By Jeroen Mimpen & Anita Vink, Jonge Democraten, The Netherlands
Lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transsexuals (LGBTs) are an oppressed minority in many societies, who face cultural, social, political and legal barriers to fully expressing themselves. One of the main liberal challenges for the 21st century is to fight homophobia and promote equal rights for all sexual orientations. This article elaborates on the current state of affairs in a number of countries and contemplates on the possibilities to address LGBT rights from an international perspective. Should we adhere to idealism or pragmatism, or can we combine both? And what means are most effective in addressing this issue? These and other questions are explored below.
The liberal position
From a liberal point of view, it is a shame that LGBT rights are still an issue in the world, since everyone has the right to be treated equally, as long as a person does not damage the general welfare or the wellbeing of others. Moreover, liberals have a strong belief in the right of every person to express and develop their identities to the fullest. The conviction of many authorities and governments that they can decide how the personal life of their citizens should be shaped, is an intolerable concept for any liberal thinker.
Liberals do not believe in suppressing their inner feelings, but in expressing and developing them in constructive dialogue with society. Liberal thinker John Stuart Mill described the human nature as follows in his On Liberty (1859). ”Human nature is not a machine to be built after a model, and set to do exactly the work prescribed for it, but a tree which requires to grow and develop itself on all sides, according to the tendency of the inward forces which make it a living thing. Such are the differences among human beings in their sources of pleasure, their susceptibilities of pain, and the operation on them of different physical and moral agencies, that unless there is a corresponding diversity in their modes of life, they neither obtain their fair share of happiness, nor grow up to the mental, moral, and aesthetic stature of which their nature is capable.” In other words, diversity in every sense should be cherished and stimulated, not suppressed or denied. Let us explore the state of LGBTs’ position in a number of societal contexts.
Liberal challenges in liberal countries
The Netherlands and the United States of America are both considered to be liberal societies, although quite different in the way they have shaped and developed their liberal ideas. The Dutch constitution supports the view that people should make their own decisions and cannot be discriminated on any grounds. Article 1 of the constitution clearly states: “No one should be the victim of discrimination for which reason what so ever.” Strangely, in the Netherlands gay marriage has only recently been made possible. And although the American Declaration of Independence says: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness,” President Bush has tried to change the Constitution to include an amendment stating that marriage should only be allowed between a man and a woman. Why is it that there are so many people who believe that they have the right to treat homosexuals differently from heterosexuals?
The Netherlands has made huge progress during the past 12 years. The ‘purple’, social-liberal, governments have drawn the lines, and homosexuals can now get married. But there is still a world to win for liberals and homosexuals. A new law has just this month been adopted by Parliament that also makes international adoption possible for gay couples. It also needs to be noted that the current Dutch Prime Minister has voted in opposition to gay marriage in parliament and is not willing or able to defend gay marriage internationally. Furthermore, the Dutch society is also characterised by aggression against homosexuals, which can be regularly read about in the papers. Even in liberal societies, homosexuals do not share the same rights as others. Although legally speaking rights have improved significantly in past years, a culture of equality still needs to be fostered.
Eastern Europe
Looking at other parts of Europe, challenges are quite immense. One example is the recent member of the European Union, Poland, were discriminatory measures are being proposed by the Secretary of the State and accepted by a large part of the democratically elected government. They claim that homosexuals should not be teaching young children, that they are as dangerous as paedophiles and that homosexual workers should not be open about their sexual orientation. A demonstration for LGBT rights is a touchy subject, and gay marriage, or the possibility for homosexuals to adopt children is out of the question. Homosexuality is indeed a taboo issue in Poland – as it was in The Netherlands in the 1950s and 1960s. In Poland, homosexuality is not uncommonly seen as an ‘illness from which the patient should be cured,’ through hormonal therapy. In The Netherlands again, such a medical ‘cure’ was promoted - though as a vanishing, highly controversial viewpoint - in the 1980s. But still, because Poland is a member of the European Union, there is the European Parliament and the European Court of Human Rights to put an end to these practices if these beliefs lead to real discrimination in the lives of the citizens of Poland. Although the European Court of Human Rights gives every country a certain freedom to choose which measures to take, they are obliged to take appropriate measures. It seems a worrisome development, though, that the new draft EU treaty – which still needs to be developed in detail – denotes family values as national responsibility.
Although the legal path is still one of the options, a change in beliefs and culture will not be easily accomplished by legal action. Therefore, other actions should be considered. The recent peaceful demonstration in Russia for instance can be considered one of the most popular and visible actions to take. The demonstrations resulted, however, in violence by homophobic activists as well as the Russian police arresting the wrong people in the turmoil. Although any peaceful activism should be initially encouraged, one could wonder if this particular initiative is most effective and beneficial for the Russian gays and lesbians, since some have spoken against the demonstration because it would only increase polarization and homophobic activism.
“My mother took me to a psychiatrist”
If you look outside the borders of the European Union, there are other, maybe even more severe problems. In many countries in Africa it is normal, just like in Poland, to believe that homosexuality is an ‘illness from which the patient should be cured’. But there is no European Parliament or Court to tell them that they are wrong, and changes are unlikely to take place. The problem in that area is that religion is of great importance, and, sadly, many religions in the world proclaim that homosexuality is a deed of violation against nature.
Social pressure and family relations are of key importance here. Many African LGBTs do not dare to come out and express their sexuality because of a severe fear to be ignored, beaten up or pushed away by their own family and/or friends. They see no other option than to keep their sexual orientation to themselves or proceed with pursuing or exploring their sexuality underground. Pauline Kimani, a 21-year old lesbian from Kenya, for instance, explained on the Dutch Africa Day that homosexuals still have a long way to go in Africa. Her mother took her to a psychiatrist when she told her about her feelings at the age of 13. Her mother thought that she was ill. Kimani’s organisation, Minority Women in Action as member organisation of the Gay and Lesbian Coalition of Kenya (GALCK), only has 50 members, and just 2 of them have already been through the process of coming out. Not even the members of the organised gay and lesbian society dare to express themselves in public freely. Furthermore, Minority Women in Action has no official status as LGBT organisation but has been registered as women’s organisation. Although the emergence of LGBT organisations and a national network is a positive development, cultural and legal barriers hardly permit any freedom of action. Unfortunately, the case of Kenya is no exception in Africa.
The options at hand
It is no easy task to promote liberal values and LGBT rights in the societal contexts described above. Cultural, conservative and excluding values and practices are very often deeply rooted in society’s beliefs. Although international efforts can play a key role in stimulating debate and development, it might not be very wise to barge into any country and start protesting for improved LGBT rights. National LGBT platforms, international NGOs, single politicians and Human Rights movements can cooperate in supporting local LGBT organisations – especially in countries where they are legally forbidden – and providing international platform to exchange experiences and encourage each other to keep fighting for a universal right to express one’s sexuality. Although the legal route can be a legitimate and effective one in some cases, in other cases this possibility might not exist or might be counterproductive.
We should therefore proceed with an integrated international approach in which capacity building of local organisations is a central strategy. Local organisations are best aware of the local situation and can therefore best predict which strategies work best and which possibly counterproductive consequences certain measures might have. These organisations can be stimulated by providing funds for local activities and by facilitating exchange of experience though international and national networks. Furthermore, LGBT rights should not only be an urgent matter of LGBT organisations, but should be one of the central elements of a large range of Human Rights organisations, social en cultural organisations, and liberal political parties. By combining efforts of local organisations – if necessary helped by an active and encouraging international community – the promotion of LGBT rights can be best stimulated. In this way, we remain idealists, but approach the issue in the most effective and pragmatic way. But what should we do, as international community of young liberals? Firstly, we should engage more in dialogue among our member organisations to promote discussion and advance the LGBT agenda. Secondly, we should lobby and advocate to place LGBT rights high on the agenda of international NGOs and support agencies, whilst not forgetting the issue of ownership. And finally, we should give the good example in our own countries, since in no country LGBTs are fully accepted, not even in the most liberal societies.
Jeroen Mimpen is Interim International Officer & Vice-President of Dutch political youth organisation Jonge Democraten and Knowledge Officer at Dutch development NGO Hivos, the Humanist Institute for Cooperation with Developing Countries.
Anita Vink is former HR Officer of Jonge Democraten, works at the financial department of a fundraising organization and studies Labour Law.
Jeroen Mimpen
Interim International Officer
Jonge Democraten
P.O. Box 660
NL-2501 CR The Hague
The Netherlands
Tel.: + 31 6 166 562 24
E-mail: jeroen.mimpen@jongedemocraten.nl
Website: www.jongedemocraten.nl