August 2016
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No. 252. August 2016. In this issue... ILGA-Europe Asylum Bias motivated violence
Employment Equality and non-discrimination
Family
Freedom of assembly Freedom of association Health Notice board |
ILGA-Europe |
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Annual Conference 2016: registration extended and brand new featureGiven the holidays season and high interest in our conference we have decided to postpone the registration deadline until Sunday 11 September. This way we hope to give everybody who wants to attend the opportunity to join us in Cyprus. This year we will offer over 50 different sessions, including spaces to relax; talk about intersectionality; exercise ones’ faith; and of course dance. The preliminary programme and provisional list of participants will be made available late September. A new feature this year is short presentations. The aim of this activity is to provide with a space where participants can present and hear about research, publications or projects regarding LGBTI issues.
Read more about registration, updates, the new feature and other practical information here |
Asylum |
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Conference “Refugees and Queers” in Germany“Refugees and Queers“ - a conference at the intersection of LGBTTIQs and Refugees/Migration/Asylum in Germany will take place on 26 November. The conference is organised by the Bundesstiftung Magnus Hirschfeld and addresses opportunities and challenges that arise at the intersection of queer and migrant studies. It brings together researchers, academics and activists working in the fields of LGBTIQ- and refugee/migration/asylum-policies.
Read more about the conference here |
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Bias motivated violence |
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Trans activists and their allies took the streets in Istanbul to condemn brutal murderOn 21 August, hundreds of trans activists and their allies took the streets in Istanbul to condemn the brutal murder of Hande Kader – a famous Turkish trans sex worker activist. The participants also used the event to commemorate those who lost their lives due to homophobic and transphobic hate murders in Turkey.
Read more on the website of KAOS GL More about Turkey on www.rainbow-europe.org |
Participants in a LGBTI meeting attacked in RussiaIn early August, participants in meeting were violently attacked in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. The meeting, Star Rally, aimed to strengthen team spirit and to support sporting initiatives among the local LGBTI community.
Read more from Russian LGBT-Sport Federation (scroll down for English translation) Read more about the attacks here More about Russia on www.rainbow-europe.org |
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New transnational project on hate crimeA new transnational project on hate crime, Come Forward: Empowering and Supporting Victims of Anti-LGBT Hate Crimes, will kick off in December 2016. The project focuses on the issue of anti-LGBT hate crime through a mix of different objectives, such as increasing the number of dedicated front line reporting centres by building capacity of civil society and official partners on local and national levels, improving the access to specialised support by building capacity of victim support service providers, sharing good practices, strengthening cross-border and multi-agency partnerships, and raising awareness and empowering victims.
Read more about the project here |
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Employment |
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Russian district court declared the refusal to employ on the ground of sexual orientation to be illegalOn 29 July, Zheleznodorozhny district court of Novosibirsk, Russia, examined the case of Anna Balash who went to the court to protect her labour rights. The court declared “illegal the refusal of LTD “Sib-Alians” to employ Anna Balash on the grounds of her “non-traditional sexual orientation” and ruled to recover compensation for moral damages at the rate of 1000 rubles.
Read more on the website of the Russian LGBT Network |
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Equality and non-discrimination |
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WE ARE REAL: A new report on the growing intersex movementThe Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice has launched the report We Are Real: The Growing Movement Advancing the Human Rights of Intersex People. Available in English, Spanish, Russian, and forthcoming in Chinese, We Are Real seeks to share and promote relevant knowledge and understanding of intersex issues and activism to people across the world––particularly funders and other actors committed to human rights.
Read more about the report here |
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New policy for trans and intersex inmates launched in Malta The Maltese government has launched a new policy for trans, gender-variant, inter-sex inmates. The policy will see prisoners assigned to wards according to the gender indicated on their identity card, passport or birth certificate and national security. Inmates who have applied for an official gender change on their documents, and whose application was still being processed, would be assigned to an area set up specifically for such cases, after making a declaration under oath, and until their new documentation is issued.
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Family |
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Poll in Czech Republic shows record-high support of rights to same-sex couples and their familiesA recent poll by an independent public research centre, CVVM, showed a record-high percentage of support of rights to same-sex couples and their families. It was the first poll conducted in Czech Republic which showed that a majority of respondents supported registered partnership, marriage equality, joint adoption & second parent adoption at the same time.
Read more about the poll here More about Czech Republic on www.rainbow-europe.org |
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Georgian president blocks referendum on the definition of marriageOn 9 August, the President of Georgia rejected the bid for a referendum on the definition of marriage, which could have enshrined the Civil Code’s definition of marriage as a union between a man and a woman in the country’s Constitution. While this decision means the failure of the forces behind the referendum to further stigmatise LGBTI people in law, equally it still does not send a very clear message of non-discrimination and equal rights.
Read more about the referendum here More about Georgia on www.rainbow-europe.org |
Freedom of assembly |
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A timely sign of solidarity from the European CommissionThe support of close friends is vital during uncertain times. As a result, ILGA-Europe was encouraged by the European Commission’s public commitment to LGBTI equality and their official presence at EuroPride’s parade for the first time. The Commission also launched their awareness-raising campaign ‘We all share the same dreams’ during the EuroPride celebrations.
Read more about the commitment from the European Commission |
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Freedom of association |
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Cases at European court on refusal to register LGBTI associations in RussiaIn late July, ILGA-Europe jointly with the European Human Rights Advocacy Centre and the International Commission of Jurists submitted an intervention in an upcoming case at the European Court of Human Rights (Nikolay Alekseyev and Movement for Marriage Equality v Russia and Nikolay Alekseyev and Others v Russia). The cases concern refusal of Russian authorities to register associations aimed at defending rights of LGBTI persons, particularly in the area of marriage equality.
Find the intervention here |
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Health |
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European Commission approves PrEPOn 22 August, the European Commission approved PrEP, Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis, in all 28 EU member states. Experts believe that it will be available on the pharmaceutical market within the next 6 months. Already now PrEP plays an important role, along with other measures, in HIV prevention.
Read more about the website of AIDS Action Europe |
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High Court overturns decision not to commission PrEPA High Court judge has ruled against NHS England’s decision not to fund PreP, Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis. HIV activists call the decision a game-changer in the fight to reduce HIV transmission.
Read more about the decision here |
Notice board |
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ILGA World Conference 2016: registration deadline extendedAfter having received a massive number of applications, ILGA World decided to further extend the deadline for registration for paying participants to the 2016 ILGA World conference in Bangkok, Thailand in 28 November to 2 December 2016.
Read more about the ILGA World Conference 2016 here |
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Job opportunity as Policy Officer with Transgender EuropeTransgender Europe is looking for a part time (80%, 32h per week) Policy Officer, for an initial period of 18 months. The Policy Officer will be working in the Advocacy and Capacity Building Team. They will be responsible to implement and refine TGEU’s policy and advocacy work, as defined in the Strategic Plan 2014 – 2020, predominantly with European institutions (EU, CoE, OSCE) in the areas of gender equality, safety & violence, further marginalised groups, healthcare, education, and trans families. The place of work is located in Berlin, Germany, but will require frequent travel. Deadline for applications: 5 September, noon CET.
Read more about the opportunity here |
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Job opportunity as Administrative and Finance Officer with Victim Support EuropeVictim Support Europe is recruiting a full time Administrative, Finance and Project Officer to strengthen their administration and project co-ordination capacity. The post will be based in the head office in Brussels. Deadline for applications: 4 September 2016.
Read more about the opportunity here |
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Will You #FundAFeminist?In 2015, the European Women’s Lobby debuted the Agora feminist summer school, an intensive residential capacity building during four days in September 2016. The event is bringing together 50 young feminists from across Europe. To help this new generation of feminists mobilise, please consider contributing to the campaign and share the campaign in your network using the hashtag #fundafeminist.
Read more about how to support here |