Date: Tue, 28 Nov 1995 17:24:35 -0800 (PST) From: International Gay Lesbian Human Rights Commission ***Emergency Response Network ***Volume IV, Number 4 ***IGLHRC Action Alert ***November 1995 ***Update Chilean Sodomy Law Advances The lower house of Chile's Parliament has approved a change to Article 365 that would legalize most same sex relations. Currently, Article 365 of the Chilean Penal Code makes "sodomy" a criminal offense. Letters are urgently needed to help lobby the more conservative Senate, where passage of the bill promises to be more difficult. After months of high profile and intensive lobbying, the lower house of the Chilean Parliament, the Cmara de Diputados, voted on August 2, 1995, to amend Article 365 to make only those same gender sexual relationships that involve persons under the age of 18 illegal. If passed the new law would constitute an age of consent that is higher then that permitted for heterosexual relations under Chilean law, an arrangement IGLHRC considers unsatisfactory. Nonetheless activists are hailing the endorsement that same sex relations conducted in private and between adults would no longer be illegal. The proposed liberalization of Article 365 must now be presented to the Chilean Senate. The Senate is considered a more politically conservative body and the chances of it approving the proposed changes are lower. The Senate is not expected to consider the measure until next year. Activists urgently need massive amounts of letters urging the Chilean Senate to approve, without further modification, the revision of Article 365 passed by their colleagues in the lower house. Recent reports indicate that groups of transvestite sex workers who work on the streets in southern Santiago have been facing systematic physical abuse, apparently orchestrated by groups of Neo-Nazi youth. Gay activists believe that the aggression comes in reaction to the publicity around efforts to repeal Article 365. In this context, it is even more imperative that the Chilean Senate move forcibly and quickly to declare itself on the side of equal treatment and nondiscrimination for all Chile's citizens. Letters are needed making the following points: 1. Increasingly, national governments as well as inter-governmental organizations are making clear that criminalizing same sex relations between consenting adults is not a legitimate use of state force. Most recently, the United Nations Human Rights Committee found that the Australian state of Tasmania's laws against private, consenting, adult homosexual acts breach the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Chile is a signatory to that Covenant and should move to bring itself into compliance. 2. Sodomy laws make legitimate precisely that sort of official and extra-official harassment of lesbians and gays that groups in Chile are currently reporting. That incidents of this nature would escalate during the national debate over the future of Article 365 indicate the necessity of moving decisively and quickly to completely decriminalize same sex relationships. Write to: Sr. Miguel Otero L. Presidente Comisin de Constitucin, Legislacin y Justicia Senado de la Repblica de Chile Avda. Pedro Montt s/n Valparaso, CHILE Fax: +56-32-232-657 ***New APA Pathologizes Lesbian and Gay Youth in the United States In 1974, the American Psychiatric Association ceased to classify homosexuality as an illness, yet every year, hundreds of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth are confined to psychiatric institutions and subjected to RtreatmentS to change their sexual orientation. One diagnosis which doctors use to justify this RtreatmentS is RGender Identity Disorder.S According to the current American Psychiatric AssociationUs Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, symptoms of Gender Identity Disorder in girls include, RIntense negative reactions to parental expectations or attempts to have them wear dresses or other feminine attire,S preference for RboyUs clothing and short hair,S and identification with Rpowerful male figures, such as Batman or Superman.S The American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association, and the Child Welfare League of America have all taken clear positions against pathologizing lesbian and gay youth. However, the American Psychiatric Association continues to stigmatize young people who do not conform to socially imposed gender roles or heterosexual norms. The National Center for Lesbian Rights, the International Conference on Transgender Law and Employment Policy, IGLHRC, and several other organizations have launched a campaign to pressure the APA to change its position on this issue. Letters should be sent to the APA outlining the following points: 1. The classification of RGender Identity DisorderS as a disease presents a major obstacle to accessing health care. Youth who fear being labeled or incarcerated avoid seeking the care that they may need to cope with the isolation, rejection and hostility that they confront in their daily lives. 2. As the leading organization of mental health professionals in the United States, the APA has a special responsibility to ensure that practitioners provide competent and non-judgmental care to all clients, including lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth. The APA should follow the lead of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association and the Child Welfare League of America in taking a stand against pathologizing sexual minority youth. Homosexuality in the adult population is not pathologized, and it should likewise not be pathologized in youth. 3. The APA should affirm the right of all people to receive competent health care on demand to achieve and maintain their self-defined gender identities. Send letters to: Dr. Mary Jane England, President American Psychiatric Association 1400 K St. NW Washington, DC, USA 20005 Fax: +1-202-682-6114 Dr. Chester W. Schmidt, Chair Sexual and Gender Identity Disorders Working Group, APA, Johns Hopkins Bay View Medical Center 4940 Eastern Avenue, B3 South Baltimore, MD, USA 21224 ***New RAbnormal and Immoral ActsS in Colombian Prisons Last year Martha Alvarez, a prisoner in La Badea WomenUs Prison in Pereira, Colombia, requested authorization from the Office of the Prosecutor to receive an intimate visit from her long-term partner. The authorization was granted, but more than five months passed without any official response from the director of the prison. Unofficially, the director stated that Rabnormal and immoral actsS would not be permitted in the prison. In January 1995, the Ombudsperson initiated legal action on behalf of the prisoner, claiming that the prison had violated several rights guaranteed in the Colombian Constitution: the right to petition, the right to equality before the law, and the right to freely develop oneUs personality. The judge ruled that the prison had violated AlvarezUs right to petition, but declined to rule on the other allegations. Under this ruling, the director of the prison was obliged to respond to the petition, and in a letter dated February 5th denied permission for the visit. The reason given was that the authorization had to be given by the judge in charge of the case, and not by the Office of the Prosecutor. (This argument was false; both were authorized to provide such authorization, and at the time of AlvarezUs initial request the Office of the Prosecutor was the proper office.) The Ombudsperson appealed to the Superior Court of Santa Rosa de Cabal, which declined to hear the case, arguing that Rto permit the practice of homosexual acts in prisons goes against the discipline that must exist in such institutionsS and adding that such visits went against the objectives of the prison system. The following day Alvarez was transferred to another institution, where her living conditions deteriorated substantially. The case was appealed to the Constitutional Court, which declined to hear the case. Letters should be sent to the President of Colombia, the Minister of Justice, and the Director of Prisons. Letters should respectfully note the following: 1. The Colombian Constitution guarantees to all citizens the right to petition, the right to equality before the law, and the right to freely develop their personality. These rights also apply to prisoners, regardless of their sexual orientation. 2. Martha AlvarezUs case shows the discrimination that lesbians face in prison, and the need for a national policy permitting same-sex couples to avail themselves of the same rights and privileges as heterosexual couples within and outside the prison system. Write to: Nestor Martnez Ministro de Justicia Ministerio de Justicia Avenida Jimnez 8-89 Bogot, Colombia Norberto Pelaez Director del Instituto Penitenciario Ministerio de Justicia Avenida Jimnez 8-89 Bogot, Colombia Ernesto Samper President of Colombia Palacio de Nario Bogot, Colombia ***Update Legal Registration Granted to Gay Group in Costa Rica After initially being denied legal registration as a non governmental organization, the RAbraxasS group was formally recognized by the Costa Rican government on the condition that they change their name. The group did so and is now called the RAsociacin Tringulo Rosa.S The Abraxas group was originally founded on April 2, 1995 and adopted as its central goal the struggle "against the social discrimination leveled against people" with homosexual orientations. The group presented an application for legal registration before the Public Registry, Office of Registration of Organizations, on April 5, 1995. According to reports filed with IGLHRC by the Comisin Costarricense de Derechos Humanos (Costa Rican Commission on Human Rights), the Public Registry justified its rejection of the application because of the organization's goals. After a high profile campaign protesting the initial decision, the group resubmitted their application. RAsociacin Tringulo RosaS is the first lesbian and gay group in Costa Rica to be granted legal registration. ***Update Draconian Persecution in Romania Continues The Romanian parliament passed a modified version of Article 200 that would criminalize "homosexual acts which cause public scandal". Under the previous Romanian penal code, Article 200, paragraph 1 imposed a total ban on lesbian and gay relations with a prison sentence of 1 to 5 years for any lesbian or gay sexual relationship. Rather then a liberalization, activists fear the change represents a cynical cosmetic change aimed at silencing critics of the regime abroad while maintaining the current draconian persecution of gays and lesbians. Of grave concern is the fact that the only existing definition of "public scandal" in Romanian law dates from 1938. That definition of public scandal is described as "an act which becomes known to more than two persons who disapprove of it." New language added to Paragraph 5 of Article 200 states that "proselytizing, associations, or any form of propaganda" for homosexuality will be punishable by a prison term of one to five years. Taken together the intent of the amended law seems to be to make it impossible for Romanians to organize politically, socially, or culturally in defense of lesbian and gay emancipation. ***New Latvian State Security Service Beat Gays On June 23, 1995, the Latvian Asssociation for Sexual Equality (LASV) organized a celebration of the midsummer solstice for lesbians and gays at a campground near the town of Sigulda. Other groups of people were also celebrating at the same campground. Among them were two employees of the Latvian State Security Service. These two men began a physical attack against two participants in the LASV group, basing their attack upon the sexual orientation of the two participants. The two victims were beaten mercilessly and repeatedly, and the attack was punctuated by antigay statements. The LASV has repeatedly informed Latvian legislators of the problems faced by gays and lesbians without any satisfactory answer. The Parliamentary Human Rights Commission argued that the matter does not fall within its jurisdiction and that if changes are to be made, those should be applied to the new criminal code. If the Human Rights Commission is not competent in the issue concerning discrimination against a segment of society, there is reason to doubt the commission's overall understanding of human rights. New laws in Latvia must be proposed by high officials and they are not willing to give up their jobs to defend homosexuals. Only two changes to existing law have been made: the ban on homosexuality was repealed, and same-sex marriages were banned. There are also housing registration procedures which block same-sex couples from lawfully living in one apartment. Such couples also face discrimination in the areas of inheritance, social insurance, and immigration. Reports ! fr! ! om LASV indicate that. Police representatives have conducted unauthorized raids against gay bars and cafes to check documents and search for weapons, during the course of which establishments are often closed down and patrons are humiliated. Letters are needed expressing concern and encouraging officials to launch initiatives that would protect gays and lesbians human rights. To immediately ban any type of discrimination based on sexual orientation including same-sex marriage. And to support the proposals made by the Latvian Association for Sexual Equality. Also to propose the Parliament to supplement Paragraph 69 of the Criminal Code with the words "sexual orientation." Paragraph 69 of the Criminal Code provides sanctions against "voluntary actions with the purpose of encouraging hatred or intolerance among national or racial groups, of debasing national honor and respect, or of directly or indirectly limiting the rights of citizens, or of directly or indirectly creating advantages for citizens which are based on race or national identity." Letters should politely express the following: 1. Concern over LASV reports of the illegal police raids to gay bars and cafes. And particularly strongly protest against the beating of the two gay men perpetrated by members of the Latvian State Security Service which occurred on June 23, 1995. 2. Encourage the government to write laws to protect sexual minorities and to extend civil rights, by adopting the Latvian Association for Sexual Equality's proposals for amendments to the existing laws. 3. To put into practice the European Union standards on civil issues, that calls for equal rights for homosexuals and lesbians in the European Community. An agreement which Latvia signed recently. Send letters to: President of the Republic of Latvia, Pils laukums 3, Riga, LV-1050, Latvia Parliament of the Republic of Latvia Jekaba iela 11, Riga, LV-1811, Latvia Parliamentary Human Rights Commission, Parliamentary Juridical Comission, Jekaba iela 16, Riga, LV-1811, Latvia Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Latvia, Brivibas iela 36, Riga, LV-1050, Latvia