#AbortoTransEcuador

https://www.france24.com/es/am%C3%A9rica-latina/20220217-ecuador-aborto-violacion-asamblea-nacional 

On February 17, 2022, the legislators of the National Assembly have approved with 75 votes in favor, 41 against, and 14 abstentions to allow abortion only if the individual was a victim of rape. However, this isn’t great news just yet. President Guillermo Lasso could veto the recently approved law. As of now, the law states: 

• Allows abortions up to 12 weeks of pregnancy for adult women in urban areas 

• Allows up to 16 weeks for minors and adults in rural areas and indigenous women. 

The previous law states that abortion is illegal unless: 

• In the case of a threat to the life or health of a pregnant woman (when this threat cannot be averted by other means) 

•  When the pregnancy is the result of a sexual crime against a mentally disabled woman and her legal representative has consented 

Similarly, in 2019 Ecuador failed to decriminalize abortion for rape victims. Pro-choice activists have been protesting since 2019 as seen in the pictures down below. The system has failed these women once, will it do it again? 

2019

 

[Poster: Take your praying rosaries out of our ovaries. Life is not saved just by letting it live.] https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2019/sep/18/clashes-erupt-after-ecuador-fails-to-decriminalize-abortion-for-victims

Similarly, pro-choice activists are stronger than ever advocating for their rights a second time around. Although the law has passed, the president still holds the power of vetoing it. 

2022

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/17/ecuador-abortion-rape-cases-legal

But regardless of the president’s final decision, this law does not include Trans-man or non-binary individuals. This law is representative of the invisibility trans-individuals experience in Latin America. Awareness has been spread about this issue through a trans-organization called Asociación Silueta X. They have taken the initiative to advocate for trans-man and non-binary individuals who can still be victims of rape and end up pregnant. 

They united forces with Red Trans Ecuador to send a public announcement stating their fury and beginning the advocacy towards the inclusion of trans-man and non-binary individuals in the abortion law.  

Campaña (aborto trans) cuerpos gestantes hablamos del #AbortoTransEcuador - hombres trans

The future of this law and the inclusion of non-binary and trans-man is still unknown. Although other nearby countries such as Mexico and Columbia have decriminalized abortion. For Mexico, it does vary by state, and for Columbia abortion is legal but only if a mother’s life is in danger, an incomplete formulation of the fetus, rape, or incest. Despite the legalization of abortion (depending on the situation and state) in Mexico and Colombia, this does not include the trans-man or non-binary individuals in those countries. Trans-rights are dismissed and taken out of the narrative in most of Latin America. 

As of now, according to Organizando Trans Diversidades, there is no official data regarding abortion among trans individuals or the death of trans-man who die from dangerous abortion procedures in Latin America. Pro-choice activists' main argument for the decriminalization of abortion is due to the danger of illegal abortion procedures. The collected data of the numerous women who have died gives them a case to fight but leaves trans-man and non-binary individuals at a disadvantage because there is no official data for them. From a global perspective, trans rights seem to be in a different decade than lesbian and gay rights. There is a lack of data documenting trans-persecution, violence, and/or frequency of all of this. It is not unusual to come across laws as such erasing trans-individuals from the narrative. 

When will trans-right be recognized and visible in Latin America? Globally we are very far from it. If anything it will be through organizations such as Asociación Silueta X, Red Trans Ecuador, Organizando Trans Diversidades, and others who are/will protest until trans-rights are visible and taken into consideration in machista Latino America. 

References

BBC News Mundo, (2022, February 17). Ecuador: la Asamblea Nacional aprueba el aborto para casos de violación en determinados plazos. Retreived February 18, 2022 from https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-america-latina-60424720

Staff and Agencies of Quito, (2022, February 17). Ecuador legislators approve regulations allowing abortion in cases of rape. Retrieved February 18, 2022 from 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/17/ecuador-abortion-rape-cases-legal

Daniels, J. (2019, September 18). Clashes erupt after Ecuador fails to decriminalize abortion for rape victims. Retrieved February 18, 2022 from https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2019/sep/18/clashes-erupt-after-ecuador-fails-to-decriminalize-abortion-for-victims 

PLATAFORMA NACIONAL NUEVA RED TRANS ECUADOR (2022, February 18). SIN ELIMINAR A PERSONAS GESTANTES APRUEBAN EL #ABORTOPORVIOLACIÓN EN ECUADOR. Retrieved February 18, 2022 from https://redtransecuador.org/ 

Gonzalez, G. (2020, September 28). Hombres trans y aborto: activistas de América Latina nos cuentan la batalla por la visibilidad. Retrieved February 18, 2022 from 

https://otdchile.org/hombres-trans-y-aborto-activistas-de-america-latina-nos-cuentan-la-batalla-por-la-visibilidad-por-georgina-gonzalez/

PLATAFORMA NACIONAL NUEVA RED TRANS ECUADOR. (2022, February 17). SIN ELIMINAR A PERSONAS GESTANTES APRUEBAN EL #ABORTOPORVIOLACIÓN EN ECUADOR #ABORTOTRANSECUADOR. Retrieved February 18, 2022 from http://www.siluetax.org/

 In 2022, February 9th , Florida State Senate Education commissioner had pass a policy related to the LGBTQ groups, which called Parental Rights in Education Bill. At first glance, we may not think this is policy have any problem or will connect with the LGBTQ group.  

                                                                              Li Cohen CBS news

                                                        

This policy is about that topics related to gender identity will be banned at primary school levels and in cases deemed "inappropriate for a student's age or development". This bill would also cover the provision of student support services and counseling and require school district staff to provide parents with all information about a student's "mental, emotional or physical health" unless they believe that disclosure would "lead to abuse." Parents can Sue school districts that do not comply with the rules. The purpose of the bill, according to its text, is to "consolidate the fundamental right of parents to make decisions about the upbringing and control of their children." DeSantis said that “Schools should teach children to read and write, science and history. We need more civic education and understanding of the Constitution of the United States, the basic things that make our country special.”

F&M GLOBALBAROMETERS

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis

PAUL HENNESSY/SOPA IMAGES/LIGHTROCKET VIA GETTY IMAGE

On the surface, Florida does not seem to do anything harmful to civil rights and LGBTQ rights. It seems that LGBTQ people still have the right to speak and participate in public life within the scope of the public, and most importantly, they still seem to enjoy the same right to marry as heterosexual people... However, we can't deny that this is a huge step back for human rights and LGBTQ equality in Florida.




Why this will hurt the right of humanity? Freedom of information is an integral part of the fundamental right of freedom of expression, as recognized by resolution 59 of the UN General Assembly adopted in 1946. This policy, without any doubt that this policy hurt the freedom of information. And at the same time, Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), states that the fundamental right of freedom of expression encompasses the freedom to “to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers”. This policy also hurt the rights of students to get new information. The American, as a liberal democratic country the government should keep the lowest control to the individual and have the ability to make sure speech freedom and everyone have alternative way to get information.

                                                                 the Xinhua News Agency

And why did this hurt the power of the LGBTQ group? If a school disallow students and teachers to talk about LGBTQ, this will make LGBTQ group become marginal in the school, and they may have a higher probability to be bulling. If the LGBTQ group is invisible, this easily has stigmatization to the LGBTQ group. This will cause a vicious circle to the LGBTQ group. The LGBTQ community is stigmatized, the LGBTQ community is less and less mentioned, more and more invisible, and the living environment of LGBTQ groups is worse and worse. The common issue for the LGBTQ community is the demand to live out their true identity in the public sphere, not be forced to "hide in the closet". In the 1980s coming out of the closet became a term for LGBTQ identity. Now Florida's department of Education is once again trying to put LGBTQ people back in the closet. 

In addition, primary school is an important period for the formation of a person's self-cognition. This time should be the moment for children to understand "who I am", which is more important than simply reading and writing. By the research of the Institute of Psychology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences self-recognition during adolescence tends to be more prone to mental illness and self-harm than in primary school. Because their sense of self is challenged, it is often painful for them to rebuild their sense of self.

 

 

Citation

 

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/florida-dont-say-gay-bill-lgbtq-schools-senate-committee/

https://www.un.org/ruleoflaw/thematic-areas/governance/freedom-of-information/

https://www.un.org/french/documents/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/RES/59(I)&TYPE=&referer=/english/&Lang=E

https://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/index.shtml#a19

 

Good News: New Zealand Passes Legislation to Ban Conversion Therapy!

Image courtesy of news24.com

In a nearly-unanimous vote on Tuesday, New Zealand’s parliament passed a law banning LGBTQ+ conversion therapy, a pseudoscientific practice intended to alter one’s “gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation;” coercing one to identify as cis-gender and heterosexual is the ultimate “goal” of this so-called form of therapy. It has been widely condemned as wholly unethical and not only physically, but mentally harmful.

The Conversion Practices Prohibition Legislation Bill was first introduced to parliament in July 2021, and it was read for the first time the following month, in August. The Australian government stated that it had received “nearly 107,000 public submissions on the bill, the highest number of public submissions ever received on any legislation” (Menon). Essentially, each member of the public reserves the right to send a piece of writing to the committee in order to have their thoughts heard and represented; the sheer passion shown for this piece of legislation, in particular, is nothing short of spectacular. 

The bill passed with one-hundred twelve (112) votes in favor and eight (8) in opposition. 

This is a huge win for the members and allies of New Zealand’s LGBTQ+ community. Here are some of the major elements of the bill:

1. “Offence to perform conversion practice on person under age of 18 years or lacking decision-making capacity”

1. A person commits an offence if the person performs a conversion practice on an individual and knows that, or is reckless as to whether, the individual— 

1. is under the age of 18 years; or 

2. lacks, wholly or partly, the capacity to understand the nature, and to foresee the consequences, of decisions in respect of matters relating to their health or welfare.” (Section 8).

2. “Offence to perform conversion practice that causes serious harm” 

1. A person commits an offence if the person performs a conversion practice on an individual that causes serious harm to the individual and the person—

1. knew that performing the conversion practice would cause serious harm to the individual; or 

2. was reckless as to whether the performance of the conversion practice would cause serious harm to the individual.” (Section 9).

3. “It is unlawful for any person to—

1. perform a conversion practice on any other person; or 

2. arrange for a conversion practice to be performed on any other person.” (Section 63A).

   
   

The link to the full bill can be found here. 

While it is great that we are celebrating this (since it really is a huge victory for the LGBTQ+ community), we cannot abandon the fact that the country has allowed conversion therapy to persist for countless decades — and lest we forget the plethora of nations still allow this nonsensical practice to continue. Just two months ago, conversion therapy was made illegal in Canada, with France following suit not long after. 

Canada, New Zealand, France — all countries that are widely considered to be quite progressive — are just making the call that coercing someone into changing their gender identity/expression and/or sexual orientation — and labeling it as a form of therapy, no less — maybe should not be allowed. Perhaps they are onto something. 

Why is it that it has taken so long for us to act on this issue? What has been holding us back?

I wish I had a single answer. In the graphic below, we can take a look at the so-called “reasons” for legalizing conversion therapy in some regions of the world (Africa, Asia, and Latin America & the Caribbean, to be more specific). Religion stands as the major foundation for supporting this practice in Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean — with the protection of family honor taking the lead in Asia.

 

Image courtesy of outrightinternational.org

Will other countries follow the lead of Canada, France, and New Zealand? Or will we continue to excuse the erasure of the LGBTQ+ identity in the name of religion, culture, and family honor? It seems as though only time will tell. 

References

“Conversion Practices Prohibition Legislation Bill 56-2 (2021), Government Bill Contents – New Zealand Legislation.” Www.legislation.govt.nz, www.legislation.govt.nz/bill/government/2021/0056/latest/LMS487197.html.

“LGBT Rights: New French Law to Criminalise ‘Conversion Therapy.’” BBC News, 26 Jan. 2022, www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60145970.

Maria Sjödin. “Criminalization and Conversion. Prevalence and Practices of So-Called Conversion Therapy in Africa.” OutRight Action International, 14 Oct. 2019, outrightinternational.org/content/criminalization-and-conversion-prevalence-and-practices-so-called-conversion-therapy-africa.

Menon, Praveen. “New Zealand Passes Law Banning Conversion Therapy.” Reuters, 15 Feb. 2022, www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/new-zealand-passes-law-banning-conversion-therapy-2022-02-15/.

“New Zealand Bans LGBT+ Conversion Therapy.” ITV News, 15 Feb. 2022, www.itv.com/news/2022-02-15/new-zealand-bans-lgbt-conversion-therapy.

Treisman, Rachel. “After Two Failed Attempts, Canada Bans Conversion Therapy.” NPR, 9 Dec. 2021, www.npr.org/2021/12/09/1062720266/canada-bans-conversion-therapy.

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Look Forward to the Rainbow in East Asia, What Should We Expect?

On February 8th 2022, Singaporean news television channel, CNA, accidentally reported the Beijing Winter Olympic’s news with the steamy kiss between two men as the background on the television. Thanks to the unintentionally bypassing censorship, “for many Singaporean this is the first time they’ve seen two men kissing on local television” . Moreover, this clip was reposted in TikTok with the accumulative view rate of 731,000. For the host country, Chinese netizens shared the same shock to the news and spread widely on Chinese microblogging site Weibo.

image source：https://www.vice.com/en/article/93bnnp/gay-kiss-singapore-news-cna-beijing-winter-olympics

Such online carnivals about the sensitive topic are rare in East Asia because of a long history of censorship and the cultural suppression. The online carnivals is temporary, but the suppression targeting to the LGBTQ+ community is lasting. According to F&M Global Barometers, until 2019, the regional score of gay rights in Asia is categorized as F 42%. Inspired by the competition among countries in the Winter Olympics, the blog will analyze and compare three East Asian countries/regions towards the homosexual community culturally and politically.

image source: https://www.fandmglobalbarometers.org/

China: Entangling in gender roles and the diminishing activism


In China, the low tolerance towards homosexuality comes from the rejection of the majority of public opinion and the government's regulations in response to public opinion. In terms of public opinion, the important gender role is emphasized in the traditional culture. And the gender rule with a long history comes from Confucianism, as the most important and fundamental idea. In Confucianism, the male represents Yang, and the female represents Yin. And the combination between Yin and Yang formed the balance in the universe. However, the concept of the gay community breaks YinYang's balance and questions the foundation of Chinese philosophy. It is difficult for Chinese people to digest the ideas of “sexual identity” or “sexual orientation” since its foundation of culture is built up by Confucianism.

image source: https://www.fandmglobalbarometers.org/

In terms of regulations from the Chinese government, the analysis should be focused on two levels. For the individuals, the government will not forbid the freedom of speech. For the public, following the public opinions, the government will not provide a public platform for advocating the rights of the LGBTQ+ community. In 2019, Shanghai’s long-running LGBT pride festival was being canceled. However, aiming to reinforce the belief to the Party, this policy is not only targeting the LGBTQ+ community. The activism behaviors are very strictly regulated. Vulnerable groups such as feminist, ethnic minority community, and religious group has been muted. Thus, the regulation of boarder atmosphere on activism impacts the the freedom expression on the LGBTQ+ topic and exacerbates the misunderstanding of homosexuality in society.

Taiwan: the exception and the further

In the same year that the Shanghai gay parade was cancelled, Taiwan legalizes the same-sex marriage as the first country in Asia. Taiwan also faces opposition from many conservatives on the way to legalizing the same-sex marriage. However, there are three factors that make Taiwan become the head of Asian country. First, culturally, Taiwan is more tolerant with the benefit on large population of having the study abroad experience. Although both are influenced by Confucianism, Taiwan has the higher percentage on receiving the higher education level, especially from the Western. Since 1990s, more and more Taiwaness middle class families would have chance to send their children to the Western countries. These students have a chance to absorb Western perspectives and bring them back to Taiwan for dissemination. Second, the government supports propaganda on social platforms. In Taiwan, the media are not regulated by its government and they act as a medium to promote the rights of the LGBTQ+ community. Different from China, NGOs and gay marches can be held legally. Minorities can have places to voice out and educate the public. The third point is the Taiwan's political system and its special relationship with China. Due to the intensive political party competition, the DPP (Democratic Progressive Party) needs to attract younger generation, so they wrote the LGBTQ+ community rights that young people care about into their party tasks. From 2006, the DPP proposed the same-sex marriage law, and to 2019, the bill was officially passed. The DPP has been operating in this law for 13 years. Healthy partisanship brings more possibilities for inclusion in this country, since both parties would consider what the citizens’ preference. In this way, the LGBTQ+ community can be represented and protected. Moreover, Taiwan urgently needs to prove itself to the world and draw a line from China. As the first Asian country to legalize same-sex marriage, this change is the great opportunity to prove itself to the world. At the same time, compared with China's conservative policies, Taiwan's progressive ideology towards to the homosexuality is highlighted, so it is easy to draw a clear line with China. To sum up, benign party disputes, foreign education, and open social platforms have accelerated the process of same-sex marriage in Taiwan.


However, after 2019, Taiwan has not officially introduced more gay-friendly policies. Even if the legality of same-sex marriage is recognized, the society is deeply affected by the gender rules in Confucianism, and only more than half of the people can accept the legalization of same-sex marriage. Therefore, it is necessary for Taiwan to further implement the law to the social level, but such progress is difficult to complete in a short time.

Singapore: facing the external pressure 

image source: https://www.fandmglobalbarometers.org/

Similar to Taiwan, Singapore's high education and relatively liberal social platform have always been the pride of its citizens. However, Singapore's index of the gay rights is in line with China’s. Singaporean government has no position on the LGBTQ+ community for the long tome. Two reasons that keep Singapore behind are the political system and strained neighbor relations. Singapore only has one ruling party, People's Action Party (PAP). Without the pressure on attracting more votes, PAP does not need to engage with the younger generations by reacting to the gay-friendly appeal. The other factor is the serious international relationship. The historical tension between Singapore and Malaysia has made Singapore very cautious about policymaking. As a Muslim country, Malaysia stands firmly against the rights of the LGBTQ+ group. Once Singapore has implement the gay-friend policy, Malaysia will consider it as the signal of challenge. And the relations with Malaysia will be very rigid.

Conclusion

Due to space constraints, I can only give an overview of the three East Asian countries in terms of culture and political system. I intend to provide multiple perspectives on the analysis of attitudes towards LGBTQ+ community in East Asia and reflections based on the complexity of local cultures. 

Culturally, these countries are deeply influenced by Confucianism, so the public cannot accept the LGBTQ+ community from its root. In terms of political system, the policy making of the three countries is influenced by various factors like public opinion and political system.


Accepting the LGBTQ+ community is not just about the emancipation of one group, but about the emancipation of all the vulnerable groups. There will never be a single emancipation of a minority, what we seek is an atmosphere in which society as a whole tends towards progress and openness.

Bibliography

 

Cheng, N., Henry, M., & Kim, S. (2021, September 25). The resilience of East Asia's LGBTQ community. – The Diplomat. Retrieved February 9, 2022, from https://thediplomat.com/2021/09/the-resilience-of-east-asias-lgbtq-community/

Ewe, K. (n.d.). A report on the Olympics went viral after unintentionally bypassing censorship. VICE. Retrieved February 9, 2022, from https://www.vice.com/en/article/93bnnp/gay-kiss-singapore-news-cna-beijing-winter-olympics

F&M global barometers. F&M Global Barometers. (2021, November 10). Retrieved February 9, 2022, from https://www.fandmglobalbarometers.org/

Industry news: Singapore and Malaysia in territorial dispute *update*. UK flag. (n.d.). Retrieved February 9, 2022, from https://www.nepia.com/industry-news/singapore-and-malaysia-in-territorial-dispute-update/

Wang, S. Y. (2021, July 15). Unfinished revolution: An overview of three decades of LGBT activism in China. Made in China Journal. Retrieved February 9, 2022, from https://madeinchinajournal.com/2021/07/15/unfinished-revolution-an-overview-of-three-decades-of-lgbt-activism-in-china/