Advancing LGBTQI2 rights in developing countries through research
Photo credit: Libardo Andrés Agudelo Gallego
When: Thursday, May 10, 2018, 9:00 – 11:00 a.m.
Where: IDRC, 150 Kent Street, 8th floor, W. David Hopper Room A, Ottawa, ON
Seating is free but limited, so please register for the event.
IDRC and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands are hosting a panel discussion on May 10, 2018 on the role of research in advancing the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and two-spirit (LGBTQI2) persons in developing countries.
More than 70 countries criminalize same-sex sexual conduct using laws that often date back to the colonial era. Even when they are not the target of legal discrimination, people risk hate-motivated violence, arbitrary arrest, torture, sexual assault, and even murder because of their gender identities and expressions; crimes that authorities sometimes ignore.
Panelists from Canada, Colombia, the Netherlands, and the Dominican Republic will reflect on the role research can play in advancing LGBTQI2 rights and how to translate findings into policy and practices that protect these rights in developing countries.
The panelists are:
- Libardo Andrés Agudelo Gallego, LGBTQI2 community researcher, activist, and reporter with an IDRC-supported project to strengthen human security, Medellín, Colombia
- Lilian Bobea, assistant professor of sociology at Bentley University, Massachusetts, United States, and academic director of Co Paz an IDRC-supported project on citizen security in El Salvador, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic
- Román Alexis Huertas Montoya, senior researcher, Fundación Ideas para la Paz and IDRC partner, Bogotá, Colombia
- Doug Kerr, national steering committee co-chair of the Dignity Network and civil society representative on the Executive Committee of the Equal Rights Coalition, Toronto, Canada
- Koen van Dijk, executive director of the Dutch LGBTQI2 advocacy group COC Nederland, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
This event is part of a broader set of activities to capture recommendations for the Equal Rights Coalition, a group of 35 countries dedicated to the protection of the rights of LGBTQI2 people. Canada now co-chairs this coalition with Chile and will host in August 2018 the next Global LGBTQI2 Human Rights and Inclusive Development Conference in Vancouver.
The Netherlands promotes equal rights for LGBTQI2 people internationally as part of its commitment to human rights. It was the first co-chair with Uruguay of the Equal Rights Coalition when it was created in 2016. IDRC has supported six research projects in South Asian, Latin American and sub-Saharan countries that focus specifically on finding ways to reduce violence against LGBTQI2 communities.
English, French, and Spanish simultaneous interpretation will be available. The event will be videotaped and available on IDRC’s YouTube channel.
For more information, visit idrc.ca.