Gay rights e to the fore as Lebanon prepar to vote | CNN

Contents:

• LEBANON: BAN ON GAY DATG APP GRDR A BLOW FOR SEXUAL RIGHTS AND EEDOM
• EVERYONE IS WELE: THE ONLY GAY HANGOUT THE ARAB WORLD
• GAY SYRIAN REFUGE STGGLE TO SURVIVE LEBANON
• DISVER THE 5 MOST GAY-IENDLY ARAB UNTRI
• GAY RIGHTS E TO THE FORE AS LEBANON PREPAR TO VOTE
• GAY LEBANON
• GAY LEBANON

LEBANON: BAN ON GAY DATG APP GRDR A BLOW FOR SEXUAL RIGHTS AND EEDOM

Beit, Lebanon – In an enomilly troubled, nservative untry where homosexual behavur is taboo, a growg number of men are prostutg themselv to scrape together a livg. Hassan – who asked his real name not be ed – was forced to leave his untry after his fay found out about his homosexualy and threatened to kill him. A uple of days later, a wealthy entreprenr om Turkey picked him up at a gay club loted the heart of the pal.

EVERYONE IS WELE: THE ONLY GAY HANGOUT THE ARAB WORLD

The fact that one n anonymoly e gay social works such as Grdr or Manjam to meet clients a matter of mut – or look for potential on Beit’s gay bars, clubs or hammams – mak easier for the male prostut to stay safe and to keep their job a secret. Dpe homosexual activy beg illegal Lebanon, Beit is wily regard as the saft place for homosexuals the Middle East. The world-famo Lebane band Mashrou Leila has an openly gay sger.

Before the vlence and stabily Lebanon turned them away, wealthy gay men om the Gulf untri were pecially proment, ready to pay up to a few thoand dollars – sh, jewellery or signer cloth – for a night wh an rt.

(Beit) – Lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr (LGBT) people and their rights  Lebanon are part and parcel of the natnwi protts that began on October 17, 2019, Human Rights Watch said today a web feature. “I am gay, I am someone who exprs my sexualy general, and my sexual sir very strongly.

GAY SYRIAN REFUGE STGGLE TO SURVIVE LEBANON

Rpondg to a cisn by Lebanon’s Telemunitns Mistry to block accs to the app, Grdr, which is maly ed by gay and trans men, Amnty Internatnal’s Middle East Rearch Director Lynn Maalouf said:. As well as beg a flagrant asslt on the right to eedom of exprsn, this move will serve to entrench and legimize homophobic views wh the untry.

DISVER THE 5 MOST GAY-IENDLY ARAB UNTRI

Instead of blockg apps ed by the gay muny, the Lebane thori should immediately revoke this ban and foc their efforts on endg their crackdown agast LGBTI people. Jt over a year ago, Internal Secury forc also banned a seri of activi anized by LGBTI activists to mark the Internatnal Day Agast Homophobia and Transphobia, cg secury ncerns. Everyone is, a study bathed by the afternoon sunshe, Wael Hse, a 24-year-old gay man, is chattg wh Naya, a transgenr woman, ahead of Internatnal Day Agast Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia (IDAHOTB) on Thursday.

”Compared wh other untri the Middle East, such as Iran where homosexualy is punishable by ath, Lebanon has a relatively thrivg LGBT muny. ”Sce then Helem’s reputatn has spread beyond Lebanon throughout the Arab world and several siar anisatns have been set up, cludg the NGO Shams Tunisia, fightg for the crimalisatn of homosexualy. He ed to be the manager of Bardo, Beit’s most famo gay bar, before jog Helem, an experience he says has opened his ey to the discrimatn faced by those om prived social backgrounds.

GAY RIGHTS E TO THE FORE AS LEBANON PREPAR TO VOTE

He is a refugee, and he is also gay. Although Lebanon is often perceived as more tolerant than most untri the regn, like Syria the Lebane Penal Co nsirs ‘homosexual acts’ illegal. The untry’s lbian gay, bisexual, transgenr or tersex (LGBTI) muny is growg promence but the issue is still a taboo.

But as a gay man he fac further hardship. I learnt that many gay men do not disclose their sexual inty when registerg wh the UN as refuge for fear of the add stigma this would expose them to.

GAY LEBANON

Those who have registered say UNHCR’s service provirs have often st doubt over whether they are gay before providg them wh assistance, and are not sensive to their needs.

Omar, 34, moved to Lebanon November 2012 om Syria where he feared that Islamist ants who had taken over his cy would persecute him for beg gay. It’s worse bee I am not only gay but I am Syrian as well. Khalil, Omar and Hamid all said they hope they will ultimately be rettled a untry where they will not be aaid to openly adm that they are gay, and are able to have accs to medil servic and the right to work.

The lg follows siar judgments om lower urts that have cled to nvict gay and transgenr people of “sexual terurse ntrary to nature” four separate lgs between 2007 and 2017. It is the first such lg om an appeals urt and mov Lebanon further toward crimalizg homosexual nduct. “This lg signals a new horizon for lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr people Lebanon, who have long been persecuted unr discrimatory laws, ” said Neela Ghoshal, senr rearcher on lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr (LGBT) rights at Human Rights Watch.

GAY LEBANON

This recent lg related to the 2015 arrt of ne people a suburb of Beit whom police spected of beg gay and transgenr. A crimal urt cled to nvict them of “unnatural offens” 2017, when the judge said that “homosexuals have a right to human and timate relatnships wh whoever they want, whout any terference or discrimatn terms of their sexual clatns, as is the se wh other people.

While judg are not legally bound by the precent and may still nvict people of homosexual nduct unr article 534, Makhlouf told Human Rights Watch that they are likely to give ser nsiratn to the lg subsequent s. “Other urts uld still nvict people, but we’re very hopeful – we’re seeg that the trend now is not to crimalize homosexualy.