He International Day against Discrimination based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (also known as International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia) is celebrated every may 17th.
From Grow – Gender and Work, We want to recover this anniversary in a context where the echoes of hate speech become audible and claim dreams and lives, remembering the importance of going beyond tolerance as an abstract value, to commit ourselves to inclusive policies from respect and celebration of sexual and gender diversities.
Much more than an anniversary
The anniversary was established in 2004 to commemorate, mainly, the removal of homosexuality from the list of mental illnesses by the General Assembly of the World Health Organization (WHO)an event that took place on May 17, 1990.
Also on this day the depathologization of gender identity is claimed of transgender and transsexual people. Since then, more than 130 countries have joined this commemoration with the objective of coordinating all types of actions that serve to report discrimination, violence and harassment of which homosexual, bisexual, transgender and transsexual people are victims, and to promote their rights throughout the world
These advances respond to a long history of visibility, production of evidence and incidence, by the activism of sex-gender diversities and dissidencewho has fought to stop their sexual orientations and gender identities from being treated as diseases, with the discrimination and exclusions derived from this stigmatizing conception of diversity.
It is important to note that, although 34 years have passed since that measure taken by the United Nations, the tradition of exclusion, discrimination and violence against these populations has left its traces and biases, and continues to nourish hate speech and discriminatory practices, which are essential to question and eradicate. He attack against four lesbians in the Barracas neighborhood of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, on May 6, when a neighbor threw a Molotov cocktail into the hotel room where they were staying precariously, it claimed the lives of three of them and reminds us in a heartbreaking way , that institutional norms and measures must be accompanied by permanent cultural change policies.
In times where violent speeches are propagated from positions of authority, where policies against discrimination are designated as censorship of free expression, and the institutionality of gender policies is dismantled, it is essential to remember that without respect for diversity and identity , it is not possible to talk about freedom.
Beyond tolerance: respect and celebration.
Without needing to refer to its most cruel and extreme expressions, it is necessary to remember that, although Violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity often occur in a subtle way; they function as foundations on which other types of more serious violence are built and endorsed.
According to data from Bumeran, Grow-gender and work, ELA, Fundación Avon and Nodos (2020), comments, sexist jokes and jokes contribute to workplace inequality. The numbers reflect that 44% of people with LGTBIQ+ sexual-affective orientation have experienced unequal treatment in their jobs in relation to other heteronormative identities. In turn, almost 2 out of every 10 people in the TQ+ group received some inappropriate comment about their gender identity and 24% of LGB+ people received comments about their sexual orientation that made them uncomfortable.
In this date, We consider it necessary to insist on the need for institutional, organizational and work spaces to move forward decisively in promoting the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion agenda.. At Grow – gender and work, we are here to accompany and advise you in the development of diagnoses, action plans, awareness, training and approach, generating work spaces free of violence and discrimination, which results in greater creativity, openness, innovation, retention of talents, opportunities for growth and even profitability.
It is not just about tolerating difference, but about respect and celebrate the diversities that enrich and empower us. May this anniversary be a new push to build the organizations we need, to inhabit the world we want.
Grow masculinities area coordinator – gender and work
Source: Ambito
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