DISCRIMINATION: Children and sexuality

Submitted by jthomas on

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The International Day Against Homophobia is held on 17 May every year. It marks the day, in 1991, when the World Health Organisation removed homosexuality from its list of mental illnesses. In 2006, in response to well-documented patterns of abuse, a group of international human rights experts, including a member of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, met in Yogyakarta, Indonesia to outline a set of international principles relating to sexual orientation and gender identity. The Principles broke new ground in recognising the rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) children. Read extracts on children's rights from the Principles. 

While many governments across the world have legalised gay marriage in the last year, others are ramping up repression against homosexuals. In Malawi, a gay couple was this month sentenced to 14 years imprisonment for hard labour for "gross indecency" and "unnatural acts" two days after holding an engagement ceremony. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said that their prosecution is "blatantly discriminatory", and sets an alarming precedent in the region for the treatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, as well as LGBT rights defenders.

In December 2009, Uganda announced a proposed new law stipulating draconian punishments for people alleged to be lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered – namely life imprisonment or, in some cases, the death penalty. The law violates the rights of LGBT children, as well as children with HIV, and children who are merely suspected of having a same-sex liaison. Read more here. The NGO Stonewall released a reportyesterday accusing the British government of having an institutionally homophobic asylum policy, saying that it regularly returns gay asylum-seekers to countries such as Uganda where they face persecution on the grounds of their sexual orientation. 

Comprehensive sex education, tailored to children of differing sexualities, is necessary if children are to understand how to best protect themselves from sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV. 

However, in Europe in June 2009, the Lithuanian parliament passed an amendment prohibiting the discussion of homosexuality in schools and banning any reference to it in public information that can be accessed by children. 

Michael Cashman, the president of the European Parliament’s LGBT all-party intergroup, decried the ideology behind the text as "pure homophobia." He added: "It is crucial to allow young people to speak, think and act, in the respect of others who are different. Young people need education not isolation." Read the full story. 

Elsewhere, in a report issued this month, the American Bar Association revealed the extent of homophobic bullying in schools in the United States, stating that some 80 per cent of LGBTQ youth have experienced verbal harassment at school. In Britain, two thirds of homosexual children have suffered homophobic bullying at school, according to a report by Stonewall. The report found that homophobic language used by adults at schools was often at the root of the problem and that the vast majority of schools had failed to intervene in such cases. 

The UN's World Report on Violence against Children noted that "Teachers and other children commonly put pressure on children to make them conform to cultural values and social attitudes that define what it means to be 'masculine' or 'feminine'. A widespread method is to use words suggesting that a boy is acting like a girl or may be gay, and that a girl is acting like a boy or may be lesbian. Such words may be used jokingly, but nevertheless convey the message that it wold be very bad or wrong if it were true." (p. 121). Read the Study's recommendations.

At a European meeting on violence against children held in Vienna last week, Marko Karadzic, State Secretary, Ministry of Human Rights and Minority Rights in Serbia said that while progress had been made in fulfilling the rights of some groups of children who face discrimination in Europe, such as children with disabilities and refugee children, the rights of other groups such as Roma children and LGBT children continue to be violated. 

He said: "We are unwilling to help them to stop the discrimination they face... there have been huge steps in Europe, but these children are still not allowed to live according to their identities. "Yes", he continued, "there are kids who are gay, lesbian and transgender."

What does international law say?

Article 2 of the Convention addresses discrimination. Paragraph 2 states: States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that the child is protected against all forms of discrimination or punishment on the basis of the status, activities, expressed opinions, or beliefs of the child's parents, legal guardians, or family members.

As such, the article may be invoked in respect of both the discrimination faced by children, and that faced by gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender (or LGBT) parents.

The Committee on the Rights of the Child, in its Concluding Observations, has made reference to States' obligation to protect children from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. For example, in 2002 the Committee recommended that the UK government:

"Provide adequate information and support to homosexual and transsexual young people, and encourages the State party, further to the statement of intent made by its delegation to repeal section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988, where it applies”. Section 28 was a piece of legislation that stated that local authorities in England and Wales may not "intentionally promote homosexuality" or "promote the teaching of... the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretend family relationship".

The Committee on the Rights of the Child's General Comment No.3 on HIV and AIDS also expressed concern at discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. This General Comment emphasises governments' obligation to ensure children have access to honest education and information about sexuality, stating that: "that effective HIV/AIDS prevention requires States to refrain from censoring, withholding or intentionally misrepresenting health-related information, including sexual education and information, and that, consistent with their obligations to ensure the right to life, survival and development of the child (art. 6), States parties must ensure that children have the ability to acquire the knowledge and skills to protect themselves and others as they begin to express their sexuality."

Other treaties which prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation include the Treaty of Amsterdam, of the European Union, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Although there is no express provision in this latter treaty, in the case Toonen vs. Australia, the Human Rights Committee (which monitors implementation of the Covenant) held that the references to "sex" in Articles 2, paragraph 1, (non-discrimination) and 26 (equality before the law) of the ICCPR should be taken to include sexual orientation.

This document outlines the international legal framework supporting the right to comprehensive sex education. It includes reference to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

In June 2008, the Organisation of American States (OAS) recognised for the first time that homosexuals in the Americas are victims of discrimination and violence. 

The OAS passed a resolution on human rights, sexual orientation and gender identity, which was presented by a delegation of activists from Brazil, and committed to placing the issue on its agenda.

During the session, a 14 year old Colombian boy read a statement to ambassadors in which he spoke of the particular violence and discrimination against homosexual children and young people.

[CRIN]

 

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