Once again, events for the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia 2014 were held throughout Mexico, affirming May 17 as a vital date in the country’s LGBTI rights calendar.

Mexican President supports the Day online

Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto marked the Day with a special Tweet from his account @EPN in which he stated “Because we are making of Mexico a country of equality and non-discrimination, we celebrate for the first time the National Day Against Homophobia”.

In April 2014, Mexico became the latest nation to officially recognise May 17, as the ‘National Day Against Homophobia’, by presidential decree.

Mexican president supports the IDAHOT 2014 via his twitter account.

Week of events by various groups, May 12-17

Meanwhile the group Reacciona México de México DF, together with Inspira el Cambio AC, and the Institute of the Federal District Jueventud, amongst other partners coordinated ​​the series of events “Turn me Purple” which took place from 12 to 17 May in the City of Mexico.

The organization Colectivo Seres from Guanajuato city, Mexico held the 5th meeting for Sexual Dissidence which also included activities from 12 to 17 May.

National Survey on Discrimination and Labour

Also, with the aim of learning more about the current situation of discrimination against LGBTI people in Mexico, a set of state actors, community organizations and private sector companies coordinated and presented the ‘National Survey on Discrimination and Labour’. The organizers of this initiative were Espolea and Enehache Forum, in collaboration with the Mexican National Human Rights Commission.

The presentation of the Survey was made on the IDAHOT in order to encourage media, civil society and the general public awareness around the situations that LGBT people face at work. You can watch a video of events here:

British council offices back major event

One of the events organized for the Day took place at the British Council offices in Mexico, which organized a roundtable discussion. It was attended by civil organizations, musicians, media, and local and federal government figures. Participants included:

• Ricardo Baruch Espolea.
• Iván Gómez Tagle, coordinator of LGBT Youth Mexico .
• The singer Jaime Kohen.
• Lena Milosevic, Director of British Council Mexico.
• Jacqueline L’ Hoist, president of COPRED.
• Irasema Conapred Zavaleta.
• Carlos Ramos who talked about discrimination and mental health.

Across Ireland, LGBTI and other civil, political and faith groups organised a variety of events in at least five different cities in celebration of the IDAHOT 2014. Actions included religious services, online panel discussions, music events and a campaign to stop homophobic and transphobic bullying in the workplace.

The Stand Up at Work Campaign

Together with ICTU, BeLonG To Youth Service launched a campaign against homophobic and transphobic bullying in the workplace. The Stand Up at Work project encouraged people to Stand Up! Against Homophobic and Transphobic Bullying, as part of BeLonG To’s annual awareness campaign in schools, amongst youth services, and – now – in workplace settings. BeLonG To and ICTU produced a video and developed print materials which were launched on Friday 16 May in Dublin, to coincide with International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia.

Local activists highlighted that non-discrimination is a fundamental right at work as defined by the International Labour Organisation. Equal treatment is reflected in Irish Law by the Employment Equality Act 1998 – 2012, which outlaws discrimination on nine distinct grounds, including sexual orientation. Despite this, the experience of both BeLonG To and ICTU indicate that LGBT young adults can face significant discrimination in the Irish workplace.

Speaking at the launch, Michael Barron, Founding Director of BeLonG To, said:

Irish research has established that there is a serious problem with homophobia and transphobia in schools, leading to a devastating impact on the mental health of LGBT young people. LGBT young people have told BeLonG To that they face similar issues at work. These range from feeling silenced and excluded as staff in religiously maintained schools and hospitals as a result of Section 37.1, to losing jobs because of prejudice, to harassment and bullying at work. We are delighted to work with ICTU to bring the Stand Up! Don’t Stand for Homophobia or Transphobia campaign, which we have been running in schools for many years, into the workplace for the first time. In doing this we aim to empower even more young people to take a stand against homophobia and to make Ireland a safer and more equal place for all.

You can watch a video of the event here:

Panti Bliss video sends a Global IDAHOT message

BeLonG To also put together a video message with Panti Bliss, the famous drag artist, performer and activist from Ireland who reached thousands of people internationally with her successful anti-Homophobia speech of February 1, 2014. The video was released 9 days before the IDAHOT and highlights the importance of the day as well as the fight for LGBTQI rights in general.

You can find the video here.

Religious IDAHOT Services

Changing Attitude Ireland (C.A.I.), a Church of Ireland organisation with ecumenical friends arranged services in commemoration of IDAHOT in several cities in Ireland and Northern Ireland, including Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Waterford.

IDAHOT Service in Cork, 2014. Source: C.A.I.

Changing Attitude Ireland (C.A.I.) is a Church of Ireland organisation with ecumenical friends, heterosexual and gay, lay and ordained, working for the full affirmation of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) persons within the Churches in Ireland. C.A.I. is dedicated to celebrating and maintaining the traditional inclusivity and diversity of the Anglican Communion.

Online IDAHOT Forum

Front Line Defenders, together with the Irish LGBTI organization Gay and Lesbian Equality Network (GLEN), hosted a live Web Forum with leading LGBTI rights defenders from India, Russia, Uganda and Peru on Friday 16 May. The forum discussed recent legislative efforts to restrict LGBTI rights in those countries and explore the risks that human rights defenders (HRDs) face in their work to combat homophobia.

The panel featured:

• Clare Byarugaba, Coordinator of the Civil Society Coalition on Human Rights and Constitutional Law in Kampala, Uganda, and a 2012 recipient of a US Department of State Human Rights Defender Award.
• Sonal Giani, Advocacy Manager at the Humsafar Trust in Mumbai, India, who works on the ground dealing with crisis situations facing the LGBTI community.
• Jorge Alberto Chávez Reyes, President of MHOL, Movimento Homosexual de Lima, Peru, the oldest LGBTI organisation in South America.
• Manny de Guerre, Founder of the Side by Side Lesbian and Gay International Film Festival, based in St. Petersburg, Russia, which has come under attack since it started in 2008.

You can watch a video of the IDAHOT Forum here.

Freedom of Expression event in Dublin

The LGBTQ Network of the trade union SIPTU, marked the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia with a Freedom of Expression focused event which took place on May 16 at the Liberty Hall Theatre in Dublin. The event was focused on making noise against Homophobia and Transphobia and celebrating IDAHOT. It included guest speakers from INTO LGBT Teachers’ Group (on #Section37), and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (on equality in the workplace), as well as music from various artists, slam-poetry from Julie Goo, comedy from Breda Larkin and a *One Minute Noise Memoriam*.

Freedom of Expression event in Dublin. Source: SIPTU LGBTQ Network

IDAHOT 2014 in Galway

Joining Amnesty International Galway and Amach LGBT in celebrating IDAHO, G-Bar in Galway hosted an evening of music by Lunatic Spoons, Grounds for Invasion, Steven Sharpe and Tara Stacey, as well as a fundraising raffle for the Amach LGBT Resource Centre Project in Galway. Before the event, the local Amnesty group and Amach LGBT held a bake sale in commemoration of IDAHOT.

IDAHOT Event at G-Bar, Galway. Source: Amnesty International Galway

IDAHOT 2014 in Galway Ireland.

Activists from Amnesty join local LGBTI groups in Galway Ireland for May 17 2014.