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Happy Pride Month everyone!

We have surely come a long way when it comes to LGBTQ+ matters. I am glad that, at least where I'm located, we're free to express and celebrate our identities, as well as the progress we've made. And for the two weeks of June that remain, celebrate I shall.

In the following weeks I'll likely be posting art inspired by the many gorgeous colours used to represent different sexuality and gender minorities.

Sadly, however, for every step towards equality we take, there seems to be a hundred more to go. In hopes to spread awareness, I will also accompany these paintings with some sad and infuriating, yet important information on the state of LGBTQ+ matters today.

Today's Highlight: Homosexuality

TW: Discrimination

Lucas Paoli Itaborahy and Jingshu Zhu have employed the term"state-sponsored homophobia" to refer to the criminalisation of homosexuality and/or the targeting of LGBTQ+ individuals through discriminatory practices and/or acts of violence by the state towards LGBTQ+ individuals [1]. Such is not uncommon. For example

According to the Human Dignity trust[2]:

- in 71 jurisdictions criminalise private, consensual, same-sex sexual activity

- in 11 jurisdictions in which the death penalty is imposed or at least a possibility for private, consensual same-sex sexual activity

Additionally, in their study on the legal texts of 54 countries, they state that

- in 27 countries, sexual assault laws are NOT gender neutral

- in 38 countries, discriminatory, derogatory or stigmatising language is used regarding same-sex activity in law text

- in the Bahamas, same-sex sexual activity between the ages of 16 - 18 is an offence, but not for heterosexual sexual activity

- in Trinidad and Tobago young people engaging in consensual same-sex sexual activity with their peers are excluded from the close-in-age defences

- in Vanuatu the age of consent is 15 for opposite-sex sexual activity and 18 for same-sex sexual activity

Lee & Ostegard [1] compared 175 countries in three regards: criminalisation and punishment of homosexual activity, discrimination (lack of similar rights as non-LGBTQ+ individuals) and acts of intolerance experienced by LGBTQ+ people. They reported that

- Only 54% of countries have a low score (score of 0-1 of a scale of 0-6) in criminalisation and punishment

- 72% of countries have an extremely high score (score of 10-13 on a scale of 0-13) in discrimination

- 42% of countries have a high score (4 out of 5), and 28% have a very high score (5 out of 5) in intolerance

On another note, yesterday was an election day in Finland. Hopefully you too have seized all opportunities you have for dismantling structural inequality.

Stay tuned for pretty pictures and sad facts

&

[1] from Lee, C., & Ostergard Jr, R. L. (2017). Measuring discrimination against LGBTQ people: A cross-national analysis. Hum. Rts. Q., 39, 37.

[2] www.humandignitytrust.org/

Description
Happy Pride Month everyone!

We have surely come a long way when it comes to LGBTQ+ matters. I am glad that, at least where I'm located, we're free to express and celebrate our identities, as well as the progress we've made. And for the two weeks of June that remain, celebrate I shall.

In the following weeks I'll likely be posting art inspired by the many gorgeous colours used to represent different sexuality and gender minorities.

Sadly, however, for every step towards equality we take, there seems to be a hundred more to go. In hopes to spread awareness, I will also accompany these paintings with some sad and infuriating, yet important information on the state of LGBTQ+ matters today.

Today's Highlight: Homosexuality

TW: Discrimination

Lucas Paoli Itaborahy and Jingshu Zhu have employed the term"state-sponsored homophobia" to refer to the criminalisation of homosexuality and/or the targeting of LGBTQ+ individuals through discriminatory practices and/or acts of violence by the state towards LGBTQ+ individuals [1]. Such is not uncommon. For example

According to the Human Dignity trust[2]:

- in 71 jurisdictions criminalise private, consensual, same-sex sexual activity

- in 11 jurisdictions in which the death penalty is imposed or at least a possibility for private, consensual same-sex sexual activity

Additionally, in their study on the legal texts of 54 countries, they state that

- in 27 countries, sexual assault laws are NOT gender neutral

- in 38 countries, discriminatory, derogatory or stigmatising language is used regarding same-sex activity in law text

- in the Bahamas, same-sex sexual activity between the ages of 16 - 18 is an offence, but not for heterosexual sexual activity

- in Trinidad and Tobago young people engaging in consensual same-sex sexual activity with their peers are excluded from the close-in-age defences

- in Vanuatu the age of consent is 15 for opposite-sex sexual activity and 18 for same-sex sexual activity

Lee & Ostegard [1] compared 175 countries in three regards: criminalisation and punishment of homosexual activity, discrimination (lack of similar rights as non-LGBTQ+ individuals) and acts of intolerance experienced by LGBTQ+ people. They reported that

- Only 54% of countries have a low score (score of 0-1 of a scale of 0-6) in criminalisation and punishment

- 72% of countries have an extremely high score (score of 10-13 on a scale of 0-13) in discrimination

- 42% of countries have a high score (4 out of 5), and 28% have a very high score (5 out of 5) in intolerance

On another note, yesterday was an election day in Finland. Hopefully you too have seized all opportunities you have for dismantling structural inequality.

Stay tuned for pretty pictures and sad facts

&

[1] from Lee, C., & Ostergard Jr, R. L. (2017). Measuring discrimination against LGBTQ people: A cross-national analysis. Hum. Rts. Q., 39, 37.

[2] www.humandignitytrust.org/