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The discourse on LGBT rights might be increasingly global, but progress and the subsequent backlash are frequently felt locally

The discourse on LGBT rights might be increasingly global, but progress and the subsequent backlash are frequently felt locally. By bringing together diverse global voices to learn about each other’s local contexts, the Salzburg Global LGBT Forum hopes to mitigate these negative responses and advance LGBT rights worldwide.

That we are currently seeing huge advances in the recognition of LGBT rights in countries across the world is indisputable. But progress is by no means certain nor is it without its negative responses. In 2011, the first UN Resolution on Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity was supported by over 40 countries – yet in 76 states, governments continue to legitimize and sponsor violence again their LGBT citizens.

Increased global visibility of local LGBT communities has in some cases fueled further scapegoating and persecution, but on the flipside of the coin, as prominent African LGBT activist Kasha Nabagesera reminds Fellows, this approach “is helping us progress. Now you can’t say that we don’t exist.” She describes international networks as “our strongest weapon.” Local activists can work with international organizations to remind hostile governments of their obligations under international law.

Diverse voices

However, the key issues facing LGBT communities are not the same across the world. In the West, there is currently a push for marriage equality, adoption rights and legal recognition of gender identity. Yet in countries where homosexuality remains illegal, decriminalization is far more pressing than marriage rights. Speaking at the inaugural session of the Salzburg Global LGBT Forum in 2013 – and echoed across sessions over the following five years – Fellows have expressed concern that the vocal Western campaigns for rights like marriage are distracting from other, for them more urgent campaigns regarding the protection of LGBT people from discrimination, persecution and violence. The Forum engages in ethical listening to develop a fuller understanding of different challenges and encourage joint learning.  

At each session, Fellows open up about their personal experiences. From growing up gay in a religious family in Hong Kong, to the struggles of family relationships post-coming out as transgender in the UK; from empowered lesbian theater performances in El Salvador to harrowing tales of “corrective” rape in South Africa. Some Fellows are able to be completely open about their stories and identities, having already publicly spoken out before arriving in Salzburg; some have to speak strictly under the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals once they return home.

Listening to each other helps us to explore and extend the diversity of approaches that are needed to address inequality the world over. We might live in an increasingly interconnected global world, but a global approach, without taking account local contexts, may not be the answer.

Unintended consequences

When in 2014 the UK declared it would make its foreign aid to Uganda conditional on its compliance with human rights norms, including abandoning its then-pending legislation on the further criminalization of homosexuality, many, especially in the West, thought this was a great advance in how to encourage the globalization of human rights. But these conditions did not take into consideration the local LGBT community. As Nabagesera explained in Salzburg, following the UK’s declaration, a gay man in Uganda was attacked by his neighbors who blamed him for the death of their daughter due to the lack of medicine in hospitals, which had previously been supplied thanks to UK aid. Good global intentions can lead to devastating local consequences if not guided by local leaders.

The stoking of the anti-gay fervor that led to the introduction of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill in Uganda was in part due to the global influence of another group: American evangelical Christians. In response, as Dennis Wamala, vice-chair of the board of Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), explains, SMUG have taken one particular prominent anti-gay evangelical preacher to court in the US (where he is based) for his role in the persecution. The case is ongoing. Within the Forum, we discussed how Western LGBT human rights organizations can confront such post-colonial export of hate by extremist religious congregations in their own countries.

In Jamaica, a country where homophobia is rife and the sodomy law a colonial adoption of British buggery laws, many dismiss advocacy for LGBT rights as “colonial,” and thus public international support for local organizations can be counterproductive, explained Paola Amadei, Head of the Delegation for the European Union to Jamaica.

In many ways, the Forum breaks away from simplified notions of a North/South divide and recognizes that progress has been led by many countries in the Global South. The groundbreaking 2006 Yogyakarta Principles on the Application of International Human Rights Law in relation to Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity have inspired National Human Rights Commissions in Indonesia, Mongolia and the Philippines to review their legislation. In 2010, South Africa spearheaded the first UN Resolution on Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (supported by Brazil and 39 other countries); Argentina passed ground-breaking legislation that recognizes the right to gender identity based on an individual's own feelings; South America became the first continent where a majority of its inhabitants have access to marriage equality; and, in 2015, Nepal introduced passports for a third gender – to name but a few landmark cases. These national and regional advances greatly inspire advances globally.

Alternative approaches

National narratives are frequently misleading, as Dutch sociologist Saskia Wieringa cautions. Societies and governments may take pride in their LGBT inclusion, or in their homo- or transphobia repackaged as “traditional values” but history shows there have been profound societal shifts in the treatment of LGBT communities. For example, while their national narratives might now have reversed, historical accounts show episodes of homosexual-targeted executions in the Netherlands and acceptance of trans people and same-sex relations in Indonesia. Deconstructing these narratives and presenting accurate local histories that show LGBT people have long been part of their communities can be a powerful step forward in reclaiming the place and impact of LGBT people and communities in their respective cultures. 

Other approaches proposed at the Forum have included: find allies and adopt a different language. As Ian Southey-Swartz, LGBTI program manager for the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa, somewhat controversially said in 2013: “LGBT organizations need to get over themselves!” Despite that sounding hostile on paper, his advice that followed was sound: strengthen your cause by allying yourself with other causes than can, in turn, advance your own. This approach was successful in the initial repeal of India’s sodomy laws, which was achieved through a broad-based coalition of interests including women’s, children’s and LGBT rights groups.

Another suggestion was: If LGBT groups are not making progress with human rights arguments, then they should instead present the economic argument for their greater freedoms. “The language of economics is more universal,” suggested one Fellow. Global, cross-border collaborations on research in this area can help support local arguments. In his explanation of how LGBT groups in Lebanon had successfully overturned the violating “anal tests” that were being carried out to “check” for homosexuality, multi-time Fellow Georges Azzi, co-founder of Helem, a Lebanese non-profit organization working on improving the legal and social status of LGBT people in the region, said their target had been the medical legitimacy of the tests, rather than campaigning on a human rights violation platform.

Global learning

In 2016, in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)’s Being LGBTI in Asia program,  the Salzburg Global LGBT Forum met for the first time in Asia in order to learn from rising voices and better understand the unique challenges and progresses in the region. In Chiang Rai, Thailand, Fellows agreed that the lessons that different cultures and experiences provide should be harnessed to advance LGBT inclusion on the global stage.

“Countries such as Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia and Ecuador in Latin America have made remarkable strides on improving the legal recognition of transgender people and their access to official identity documents,” noted Tamara Adrián, president of IDAHOT and multi-time Forum Fellow, drawing parallels with Asian advances. While many LGBT people on the continent are enjoying growing rights and protections, Adrián’s own country has lagged behind. The widespread influence of military and evangelical groups in the state has kept Venezuela from following Latin American trends. “Opportunities to exchange best practices…across regions are tremendously beneficial for those working on the protection of transgender health and citizenship rights but also broader LGBT advocacy efforts,” she added.

The Salzburg Global LGBT Forum is global in its very nature (and name) but it highly values regional and local insights. By bringing together human rights defenders of many sectors, backgrounds and countries, the Forum seeks to encourage a trust-building and learning environment where Fellows can hear candidly what the situation is like on the ground for local activists, helping Fellows realize that there is no one-size-fits-all approach when advancing LGBT rights around the world and avoid unintended negative consequences.

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