-descendants in Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic

The International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights held the Inter-American Forum on Afro-descendants on Friday, June 10, 2016, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, in conjunction with the Jacques Viau Network and DominicanosxDerecho. This annual civil society event, planned to coincide with the Organization of American States’ (OAS) General Assembly, this year brought together over ninety Afro-descendant and LGBTI activists from Latin America and the Caribbean.

The main objectives of the Forum were to promote the effective participation of Afro-descendant and LGBTI organizations in the General Assembly and broaden their advocacy opportunities before the OAS, and make more visible the rampant discrimination suffered by Afro-Dominicans and Dominicans of Haitian Descent in the Dominican Republic. To this end, the morning sessions of the Forum focused generally on the situation of Afro-descendants in the Americas, and the afternoon sessions on the specific reality of the Dominican Republic.

During the morning, the Institute welcomed the participation of a diverse array of speakers representing regional and national civil society organizations working on issues related to the human rights of Afro-descendants, as well as a special presentation via Skype by Zakiya Carr-Johnson, Director of the Race, Ethnicity, and Social Inclusion Unit at the U.S. Department of State. Several LGBTI activists also commented on overlapping and intersectional expressions of discrimination faced by both Afro-descendants, and lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, trans, and intersex individuals.

After a theatrical presentation by the group The Twelve Apostles, made up primarily of young Dominicans of Haitian Descent from bateys around Santo Domingo, panelists in the afternoon continued to focus the discussion on the situation of Dominico-Haitians. Speaking first about the historical 2014 decision of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in favor of the restoration of rights for Dominicans of Haitian Descent, representatives from Dominican organizations that have continued to advocate for these rights commented that unfortunately the Court’s decision has not been implemented. Dominicans of Haitian descent continue to suffer discrimination and have largely been unable to obtain their identity documents; consequently, the number of registered voters in the last general election was ten percent lower than in previous elections.

The Forum concluded with a screening of the the documentary Lives in Transit, which focuses on the experiences of Dominicans of Haitian descent struggling to get their documentation. Participants were also given the opportunity to consolidate advocacy strategies for the Civil Society Informal Dialogue with OAS Secretary General Almagro, which was held on June 12, 2016.

 

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