GCN__February_2018

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On the FRONT LINES In countries where members of the LGBT+ community are systematically attacked, arrested, tortured and murdered, there are courageous activists who stand up to advance queer rights, sometimes at great personal cost. Here Stephen McCabe meets just six poweful individuals on the frontlines of the ight for a world of acceptance. BOUHDID BELHEDI (Tunisia) LGBT HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER Association SHAMS (winner of GALAS International Award, 2017) “ Forced anal testing is theoretically banned, but it is still a widespread practice throughout Tunisia. “I was the first activist to appear on TV to talk about the LGBT situation in Tunisia. Following my appearances I received multiple threats from the government and also from extremists. I am no longer safe in my hometown, so thanks to a grant I was able to get rehoused. Our organisation SHAMS is the only organisation to talk publicly about LGBT rights. As a result of our media activism we have begun to educate the Tunisian people about our struggle. The main challenges Tunisian LGBT people face are Article 230 [of the Penal Code] which criminalises gay people, and the anal test for homosexuality. Forced anal testing is theoretically banned, but it is still a widespread practice throughout Tunisia. A person can refuse the anal test, but if you do, an inference will be drawn from that. The Tunisian president has stated clearly that he is against abolishing Article 230 and all the deputies in our parliament are currently opposed to removing it. The only chance available to us is through the constitutional court, which is an independent institution. Things have changed since the revolution. With the creation of SHAMS we can now publicly talk about our issues. We have won the freedom to express our opinion and the freedom to create associations like SHAMS, who talk about delicate subjects. But we have a lot more to achieve. I recently called on the EU to stop all diplomatic and economic exchanges with Tunisia until Article 230 and the anal test are repealed. We work with other international organisations who help us to build pressure. It is very important to work at this level as the government is quite sensitive to how it’s perceived. The EU delegation in Tunisia is one of our partners and LGBT rights are one of their priorities. This is very encouraging.” 30 g
CALEB OROZCO (Belize) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR United Belize Advocacy Movement (UNIBAM) “ When they couldn’t progress their abortion agenda they came ater the LGBT community. They just needed a campaign to mobilise around. “I first became an LGBT activist as a result of my work around HIV issues, which then evolved into setting up the United Belize Advocacy Movement in 2006. We engage with diplomatic systems and international organisations to achieve our goals for LGBT rights in Belize. The local part of our work is legal research around issues which impact on LGBT people. We look at reforming discriminatory policies in the country. We also run a human rights observatory group and we document human rights abuses. There have been 356 human rights abuse cases in Belize since 1995, and of those over 50 were murders or attempted murders of members of our community. In 2010 we filed a lawsuit to challenge the constitutionality of the sodomy laws in Belize. When the hearing for the decriminalisation case came up in 2013, I had to get security. Previously my car had been damaged and my property was invaded while I was sleeping. We won the case in 2016, athough an appeal is pending. Originally the government decided that they would not be appealing the judgment, but then after protests they engineered a situation to allow the Catholic Church to have legal standing to appeal the decision. Our engagement with local right wing groups didn’t start with the decriminalisation process; it started with abortion back in 2009. They were working towards sending our abortion laws into the dark ages. We fought back and we won on the ground, so when they couldn’t progress their abortion agenda they came after the LGBT community. They just needed a campaign to mobilise around. At this point in Belize marriage equality is not a priority. We don’t even have basic things like job and education protection. For me it’s about building political voice that is visible and working from there.” 31 g
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GCN__February_2018

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