LGBTI, Armed Violence and Security: Advancing a Research Agenda

Marcus Wilson

8 July, 2014Regional Review Conference on the Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence and

Development: Geneva, Switzerland

LGBTI, Armed Violence and Security: Advancing a Research Agenda

“To those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, let me say: You are not alone. Your struggle for an end to violence and discrimination is a shared struggle. Any attack on you is an attack on the universal values the United Nations and I have sworn to defend and uphold. Today, I stand with you, and I call upon all countries and people to stand with you, too.”

Ban Ki Moon, to the Human Rights Council meeting on violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity7 March 2012

About the Small Arms Survey Independent research institute Reliable and impartial policy-relevant analysis on small arms and armed violence Evidence-based, policy-relevant analysis on small arms and armed violence Support primarily from governments Works with governments in multilateral forums Works closely with UN system & other partners Network with civil society partners Support from governments:

• Finland• Germany• Netherlands• Norway

• Sweden• Switzerland• United Kingdom• United States

• Australia• Belgium• Canada • Denmark

Hate Crime: involves any criminal offence which is perceived, by the victim or any other person, to be motivated by hostility or prejudice based on a personal characteristic, be it race, religion, disability, ethnicity, gender identity or sexual orientation

Terminology

SOGI: an acronym for Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

Sex: a person’s biological status and is typically categorized as male, female, or intersex

Gender identity: one’s sense of oneself as male, female, or transgender

Gender: the attitudes, feelings, and behaviours that a given culture associates with a person’s biological sex

Sexual orientation: the sex of those to whom one is sexually and romantically attracted

LGBTI: a commonly used acronym to collectively describe Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans/Transgender, and Intersex people

Human Rights Council Resolution 17/19, June 2011

The first ever UN Resolution on Human rights, sexual orientation and gender identity:

‘Expressing grave concern at acts of violence and

discrimination, in all regions of the world, committed

against individuals because of their sexual orientation

and gender identity,’

SOGI-based Violence

Framing the issue Gender-based violence Human Rights LGBTI SOGI Sexual Violence in Conflict

Bridging the gaps Armed Violence Reduction

and Prevention LGBTI Rights and anti-

Discrimination Police and Security Forces

SOGI-based Violence: What do we know?

SOGI-based violence has been recorded in all regions, but gathering data is difficult and often complicated by social, political, and availability factors

SOGI-based Violence: What do we know?

Homophobic hate crimes tend to show high levels of cruelty and brutality, including beatings, torture, mutilation, castration, sexual assault, ‘honour killings’, and murder

Source: Guasp, A. ‘Homophobic Hate Crime: The Gay British Crime Survey 2013’, Stonewall, p.11

SOGI-based Violence: What do we know?

Distrust in police and justice institutions, sometimes implicit in hate crimes, prevents many victims from reporting discrimination or violence Source: European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, ‘EU LGBT Survey: Results at a Glance’, FRA, p.21

SOGI-based Violence Through an AVR Lens?

People – inclusion & victimisation Agents – motivation Instruments – frequency & access Institutions – enablers or protectors Root causes Local National Regional Global

Positive norm setting

Existing Recommendations

Pursue initiatives that address anti-SOGI violence and discrimination, such as public information and awareness-raising campaigns designed to address societal prejudice

Encourage comprehensive analysis through extensive research and regular reporting

Take measures to prevent torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and investigate promptly all reported killings and other serious incidents and establish systems for their recording and reporting

Implement appropriate sensitization and training programmes for teachers, police, prison officers, border guards, immigration officers and other law enforcement personnel

Existing Recommendations

Research Agenda: Where to from here?