Human Rights Watch: Anti-gay laws promote vlence, discrimatn St. Vcent

Contents:

• IRAN IS FORCG THOANDS OF GAY PEOPLE TO HAVE GENR REASSIGNMENT SURGERY AGAST THEIR WILL OR FACE EXECUTN
• HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: ANTI-GAY LAWS PROMOTE VLENCE, DISCRIMATN ST. VCENT

IRAN IS FORCG THOANDS OF GAY PEOPLE TO HAVE GENR REASSIGNMENT SURGERY AGAST THEIR WILL OR FACE EXECUTN

Augt 26, 2021—In a new LGBTQ Fact Sheet published today by the Center for Human Rights Iran (CHRI), the extreme rights vlatns and adly vlence perpetrated by both the state and society agast the LGBTQ muny (lbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer) Iran are highlighted a ncise, accsible format for rearchers, journalists, and policymakers. Homosexualy⚢✖ Illegal (ath penalty as punishment)Censorship✖ Other punishmentChangg Genr✖ Legal, but requir surgeryNon-bary genr regnn✖ Not legally regnizedDiscrimatn✖ No protectnsEmployment Discrimatn✖ No protectnsHog Discrimatn✖ No protectnsDonatg Blood✖ Banned (fe ferral)Conversn Therapy✖ Not banned.

Human RightsIran mt immediately stay the executns of two women sentenced to ath for supportg the human rights of lbian, gay, bisexual, trans and genr-diverse (LGBT) people, a large group of UN-appoted pennt human rights experts said on Wednday. Government polici persecute both homosexuals and transgenr dividuals alike for their sexualy and genr intifitn, crimalizg same-sex relatns and genr reassignment procr.FACT: Iran has mataed and pursued polici which nmn and harshly punish homosexualy, a practice wily, and appropriately, cricized as a human rights vlatn.

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: ANTI-GAY LAWS PROMOTE VLENCE, DISCRIMATN ST. VCENT

However, this ernment persecutn do not apply equally to transgenr dividuals; genr reassignment surgery is legal Iran, and formal genr regnn is supported by the Iranian theocracy.Iranian Treatment of HomosexualsDpe cricism om other natns and human rights anizatns, the Islamic Republic of Iran has mataed s practice of nmng same-sex relatns as illegal and morally rpt.

Ambassador to Germany at the time of Zarif’s remarks, joed Roth his opposn to the treatment and argued that the executns go agast the UN Universal Declaratn of Human Rights, which clearly tails crimalizatn of homosexualy as a vlatn. Grenell’s sentiments were a ntuatn of the Tmp admistratn’s mpaign which lnched Febary of 2019 to crimnalize homosexualy var natns cludg Iran and lled on global anizatns like the UN and EU ntribute to the effort.LGBT+ rights have been opposn to the Iranian Penal Co sce the 1930s when Parliament passed legislatn crimalizg such relatnships, and disapproval of this discrimatn has tensified over time. Though personal and societal judgement agast transgenr people Iran is - as many untri - persistant and pervasive, the broar ia of beg transgenr is not nsired a vlatn of Iranian theocratic prcipl, and the ernment do not view such dividuals as they do homosexuals.

Essentially, fully transned transgenr cizens are perceived as cured of their ailment, but there is ltle tolerance for other diversy genr intifitn.Dpe formal support of transgenr people by the ernment, dividuals are still faced wh discrimatn and persecutn by private cizens and dividuals their personal liv, an experience siar to that of homosexuals Iran. It is clear that the support iated by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomei s ago and the advantage of the clivy of the Persian language provi foundatnal stutnal acceptance of trans cizens Iran, but there are still steps that mt be taken to promote social approval and cultural rporatn of the non-bary populatn.The Intersectn of Authorized Genr Surgery and Iran’s Homosexual TreatmentWh the approach to both homosexualy and transgenr cizens Iran tablished, a rrelatn between the two to light. Homosexuals phed towards this as a treatment are left wh few optns due to the legal support of hormone treatments, psychotherapy, and full transnal operatns; th, many are faced wh eher endurg the promoted medil approach or fleeg the untry to seek polil asylum a natn wh different polici.While legal thorizatn of genr reassignment reprents signifint progrs and support for the transgenr populatn, n also unfortunately be ed agast the already persecuted mographic of homosexuals Iran.

The Hengaw Organizatn for Human Rights reported that they were acced of promotg homosexualy, promotg Christiany and munitg wh media opposed to the Islamic 's judiciary later nfirmed the sentenc, but said they were nnected to human traffickg and not activism. It ced her as sayg that she was forcibly disappeared for 53 days, durg which an IRGC agent allegedly subjected her to "tense terrogatns acpanied by verbal abe" and "threatened to execute or otherwise harm her and take away the ctody of her two young children" January, Seddiqi Hamedani was brought before a prosecutor Urmia, the largt cy Wt Azerbaijan, and told that she was acced of "spreadg rptn on Earth", cludg through promotg homosexualy, munitg wh hostile media and promotg Christiany, acrdg to group said the first two accatns stemmed om her public fence of LGBT rights on social media and her appearance a May 2021 BBC documentary about ab that LGBT people were sufferg Iraq's semi-tonomo Kurdistan Regn, where she had been Iranian law, same-sex sexual nduct is a crimal offence, wh punishments rangg om floggg to the ath penalty. In a 2020 survey of lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, and tersex (LGBTI) Iranians nducted by the Iranian Lbian and Transgenr Network (6Rang), almost 20 percent of participants claimed to have been victims of vlence by police officers, secury forc, prosecutors, and/or judg.

1 This note provis an asssment of the general suatn of persons who are known to be, or are likely known to be, gay men, lbian, bisexual, trans or tersex – that is those who are open, or are likely to be pelled to be open, about their sexual orientatn and/or genr inty or exprsn (SOGIE) – as well as those perceived as such bee of their appearance, attus and/or behavur. Milary exemptn rds, an accepted form of intifitn issued to gay and trans dividuals, directly disclose the persons sexual orientatn or genr inty and may put them at further risk of vlence and discrimatn for ‘outg’ them and / or bee beg gay or trans is classed as a mental illns (see Milary exemptn, Genr reassignment surgery, Threats, harassment and vlence and Treatment by fay members).

3 The same source noted that Article 7 of the regulatns, which addrs the issue of exemptn for gay men, stat, ‘“perversns that vlate the social and ary of nduct (such as sexual perversn and homosexualy) [warrant] a six-month ferment. ‘While this provisn is discrimatory and gradg towards gay, transgenr and other genr non-nformg persons, and treats homosexualy as a form of mental illns or psychopathology spe of clear statements to the ntrary om var psychiatry bodi across the world and the World Health Organizatn, is monly ed by gay, transgenr and genr non-nformg persons Iran to seek an exemptn om pulsory ary service to protect themselv om homophobic and transphobic ab prevalent ary settgs. ‘Acrdg to rmatn received om Iranian gay men and reports by human rights groups, seekg exemptn om ary service on the basis of their sexual orientatn or genr inty, gay, transgenr and genr non-nformg dividuals are generally forced to unrgo huiatg and gradg physil and psychologil tts, cludg anal examatns, which amount to torture, as well as terrogatns by officials durg which they are forced to answer timate qutns about their genr and sexualy such as their preferenc for sexual posns.

12 6Rang stated that the exemptn regulatn ‘… allows gay dividuals to be intified by the police, judicial thori, employers and those rponsible for tnal centr who n simply look at their ary exemptn rds, which functns as one of the few forms of acceptable IDs Iran. As one example, the former Print of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadezhad, rponse to qutns about “homosexuals” or “gays” the USA most notorly stated “we do not have the hamjensbāz (translated to dience as “homosexuals”) like you have your untry” and that “absolutely such a thg do not exist as a phenomenon” Iran. The aim is to firstly raise awarens that this is the flag of “Sodomians” and puttg gay men and women potential dangers of gettg reported if they are anyway g this sign for social purpos (In Iran a large number of gay people e the flag sign orr to fd each other and socialize).

This time, the fai cludg children have participated this event and were holdg signs such as “Two people of the same sex do not make a uple”, “We are the fenrs of prophet Lut” and “homosexualy, the morn barbarism”, as well as tramplg the flag (Halalzaha, 2021). 5 Acrdg to Amnty Internatnal, wrg 2021 followg the murr of Alireza Fazeli Monfared, a gay man, ‘LGBTI people Iran face pervasive discrimatn, live the nstant fear of harassment, arrt and crimal prosecutn, and rema vulnerable to vlence and persecutn based on their real or perceived sexual orientatn and genr inty.