International

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LGBTQ people deserve freedom, a sense of home, and belonging

Seven years ago, my fight for queer liberation in notoriously homophobic Jamaica culminated in a violent and brutal unlawful arrest and detention. This was the peak of decades of persecution due to my sexual orientation and work as a queer human rights defender and activist. It completely broke me and silenced me. I suffered severe emotional trauma, from which I am still recovering years later. 

Following that life-threatening arrest, I became a shell of who I once was. I cut off communication with my community for several years, unable to face my fear of the police and the hostility of the world around me. 

In 2022, I was one of the 9,591 at-risk LGBTQI+ people who reached out to Rainbow Railroad for help. Through the organization’s Emergency Travel Support (ETS) program, which relocates at-risk LGBTQI+ people and helps them make asylum claims in countries like the U.S., I resettled in Canada where I’ve been living safely with dignity and pride. 

This Pride Month, I’m reflecting on what it means to be safe. Who has access to safety and why others are excluded from it. What is our collective role and responsibility in expanding safety for our queer and trans communities, especially those in the over 60 countries that criminalize LGBTQI+ people? 

Safety means different things to different people depending on our experiences and journeys. For me, it’s the difference between suffering and thriving, feeling worthless and worthy, and feeling hopeless and hopeful. It is the difference between displacement and belonging. 

Rainbow Railroad recently released a report that examines the state of global LGBTQI+ persecution, drawing on data from 15,352 help requests spanning 100+ countries. This report is significant for several reasons, chief among them is the reality that no other organization or government captures the breadth and depth of data on LGBTQI+ forced displacement, perpetuating the invisibility of queer individuals in humanitarian responses. The report is an important contribution to the discourse on the intersection of queer identity, LGBTQI+ persecution, forced displacement, and humanitarian protection systems. 

Of all the data and insights uncovered in the report, I was most struck by one statistic — 91 percent of at-risk LGBTQI+ individuals relocated through the ETS program reported an improved sense of personal safety. This statistic is particularly personal to me because ETS was the only relocation option accessible to me in 2022 when I reached out to Rainbow Railroad for help. 

I am in that 91 percent because I am now thriving. I feel worthy. I am hopeful about life. And I belong. 

Today, among the 120 million forcibly displaced people around the world, queer and trans individuals face compounded complications from homophobia and transphobia while trying to access protection and safety. And while the anti-gender movement continues to swell in some states, I firmly believe that the U.S. remains a global leader in refugee resettlement — which is why the U.S. government must uphold its international obligations and reverse its recent executive order that imposes severe restrictions on the right to seek asylum. 

Queer and trans individuals deserve freedom, a sense of home, and belonging — realities that flourish only when rooted in the bedrock of safety. 

There is a lot more work to be done. It’s challenging. It’s complex. It’s costly. But I have experienced firsthand what the transformative impact of Rainbow Railroad’s work has on someone’s life — that ability to lift people out of danger into safety is something worth celebrating this Pride. 

Latoya Nugent is the head of engagement for Rainbow Railroad.

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Uzbekistan: 2 Years on, No Justice in Autonomous Republic

Uzbekistan authorities have increasingly cracked down on calls for independence in the autonomous republic of Karakalpakstan since protests broke out there two years ago, Human Rights Watch said today.

But Uzbekistan has also yet to hold any senior officials accountable for the excessive force used to quell the protests against proposed constitutional amendments in July 2022. The amendments would have stripped the region of its autonomous status and barred a referendum for independence.

“Uzbekistan’s leadership has not only failed to ensure justice for those killed in the Karakalpakstan protests two years ago, but we’ve also seen a notable increase in repression of other Karakalpak activists ever since,” said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Uzbekistan’s partners should renew calls for justice and condemn the ongoing crackdown on activists both inside and outside Karakalpakstan.”

On July 1 and 2, 2022, Uzbekistan’s security forces used unjustified lethal forceand other forms of excessive force, including discharging small arms and grenades to disperse mainly peaceful protesters in Karakalpakstan. At least 21 people died, including 4 law enforcement officers. Over 270 were injured.

Uzbek authorities backed off the proposed constitutional changes, but they have since taken a heavy hand to anyone who has spoken out or acted in favor of Karakalpakstan’s independence.

The authorities arrested more than 500 people in the immediate aftermath of the protests, and in two high-profile criminal trials, prosecuted a total of 61 people, including lawyers, bloggers, activists, and journalists, for their alleged involvement. Dauletmurat Tazhimuratov, a blogger and lawyer who first called for peaceful protests, was sentenced to 16 years in prison. Police and the courts ignored his allegations of ill-treatment and torture.

Human Rights Watch has reviewed court documents from the prosecution since July 2022 of nine Karakalpak activists on criminal charges of “attempting to overthrow the constitutional order” and “producing or distributing material that threatens public safety.” Human Rights Watch also reviewed media reports and statements issued by rights groups. In mid-June, Human Rights Watch wrote to the Uzbek government to request information about the cases but has received no response.

The arrests and prosecutions, including of diaspora Karakalpaks, for no more than peaceful expression of their political opinions, violates internationally protected rights to freedom of expression and assembly, and are inconsistent with Uzbekistan’s reform pledges and purported human rights agenda, Human Rights Watch said.

Two activists – Saaditdin Reimov, 57, and Kungratbay Redzhepov, 57 – were sentenced in December 2022 to four and seven years in prison, respectively. Reimov had expressed his support for a peaceful protest on September 1, 2022, to demand the release of political prisoners, while Redzhepov had called in October 2020 for a rally to demand independence for Karakalpakstan. Both had previously served 15-day administrative sentences for trying to go to the Karakalpakstan capital, Nukus, during the 2022 protests.

Arepbay Aitmuratov was sentenced to seven years in a prison colony on May 10, 2023, for videos he shared in Telegram channels that, according to a state-ordered expert analysis, allegedly contained “ideas of separatism information aimed at inciting panic among the population.” The verdict, which effectively criminalized the expression of ideas, did not specify what language served as the basis for the criminal charges.

An ethnic Turkmen from Karakalpakstan, Jumasapar Dadebaev, 37, who had been living in Türkiye, was forcibly returned to Uzbekistan in January 2022, then arrested. On August 10, 2022, following a closed trial, a Tashkent court convicted Dadebaev of over a dozen criminal charges, including “attempting to overthrow the constitutional order,” “insulting the president,” and “producing or distributing materials containing a threat to public order,” and sentenced him to 12 years in prison.

While Dadebaev was not involved in the July 2022 protests, he had previously called for Karakalpakstan’s independence, criticized government officials, and called for peaceful protests.

Uzbekistan has also targeted diaspora activists, in particular those living in Kazakhstan, with unfounded criminal charges. In September 2023, Uzbekistan courts prosecuted in absentia five diaspora Karakalpaks, – Koshkarbai Toremuratov, Zhangeldy Zhaksymbetov, Raisa Khudaibergenova, Ziyuar Mirmanbetova, and Tleubike Yuldasheva – sentencing them to between 3 years and 10 years and 1 month in prison. Police in Kazakhstan have arrested three more Karakalpaks since the start of this year. Uzbekistan has sought their extradition.

On February 22, 2024, Uzbekistan’s Supreme Court ruled that Alga Karakalpakstan, an opposition group in Karakalpakstan, is “extremist” and banned its activities in Uzbekistan. The movement’s leader, Aman Sagidullaev, a Karakalpak activist who has political asylum in Norway, was prosecuted in absentia in connection with the July 2022 protests and sentenced to 18 years in prison.

A human rights defender Vitaliy Ponamarev, told Human Rights Watch that at least one person, Parakhat Musapbarov, has already been prosecuted for alleged membership in Alga Karakalpakstan. On May 30, 2024, the Khojeli district court sentenced Musapbarov to six years in prison under article 244-2, or “membership in a banned extremist organization.”

In the meantime, authorities have failed to ensure justice for the people killed or injured in the 2022 protests, Human Rights Watch said.

Three police officers have been prosecuted for “illegal actions” during the protests. The Kagan City Court on August 4, 2023, sentenced two of them to seven years in prison for torture, and another to three years in prison for perjury and leaving a person in danger resulting in his death in connection with the Karakalpakstan events. But information about the prosecutions was only made public after sentencing, and little is known about the cases, including the specific crimes.

In December 2022, the Prosecutor General’s Office announced that it was investigating two deaths and the use of weapons to dispel the protests in Karakalpakstan, but no further information about the investigations has been made public.

A so-called independent parliamentary commission tasked in July 2022 with investigating human rights violations committed during and after the events has yet to publish its findings.

Uzbek authorities should stop imprisoning Karakalpaks for peacefully expressing a desire for an independent Karakalpakstan, release those who have been wrongfully imprisoned, and take urgent steps to ensure justice for those killed during the 2022 events, Human Rights Watch said.

Uzbekistan’s partners, in particular the European Union, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Germany, all of whom have representatives in Tashkent, have an important role to play to hold Uzbekistan accountable for ensuring justice for those killed in the protests in July 2022, and in securing the release of wrongfully imprisoned Karakalpak activists and others, Human Rights Watch said.

“Locking up Karakalpak activists for alleged ‘anti-constitutional’ activities, while ignoring the need to ensure accountability for the lives lost during the events of July 2022 is deeply cynical on the part of Uzbek authorities,” Williamson said. “Uzbekistan’s partners, who have made muted references to this recent crackdown, need to speak up, and do so urgently.”

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Nonbinary People in Mexico: Results from the 2021 National Survey on Sexual and Gender Diversity

Using data from the 2021 National Survey on Sexual and Gender Diversity in Mexico, this report examines data about sociodemographic characteristics, stressors, sexuality, health care, and mental health experiences of nonbinary people in Mexico. Nonbinary people are those living their gender identity outside the traditional binary gender structure totally or partially. Available in English and Spanish, this report aims to fill existing data gaps on nonbinary people and to address requests from civil society and government officials to improve data collection, develop mechanisms to ensure gender markers align across identity documents, and inform anti-discrimination campaigns about nonbinary people in Mexico.

Key Findings

  • An estimated 340,620 people in Mexico identify as nonbinary.
  • More than half (67.5%) of nonbinary people are under 24 years old, and the majority (80.8%) are single.
  • During their childhood, nonbinary individuals often felt different due to their tastes or interests (45.5%) or their mannerisms and behavior (41.5%).
  • During their childhood, half of nonbinary people (50.3%) were insulted, mocked, or told offensive things, and more than a third (38.7%) were rejected or excluded from social activities.
  • Most people (86.3%) knew that they were nonbinary before they were 17 years old.
  • Nonbinary people face multiple stressors around their sexual orientation and gender identity. For example, one in 10 (10.8%) nonbinary people were forced to undergo conversion therapy due to their sexual orientation, and almost one in 10 (9%) due to their gender identity or expression.
  • The majority of nonbinary people report experiencing multiple mental health problems during the past year, including stress (74%), insomnia (63.7%), anxiety (65.9%), and changes in eating behaviors or weight (64.5%).
  • Almost half (42.5%) of nonbinary people had suicidal thoughts in their lifetime, and a quarter (25.8%) had attempted suicide.

Download the full report

Download the report in Spanish

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Lesbian couple brutally beaten by men who were harassing them on one woman’s birthday

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A lesbian couple in Halifax, Canada was assaulted by a group of men who were shouting homophobic slurs at them.

Emma MacLean and her girlfriend, Tori, were walking down the street celebrating one of their birthdays when a group of men made a rude comment at MacLean, CTV News reports.

“A group of men walking in the other direction and they made a comment to me,” said Emma MacLean. “My girlfriend, Tori, said, ‘Hey that’s my girlfriend.’

This response led to the men making explicitly homophobic remarks at the two, taunting them both.

“They continued walking and then Tori followed them to basically verbally be like, ‘That is not okay,’” MacLean said.

That’s when the men started attacking Tori.

“I see Tori being pushed on the stairs right in front of the BMO Centre and they are cement stairs and she’s on her back, that’s when all the men started punching and kicking her,” she continued. 

MacLean said that she yelled for them to stop before she got involved in the fight to protect her girlfriend.

“The fight or flight came in. Basically jumped on one of their backs and put them in a chokehold, trying to restrain them.”

A bystander alerted police shortly after the fight ended. They spoke with one of the men involved in the incident, and he told them that it was the two women who had initiated the fight. The rest of the men refused to cooperate and give IDs, however.

There are currently no charges as police are investigating the situation.

Both MacLean and Tori suffered injuries. Tori had bruises covering her body, while MacLean had a chipped tooth, a broken nose, and many bruises as well.

MacLean said, “I felt punches and kicks and then I felt it on my nose and there was blood. I just thought this needs to stop now. I went to emerge the night of and they basically said it was too swollen for surgery.”

“I’m terrified to go downtown again in Halifax. I just feel like it’s so out of your control on what could happen. It’s overwhelming. I didn’t expect something like this to happen, especially with it happening during Pride Month as well.”

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Protest Forces End To Toronto Pride Parade

The Toronto Star reports:

Thousands of people danced, sang and celebrated at Toronto’s Pride Parade on Sunday until the procession was suddenly stopped mid-route, and then cancelled, by a protest.

About 30 demonstrators, calling themselves the Coalition Against Pinkwashing, held banners and chanted on Yonge Street, just south of Wellesley Street, three and a half hours after the parade’s 2 p.m. start.

Floats and marchers making their way south toward the parade’s finish at Nathan Phillips Square were stranded behind the protesters, who chanted “Free Palestine” and “Pride is a protest.” And 45 minutes after the protest began, Pride Toronto announced the remainder of the parade — billed as Canada’s largest — was cancelled.

The New York Daily News reports:

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators climbed over barricades, tossed fake blood and held up New York City’s Pride March on Sunday. About a dozen protesters descended on the annual march as it approached Christopher St. and Waverly Place in Greenwich Village around 2:45 p.m.

They protesters splattered red paint on the parade route and on a Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck inside the barricades, photos show.

The protesters sat in the roadway and refused to let the parade continue as they held signs declaring “no queer liberation without Palestinian liberation” and “Palestine will be free.” “They held up the parade for like, 45 minutes,” said one spectator.

The Associated Press reports:

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UK Labour Leader Keir Starmer says he doesn’t want schools teaching young people about transgender identities

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Labour leader Keir Starmer has said he is “not in favour” of “gender ideology” being taught in schools, despite his education spokesperson suggesting the party would review the Conservatives controversial guidance on trans pupils. 

Keir Starmer, who was previously applauded for condemning Rishi Sunak’s anti-trans ‘jokes’, has stated his opposition to the teaching of so-called “gender ideology” – a phrase which is widely considered an anti-trans dogwhistle. 

Speaking with reporters during a school visit in Kettering, Starmer said: “No, I’m not in favour of ideology being taught in our schools on gender,” he said. 

“I think we need to complete the consultation process and make sure that there is guidance that is age appropriate.

“That is helpful for teachers and has at its heart the safeguarding of children.”

A spokesperson for Labour equally told The Times: “Nothing should be taught in an ideological way in schools. 

“Current RSHE [relationships, sex and health education] guidance requires under law that children are taught in an age-appropriate way the facts about ‘sex, sexuality, sexual health and gender identity’. 

“Labour’s priority is the safety and wellbeing of every child.”

Labour leader Keir Starmer and Shadow Education Secretary Bridget Philipson visit a school in the East Midlands to take part in a student Q&A on June 24, 2024 in Kettering, England. (Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

However, this statement conflicts with the words of his shadow education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, who when asked about the Tories RHSE guidancein a recent BBC interview suggested Labour would review it, stating she does not want it to be a a “political football” or “culture wars” issue.

The current government confirmed in May that sex education for children under the age of nine and education about trans issues for all pupils will be banned following updates to legal guidance, with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak saying at the time the changes were to “protect our children”. The statutory guidance on relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) more widely is currently under review by the government. 

This also followed the Tories guidance on gender questioning pupils in schools, released in December 2023, which states teachers are allowed to “decline” a student’s request to use different pronouns, access to single-sex facilities should be based on “biological” sex and social transition can only happen if parents are informed. 

In her BBC interview, Phillipson said: “There are trans people within society and their existence should be recognised.

“Many aspects of the draft had good and straightforward principles in it. Other elements of it, I think, drifted far too much into partisan and unnecessary language.”

Following the interview, Conservative education minister Gillian Keegan claimed Labour would “play politics with the lives of our children” whilst equalities minister Kemi Badenoch said on Friday she was “very, very worried” a Labour government would “undo the work we have done on gender questioning guidance for children”. 

This is certainly not the first time Labour’s stance on trans rights has been unclear, with Starmer previously flip-flopping on his definitions, seemingly siding with Conservative viewpoints as well as backtracking on the party’s commitment to self-ID. 

Alongside these seemingly conflicting stances within the party, yesterday Keir Starmer also said he will meet with JK Rowling to discuss trans issues. 

The Harry Potter author, who is well-known for her gender critical views, has blasted Labour in recent days – a party she used to be a large financial donor to. 

Rowling criticised Labour for “abandoning” women after Starmer’s appearance on BBC Question Time where he answered an audience question regarding his definition of a woman and his criticism of gender-critical Labour MP Rosie Duffield, saying she will “struggle to support them” because of the party’s “dismissive and often offensive towards women fighting to retain the rights their foremothers thought were won for all time”. 

Answering questions a Q&A event at The Sun‘s London HQ on 24 June, Starmer said: “Of course I’d meet with her. Of course I would. She’s made some really important points.

“I’d welcome that discussion, because I do think that we made huge progress on women’s rights under Labour governments.

“On equality we made massive progress. There’s more work to be done if we are privileged to come in to serve this country.

Starmer added: “I want to make sure that we can bring people together.”

This was a topic also brought up to Labour’s shadow secretary of state for health and social care Wes Streeting – who previously said he regrets saying ‘trans women are women’ – on Monday (24 June). 

Streeting said trans rights has been a “difficult conversation, and not just within the Labour Party but within our country because we have had some tension between how you treat trans people with dignity and respect and inclusion,and also make sure that women’s rights, voices, spaces are protected.”

“I feel very optimistic, in fact, about the fact that we can reconcile those two things and move forward together as a country if we have a political culture that’s about bringing people together and navigating our way through these conversations with respect [and] genuinely listening to different perspectives, rather than seeing these differences as divisions to be exploited in – frankly – the way I think we’ve seen from from the current government,” he said.

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Russian trans politician forced to detransition or get sent to psychiatric hospital

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Yulia Alyoshina, a transgender Russian politician, announced last month that they were detransitioning. In an interview published on Thursday with Novaya Gazeta Baltiya, they revealed that they were forced to undergo this detransition due to threats of being sent to a psychiatric hospital.

Alyoshina, who will be referred to with they/them pronouns as it is not currently clear what English pronouns they currently prefer, had sought help from the Russian Supreme Court asking whether they had a right to exist as a transgender person. The court responded by saying it “doesn’t make decisions.”

“I made posts on my Telegram channel in May and June because of this stress,” Alyoshina said. “I’ve been under severe stress since winter.”

Last month, Alyoshina made a sudden post on Telegram saying, “I went through old albums of my ancestors, prayed for them, and it helped the idea set in that I’m a guy.”

“I’m a patriot of my country, that’s why I live in Russia. I apologize to all the Russian people!”

According to the interview, they had made these posts after hearing about the risk of being forced into a psychiatric institution. This is a common tactic used by the Russian government to silence political opponents.

Last November, Russia declared the “international LGBT movement” an “extremist organization,” raiding LGBTQ+ bars and clubs while arresting citizens. Many have been incarcerated for just displaying a pride flag or even having a nebulous tie to the LGBTQ+ community.

Alyoshina had run for governor of Altai, a region in Siberia, as a member of the Civic Initiative Party.

She had also sought help from the Russian Orthodox Church but had received “repulsive” treatment.

She said, “I’m in a situation where I have not much to lose now.”

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Court Orders Guanajuato, Mexico to Recognize Trans Identities

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A federal court of first instance in Mexico recently ordered the Guanajuato State Congress to create a rights-respecting legal procedure so that transgender people can modify their identity documents to accurately reflect their gender identity.

The ruling is a result of litigation initiated by Amicus DH, a Guanajuato-based LGBT rights organization that represents trans people pursuing legal recognition of their identity. Under the state’s current system, they must file a lawsuit (a juicio de amparo) to enjoin the state’s civil registry to modify their documents, which can be a lengthy and expensive legal process.

The court’s ruling orders Guanajuato’s congress to create a simple and administrative gender recognition procedure in its next legislative period. The procedure should center self-identification per standards required under Mexican Supreme Court and Inter-American Court of Human Rightsjurisprudence. Twenty-one other Mexican states already have such a procedure in place.

In 2022, Amicus DH and Human Rights Watch published a report documenting how trans people in Guanajuato experience grave rights violations due to the state’s lack of legal gender recognition. In collaboration with the Trans Youth Network and Colmena 41, we interviewed 31 trans people from León, Irapuato, Celaya, and Guanajuato city, who said they faced serious economic, educational, labor, legal, health, and other ramifications because they lack documents reflecting their gender identity.

Each of Mexico’s 32 states has the authority to determine its laws and policies in civil, family, and registration matters in accordance with the country’s constitution. It is up to each state’s legislature or governor to pass a law or issue a decree that enables legal gender recognition through a simple administrative procedure at a state-level civil registry.

Guanajuato’s incoming congress should comply with the court’s order and join other Mexican states that already uphold the right to legal gender recognition. The new governor and congress should also prioritize consulting LGBT communities in the state to create broader public policies for this population to improve their access to education, security, health, and work.

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Treacherous Internet: Cyber-Criminalization of LGBT People

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When I was researching the digital targeting of LGBT people across the Middle East and North Africa region, I spoke to Yamen, a gay man from Jordan. He told me that he was extorted online by another man, who was threatening to post a compromising video of Yamen on social media, and that his biggest regret was going to the authorities to seek protection. Instead of prosecuting the extortionist, a Jordanian court sentenced Yamen to six months in prison for “promoting prostitution online,” based on the country’s 2015 cybercrime law.

Yamen’s experience is not an isolated incident. In recent years, many MENA region governments, including Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Tunisia, have introduced cybercrime laws that target dissent and undermine the rights to freedom of expression and privacy. Cybercrime laws often establish new investigative powers, including allowing authorities to intercept, retain, and access people’s data. Obtaining data from online services such as social media platforms can be essential for prosecuting cybercrime, but only if these powers come with essential due process protections.

These laws, combined with existing laws that criminalize same-sex conduct, “morality” clauses, or prostitution laws, have also created a treacherous climate in which LGBT people can be prosecuted merely for expressing themselves online, even in countries that do not criminalize same-sex relations. In addition, a proposed global cybercrime treaty would facilitate international cooperation on a range of technology-facilitated activities a government criminalizes domestically—even if in violation of human rights. These domestic laws may carry a penalty of at least three or four years in prison, which could lead to the prosecution of LGBT people across borders.

Take Mohamed al-Bokari, a Yemeni activist who traveled on foot from Yemen to Saudi Arabia after armed groups threatened to kill him due to his online activism and gender non-conformity. While living in Riyadh, he posted a video on Twitter declaring his support for LGBT rights. Saudi authorities then charged him with “promoting homosexuality online” under the cybercrime law and sentenced him to 10 months in prison, where he was held in solitary confinement for weeks, subjected to a forced anal exam, and repeatedly beaten.

Some governments are making online self-expression a crime specifically for LGBT people. In Iraq, parliament passed a dangerous anti-LGBT law in April as an amendment to the country’s existing anti-prostitution law. In addition to punishing same-sex relations with a penalty of up to 15 years in prison, the new law provides for 7 years in prison for “promoting homosexuality,” including through online platforms.

When I documented the killings, abductions, sexual violence, and torture of LGBT people by armed groups in Iraq, I quickly realized that online threats, in many cases based on victims’ social media activity, often preceded brutal offline violence, showcasing the lethal connection between digital harassment and physical harm. The new law legitimizes the discrimination fueling this rampant violence against LGBT people, not only criminalizing their existence, but also anything they have to say about it online.

Governments are the primary duty bearers responsible for protecting human rights, including on the internet. But in the MENA region and beyond, the authorities weaponize online activity to justify their persecution of LGBT people. This is compounded by the failure of major digital platforms like Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, to address and effectively mitigate the harm stemming from abusive use of their services. Despite numerous reports of online harassment and abusive content, platforms like Facebook and Instagram often fail to act, leaving LGBT users vulnerable to further harm.

That is why in 2024, Human Rights Watch initiated the “Secure Our Socials” campaign. It aims to engage Facebook and Instagram to be more transparent and accountable by publishing meaningful data on investment in user safety, including regarding content moderation in the MENA region and around the world. The campaign also offers a variety of possible solutions for Meta to keep LGBT people safe on its platforms.

The campaign builds on the 2023 digital targeting report, for which I interviewed 120 LGBT people in five countries, many of whom reported complaining about online harassment and abusive content to Facebook and Instagram. But the platforms did not remove the content in any of these cases, claiming it did not violate their community standards or guidelines.

Such content included outing, doxxing, and death threats, which in many cases resulted in severe offline consequences for LGBT people. Not only did Meta’s moderation systems fail to detect this content, but even when it was reported, Meta was ineffective in removing harmful content. A timely response could have limited offline harm. Social media companies, including significant players like Meta, should prioritize the security and rights of all users, ensuring that their platforms do not become tools for persecution.

The fight against the cyber-criminalization of LGBT people is not only about legal reform but also about creating safer, more inclusive digital spaces. Yamen’s and al-Bokari’s accounts reveal a harsh reality faced by many, where seeking protection or expressing one’s identity can lead to imprisonment and violence.

By addressing both the legal structures that outlaw LGBT people, and digital platforms that enable persecution, we can begin to dismantle digital oppression and create safe avenues for everyone’s, including LGBT people’s, free expression.

This essay is part of a series marking the 20th anniversary of the LGBT rights program at Human Rights Watch. The collection of articles explores the multifaceted challenges LGBT people face globally. Find them here.

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Victory for Same-Sex Marriage in Thailand

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Thailand’s Senate voted 130-4 today to pass a same-sex marriage bill that the lower house had approved by an overwhelming majority in March. This makes Thailand the first country in Southeast Asia, and the second in Asia, to recognize same-sex relationships.

The Marriage Equality Act makes important amendments to language in Thailand’s Civil and Commercial Code concerning spouses, in particular by changing “men and women” and “husband and wife” to “individuals” and “marriage partners.”

Thirty-seven countries around the world currently recognize same-sex marriage in their national laws, with Liechtenstein being the most recent to pass new legislation this May. Taiwan became the first country in Asia to recognize same-sex marriage in 2019. Nepal has begun to recognize some same-sex marriages under an interim order from the Supreme Court while a final judgment is forthcoming.

The rights to marry and to form a family are recognized in article 23 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Thailand ratified in 1996. Various United Nations human rights bodies, including the Human Rights Committee, the Committee on the Rights of the Child, and the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women have determined that the idea of a “family,” as understood in international human rights law, does not need to conform to any single model.

Passing same-sex marriage legislation is an opportunity for Thailand to match its positive global reputation on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights with tangible legal protections. For decades, Thailand has been a destination for LGBT tourists and for transgender people seeking gender-affirming health care. However, Thailand still offers no protections for transgender people, and lawmakers should also consider much-needed legal reforms for trans rights.

The Thai Marriage Equality Act now goes to King Vajiralongkorn for royal assent and will come into force 120 days after publication in the Royal Gazette. It will stand as an example of LGBT rights progress across the Asia-Pacific region and the world.

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