ECOM Commemorates the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia & Biphobia and the International AIDS Candlelight Memorial

Statement of the Eurasian Coalition on Male Health in conjunction with the 2015 International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia & Biphobia, and International AIDS Candlelight Memorial

May 15, 2015. Tallinn, Estonia.

This year, May 17th simultaneously commemorates the International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia & Biphobia (IDAHOT), and the International AIDS Candlelight Memorial. IDAHOT seeks to draw attention to stigma, discrimination, and violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity widely spread around the world. This year, IDAHOT focuses on lesbian gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth. The International AIDS Candlelight Memorial serves as a community mobilization campaign to raise social awareness about HIV/AIDS and to break down HIV-related stigma.

In order to commemorate the symbolism of these two events falling on the same day, the Eurasian Coalition on Male Health (ECOM) would like to emphasize the direct link between homo- and transphobia and the growing HIV epidemic among gay men and other men who have sex with men (MSM), and transgender people in Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA).

In many EECA countries, increasing animosity towards sexual minorities has led to the further institutionalization of homophobia. Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan have retained Soviet-era sodomy laws, while Russia and Kazakhstan recently enacted bans on “propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations among minors” and a harsher law is being discussed in Kyrgyzstan. Such legislation has contributed to a significant increase in discrimination and violence towards LGBT people. In the past two months alone, the offices of LGBT organizations in Kyrgyzstan[1] and Russia[2] have been attacked and LGBT rights activists have been prosecuted under the new legislation.[3] Meanwhile, members of the LGBT community continue to experience violence on a daily basis.[4]

The homophobic social and political climate has had serious consequences for the sexual and mental health of LGBT people and LGBT youth, in particular. The homophobic laws in EECA are directly aimed at limiting the access of adolescents and youth to modern information on sexuality. These laws send the message that it is wrong or unnatural to be homosexual. Self-harm is the second leading cause of mortality among young people aged 15-24 in EECA countries[5] and four out of ten countries with the world’s highest youth suicide rates are in this region[6]. Although there are no relevant specific studies from EECA, it can be assumed that LGBT account for a significant part of youth suicides there, as research has shown that LGBT teenagers living in unsupportive or hostile environments are four times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers.[7]

Furthermore, punitive and restrictive legislation complicates health advocacy targeting MSM and transgender people.[8] In EECA, LGBT people, and LGBT youth in particular, do not receive adequate sexual health education, including information on HIV and STI prevention, which greatly increases their risk of sexual health problems.

As result, MSM are disproportionately affected by the HIV epidemic in EECA. In some cities of the region, HIV prevalence among MSM reaches 30%.[9] This year, a quarter of all new HIV infections in Ukraine, the second most populous country of the region, are expected to occur among MSM.[10]

As HIV prevalence is rapidly growing among MSM and transgender people in EECA, it is crucial to counteract the widespread homo- and transphobia that is at the root of this epidemic. Countries in the EECA region must guarantee the rights and dignity of LGBT citizens, and ensure that they have access to quality HIV prevention and treatment services.

In conjunction with the International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia & Biphobia, and the International AIDS Candlelight Memorial, the Eurasian Coalition on Male Health would like to:

Please see the enclosed factsheet for important information about LGBT rights and HIV in the countries of EECA.

[1] Statement: The Eurasian Coalition on Male Health Condemns Violent Attack on Kyrgyz LGBTIQ Organization. Available from: http://ecom.ngo/the-eurasian-coalition-on-male-health-condemns-violent-attack-on-kyrgyz-lgbtiq-organization/

[2] Breaking News: Gas Attack on Murmansk LGBT Organization, Two Casualties [Internet] 2015 Apr 13. Available from: http://queerussia.info/2015/04/14/19457/#sthash.OygMnkYi.dpbs

[3] Russia: Court Hearing against LGBT Group http://www.hrw.org/news/2015/04/02/russia-court-hearing-against-lgbt-group

[4] Cooper, T. License to Harm: Violence and Harassment against LGBT People and Activists in Russia. New York (NY): Human Rights Watch; 2014.

[5] Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME). GBD Heatmap. Seattle, WA: IHME, University of Washington, 2013. Available from http://vizhub.healthdata.org/irank/heat.php.

[6] Preventing suicide: a global imperative. Geneva: World Health Organization, 2014

[7] Hatzenbuehler ML. The Social Environment and Suicide Attemps in Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Youth. Pediatrics. 2011 May (127(5)):896-903.

[8] UNAIDS. The Gap Report. Geneva, 2014.

[9] Platt, L. et al. HIV Epidemics in the European Region: Vulnerability and Response. Washington, DC: World Bank, 2015.

[10] USAID. HIV Epidemic Among Key Populations in Ukraine. Kyiv, 2013.