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23 Mar 2017 - NPWJ News Digest on on LGBTI rights
Articles
Cote d'Ivoire: Jailing of Gay Ivorian Men Stokes Fears in LGBT Safe Haven
by AllAfrica, 22 Mar 2017
Ivory Coast does not explicitly criminalise homosexuality, but its public indecency law singles out homosexual acts and relations. Relaxing on the terrace of a gay bar in Ivory Coast's commercial capital Abidjan, a group of men embraced and laughed as people walked past without even glancing their way. Inside the bar, a young man caressed his companion's chin in the corner, while a transgender woman greeted everyone before strutting and shaking to the music under the strobe lights. "Some of the guys who come here don't feel comfortable displaying their sexuality outside of these walls," 34-year-old Michel, the owner of Sass Bar, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in Abidjan. "Others are just fine being themselves in their neighbourhoods," he added, his voice barely eclipsing the music. The bar is one of many gay venues in Abidjan, a relatively tolerant city for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people in a region where homosexuality is mostly illegal, and sexual minorities face persecution, discrimination and violence. Ivory Coast is one of a minority of African countries - around 20 of the 54 nations on the continent - which do not explicitly criminalise homosexuality or same-sex acts.
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Woman Killed in Baltimore Is Eighth Trans Murder Victim of 2017
by Advocate, 22 Mar 2017
A transgender woman was shot to death in Baltimore Wednesday morning, in the eighth known homicide of a trans person in 2017. The 38-year-old victim, who after some delay was identified as Alphonza Watson, had a gunshot wound to the stomach, the Washington Blade reports. Police found her about 4:15 a.m. and took her to Johns Hopkins Hospital, where she died shortly thereafter. Witnesses said they heard someone yelling for help, then heard shots. Soon afterward, they saw two men get into a car and speed away. Homicide detectives are investigating. The Baltimore police ask that anyone with relevant information call (410) 396-2100, text (443) 902-4824, or call Metro Crime Stoppers, (866) 7-LOCKUP. The victim’s name was not made public until her family was notified. Watson, like the other seven trans people known to have been murdered this year, is a woman of color. She came out as transgender in her teens and went by the nickname "Peaches," her mother, Peggy Walker, told The Baltimore Sun. "She was a very caring, passionate, fun person to be around, always in a talkative and playful mood," Walker said. "Very close to the Lord. She didn't belong to a church or anything like that, but she always talked about the Lord." She said Watson had worked at an upscale retailer in Virginia, where she was one of the best salespeople.
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YouTube reverses some restrictions on gay-themed content
by The Washington Post, 20 Mar 2017
The YouTube video shows two women, dressed in suits and ties. They smile; they sniffle back tears; they gaze into each other’s eyes. They are reading their wedding vows to one another. The four-minute video titled “Her Vows” contains no nudity, violence or swearing. There’s no revealing clothing. No one is engaging in activities that have a “high risk of injury or death.” And yet, YouTube had deemed the video unsuitable for people under 18. YouTube acknowledged Monday that it might have made a mistake, saying in a tweet, “Some videos have been incorrectly labeled and that’s not right. We’re on it! More to come.” The restriction on the vows video was lifted by Monday afternoon. But others — including one from YouTube celebrity Tyler Oakley titled “8 Black LGBTQ+ Trailblazers Who Inspire Me” — remained on YouTube’s age-restricted list. Several YouTube users, many of them have in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, have been complaining that their videos are categorized as “restricted” for no obvious reasons. The “restricted” designation lets parents, schools and libraries filter out content that isn’t appropriate for users under 18. Turning on the restriction makes videos inaccessible. YouTube calls it “an optional feature used by a very small subset of users.”
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Ky. governor signs ‘religious freedom’ bill against LGBT students
by The Washington Blade, 20 Mar 2017
On the same day President Trump came to visit his state for a “Make America Great Again” rally, Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin penned his name to a bill allowing student groups at high schools and public colleges to turn away LGBT people out of religious objections. Motivated in reaction to a school cutting a Bible verse from a student production of “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” Senate Bill 17 was ostensibly intended to protect the religious expression of students. The measure permits them to express religious viewpoints, wear clothing with religious messages and use school media to announce student religious meetings free from discrimination. But the law, which applies to public schools and public post-secondary institutions, also ensures “no recognized religious or political student organization is discriminated against in the ordering of its internal affairs,” allowing religious groups on campus to turn away LGBT students. Sarah Warbelow, legal director for the Human Rights Campaign, said in a statement the new law jeopardizes non-discrimination policies at public high schools, colleges and universities. “No student should fear being excluded from a school club or participating in a school activity because they are LGBTQ,” Warbelow added. “While of course private groups should have the freedom to express religious viewpoints, they should not be able to unfairly discriminate with taxpayer funds.” The new law would undermine “all comers” non-discrimination policies at public colleges, universities and high schools in Kentucky prohibiting student groups from refusing membership to other students, such as an LGBT student, based on a discriminatory reason as long as these groups rely on student resaurces. In 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld these “all-comers” non-discrimination policies in the case of Christian Legal Society v. Martinez.