The State Department’s annual human rights report has highlighted the pervasive abuse of LGBTQ+ and intersex individuals around the world. The report draws attention to a range of practices, from so-called “conversion therapy” to harmful medical procedures performed on infants and children born with physical sex characteristics that did not align with typical male or female bodies. The report also notes instances of forced marriages, exorcisms, physical and psychological violence, and detainment of LGBTQ+ and intersex individuals.
In Kenya, LGBTQ+ and intersex rights groups have reported an increase in conversion therapy and “corrective rape” practices. Meanwhile, in Brazil, the report cites many reports of conversion attempts conducted or recommended by evangelical and Catholic churches, despite the country having banned conversion therapy.
The report also highlights cases of physical abuse and forced prayer as part of “treatment” for homosexuality, such as in the case of Magomed Askhabov from the Russian republic of Dagestan. It notes police conducting involuntary physical exams of transgender or intersex persons in Russia, and medical specialists often pressuring intersex individuals into having “normalization” surgery without providing accurate information about the procedure or what being intersex means.
The report indicates that Afghan culture insists on compulsory heterosexuality, leading to LGBTQ+ and intersex individuals acquiescing to life-altering decisions made by family members or society. It also notes social, cultural, and religious intolerance in Kiribati that leads to recurrent attempts to “convert” LGBTQ+ individuals through community pressures.
While the report highlights advances in LGBTQ+ and intersex rights in certain countries, such as decriminalizing consensual same-sex sexual relations in Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, St. Kitts and Nevis, and Singapore, it also underscores significant human rights issues, such as violence against LGBTQ+ and intersex individuals in Chile, Cuba, and Switzerland.
The report concludes with a reminder that human rights are universal and apply to everyone, everywhere. This sentiment echoes President Joe Biden’s sweeping executive order signed last June that promised to promote LGBTQ+ and intersex rights abroad. While the report sheds light on the pervasive abuse of LGBTQ+ and intersex individuals around the world, lawmakers in Uganda on Tuesday approved a bill that would further criminalize LGBTQ+ and intersex people in the country. Consensual same-sex sexual relations remain criminalized in dozens of other countries worldwide.
The release of the report also coincides with Republican efforts to curtail LGBTQ+ rights in states across the U.S., and activists in Ukraine have expressed concerns that LGBTQ+ and intersex people who lived in Russia-controlled areas feared Russian soldiers would target them because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Overall, the report serves as a reminder that despite some progress, LGBTQ+ and intersex individuals continue to face pervasive abuse and discrimination around the world.