International Day Against Homophobia

International Day Against Homophobia


According to a widely held view in the western world, homosexuality would be freer than ever: everywhere it is present and visible, in the streets, in newspapers, on television, in cinema, it would even be fully accepted, As evidenced in recent years by several recent legislative developments on the recognition of same-sex couples. Certain adjustments remain necessary to eradicate the latest discrimination, but with the evolution of mentalities, it would be, according to some, simply a matter of time, the time to bring to a successful bottom movement launched several decades already.

For the observer a little more attentive, the situation is globally quite different: and indeed, the twentieth century was probably one of the most violently homophobic periods of history: deportation in the concentration camps under the Nazi regime , Gulag in the Soviet Union, blackmail and persecution in the United States during the McCarthy era ... Obviously, this may seem like a long way off. But very often, the conditions of existence in the world today remain very unfavorable.
Homosexuality is often discriminated against

In at least eighty states, homosexual acts are condemned by law (Algeria, Senegal, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Lebanon, Jordan, Armenia, Kuwait, Puerto Rico, Nicaragua, Bosnia ...); In several countries, the sentence may exceed ten years (Nigeria, Libya, Syria, India, Malaysia, Cuba, Jamaica ...); Sometimes, the law provides for life imprisonment (Guyana, Uganda). And in a dozen nations, the death penalty can be effectively applied (Afghanistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia ...). In Africa, recently, several presidents of the republic have brutally reaffirmed their will to fight against this scourge according to them "anti-African". Even in other countries where homosexuality does not fall under the penal code, persecution is increasing. In Brazil, for example, death squads and skin heads spread terror: 1960 homophobic homicides were officially recorded between 1980 and 2000. In these conditions, it seems difficult to believe that "tolerance" is gaining ground. On the contrary, in most of these states, homophobia seems today more violent than yesterday. The trend is therefore not to general improvement, far from it.

That is why we are proposing this World Day to Combat Homophobia. It aims to articulate action and reflection in order to combat all physical, moral or symbolic violence linked to sexual orientation or gender identity. It intends to encourage, support and coordinate all initiatives contributing to equality between citizens, both de jure and de facto, in all countries where this will be possible.

The organization of a day of fight against homophobia in each country will enable us to register our struggles in a process of solidarity with all lesbian, gay, bi and trans people (LGBT) around the world. But it is also about putting our struggles in a more global approach to defending human rights. For several decades, throughout the world, many actions have been taken in this direction, not without success.

We are in this line: we want to reinforce the experiences we have undertaken, give more visibility to future attempts and we appeal to national and international bodies to put this day on the official agenda, like the Day World Women's Day or the World Day to Fight AIDS. The recognition of such a Day would thus be a clear commitment by the international community. It has mobilized against many other forms of social discrimination and violence, but not yet on these issues.

A site to visit: www.homophobie.org