Abstract
Crossing borders can be dangerous if you are an LGBT person.
Angola’s decriminalisation is yet another landmark achievement in the recognition of LGBT rights around the world. However, advances such as this hide the fact that at a border, if you end up being stopped, they are going to be googling your name and seeing if you are on Facebook and other social media to find out as much as possible.
In its comprehensive report on the status of LGBT rights around the world – State-Sponsored Homophobia 2019 – the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) shows that at least 32 UN member states have introduced or interpreted provisions to restrict the freedom of expression in relation to sexual orientation and gender identity issues.
The ILGA report’s lead author, Lucas Ramon Mendos, said: “On the one hand, we are moving forward in a progressive way, removing barriers. We see countries like Mongolia, South Korea and the Philippines moving towards more protective legal frameworks while in Africa we have seen incredible progress in Mozambique and Angola. On the other hand, some countries are backtracking, enacting laws that restrict the dissemination of ideas or communications among LGBT people.”
The introduction to the report highlights some of the successes achieved since it was last published in 2017. These include India striking anti-gay sections from its penal code, Ireland appointing Leo Varadkar as its first openly gay head of state, the World Health Organisation striking gender incongruence from its list of mental disorders, and Botswana making it easier for transpeople to change their official genders.
Yet, despite this optimism, there is cause for concern that while legislation targeting LGBT people around the world is being dismantled, the reality on the ground is very different.
“We see that there are countries that are protective against sexual orientation but that doesn’t mean the situation is safe on the ground,” said Mendos.
The report reveals that cases involving freedom of expression are one of the most common type of complaint handled by UN treaty bodies, coming second only to issues involving LGBT asylum seekers. Russia, which introduced its “gay propaganda law” in 2013, and former Soviet republics are the countries were LGBT rights are some of the worst.
Saul Shanagher, of travel safety consultancy be Travelwise, said: “Everything is often fine when crossing the border. Then you have a run-in with a local who takes offence and calls law enforcement and they have to be seen to be doing something about it. It is a personal choice, but are you prepared to hide who you are?”
Hiding your sexual orientation may not come easily.
The company’s LGBT travel adviser, Jeremy Wilkes, says many of his generation did not come out until they were in their late 20s and have had experience of being discreet.
“The kids now don’t necessarily have those skills. They want to say who they are and be themselves,” he said.
Global telecommunications company Vodafone takes its responsibility for employees, who it sends on more than 40,000 business trips every year, very seriously. The company, which regularly appears in Stone-wall’s list of top global employers of LGBT staff, owns and operates mobile networks in 25 countries, including some in which homosexuality is criminalised.
The company’s travel security manager, David Jovic, says many of its LGBT employees choose to be more secretive about their personal lives when travelling, although this can be easier said than done.
“Avoiding public displays of affection that may be perceived negatively in certain locations is essential and can usually be avoided rather easily. More complicated is making sure not to share personal details about oneself that might give your sexual orientation away. We are fully cognisant that not being fully transparent about one’s personal life and having the feeling one has to hide part of who [one is] can be psychologically taxing.”
A person’s social media presence can also come under scrutiny. Wilkes said: “At a border, if you end up being stopped, they are going to be googling your name and seeing if you are on Facebook and other social media to find out as much as possible. Our advice is never to give your password or your phone’s passcode up at the border, and ask to speak to a consular official.”
Jovic added: “Something as simple as disabling notifications on a smartphone can go a long way towards keeping your sexual orientation private. More importantly, making sure your social activity is not visible to your local hosts is critical. It is customary, for completely innocuous reasons, for hosts to make requests to be included in your social networks and it is best to think twice before accepting them.”
Dating apps themselves are also encouraging travellers to hide their sexual orientation and gender identity status. In 2014, the Grindr app warned users in Egypt to hide their identities on social media. In an on-screen message it warned that the country’s police were posing as being LGBT to entrap the popular app’s users. As a result, it changed its app so that users in Egypt and countries such as Russia, Saudi Arabia and Zimbabwe automatically had their locations hidden by default.
In July 2019, dating app Tinder rolled out a feature called Traveller Alert which hides users’ profiles until they return home from one of the 70 or so countries where homosexuality is criminalised.
It is not just travellers who are having their freedom of expression restricted. LGBT refugees presenting themselves at international borders face particular challenges.
There are currently no official statistics that assess the number of asylum seekers based on sexual orientation or gender issues, but a 2017 report by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights revealed that up to 1,000 people sought asylum with claims linked to sexual orientation and gender identity issues in the Netherlands in 2016 and 500 in Finland between autumn 2015 and February 2017.
Volker Türk, the assistant high commissioner for protection at the UN refugee agency UNHCR says that asylum seekers’ right to freedom of expression is often “unduly restricted”.
“The journey to safety can prove particularly treacherous for many LGBTI refugees who continue to face prejudice and violence in countries of transit and host countries,” he said.
“Officials involved in the process of determination of refugee status and in managing reception conditions should receive sensitive and culturally appropriate training on sexual orientation, gender identity and sex characteristics.”
Türk says that even in locations where such refugees are more accepted, and services are accessible, many choose to conceal their sexual orientation and gender identity for fear they might be targeted or marginalised.
The advances made on the international stage are impressive, but they also hide what is happening within countries. ILGA’s Mendos said: “With the United States, for example, we are aware of the nuances between the legal process in each of the 50 states. In some there is no legal protection against discrimination and there is the ridiculous situation where someone can get married on Friday but then get fired on the Monday.”
The strides made in the recognition of LGBT rights have been enormous in recent years and should be celebrated. Yet reports from a number of countries show that LGBT people are still having their freedom of expression curtailed.
Protesters confront the authorities at a gay pride rally in Saint Petersburg, Russia, during August 2017. Russia and former Soviet republics threaten the free expression of LGBT people the most, according to complaints handled by UN treaty bodies
CREDIT: Ogla Maltseva/AFP/Getty
The Danger Zones
Each year, gay travel publication Spartacus publishes a Gay Travel Index which ranks countries on the risks they pose to LGBT travellers. The index takes into account national legislation, LGBT+ rights, religious influence and HIV travel restrictions as well as whether locals are hostile and whether Pride events are banned. For 2019, the worst ranked countries are as follows:
The Russian republic of Chechnya
Somalia
Saudi Arabia
Iran
Yemen
United Arab Emirates
Libya
Afghanistan
Qatar
Malawi