tag:theconversation.com,2011:/africa/topics/sexual-minorities-29211/articlesSexual minorities – The Conversation2022-09-22T12:40:05Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1896192022-09-22T12:40:05Z2022-09-22T12:40:05Z‘Men who have sex with men’ originated during the HIV pandemic to focus on behavior rather than identity – but not everyone thinks the term helps<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485710/original/file-20220920-14360-lngmmg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C2121%2C1412&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The monkeypox pandemic has seen an increase in the use of the term "men who have sex with men."</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/rear-view-of-gay-couple-on-lookout-above-the-city-royalty-free-image/1195433903">Westend61/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Since the <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/08/05/1116036167/talking-about-monkeypox-effectively-without-stigmatizing-men-who-have-sex-with-m">global monkeypox outbreak</a> started to spread this past spring, more people are seeing the term “men who have sex with men,” or MSM, in the news and public health messages. You may have also heard this term in places like HIV prevention campaigns or at the doctor’s office.</p>
<p>I am a <a href="https://cph.osu.edu/people/jricks">behavioral scientist</a> who focuses on reducing health disparities and improving health equity for sexual and gender minority populations at highest risk for poor outcomes. At the most basic level, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499009551551">men who have sex with men</a> is a term that was originally intended to describe the risk of HIV transmission associated with sex between two men. But in reality, MSM describes a diverse group of behaviors and identities, bringing with it a complex web of social, political and cultural considerations about how it’s used.</p>
<h2>Why use MSM?</h2>
<p>HIV researchers have used the term “men who have sex with men” <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01326525">since at least 1988</a> as a way to describe a particular type of sexual behavior that may affect health.</p>
<p>The acronym MSM, however, was <a href="https://doi.org/10.1902/jop.1994.65.5.393">introduced in 1994 as a new concept</a> by some researchers and community advocates in response to public health research and prevention efforts early in the HIV/AIDS pandemic. These efforts almost exclusively targeted men based on their sexual identity as gay. Community advocates <a href="https://prideindex.com/in-touch-with-cleo-manago/">criticized this approach</a> for excluding Black and Latino men who have sex with men who were affected by the pandemic but did not identify as gay, homosexual or bisexual. MSM was considered to be a more inclusive, less stigmatizing term that could be used to reach a broader range of people.</p>
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<span class="caption">During the AIDS epidemic, new terminology arose to focus research and public health interventions on behavior rather than identity.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/AIDSDiscriminationProtest/96ceaffa64224626b88eae3bd88e7503">AP Photo/Rick Maiman</a></span>
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<p>From a scientific perspective, using an identity-free term like MSM allows medical providers and public health practitioners to bypass the complexities of the social, cultural and political context of sexual orientation. Instead, they can then focus on the behavior that might put someone at risk for an infection such as HIV or monkeypox. This approach is <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16080458/">intended to help</a> increase the likelihood of screening, diagnosing and treating those at the greatest risk.</p>
<p>Prevention strategies that target people based on “what you do” rather than “who you are” reach more people who may be affected by a public health concern, including heterosexual men who have sex with men, rather than limiting outreach just to those who identify as gay or bisexual. They offer a larger number of men the opportunity to understand their risk and take the steps necessary for protection or treatment. They also help <a href="https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2004.046714">decrease stigma</a> for those who identify as gay or bisexual.</p>
<h2>Limitations of MSM</h2>
<p>Despite its usefulness in some contexts, the term MSM has been hotly debated by scholars and community advocates since it was coined. <a href="https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2004.046714">Disagreement</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2020.305870">on its use</a> is usually grounded in three arguments.</p>
<p>The first is that the term is ambiguous. Some researchers argue that distilling MSM down to “sex between two men” is too simplistic. For one, there are a number of nuances and factors that <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/group/msm/msm-content/prevention-challenges.html">influence the amount of risk</a> associated with sex between two men, such as how sex is performed and who and how many partners are in their sexual network. There is also confusion about how frequently or recently someone must have sex in order to be considered MSM. And there is <a href="https://doi.org/10.7448/IAS.19.3.20779">no consensus</a> about whether transgender men who have sex with men should be considered MSM. </p>
<p>The second critique is that the term <a href="https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2004.046714">undermines the identities</a> of sexual minority group members, particularly people of color. Many public health researchers use MSM as a neutral term to push back against the idea that there is only one legitimate gay identity. However, some have criticized the term for erasing other sexual identities such as queer, two-spirited and same-gender loving by being the default term used in research, despite participants describing themselves as otherwise.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">While HIV cases are largely decreasing across the U.S., high infection rates remain in Southern states.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Finally, the third argument is that the term conceals the social, political and cultural dimensions of health important for public health research and intervention. One of the greatest advantages of MSM is that it is grounded in tangible behaviors that researchers can target for health promotion and prevention efforts. But sexual health is influenced by a constellation of factors, and focusing on behavior alone is often not enough to completely protect against illness. </p>
<p>Beyond sexual behavior, <a href="https://doi.org/10.17226/25877">discrimination and social marginalization</a> put sexual minorities at significant risk of poor health outcomes. These can take the form of structural factors, such as anti-gay legislation, and community factors, such as discrimination and stigma. Interpersonal factors like relationship abuse and individual factors like internalized stigma also play a role. These factors <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mhp.2016.10.002">increase the risk of mental illness</a>, such as depression and suicidal thoughts, as well as risky health behaviors, such as sex without a condom or while under the influence of drugs.</p>
<p>Almost 30 years since it was introduced, the term MSM is becoming increasingly ubiquitous in both medical and public health spaces. But it does have limitations. Considering the sociopolitical context of whether MSM should be used, rather than using it by default, can help support the self-determination of those who belong to historically marginalized communities.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/189619/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>JaNelle Ricks does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The term ‘MSM’ allows public health interventions to gloss over the social, political and cultural complexities of identity. But it’s not without its limitations.JaNelle Ricks, Assistant Professor of Health Behavior and Health Promotion, The Ohio State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1240292019-10-23T10:25:55Z2019-10-23T10:25:55ZSexual minority women face barriers to health care<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298259/original/file-20191023-119438-1org9bm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=44%2C0%2C4928%2C3268&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Our systematic review found that sexual minority women experience worse treatment in the healthcare system.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/woman-patient-waiting-hospital-doctors-room-796833799?src=5-RbpM-2l4vXw-zkH4mtZA-2-1">Roman Kosolapov/ Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Stigma and discrimination are common experiences that people who identify as LGBT or sexual minority face when accessing health services. <a href="https://www.stonewall.org.uk/lgbt-britain-health">One report found</a> that one in seven LGBT people in the UK avoided seeking healthcare for fear of discrimination from staff. As many as one in four also experienced negative remarks against LGBT people from healthcare staff. </p>
<p>My colleagues and I <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/17/3032/htm">recently conducted a systematic review</a> which looked at the experiences of sexual minority women who had accessed UK health services. We defined “sexual minority” women as those who identified as lesbian or bisexual, women who have sex with other women, or live with or are married to another woman. This includes transgender women who identify as sexual minority as well as cisgender women. </p>
<p>We overwhelmingly found that women who identify as sexual minority experienced worse treatment in the healthcare system. We also found evidence that sexual minority women had worse health and well-being than heterosexual women, and tend to have worse health behaviours such as higher rates of smoking and drinking alcohol. </p>
<h2>Barriers to healthcare</h2>
<p>We looked at 26 studies conducted between 2010 and 2018. The size of these studies varied from extremely large (over a million respondents), to very small (such as a single lesbian response in a larger academic study). The health services that were accessed in these studies included general practice, cancer screening, midwifery, mental health, sexual health, dementia and hospice care.</p>
<p>Nine of the surveys we looked at showed sexual minority women had worse experiences than heterosexual women when accessing healthcare. Fewer sexual minority women had trust or confidence in their GP. They were also less likely to visit their GP than heterosexual women. Some also found their sexual orientation or their partner was ignored during appointments.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-lgbt-survey-summary-report">One large survey</a> with 108,000 responses showed cisgender sexual minority women had widespread difficulties in accessing health services, particularly mental and sexual health services. </p>
<p>Similarly, <a href="http://eprints.qut.edu.au/65501/1/LGF_Final_Report3.pdf">another study</a> showed that fewer sexual minority women were accessing cervical screening services than they should. Fewer than 50% had had a test in the previous three years. Some had even been told that they didn’t need a cervical screening test because they were lesbian, and others had been actively refused or discouraged by healthcare professionals from taking one. </p>
<p>However, some sexual minority women may be at more, rather than less, risk of cervical cancer than heterosexual women. Some bisexual women might be more likely to engage in <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1874216/">risky heterosexual behaviour</a>, such as having sex without contraception. There is also a <a href="https://obgyn.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1471-0528.14449">higher rate of teenage pregnancy</a> in sexual minority women.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-pregnancy-can-be-made-more-difficult-by-maternity-cares-notions-of-normal-117223">How pregnancy can be made more difficult by maternity care's notions of 'normal'</a>
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<p>We also found that many sexual minority women felt that health environments didn’t include them. Many were assumed to be heterosexual by healthcare practitioners. Others faced issues around whether to come out or not, and many received unhelpful responses from health professionals about being out. </p>
<p>There was also a general lack of LGBT-related images displayed in GP offices – such as same-sex couples on public health leaflets or information specific to sexual minorities. We even found reports of LGBT specific leaflets being actively removed from waiting areas. Official forms also didn’t include civil partnership status, despite it being legalised in 2013.</p>
<p>Some good practice was reported, but poor service was common, and came from a variety of healthcare staff including receptionists, nurses and doctors. We found there was general ignorance by healthcare staff of relevant issues, such as not being aware that HIV infection is rare in sexual minority women, and mistakes such as confusing the medical history of one partner in a same sex relationship with the other partner. Many also faced difficulties when challenging or complaining about the poor service they received. </p>
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<span class="caption">Negative experiences in healthcare settings led many sexual minority women to avoid the GP altogether.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/female-patient-visits-woman-doctor-gynecologist-1378987130?src=bL5NRdHStrPGKZuX8jvdAA-4-89">Blue Planet Studio/ Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Assumed heterosexuality and negative responses were described during cervical screening. Nurses typically asked about contraception, resulting either in the participant coming out during the procedure with risk of rejection, or incorrect assumptions being made. Women reported health professionals gasping, physically recoiling or giving inappropriate lectures. These negative experiences inevitably resulted in delayed attempts to access healthcare or being less able to receive a good quality service. Challenging and complaining were rarely reported for a variety of reasons, including the worry that it might lead to bad treatment.</p>
<p>There was also little information available about bisexual and transwomen’s issues in healthcare settings. Bisexual women often felt their bisexuality was invisible, and were assumed to be lesbian if in a same-sex relationship. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19708866">In one study</a>, a bisexual woman reported her counsellor actively denied her bisexuality and wanted her to realise she was heterosexual. </p>
<p>For lesbian and bisexual transwomen, a key issue was to be treated as a woman while receiving healthcare. In <a href="https://nationallgbtpartnershipdotorg.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/lbwsw-report-final.pdf">one report</a>, a transwoman reported waking up on the male ward after surgery.</p>
<p>It’s clear that a lot of work still needs to be done within healthcare services to ensure that sexual minorities receive the care that they need. More explicit, consistent education by healthcare professionals on sexual minority issues is necessary, alongside stronger application of non-discrimination policies in clinical settings. Thankfully, programmes like the <a href="https://www.evelinalondon.nhs.uk/about-us/who-we-are/NHS-Rainbow-Badges.aspx">rainbow badge initiative</a> are positive steps which aim to promote inclusion and education within the healthcare system, and provide proper support to sexual minorities.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/124029/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Professor Catherine Meads is a member of the UK Government GEO LGBT Advisory Panel and of GLADD, the LGBT Association of Doctors and Dentists. </span></em></p>Health services are routinely falling short when it comes to providing care to lesbian, bisexual, trans and other sexual minority women.Catherine Meads, Professor of Health, Anglia Ruskin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1075542019-01-11T13:43:14Z2019-01-11T13:43:14ZThe mental health pros and cons of minority spaces in the workplace<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253244/original/file-20190110-43544-1rv1cc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/individuality-symbol-independent-thinker-concept-new-296280893?src=FCtxcJdHLZlN8CApf3W7Eg-1-9">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Many companies and organisations appear keen to support a more diverse workforce, where minority group members are made to feel welcome. One strategy involves creating special “spaces” at work, physical or otherwise, where minority employees can connect with each other. </p>
<p>Take Google for instance. They have several minority-focused <a href="https://diversity.google/commitments/">employee-based resource groups</a> (ERGs) including Gayglers, the Black Googlers Network and Hispanic Googlers Network. Other companies support similar groups, including at Netflix, Merck, Novartis, Intel and Comcast.</p>
<p>Similarly, some universities are working to support a more diverse student body by creating minority-focused spaces on campus. In the US for instance, the University of Connecticut has the <a href="https://lc.uconn.edu/schola2rshouse/">Scholastic House of Leaders who are African American Researchers & Scholars</a> (ScHOLA²RS). The University of Iowa has <a href="https://housing.uiowa.edu/communities/young-gifted-and-black">Young, Gifted and Black</a>, and UCLA has the <a href="https://reslife.ucla.edu/livinglearning/cl">Chicanx/Latinx living-learning community</a>.</p>
<p>As these minority-based spaces become more common, they also evoke <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/02/02/u-connecticut-creates-new-living-learning-center-black-male-students">heated debate</a>. While opponents see them as creating division and segregation, supporters see them as an important resource for minorities. So are they helpful? Or might they cause more harm than good?</p>
<p>To shed some light on this issue, we’ve been examining how the opportunity to connect with and feel valued among fellow minority group members can shape mental health with regard to anxiety, depression and psychological distress. In a series of studies looking at this among <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1368430216656922">racial/ethnic minorities</a> and <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ejsp.2292">sexual minorities</a>, we found a consistent and rather intriguing pattern of evidence.</p>
<p>Our findings indicate that while there are health benefits to feeling valued among minority group members, there can also be – perhaps counter-intuitively – some costs. This is partly because of the way that feeling valued within one’s minority group appears to promote vigilance to the various forms of discrimination that exist. </p>
<p>Specifically, we found that when minorities frequently feel valued and embraced by members of their own minority group, they maintain lower levels of anxiety and fewer symptoms of depression overall. A clear benefit.</p>
<h2>The costs of feeling valued</h2>
<p>But at the same time the evidence shows that when people feel highly valued in their minority group they also place a special premium on that group membership. It plays a central role in how they define themselves as an individual overall. </p>
<p>With that membership being so central to their sense of self, these individuals are more likely to view their daily social interactions through the lens of their minority group membership. This means they are more vigilant to, and thus perceive and experience, more discrimination. And ultimately, these more frequent experiences of discrimination translate into poorer mental health. </p>
<p>So altogether our research shows that, in addition to the benefits of feeling valued, there can be some inadvertent costs.</p>
<p>Overall, does feeling valued among minority group members cause more harm than good? In short, the answer is no. In all our studies we find the benefits of being valued in one’s minority group outweigh the costs. So, to be clear, this research consistently demonstrates that it is a good thing overall for minorities to feel valued and embraced by fellow minority group members. </p>
<h2>Reducing costs</h2>
<p>Google’s ERGs and universities’ minority-based communities are likely to provide important opportunities to experience a sense of value and respect among fellow group members. And, as our research indicates, this will almost certainly yield benefits for the health and well-being of minority employees and students.</p>
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<p>At the same time, these institutions should be aware that such spaces might yield some unanticipated consequences. They may heighten minorities’ vigilance to the forms of bias and discrimination that exist in the workplace or on campus, which can lead to stress and anxiety. </p>
<p>So what’s the solution? We believe additional steps can be taken to help minimise the health costs associated with these minority-focused spaces, while preserving the benefits they yield.</p>
<p>For example, let’s say a university’s living-learning communities do ultimately heighten minorities’ awareness of discrimination on campus. If the university also shows a true commitment to addressing that discrimination it could change a minority individual’s discrimination experience, in ways that lessen its health impact. Moreover, if an institution is actively working to address discrimination then over time it will hopefully reduce the amount that minorities encounter.</p>
<p>Considering that minorities often face discrimination and experience disproportionate rates of certain illnesses, the results of our work can seem rather sobering. Even something so intuitively positive – being valued by others – can sometimes be a double-edged sword.</p>
<p>But, double-edged or not, this sword is important to acknowledge. It provides us with a clearer understanding of the social and psychological determinants of minorities’ mental health – something we need if we are going to effectively address some of these persistent health disparities.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/107554/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christopher T. Begeny does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Strategies to support a diverse workforce can be beneficial – but may have unintended consequences.Christopher T. Begeny, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of ExeterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1019992018-09-17T09:25:31Z2018-09-17T09:25:31ZThere’s a problem with the LGBT rights movement – it’s limiting freedom<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/236196/original/file-20180913-177965-2to1sy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=34%2C29%2C3888%2C2502&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/rainbow-flag-lgbt-movement-on-sky-563925979?src=NKdZt6DFQyRIyp80v805Lg-1-15">Miroslav110/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Earlier this month, a colonial era law criminalising gay sex in India was declared <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-indian-judges-wrote-love-into-law-as-they-decriminalised-gay-sex-102810">unconstitutional</a>. The Supreme Court ruled that the law violated an individual’s rights to privacy, equality and dignity. </p>
<p>There is no doubt that persecuted sexual minorities have suffered the most egregious forms of discrimination, harassment and violence based on gender identity, sexual orientation or preference. They have been considered less human and at times even non-human. Their lives when lost, have often been thought unworthy of being mourned. The conferment of rights, therefore, brings about a recognition of humanity and humanness. Such a moment produces a catharsis born of decades of struggle, resistance and hardship.</p>
<p>While these judicial and legal victories are obviously to be lauded, such events also require a moment of reflection. Because although such human rights victories are beyond doubt cause for celebration, often this celebration can blind us to the potential of alternative paths of action. And this, <a href="https://www.e-elgar.com/shop/gender-alterity-and-human-rights">I think</a>, is true of all human rights causes. </p>
<p>There is a growing academic field of <a href="https://theconversation.com/do-we-need-human-rights-law-92242">criticism of the human rights agenda</a> that points to how the promise of freedom through human rights often remains unrealised. The accumulation of more rights has not necessarily resulted in more equality or more freedom, despite decades of activism and advocacy. </p>
<h2>Seeking the conventional</h2>
<p>In many countries where homosexuality has been decriminalised, LGBT advocacy has focused its attentions on the demand for same-sex marriage laws, legal adoption, parenthood, and further down that road, rights to divorce and custody. The global LGBT human rights movement, in other words, has directed its energies at legal inclusion and the bestowal of equal rights on stigmatised sexual groups. </p>
<p>This suggests that the end goal for all LGBT people remains the pursuit of aspirations sanctioned by a heterosexual regime. This implies that to feel treated as normal, equal, and to achieve a stable sense of social belonging, heterosexual norms are sought out. In this way, same-sex marriage becomes the ultimate validation of LGBT advocacy. </p>
<p>This urge for assimilation into arrangements such as marriage and the right to have children are, in some ways, problematic. These pursuits prompt several questions. Is it necessarily true, say, that these new rights have produced more freedom for all members of these once marginalised and maligned sexual minorities? I’m not so sure. Can true freedom and humanity be acquired through the mimicking of heterosexual lives? And do heterosexuals think their lives are worth mimicking, given how marriage has become increasingly unappealing and replaced by less formal arrangements?</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/236199/original/file-20180913-177956-tqa6nd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/236199/original/file-20180913-177956-tqa6nd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=433&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236199/original/file-20180913-177956-tqa6nd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=433&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236199/original/file-20180913-177956-tqa6nd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=433&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236199/original/file-20180913-177956-tqa6nd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=544&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236199/original/file-20180913-177956-tqa6nd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=544&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236199/original/file-20180913-177956-tqa6nd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=544&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Marriage may not be the answer for everyone.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/closeup-newlywed-gay-couple-dancing-on-699255889?src=Qse0iral4SoYnAtXe6Abaw-1-1">Rawpixel/Shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As Judith Butler <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bo7o2LYATDc">has mentioned</a>, these arrangements can, in fact, be experienced as violent for non-conforming genders and sexualities. She asks us to think about “how difficult it is for sissy boys or tomboys to function socially without being bullied, or without being teased, or without sometimes suffering threats of violence” because they are regarded as not normal or not conforming.</p>
<p>These dominant arrangements can also marginalise other histories and experiences of sexuality. For example, Ajaz Ahmed Bund, an LGBT activist in Kashmir (India), has <a href="https://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/the-interviews-blog/kashmiri-lgbt-movement-is-nascent-homophobia-in-islamic-society-is-more-cultural-and-less-religious/">described how</a> “same-sex dynamics of many varieties are an integral part of Islamic history and culture”. There is a rich archive of indigenous and non-liberal philosophical ways to live and be free in the world that are “not rooted in the Western European ideals”. We should have an understanding of human rights that is shaped by those ideals.</p>
<p>The struggle for gay rights has also been used to pinkwash other hidden agendas, including justifying military interventions and civilising missions, mostly targeting the non-West. In 2015, for example, the UN Security Council <a href="https://geneva.usmission.gov/2015/08/25/un-security-council-holds-inaugural-meeting-on-lgbt-issues/">met to discuss</a> the ongoing persecution of LGBT Syrians and Iraqis in ISIS held areas. The inaugural meeting was <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/08/25/lgbt-rights-un-security-council_n_8036098.html">applauded</a>, marking the first time in the council’s 70-year history it had acted in support of gay rights. Yet what is obscured by the haze of jubilation is how these rights were framed within the logic of security. This not only reinforces racial and cultural stereotypes – Islam more generally is projected as primitive and homophobic – but also in the process justifies violent military intervention.</p>
<h2>Radical freedom</h2>
<p>A closer scrutiny of human rights interventions, then, reveals how they not only incorporate LGBT people into a dominant sexual, gender and cultural order, but also can end up reinforcing a neo-imperial, racist and often militaristic project. In this view, human rights can be considered to be a regulatory and governance endeavour that produces a “tolerable homosexual” rather than a project that moves in the direction of lasting freedom or bringing about a radical transformation of the sexual order.</p>
<p>There is a need to reflect on other alternative modes of living. Exploring indigenous or unconventional ways of living that demonstrate the rich and varied ways in which marginalised religious, sexual and racial subgroups have lived and experienced freedom can provide human rights with a more expansive understanding of freedom. </p>
<p>Such alternatives might include the example of the 14th century female Sufi mystic and poet <a href="https://penguin.co.in/book/poetry/i-lalla/">Lal Ded</a>, who turned away from marriage and procreation to search for unconditional love and freedom through a spiritual quest. Or adherents of the Islamic veil, some of whom see the veil as integrally connected to an inner journey to greater self-awareness in all areas of life and piety. Such explorations open up the possibility of seeking freedom beyond the mainstream and keeping alive the promise of human rights as radical tools of transformation.</p>
<p>So while it remains crucial to celebrate the inclusion of LGBT people, and to affirm the terrain of rights acquired through activist heroism and sacrifice, it is equally critical to question the logic underlying the acquisition of such rights and its outcomes. When marriage, parenthood, and material success become the ultimate preoccupation, one is left wondering whether, somewhere along the way, freedom became a central casualty in the pursuit of these human rights.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/101999/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ratna Kapur does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Although human rights victories are beyond doubt cause for celebration, often we are blinded to the potential of alternative paths of action.Ratna Kapur, Visiting Professor of Law, Queen Mary University of LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/830652017-08-30T09:40:32Z2017-08-30T09:40:32ZLesbian, gay and bisexual teenagers at much greater risk of depression<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/183774/original/file-20170829-10409-ud6l9e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Mental health continues to be a problem among sexual minority teenagers.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/confirm/565387903?src=Dhrshfgl_Pf6wqjI6nmuSA-1-35&size=medium_jpg">Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Adolescence can be tough for young people, but it can be especially hard for teenagers who aren’t straight. Our <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0004867417713664">latest study</a> reveals that lesbian, gay and bisexual young people (LGB or “sexual minority youth”) have about three times the risk of being depressed compared with their heterosexual peers. </p>
<p>Our results are based on a meta-analysis of over 165,000 adolescents from eight countries, including the US, UK and New Zealand. Prior research in the field has focused on samples predominantly drawn from LGB community events and online sources – so-called convenience-based sampling. But studies using LGB events and related websites to obtain participants are more likely to be skewed towards certain demographic groups, such as males. </p>
<p>Because there is scant data available on transgender and intersex young people, we had to exclude these groups from our study. </p>
<p>When we compared the results of female sexual minority youth to male sexual minority youth, the results showed that the females were more likely to report being depressed. This difference was statistically significant, meaning the difference is larger than can reasonably be explained as a chance occurrence. This finding would suggest that much more needs to be done to address the mental health needs of young lesbian and bisexual females. </p>
<p>When LGB young people were compared to young people who are still questioning their own sexuality, the differences between the two groups were not significant. This suggests that those questioning their sexuality were still at risk of depression, but no more so than LGB young people.</p>
<h2>Age gap</h2>
<p>More than 20 countries have delivered <a href="http://www.pewforum.org/2017/08/08/gay-marriage-around-the-world-2013/">marriage equality legislation</a>. Also LGBT+ Pride events occur in many large cities, and there has been considerable social progress in terms of the legal rights of sexual minority people, especially in wealthy countries. It might be easy to assume that life should have got considerably better for LGB young people. But the social and legal progress that has been driven largely by adults does not necessarily result in the improved psychological well-being of sexual minority young people. </p>
<p>Given the continuing <a href="https://theconversation.com/fifty-years-of-gay-rights-but-some-in-the-british-media-are-peddling-the-same-homophobia-81465">negative portrayal</a> of sexual minority people, that <a href="https://theconversation.com/most-countries-score-an-f-on-our-lgbt-human-rights-report-card-78732">few countries fully protect the rights of LGB people</a>, and that young people can’t leave difficult social environments in the same way that adults can, it is not surprising that many LGB youth experience mistreatment. This can take the form of negative attitudes, actions and general ill will towards those who don’t identify as heterosexual. </p>
<p>These negative experiences are frequently internalised by LGB youth, meaning that anti bisexual and homosexual messages result in self-loathing. These internalised negative thoughts are particularly insidious because, to a large degree, they might not be conscious to the young person and can be continuously reinforced by a range of factors (such as negative media portrayals of LGB people). </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/183776/original/file-20170829-10454-1ez1o1l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/183776/original/file-20170829-10454-1ez1o1l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183776/original/file-20170829-10454-1ez1o1l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183776/original/file-20170829-10454-1ez1o1l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183776/original/file-20170829-10454-1ez1o1l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183776/original/file-20170829-10454-1ez1o1l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183776/original/file-20170829-10454-1ez1o1l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Positive attitudes need to start at school.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/confirm/672241627?src=X1StPfo6Z0wvy3OjTpqvuw-1-1&size=medium_jpg">Shawn Goldberg/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Fortunately, <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15374416.2014.958842">earlier</a> <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10964-008-9389-1">research</a> has shown that a young person’s environment can make a difference. For instance, in schools where there was a more positive environment towards LGB young people, they were less likely to experience depression. Studies reinforcing this message are useful, as they highlight that the poor mental health of sexual minority people is due to their environment and not something intrinsic to themselves.</p>
<p>We now know based on representative samples that depression is a major issue for sexual minority young people, and this is particularly so for lesbian and bisexual females. The next challenge is creating supportive environments devoid of harassment and other types of mistreatment for these teenagers.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/83065/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mathijs Lucassen does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Despite progress on LGBT rights, improved psychological well-being of sexual minority young people is yet to be seen.Mathijs Lucassen, Lecturer in Mental Health, The Open UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/783072017-06-13T02:58:12Z2017-06-13T02:58:12ZAre jokesters screwing up our data on gay teenagers?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/172766/original/file-20170607-29582-8vx74s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Should we trust what they say?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/group-teenagers-class-writing-exam-124813966?src=JCGEV5Q-nOHIOtVgW_GdlQ-1-0">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Teens are mischievous, not to be trusted. You’ve probably heard the trope before – maybe you even believe it yourself. But is the stereotype now warping our trust of scientific results? </p>
<p>Surveys can help researchers better understand the lives of teens, but skeptics argue that <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Scapegoat-Generation-Americas-War-Adolescents/dp/1567510809">youth are often dishonest</a> and that the results cannot be trusted. </p>
<p>This idea led into a study published a few years ago, which <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2014/jan/03/science/la-sci-sn-gay-youth-research-jokesters-20140102">called into question</a> over a decade of research on the health and well-being of lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) youth.</p>
<p>In a <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10508-017-0993-6">new study</a>, we challenged this idea with our own search for jokesters in this data. We discovered that more than 98 percent of youth told the truth on self-report surveys. We also found that LGB youth were not any more likely than heterosexual youth to provide mischievous responses.</p>
<h1>Questioning the data</h1>
<p><a href="http://www.cpc.unc.edu/projects/addhealth">The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health</a> (Add Health) is one of the largest U.S. studies following youth into adulthood. Add Health was the first national study in the U.S. to include questions identifying same-sex attracted youth and their disproportionate risk for poor mental health. </p>
<p>Because it was the only national study to include these data, it was instrumental for science about youth sexual development, and launched the current body of science that documents mental and behavioral health risk for gay youth. </p>
<p>The data were used in studies that were among the first to show that LGB teens are at greater risk for <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26772206">poor mental health, greater substance use, strained parental relationships and a lack of school belonging</a>. These experiences disproportionately undermine positive development for LGB youth.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10508-013-0219-5">controversial article</a>, published in 2014, argued that these findings may be the result of some number of youth responding mischievously to surveys about themselves.</p>
<p><a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.3102/0013189X14534297">Other studies</a> suggest that youth might intentionally misreport outlandish behaviors, like never having sex but being a parent to three children. Teens have claimed to have strange characteristics, like the lowest percentile for weight and the highest for height. Others falsely report their romantic attractions and sexual identities. All this could lead to biased results that overestimates problematic outcomes. </p>
<p>If some jokesters are pretending to be gay, their false reports would overestimate – or even invalidate – findings related to elevated risk for LGB youth. After the study claiming Add Health data may have been contaminated was published, we noticed that peer reviewers started to express skepticism of the data in other research articles on sexual minorities. </p>
<p>What’s more, the Add Health results have been important for establishing the need for policies and programs to support LGB youth. The comment on jokesters discouraged others from using or publishing the data, and thus from producing knowledge to inform programs, policies and practices to promote LGB youth health.</p>
<h1>Our study</h1>
<p>The argument that jokesters marred the Add Health data received quite a bit of scientific and media attention, but there have been no specific studies to test those assertions. </p>
<p>We <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/152822X06289161">used two</a> <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.3102/0013189X14534297">common measures</a> of mischievous reporting.</p>
<p>First, we compared teenagers’ responses to those of their parents, who were also questioned in Add Health. If we identified glaring inconsistencies – like being adopted or having a false limb – then those responses were flagged. </p>
<p>Second, we calculated the statistical likelihood of 10 low-frequency traits, such as having two or more pregnancies or children, or being involved in two or more stabbings or shootings in the past year. If there was an improbable number of these responses, then those youth were more likely to be mischievous. </p>
<p>Consistent with other <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.3102/0013189X11422112">prior studies</a> that investigate mischievous responding, we found that less than two percent of youth in the Add Health data could be classified as “mischievous.” And we found that same-sex attracted youth were no more or less likely than heterosexual youth to be mischievous.</p>
<p>More importantly, we tested whether accounting for mischief altered longstanding conclusions of LGB youth health and well-being. We did this by replicating previously identified health disparities between heterosexual and LGB youth and tested these differences with and without adjustments for youth’s mischief. Our findings indicated that the risks for LGB youth of poor mental health remained. </p>
<p>The implications of our findings for those who study the health and well-being of gay youth are critical. The evidence of important health disparities is real.</p>
<p>In today’s world, we are confronted with accusations of “fake news” and “alternative facts.” The facts about health risks for LGB youth are important – there are <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26772206">serious disparities</a> that continue to need attention from researchers, policymakers, educators and families.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/78307/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jessica Fish receives funding from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (F32AA023138).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephen Russell receives funding from NICHD, the New Ventures Fund, and the University of Texas at Austin.</span></em></p>Surveys can help researchers better understand the lives of teens, but skeptics argue that youth are often dishonest and that the results cannot be trusted.Jessica Fish, Assistant Professor, University of MarylandStephen Russell, Regents' Professor and Chair, Human Development and Family Sciences, The University of Texas at AustinLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/621122016-07-14T18:24:50Z2016-07-14T18:24:50ZSouth Africa’s vote against internet freedom tarnishes its global image<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/130364/original/image-20160713-12372-vvwa7i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Tshwane Executive Mayor Kgosientso Ramokgopa, surrounded by school pupils and officials, samples the metropole's free internet service.
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source"> Pretoria News/Masi Losi</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>South Africa has yet again sided with repressive regimes such as Russia, China and Saudi Arabia against progressive efforts by the United Nations (UN). This is counter to the spirit of the country’s enlightened <a href="http://www.gov.za/documents/constitution/Constitution-Republic-South-Africa-1996-1">constitution</a>.</p>
<p>This month the UN voted on a resolution for “the Promotion, Protection and Enjoyment of Human Rights on the <a href="http://sflc.in/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/A_HRC_32_L.20_English-OR-30-June.pdf">Internet</a>”. This was in response to a UN Special Rapporteur report on the promotion of <a href="https://www.aclu.org/report-un-special-rapporteur-frank-la-rue-right-freedom-opinion-and-expression">freedom of expression</a> on the internet.</p>
<p>The rapporteur examined various threats to free expression online, including the use of technological surveillance and the excessive use of defamation laws.</p>
<p>About 70 countries signed the resolution. They included Australia, Brazil, Haiti, Mexico, Nigeria, Sweden, Tunisia, Turkey and the US. South Africa was one of 15 states that voted against it. Others in this camp included Russia, China, India, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Venezuela, Cuba and the United Arab Emirates.</p>
<p>Since the <a href="http://overcomingapartheid.msu.edu/multimedia.php?id=65-259-18">advent of democracy</a> in South Africa and the country’s adoption of a globally celebrated constitution, its votes on human rights have been of particular significance, especially in the developing world. That the government would vote against rights enshrined in its own constitution – rights that were strenuously fought for – reflects a troubling cynicism and indifference to its human rights commitments.</p>
<h2>What the resolution seeks to achieve</h2>
<p>The resolution is designed to safeguard access to the internet as an important human right. It exhorts countries to provide and expand access to the internet. It also urges them not to disable internet access, even for political and security reasons. </p>
<p>The report recognises the vital role the internet plays in supporting the right to education. As such, it stresses the “need to address digital literacy and the digital divide” between and within countries. Specifically, it notes that enhancing access to the internet for women and girls will help reduce gender disparities. </p>
<p>The resolution encompassed several goals. These include:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>protecting the same rights online that people have offline, especially freedom of expression and privacy;</p></li>
<li><p>recognising the internet as “a driving force in accelerating progress”, including economic development;</p></li>
<li><p>preventing government harassment, including torture and imprisonment, for those who post controversial political opinions online;</p></li>
<li><p>requesting governments to investigate extrajudicial killings, attacks, intimidation, gender-based violence and other forms of abuse against those who post controversial material online;</p></li>
<li><p>condemning government measures that intentionally prevent or disrupt access to, or dissemination of, information online; and</p></li>
<li><p>requesting governments to address internet security concerns in line with their international human rights obligations.</p></li>
</ul>
<h2>South Africa’s objections</h2>
<p>South Africa’s reluctance to support the resolution was based on a <a href="http://www.fin24.com/Tech/News/why-sa-voted-against-internet-freedoms-at-the-un-20160705">few factors</a>, including that:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>South Africans are already guaranteed the right to freedom of opinion and expression in the constitution; </p></li>
<li><p>the exercise of this right is not absolute, specifically in a context in which South Africa is trying to overcome a flood of racist hate speech on the internet; and </p></li>
<li><p>the resolution fails to adequately address acts of hatred on the internet, including cyber-bullying.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>There are, of course, legitimate reasons for limiting freedom of expression.
These speak to South Africa’s traumatic history of apartheid and its legacies.</p>
<p>In an attempt to address these problems, the country has, for example, passed legislation against hate speech. Its Promotion of Equality and Prevention of <a href="http://www.justice.gov.za/legislation/acts/2000-004.pdf">Discrimination Act</a> specifically prohibits hate speech. Other laws with a bearing on free speech include those against child pornography or defamation. </p>
<p>Such restrictions are not unusual. Even the US, the bastion of the right to <a href="http://constitution.findlaw.com/amendment1.html">freedom of expression</a>, limits the right in the face of “fighting words” that may lead to violence. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/130363/original/image-20160713-12397-r81ps3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/130363/original/image-20160713-12397-r81ps3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=542&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130363/original/image-20160713-12397-r81ps3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=542&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130363/original/image-20160713-12397-r81ps3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=542&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130363/original/image-20160713-12397-r81ps3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=682&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130363/original/image-20160713-12397-r81ps3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=682&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130363/original/image-20160713-12397-r81ps3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=682&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Shutterstock.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The question is whether there should be any limitations on the right to freedom of expression online. If so, what considerations ought to be employed? </p>
<p>In other words, in balancing competing rights, which rights should prevail?</p>
<p>Current events in South Africa highlight the difficulty of balancing the right of freedom of expression with other rights. Examples include the much-publicised case of former KwaZulu-Natal realtor <a href="http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/its-just-the-facts-penny-sparrow-breaks-her-silence-20160104">Penny Sparrow</a>, who described black beach goers as monkeys on Facebook. Another involves Cape Town attorney <a href="http://mg.co.za/article/2016-05-03-twitter-erupts-after-matthew-theunissen-racist-rant-goes-viral">Matthew Theunissen</a>. He posted racist views in response to a decision by the sports minister to ban certain sports from hosting major events due to their lack of racial transformation.</p>
<p>In such cases, there is a need to balance people’s rights to equality, dignity and not to be subjected to racist hate speech against other people’s right to freedom of expression. In racially bruised South Africa, the former rights outweigh the latter. </p>
<p>Similarly, legitimate security concerns might pressure governments to curb certain kinds of internet speech if they threaten public safety. And the rights of children and their need for protection provide legitimate reasons for outlawing child pornography.</p>
<h2>Where South Africa got it wrong</h2>
<p>South Africa erred in voting against the resolution because its concerns are actually addressed by the resolution. </p>
<p>The resolution takes cognisance of Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of <a href="http://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/index.html">Human Rights</a> and the International Covenant on Civil and <a href="http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CCPR.aspx">Political Rights</a>. These provide for the consideration of other rights in promoting the right to freedom of expression. </p>
<p>Significantly, South Africa’s constitution provides that free speech is not protected when it advocates hatred based on race, ethnicity, <a href="http://www.justice.gov.za/legislation/constitution/SAConstitution-web-eng-02.pdf">gender and religion</a>. These limitations adequately address the government’s fears in relation to the UN resolution.</p>
<p>What is most disappointing about the South African response is the message it sends about its attitude to its human rights obligations. It also reflects negatively on the country’s standing as being committed to human rights. </p>
<p>South Africans should be concerned with the illiberal positions the government has taken at the UN over the past few years. These include its recent abstention from voting on the appointment of a UN Rapporteur for the protection of <a href="http://allafrica.com/stories/201607051071.html">sexual minorities</a>. Such actions diminish the aspirations espoused in the country’s <a href="http://www.constitutionalcourt.org.za/site/constitution/english-web/ch2.html">Bill of Rights</a>. South Africans deserve better.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/62112/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Penelope Andrews does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>That South Africa has voted against rights enshrined in its globally celebrated, progressive constitution suggests a troubling indifference to its human rights commitments.Penelope Andrews, Dean of Law and Professor, University of Cape TownLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.