In Uzbekistan, a small underground group of LGBTI and human rights activists commemorated the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia for the fourth time, in 2014.

They advised that, due to the dangerous situation for sexual and gender minorities in the country, it was not possible to mark the Day openly. We have removed all identifiers for security reasons.

Under Article 120 of the country’s criminal code, same sex relationships between men are illegal in Uzbekistan. The country continues to face considerable and sustained criticism for its human rights record. Freedom of expression is systematically curtailed in Uzbeikistan, where state authorities also routinely monitor dissent.

Called a “Protest on Behalf of the Invisible & Against Invisibility”, the act symbolised both the silence and the resilience of LGBTI and human rights defenders who were unable to demonstrate this year on May 17 itself.

Read the interview with organisers, which provides a full overview of the action!

Some activists also painted rainbows around the city in the early hours of May 18, 2014.

Last year, on May 17, 2013, the Square was the set of brutal scenes of violence, as some 40,000 people, mobilised by the leaders of the Georgian Orthodox Church, descended on and many attacked a group of less than a hundred LGBTI and human rights activists who had assembled for a peaceful and silent demonstration to mark the International Day Against Homophobia & Transphobia 2013. Shocking scenes showed priests leading the attacks. Amnesty International received reports of an attempted lynching among the crowds. Millions of people heard about these events as international media quickly responded with hundreds of major press and television reports.

IDAHOT 2013: Priests leading the attacks against LGBTI activists in Tbilisi, Georgia.

On May 17 this year, LGBTI activists decided to cancel even private events for the Day. On May 12, leaders of the Russian Orthodox Church had urged thousands to take to the streets on May 17, in a show of “Strength of Family and Respect for Parents”. 4,000 participated in this “counter” protest, which passed without LGBTI communities being attacked – as they stayed clear of the event. That said, reports did surface of demonstrators attacking one another, after appearing to mistake each other for being gay. Members of a TV crew were also attacked on the Day, reports Identoba and Tabula TV Crew.

In the lead up to May 17, 2014, Georgian activists reported that LGBTI communities had become targets of threats and intimidation, including by the Georgian police. They also advised that, despite petitions by LGBTI activists, authorities offered no guarantees as to the safety of those who wished to publicly assemble and express themselves in favour of LGBTI rights on May 17.

IDAHO 2012: A demonstrator being dragged away by Georgian police.

Moreover, local activists from Identoba group report (May 17, 2014) that pro-Russian groups had been organising to stage a “fake gay pride” this May 17, using certain front groups, with the intention of justifying and sparking confrontation on the Day. As they point out, this has also been the case in recent months in Kiev, Ukraine, as well as in certain other countries.

Freedom Square metro station, Tbilisi, May 18, 2014. Source: © Onnik Krikorian Photography

Further information

• Identoba: Statement before May 17, 2014
• Meghan Johnson: Recap of May 17, 2014 in Georgia

In China, despite some restrictions – involving the arrests of various activists before May 17 – more than 90% of planned events around the country were successfully carried out. This amounted to a total of more than a hundred events around the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia 2014.

The following is a short report on just some of the highlights from around the country this year.

Goldman Sachs China LGBT Youth Career Workshop

On May 11, 2014, Aibai Culture and Education Center, Goldman Sachs and Beijing LGBT Center co-organized an IDAHO event “Goldman Sachs China LGBT Youth Career Workshop” in Beijing. This event was also part of Goldman Sachs’ Community TeamWorks (CTW) events in China. 25 LGBT undergraduate and graduate students from 12 universities in Beijing participated in the event. Through interactive one-to-one conversations, volunteers provided career coaching to LGBT college students, involving the exchange of practical tips and personal experiences.

Goldman Sachs China LGBT Youth Career Workshop, for IDAHOT 2014 in China.

Queer film screening and discussion in Beijing

On May 16, The Crossroads Centre and the Beijing Queer Film Festival hosted an IDAHOT event with the support of
of the French embassy, DKT International Beijing and the EU Delegation. Taking place in Library of the Goethe-Institute, the event included the screening of the documentary Global Gay followed by a discussion with the producers Valérie Montmartin and Alexandre Marcel as well as the members of the Beijing Queer Film Festival’s Committee.

The producer of ‘Global Gay’, Valérie Montmartin, talking about the documentary.

Release of new report on gay and lesbian well-being

On the same day, The Beijing LGBT Center and Institute of Psychology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences released a report on the emotional, psychological, and social well-being of gay and lesbian people in China, to mark the Day. The report is the first national survey on the mental health of gay and lesbian communities, and it focuses equally on both men and women, unlike similar surveys in the past that were focused only on gay men. A total of 1,600 respondents from all over the country completed the survey, and about 30 percent were found to have a tendency towards depression, and about 20 percent were identified as facing a particularly high risk of depression.

Beijing Queer Chorus joins the global Sing-in for IDAHOT 2014

On May 17, Beijing Queer Chorus (previously known as Tianjien Gay Chorus) performed an IDAHOT concert at Sunrise Hall, Caoyu Theater, Beijing.

Mountain hike in Changsha, Hunan Province

In Changsha, Hunan Province, despite the annual Pride Walk event being suspended by authorities, volunteers still went through with the event by proudly hiking a local mountain trail.

Storytelling and community-building in Liaocheng, Shandong Province

In Liaocheng, Shandong Province, a local LBT community organization gathered at a village fair to share their stories of being LGBT with villagers and raised visibility and awareness of LGBT issues in rural areas.

Further information

• New York Times: Tiananmen Square Anniversary Prompts Campaign of Silence
• Buzzfeed: Nine LGBT Activists Arrested in China – But Gay Pride March Still Planned
• US Embassy in China: Statement for May 17, 2014
• Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in China: Statement for May 17, 2014