In July 2013, the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) launched a global public information campaign promoting equal rights and fair treatment of gender and sexual minorities (GSM). Through its use of traditional and social media, the Free and Equal Campaign has reached an estimated 2 billion people. The campaign focuses on 25 countries around the world with support from the UN and non-UN partners at the country level. Celebrities, governments and other organizations have endorsed the campaign.
Why A GSM Campaign?
Consensual same-sex relationships are criminalized in over a third of the world’s countries. Facing discrimination in many societal segments, GSM people are at risk of blackmail, arrest and imprisonment. Many workers are fired from jobs, patients are denied essential healthcare and students are bullied and even expelled from schools.
The Free and Equal Campaign aims to raise awareness and start conversations about GSM rights through videos, graphics, fact sheets and memes. A video clip named “The Welcome” ranks among the most watched videos ever produced by the U.N.The campaign has launched various mini-campaigns including the Culture of Love, End Bullying and Intersex Awareness.
Culture of Love Campaign
The Culture of Love campaign was launched in May 2017 and features three short videos that guides viewers to consider a society where cultural and traditional norms are free from GSM discrimination. In the name of tradition, many violations of human rights such as child marriage, marital rape and intersex and female genital mutilation have been defended. The Free and Equal Campaign is encouraging cultural and traditional attitudes and actions that foster greater unity, respect and understanding.
End Bullying Campaign
The End Bullying campaign launched in March 2017 and offers advice for parents, teachers, peers and governments on ways to prevent and stop bullying against GSM people. UNESCO reports children and young people in every part of the world are at heightened risk for verbal and physical abuse for not fitting gender stereotypes, which can have damaging impacts on their school performance and health. GSM students experiencing discrimination are more likely to skip or drop out of school and are at higher risk of anxiety, depression, and self-harm.
Intersex Awareness Campaign
The Intersex Awareness campaign focuses on raising awareness of and protecting intersex children: those who are born with sex characteristics that are not typically male or female. Up to 1.7 percent of all babies are born intersex, which is as common as being a redhead. According to the campaign, in many countries intersex children are subjected to repeated and medically unnecessary surgeries and treatments. In the attempt to change their sex characteristics and appearance, physical, psychological and emotional pain can be the end result. Some go on to experience lifelong pain, infertility, incontinence and mental pain. The Intersex Awareness campaign shares insight to parents and governments on how to raise an intersex child and provides training to health professionals on what measures are and are not necessary for intersex children.
How Can This Campaign Help End Global Poverty?
These mini-campaigns, as well as the greater Free and Equal Campaign, can serve as catalysts to help reduce discrimination and global poverty. If GSM people no longer face barriers from discrimination, they may have greater access to education, employment and healthcare–all factors that will help reduce poverty, creating opportunities for more people to contribute to society and the economy.
– Phoebe Cohen
Photo: Flickr