May 17 is International Day Against Homophobia Biphobia Transphobia
(Photo Credits: Ministerio Secretaría General de Gobierno [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons)
Today marks the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia (IDAHOTB) 2018. The day was first celebrated on May 17, 2005.
But why celebrate IDAHOTB during this particular date though and not on any other dates?
Reportedly, May 17 was chosen because it was way back on May 17, 1990 when homosexuality was finally declassified as a mental disorder by the World Health Organization (WHO). The aim of IDAHOTB is to “draw the attention of policymakers, opinion leaders, social movements, the public and the media to the violence and discrimination experienced by LGBTI people internationally.”
Today, International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia is celebrated all throughout at least 130 countries. But how do the countries celebrate this day you ask. Well, in South Africa for example, the Justice and Constitutional Development Department, The Foundation for Human Rights, and the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) are having a workshop on “how various organisations and NGOs deal with LGBTI-related crimes and stigma.” Meanwhile, in Canada, the day is celebrated all throughout the country; there are flag raising events, events that focus on international LGBT rights, events that emphasizes on LGBTI security and inclusion to name a few.
Is International Day Against Homophobia Biphobia Transphobia still relevant? Of course it is! We hear news about violent attacks against LGBTI people daily; there’s also a massive LGBTI crackdown in countries such as Tanzania, Egypt, Chechnya, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Turkey, and Indonesia; and we all know the entire world could use more policies that support the rights of LGBTI people.
To read more about IDAHOTB, why it matters, what the celebration has accomplished so far around the world and why we still need it, read about all these here.
Anyway, how does your country celebrate International Day Against Homophobia Biphobia Transphobia? Share with us your thoughts and stories in the comments section below.
That being said, Happy May 17, guys!
I hate having multiple things linked together and the never-ending adding of more letters. I do not like the trans “movement” or whatever you want to call it, but it is hardly a phobia. Few people have phobias about gay, bi or trans. It’s a totally inappropriate term. Dislike, distaste, hatred…assuming that those thoughts are based on fear is wrong, it’s a projection onto others, a labeling, and that’s inaccurate and insulting.
I do wish the Grammar Police would crack down on such wrong word use. It’s not phobia. They’re not afraid of us. They hate us, plain and simple.
We shouldn’t take our progress in society for granted, we still have a ways to go. A gay couple holding hands were recently attacked by a group of 4 young men in Miami Beach (of all places) in April after a pride parade. It didn’t seem to get much attention in the news, Dave can you speak on this??
this is old news
NEXT topic….possibly non-activist??
Although I don’t know if we needed a particular date to protest homophobia, at least we should be proud that today, we at least can hold hands in public, give each other a kiss, as it’s become more acceptable to be gay and show our affection. There are still a lot of gay bashers and haters, and coming out to family and friends is not easy and many times hidden or impossible. Still today, come out at work, and you may lose your job, even with all the discriminations laws in place. Society at least is making progress in the gay acceptance area.
Agreed Bill. Society IS making progress. All too often, however, the “Community” won’t acknowledge it. Militant gays resist discussing it.
This past week, USA Today published a story about Alex Valvo, and openly gay referee in collegiate hockey. In the article, “He says he came to his truth at Canisius College, a Jesuit school in Buffalo. ‘One would think that attending a Catholic school would drive me even further into the closet,’” Valvo wrote in Outsports. ‘In fact it did the opposite. In my four years at Canisius I was exposed to a world I never got to experience at my rural high school. I met people who were openly gay and proud of it.’”
He has been accepted in collegiate hockey. And he experienced gays at a Catholic college, of all places. Certainly, remarkable steps for society. Yes, discrimination still exists in many parts of the word. But it has been and continues to be erased in others.