Public Education and Policies to Combat Homophobia and Discrimination

Towards a National Strategy in the Fight against Homophobia in Québec

This workshop will present the recent breakthrough of the rights of the gays and lesbians of Québec, in terms of the juridical recognition of the past decade. A historical portrait of the representations and the actions undertook by the LGBT community that has brought the creation of the Groupe de travail mixte will be presented. It will describe the role of the different ministries as well as the foreseen actions to counterattack homophobia in the domains of immigration, social integrity and intercultural relations. The main identified issues and the guidelines of actions to fight heterosexism and homophobia in the different sectors of ministry and public organisations of intervention will also be presented. Finally, the workshop will insist on the needs of the LGBT community and the diverse steps for consolidating a strategic action plan in order to eliminate homophobia and to acquire full social recognition in the Québec society.

Marc-André Dowd, Interim President, Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse (Canada)
Laurent McCutcheon, Spokesperson of community organisations, President, Gai écoute and Fondation Émergence (Canada)
Roger Noël, Counsellor to the Direction générale des relations interculturelles, Ministère de l’Immigration et des Communautés culturelles (Canada)
Monik Audet, Researcher and Project Manager, Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse (Canada)

English
French

Building Strategic Alliances

The Trans Community’s Problems in Mobilising to Claim Their Rights

For the transsexual community, one of the greatest challenges in the fight to claim their rights is to mobilise their members. Why? On one hand, the transition demands such energy and effort that only a small minority is ready to commit their time to the community. On the other hand, the majority of transsexuals come to the community for their transition. Once completed, they return, incognito, to normal life and don’t want to be implicated so as to avoid being publicly identified as transsexuals. As such, their involvement ends.

Julie-Maude Beauchesne, Coalition des transsexuel(le)s (Canada)
Juliette St-Pierre, ASTTEQ (Canada)
Marie-Marcelle Godbout, Association des transsexuel(le)s (Canada)

Building Strategic Alliances

A Québécois Coalition: Unions, Feminist Federations and Gay and Lesbian Groups – Together for Equality

Speakers will emphasise the action strategies of the Québec Coalition for same-sex civil marriage. Among the topics to be discussed are the ways to develop such a coalition, the search for an organisation’s mission and unions as agents for social change.

Évangéline Caldwell, Coordinator, Coalition québécoise pour le mariage civil des couples de même sexe (Canada)
Jacques Tricot, CSN (Canada)
Jean-Paul Tremblay, CSQ (Canada)

Room:
512-G
Language:
French
English

Building Strategic Alliances

Using Homo Culture across International Borders as a Powerful Weapon Against Homophobia and Discrimination

This workshop will present the work of International Lesbian and Gay and Cultural Network (ILGCN) co-ordinators, ambassadors and secretary generals. A description of assistance to international rainbow cultural events, organization of annual world homo cultural conference stages in different cities (including seminars, art exhibitions, film screenings, performances, etc.) will be made and examples of illustrations of international cultural solidarity will be provided.

Bill Schiller, General Secretary, ILGCN Information Secretariat (Sweden)
Kristiina Keerov, Secretary General, Mea Culpa (Estonia)
Alexander Kukharskiy, Coordinator for St-Petersburg, ILGCN (Russia)
Nick Tretter, Secretary General, ILGCN History Secretariat (USA)
Slava Bortnik, Coordinator for Belarus, ILGCN (Belarus)
Louis-George Tin, Coordinator for IDAHO, ILGCN (France)

Room:
515-A
Language:
English

Public Education and Policies to Combat Homophobia AND DISCRIMINATION

Police Officer Training and Homosexuality

This workshop will highlight the experience of the Québec City Police Force, where all the officers received mandatory training consisting of a four-hour session in small groups of five to ten people. Speakers will elaborate on the way in which interventions in the area have subsequently changed. They will also discuss the role of police officers as agents of social change with regards to homophobia as the officers have the power to influence society and consequently, the opportunity to put a stop to prejudice. The question as to whether this training can impact society’s perception of police as more open to homosexuals will also be discussed.

Yvan Lapointe, General Manager, CGLQ (Canada)

Representatives from the Police Force of Québec

Room:
513-B
Language:
French

Challenging Religious Homophobia

The Religious Right around the World: How It Affects National and International Policies on LGBTs

The main theme of the workshop would be the conflict between human rights claims relating to sexual orientation and claims relating to religion. The relevance of this workshop should be obvious given the prominent role now played in constitutional democracies by human rights claims advanced by LGBT individuals and couples, advocates of conservative ‘moral’ positions (especially in the context of partnership rights) have increasingly taken to defending their positions - within the court - room and in society more generally - by reference to religious or indigenous cultural values.

Tarunabh Khaitan, Masters Student, University of Oxford (India; United Kingdom)
David A. Richards, Professor of Law, New York University, School of Law (USA)
William Eskridge Jr, Professor of Jurisprudence, Yale Law School (USA)
Bruce MacDougall, Professor of Law, University of British Columbia (Canada)
Nicholas Bamforth, Fellow in Law, The Queen’s College, Oxford/Faculty of Law, University of Oxford (United Kingdom)

Room:
513-A
Language:
English

The Judicial Role in Protecting Human Rights

What is the proper role of judges in protecting human rights, especially at the national (rather than international) level?  Should judges defer to the legislature on every human rights issue that might be seen as politically controversial, such as (depending on the country) a few or many aspects of LGBT human rights?  Or are there appropriate cases in which judges have a duty to intervene, to enforce human rights standards contained in the international or national treaties, constitutions and legislation that they have been authorised to enforce?  At what point does a human rights issue pass from being one of political debate to one of legal principle?  These questions will be addressed by a panel consisting of the six very distinguished judges from five continents who have taken time from their extremely busy schedules to attend the Conference and chair the plenary sessions.

Claire L’Heureux-Dubé, Judge (1987 - 2002), Supreme Court of Canada (Canada)
Deborah Batts, Judge U.S. Court for the South District of New York, Manhattan (USA)
Edwin Cameron,
Judge of Appeal, Supreme Court of Appeal (South Africa)
Eugenio Raúl Zaffaroni, Judge, Supreme Court of justice of the Nation (Argentina)
Michael Kirby, Judge, High Court of Australia (Australia)
Renée Koering-Joulin, Judge, Cour de cassation (France)

English

French

LGBT Pride Parades in Central and Eastern Europe

Room:
511-A
Language:
English

Globalisation, Development and the LGBT Movement

This workshop will feature insights from Queer Peace International’s involvement in global projects to end discrimination and eliminate hate and ignorance against Queers in education, social development and health care. It will look at what moves Queers to take action and how to engage greater participation with a minimized resource base.

Robert Mizzi, Executive Director, Queer Peace International (Canada)
Adam Graham, Program Officer, Queer Peace International (Canada)

Room:
513-F
Language:
English

Globalisation: Dividing Line or Forward Momentum for the LGBT Movement?

Is globalisation supporting the LGBT movement and networks or does it create a wider gap between the more wealthy and educated and those who do not have access to internet? What can we do in order to bridge the gap?

Ulrike Lunacek, Green Group (Austria)

Room:
513-D
Language:
English

LGBT Human Rights in Africa

LGBT Human Rights in South Africa

The focus will be put upon the equality jurisprudence of South Africa’s Constitutional Court, specifically as it relates to sexual orientation discrimination. It will explore the dignity-based approach to equality followed by South Africa’s Constitutional Court, and ask whether this approach will not inevitably lead to a narrowing of legal options for those in the LGBT community who choose not to, or are unable to, form relationships which mirror traditional heterosexual relationships valorised by the law.
The workshop will also address current prospects and challenges of LGBT rights in Africa towards the effective promoting and protecting of the rights of LGBT in Africa.

Pierre de Vos, Law Professor, Law Faculty,
University of Western Cape (South Africa)
Tesfamicael Negash Tsegay, Masters Student, Center for Human Rights, University of South Africa (South Africa)
Donna Smith, Chief Executive Officer, Forum for the Empowerment of Women (South Africa)
Thuli Madi, Director, Behind the Mask (South Africa)

Room:
516-E
Language:
English

LGBT Human Rights in Asia

Multi-faceted Lesbian Lives in Present-Day Japan

This workshop consists of four presentations of on-going research on the lives of lesbians and the social contexts in which they find themselves in Japan. Yuriko Iino will explore through her narrative study a rarely discussed aspect of lesbian community in Japan, namely issues regarding ethnicity. Yuri Horie will discuss lesbian existence in Protestantism by looking into the United Church of Japan and juxtaposing it with its counterpart in Canada. Saori Kamano will present the preliminary results based on interviews of lesbian couples, exploring the issue of “coming out” in familial and work contexts. Finally, Keiko Arita will present her research on lesbian mothers in Japan, situating it in the context of extant literature accumulated in North America and Western Europe.

Diana Khor, Hosei University (Japan)
Yuriko Iino, Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology,
University of Tokyo (Japan)
Yuri Horie, Osaka University (Japan)
Saori Kamano, National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, Hosei University (Japan)
Keiko Arita, Ritsumeikan University (Japan)

Room:
515-C
Language:
English

LGBT Human Rights in Asia

Sexual Diversity in Asia

This panel is comprised of lawyers and law professors. In two jurisdictions, Hong Kong and India, current litigation deals with discriminatory criminal laws but in Thailand and Japan, there is no formal discrimination in criminal law. In the region, some formal legal advances have occurred in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Korea and Taiwan. There is a need to assess the nature and extent of changes, and speculate as to whether there are any patterns emerging. Is change stimulated more by reference to international developments than regional developments? Is there functioning interaction between those working for change in the region? Is there still some life in “Asian values” arguments? Can Asian governments start to be more helpful in intergovernmental organisations, including the United Nations?

Douglas Sanders, Gays without Borders (Thailand)
Dan Zhou, Lawyer, People’s Republic (China)
Arvind Narrain, Alternative Law Forum (India)
Hiroyuki Taniguchi, Japan Society for Promotion of Science (Japan)
Roddy Shaw, Civil Rights for Sexual Diversity (Hong Kong, China)

Room:
513-C
Language:
English

Bisexual Issues

Bisexual Activists Share Their Perspectives

The presentation will involve a facilitated panel of three bisexual activists drawn from the workshop audience (i.e. volunteers willing to share their perspectives). The aim will be to include representatives of different countries. The panel will address the following questions: What is your involvement in bisexual activism and community building? What’s going well in terms of bisexual visibility and activism in your community? What would you like to see happen differently in terms of bisexual visibility and activism in your community?

Holly Hammond, Social Change Consultant (Australia)

Room:
512-H
Language:
English

Transgender, Transsexual and Intersexual Issues

Transgender Rights in Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States

For many years, trans-identified people were invisible within the “gay” community. In recent years, trans-activists have been coming out and demanding more recognition. The LGBT community’s awareness of trans-people’s specific needs, on both the legal and medical fronts, has grown. Participants in this workshop will hear about various human rights challenges launched by trans-people, progressive human rights laws in Canada’s far north and legislation put forward by a Member of Canada’s parliament. In the same way, the workshop will discuss the recent legal changes in Europe and the new rights for transsexual people. This will be done with descriptions, historic perspectives and discussions. Finally, the last part will be dedicated to TransAmerica: Legal Isolationism and Global Transgender Jurisprudence. It will catalogue and examine ways in which U.S. courts and commentators have and have not looked to international legal developments in deciding questions concerning the treatment of transgendered persons.

Shannon Blatt, Lawyer, Public Service Alliance of Canada (Canada)
Gilles Marchildon, Director, Egale Canada (Canada)
Harriet Nowell-Smith, Lawyer, Government Department for Constitutional Affairs (United Kingdom)
James Adutt, Lawyer, Government Department for Constitutional Affairs (United Kingdom)
David Cruz, Law Professor, University of Southern California (USA)

Room:
512-A
Language:
English

Issues of LGTBs of Colour

Overseas Queer Asian Community Development & Activism

Asian Pacific Americans (APA) are among the fastest growing minority groups in the United States. More and more APA LGBT people are coming out of the closet, yet they still face invisibility, isolation, and stereotyping. A study presenting an opportunity to center communities at the margins will be discussed, which looks at multiple identities, experiences, and concerns as individuals and communities within the broader context of experiences as APA in the mostly white LGBT community, and as queers among APA communities.

The workshop include panellists of long term community organisers from queer Asian communities outside Asia to share their experiences in community organizing and activism, reflect on challenges and lessons learned, and engage the participants in interactive discussion on challenges ahead and action plans.

Alain Dang, Policy Analyst, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (USA)
Alan Li, member, Activist, Coalition against Homophobia (Canada)
Keith Wong, Member, Activist, Gay Asians Toronto (Canada)
Yaya Yao, Youth Educator, Asian Community AIDS Services (Canada)

Room:
513-E
Language:
English