Administrative Hearing of a Medical Center for Improper Treatment of a Transgender Person

PINK filed a complaint with the Ministry of Health about the conduct of the medical professionals, after a victim of hate crime in Yerevan (LGBT Activists Targeted in Hate Crime, then Mocked by Hospital Staff) admitted themselves to the N1 hospital in Yerevan, and faced discrimination, being told by medical professionals, “Come, let’s do a blood test on you. Let’s see if you have a deviance”.

An administrative proceeding has been filed with the health inspection department of the Ministry of Health against irreverent treatment and improper medical service provided by the personnel of the “First medical center ‘Heratsi’”. The personnel of the medical center conducted themselves unprofessionally and treated the patient seeking treatment with disrespect, which was related to the appearance and gender identity of the victim. During the administrative hearing, the representatives of the health inspection department rejected the fact that the personnel of medical center had behaved inappropriately, clarifying that the definition of irreverent and improper treatment is not determined by sub legislative acts. They justified the behavior of the medical personnel, saying that the blood analysis is obligatory for everyone who has been beaten.

The personnel of the medical center declared that they have watched the video of security cameras and that there was no such treatment on the part of the medical center’s personnel. But after a motion to examine the video during the hearing and to attach it to the case materials, they answered that the video had been self-deleted.

On March 25 Ministry of Health informed that the case is suspended due to the absence of violation.

The Biggest LGBTQ Gathering in Armenia Featuring a Drag Show

Taking into consideration requests from many LGBTQ community members, PINK organized a safe space for LGBTQ people to come together, express themselves openly and enjoy an exciting Drag Show. The event was attended by about 250 LGBTQ people and allies, which made it the biggest gathering in Armenia so far. The event was also significant because of the considerable number of transgender people in attendance.  Rejoicing, however, is almost always interrupted with the next instances of injustice and violence when it comes to LGBTQ people in Armenia, as soon following the celebration an attack took place on LGBT activists in Yerevan.

Report: LGBT rights situation in Armenia 2011

LGBT rights violation can be witnessed in various spheres of social life. LGBT people state that there is discrimination toward them in educational institutions and there were cases when a person was bullied by a teacher because of being feminine (in case of a male person) or masculine (in case of a female person), forced to drop out from the university because of his/her sexual orientation. Scientific papers and work on this issue is not welcomed, because the stance of the lecturers is that it is a perversion and the person is perverted if he/she wants to work on this topic. A gay student was not allowed to write a paper about homosexuality as the lecturer stated that he can’t be objective taking into account his sexual orientation.

Employment remains one of the most problematic aspects of life for LGBT people as employers refuse to hire someone who is open about his/her sexual orientation or his either feminine (gay) or masculine (lesbian). Transgender people have no opportunity to be open about their gender identity and there is no relevant legislation which will allow transsexual persons to change sex. Quite often LGBT people refuse to visit healthcare institutions in case of a necessity being not sure about the confidentiality there. If they contact civil society organizations they are being referred to LGBT friendly doctors, otherwise there is a high risk that person will be discriminated and will receive degrading attitude.

Army remains one of the most challenging institutions due to its closed nature and non-written rules which exist there and lead to discriminative and violent approach toward this group of people. In most of the cases media approach toward LGBT people is biased and based on stereotypes, prejudice and has no scientific and contemporary approach. There is no political willingness from the side of government institutions to protect LGBT rights and quite often they appear in the position of violators.

The stance of civil society toward LGBT rights is not united as well. Despite the fact that civil society organizations are able to work in the sphere of LGBT rights protection and take actions for changes, there is no support from the government and public and some part of civil society.

Although there are no radical changes in the above mentioned aspects, in this report we will focus on several aspects of social life and will present most common issues and problems of LGBT community in the Republic of Armenia which were registered in the past 2011.

Read more about the attitude of society, media, church, police and achievments in 2011 in our official website

Now more than ever: human rights march and rally

The Human Rights and HIV/AIDS: Now More Than Ever campaign will march and rally for human rights at 18th International AIDS Conference on July 20, 2010 in Vienna.

Internationally acclaimed singer songwriter and long-time AIDS activist Annie Lennox will headline an historic rally in downtown Vienna. The march and rally will feature a memorable live musical performance by Lennox and provide an opportunity for people to demonstrate their commitment to protecting human rights and stopping the spread of HIV.

The event will consist of a 30-minute peaceful march in downtown Vienna to a public rally with government leaders, human rights and AIDS advocates, and people affected by HIV. Following the speeches, Annie Lennox will give a special presentation of her SING Campaign, which will include a musical performance and some short films highlighting the issues that surround HIV and AIDS.

The event will highlight the central role of human rights in the response to HIV. It will focus on the human rights of people living with HIV and of those affected by HIV, especially women and young people, gay, lesbian, and transgender people; and people who engage in sex work or who use drugs. It will focus on the global AIDS struggle as well as pressing concerns in Austria.

"Together we will give a voice to the voiceless," Annie Lennox.

Be heard! Global Forum on MSM & HIV

The Global Forum on MSM & HIV (MSMGF) starts the 4th pre-conference on July 17, 2010 to the 18th International AIDS Conference in Vienna Austria. This one-day event explores the challenges and best practices in achieving universal access to HIV-related prevention, care, treatment, and support services for sexual minority communities worldwide.

Be Heard! convenes 450 human rights advocates, artists, researchers, public health officials, multi-lateral organizations, and global donors for a day of workshops, skills building, information exchange, and networking sessions. The MSM pre-conference will be followed by an evening networking reception.

MSMGF recommends a rights-based and person-centered approach to developing guidelines that will help transgender persons receive non-discriminatory, non-judgmental and quality health care. There has been an international wave of advocacy calling on authorities such as the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and World Health Organization (WHO) to depathologize transgender identities. Pathologizing gender identity variance as a ‘psychiatric disorder’ only perpetuates the stigma, discrimination and violence that these individuals experience around the world.

As a global advocacy organization working for the health and human rights of men who have sex with men (MSM), the MSMGF is familiar with stigma within health system structures and its negative impact on individuals and communities. For instance, the classification of homosexuality as a mental disorder by institutions such as the APA until 1973 and the WHO until 1993 helped endorse discrimination against gay men and other MSM at multiple levels. Stigma and discrimination impact health by heightening HIV risk factors, including social isolation, and compromising access to HIV prevention, care and treatment services. Transgender persons are also the targets of stigma and discrimination that can be exacerbated by a mental diagnosis, ultimately resulting in compromised health and wellness.

Source: The Global Forum on MSM & HIV (MSMGF)

All 47 Counsil of Europe countries unanimously agree on historic human rights recommendations for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people

On March 31, 2010 the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, representing the national governments of its 47 Member States, unanimously adopted historic Recommendations on measures to combat discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity. This is the world’s first intergovernmental agreement codifying the application of human rights standards to LGBT people.

The Recommendations establish how international human rights standards should be applied to LGBT people and contain specific measures for Member States on how they should improve their legislation, policies and practices to address discrimination against LGBT people in such areas as

- hate crime and hate speech;
- freedom of association, expression and peaceful assembly;
- right to respect for private and family life;
- employment;
- education;
- health;
- housing;
- sports;
- right to seek asylum.

Additionally, the Recommendations prescribe that Member States should ensure that national human rights structures are clearly mandated to address discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity. They also encourage Member States to address multiple discrimination experienced by LGBT people.

ILGA-Europe’s only regret is that the Member States did not go as far as we hoped for in some areas, particularly family rights.

Martin K.I. Christensen, Co-Chair of ILGA-Europe’s Executive Board, said:
“This is a truly historical development! For the first time in history the European continent came together to codify human rights’ applications to LGBT people. As we celebrate this landmark in European human rights history, we also hope that these Recommendations will help to advance the human rights for LGBT people beyond Europe. ”

Linda Freimane, Co-Chair of ILGA-Europe’s Executive Board, added:
“These Recommendations go well beyond the current situation in many European countries for LGBT people and will surely serve as a blueprint for our members in working with their national governments. We will also follow closely the three year review mechanism agreed by the Committee of Ministers to ensure the full implementation. Finally, we encourage the Council of Europe to organise a campaign among its Member States to promote these Recommendations.”

The Committee of Ministers is the Council of Europe's decision-making body. It comprises the Foreign Affairs Ministers of all the Member States, or their permanent diplomatic representatives in Strasbourg.

The full text of the Recommendations is available on the Committee of Minister’s website.

sources: ILGA-Europe
Unzipped: Gay Armenia