The Double Threat for Gay Men Syria | Human Rights Watch

Contents:

• GAY, BISEXUAL MEN AND TRANS WOMEN SPEAK OF SEXUAL ABE SYRIA
• THE DOUBLE THREAT FOR GAY MEN SYRIA
• IS IT ILLEGAL TO BE GAY IN SYRIA?
• GAY LIFE SYRIA: AN INTERVIEW WH A GAY 'REFUGEE'
• MR GAY SYRIA
• GAY LIFE SYRIA: CHANGG REALI
• OPN THE DOUBLE THREAT FOR GAY MEN SYRIA
• FDG SYRIA'S MR GAY: FILM HIGHLIGHTS ABE OF LGBT SYRIANS WAR

GAY, BISEXUAL MEN AND TRANS WOMEN SPEAK OF SEXUAL ABE SYRIA

People Human Rights Watch terviewed said that gay and bisexual men, transgenr women, and nonbary people were subject to creased vlence based on their actual or perceived sexual orientatn or genr inty.

THE DOUBLE THREAT FOR GAY MEN SYRIA

Human Rights Watch nducted terviews Lebanon wh 40 gay and bisexual men, transgenr women, and nonbary dividuals, as well as four heterosexual men who experienced sexual vlence Syria. Report documentg acunts of survivors who fled to Lebanon tails stigma and gaps aid for sexual abe, Lebanon – Gay and bisexual men and transgenr women (GBT) have been subjected to creased vlence at the hands of Syrian state and non-state actors due to their actual or perceived sexual orientatn, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has said a new report.

One uple, intified as gay based on text msag between them, were beaten, referred to pejoratively as “tante” (ntie) and for 10 nights were forced to strip and have sex wh each other ont of their Syrian army terrogators, who ed chalk to make up their fac. A 26-year-old told of beg bldfold and handcuffed to a ceilg by unintified men who said they were affiliated wh al-Qaeda and who tried to get him to reveal the nam of his gay iends.

IS IT ILLEGAL TO BE GAY IN SYRIA?

In addn to this abe, perpetrated by all parti to Syria’s nflict, more than half the gay Syrians whom Human Rights Watch terviewed told paful stori of fay rejectn, rangg om ostracism to vlence — and, five stanc, ath threats.

In at least two s Human Rights Watch documented, gay men were subjected to anal exams by the Lebane Internal Secury Forc — spe lls om the Lebane doctors’ syndite and the jtice mister 2012 to abolish that practice, which amounts to torture.

GAY LIFE SYRIA: AN INTERVIEW WH A GAY 'REFUGEE'

Humanarian assistance provirs and the Lebane ernment, wh the support of ternatnal donors, mt make sure gay Syrian refuge are receivg basic levels of assistance and protectn. Isis has btally persecuted LGBT people for several years and nsirs beg gay to be a crime punishable by a number of ternatnal volunteers fightg alongsi Kurdish forc northern Syria have formed an LGBT ary un and named “The Queer Insurrectn and Liberatn Army” (TQILA) – pronounced “tequila” group was set up unr the umbrella of the Internatnal Revolutnary People’s Guerrilla Forc (IRPGF), an anarchist group takg part the fight agast 's formatn was announced a statement posted on s Twter page. Pictur posted on social media showed masked soldiers ary uniforms holdg guns and standg ont of a banner readg: “The Faggots Kill Fascists, TGILA-IRPGF” the background other soldiers hold the rabow flag and a banner showg the group’s logo – an AK47 on a pk has equently murred people Iraq and Syria who ems to be LGBT, cludg releasg vios showg gay people beg phed off buildgs and stoned to group also claimed rponsibily for a 2016 attack on a LGBT nightclub Orlando, Florida, that killed 49 people.

One gay man’s rponse has been to abandon his native Syria and s current upheaval state and live Turkey where he fds support om the LGBT muny but still leav him a man whout a untry. He is currently a man whout a untry, forced om Syria by a dangero revolutn, fay disagreements as well as ary threats, not so much for his beg gay but for tryg to make a polil statement of fiance toward the Assad regime that’s currently slghterg thoands of own cizens.

MR GAY SYRIA

Adad’s views beme known through his two psdonymo web blogs which advote for human and gay rights agast the ernment treatment of gays as well as the btaly and rptn of the currently lears. Although Turkey is nsirably more tolerant of LGBT life than most other Middle East untri (along wh Israel and Lebanon) is still a culture steeped homophobic discrimatn.

GAY LIFE SYRIA: CHANGG REALI

” A gay fay member was ually upsettg at first but life had more important thgs that mattered–food, secury, safety, earng e, children’s school lsons and not drawg attentn to yourself or your fay. But then a new police chief felt the need to prove his effectivens, not agast wispread rptn the ernment or the civil service, but agast the meager gay muny for imaged immoral behavr agast the natural orr. However, that fervent actn only lasted for a few months late 2010 when thgs went back to normal “tolerance wh reason” and gay iends ntued to meet and greet each other certa f and private small parti.

When Adad was taed by the police a send time the officer charge, probably tryg to timidate him, displayed a large rmatn book wh nam and photos taken om onle social work webs of allegedly gay people Syria (and elsewhere) along wh their profil and iends. When asked if he has had any trouble om namg gay venu on his webse he said “no, as long as there is not trouble stirrg we are mostly ee to go about our own affairs but they still try to sre and warn agast any big parti or public showgs.

OPN THE DOUBLE THREAT FOR GAY MEN SYRIA

Asked where he would want to live: “of urse I want to live my home culture near my fay but that will not happen any time soon; perhaps a untry where gay people are given some feelg of rights and equaly, like France or Germany.

Soon after the short-lived police gay party bts and tentns end December 2010, (why they end is a mystery to Adad; perhaps anticipatn of bigger thgs to e), the ‘Arab Sprg’ reached Syria as the mostly unarmed populace rose up agast the heavily armed ernment.

Curly, however, Adad reported that even after the revolutn started the gay muny seemed to be left alone and not specifilly targeted as a moral or secury risk, even as the ernment vilified the opposn forc as ‘homosexual revolutnari’ needg to be put down. Beg gay has always been a reason for firg someone om their job and that is creased now out of fear; the thori may spect an otherwise nocent employer if he is found to have a gay person workg for him. No, we are not sellg Syria as the new Mykonos, San Francis or Sydney, however our experience we have found that Syria and the people there are surprisgly liberal, and ’s a lot easier to travel there as a gay person than you might expect.

FDG SYRIA'S MR GAY: FILM HIGHLIGHTS ABE OF LGBT SYRIANS WAR

And no, bee well, our experience we have wnsed first-hand, gay ctomers talkg wh our lol Syrian guis about this exact issue and our lol guis have been nothg but open and acceptg.

A/HRC/29/23, 4 May 2015; Graeme Reid, “The Double Threat for Gay Men  … Contue readg The documented ab clu forced nudy, rape, and anal or vagal “examatns” rried out by Syrian Government forc (and by armed groups), often as a tool of ercn or punishment tentn facili. ” See: Ree Erlich, “Gays jo the Syrian … Contue readg Wr large, throughout the nflict, terrori held by armed surgent groups have arguably been the most overtly hostile environments for LGBTQ+ Syrians, particularly areas held by vlent extremists.