Sexual Orientation

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people of all ages and in all regions of the world suffer from violations of their human rights. They are physically attacked, kidnapped, raped and murdered. In more than a third of the world’s countries, people may be arrested and jailed (and in at certain countries even executed) for engaging in private, consensual, same-sex relationships. While transgender people and intersex people are usually discussed under the heading or → Gender Identity, men who are attracted men (gay), women who are attracted by women (lesbian) are often referred to as homosexuals. Together with persons who are attracted by both sexes (bisexual) they shall be treated in this section as LGB persons. Many States do not only discriminate them (→Discrimination, prohibition of; and equal treatment) but even criminalize sexual relations between them and exclude them from many services and opportunities under the law . In addition, States often fail to adequately protect LGB persons from discriminatory treatment in the private sphere, including in the workplace, housing, education and healthcare. In particular, LGB children and adolescents face often bullying and discrimination in school and by their families (→ Convention on the Rights of the Child; → Domestic violence). This is also due to the prohibition of lack of education regarding sexual orientation. LGB adolescents may be thrown out of their homes by their parents, forced into psychiatric institutions (to undergo so-called conversions therapies) or forced to marry based on their actual or perceived sexual orientation. This problem is exacerbated when LGB people belong to groups that are discriminated against because of their race or religion etc. (→ Intersectionality). In many societies they are totally excluded or stigmatised and face a high risk of poverty, violence (→ Security of person, right to) and murder, especially in the form of →Hate Speech and hate crimes. This is for example the case of → Afro-Descendants in the United States and of women or → Disabled persons more generally