LGBT/HIV Quote (India) from US State Dept Report on Global Human Rights

[Guest guest]

Dear Friends,

This quoted below is the Segment from the US state Dept Global Human Rights

Report, that pertains to the LGBT/HIV situation in India. It quotes the NACO

Policy, the 377 case, the Karnataka arrests, the UNDP Launda Dancers report, and

the Sanju Behara case. The report can be accessed at the following URL:

http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2008/sca/119134.htm

Full report can be accessed at the following URL:

http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2008/index.htm

And the relevant portion is pasted below:

Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination

The law punishes acts of sodomy and bestiality; however, the law was often used

to target, harass, and punish lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons.

Gays and lesbians faced discrimination in all areas of society, including

family, work, and education. Activists reported that in most cases, homosexuals

who did not hide their orientation were fired from their jobs. Homosexuals also

faced physical attacks, rape, and blackmail.

Police committed crimes against homosexuals and used the threat of arrest to

coerce victims into not reporting the incidents.

Voices Against 377, a high profile campaign to overturn Section 377, which

outlaws homosexuality, continued its efforts during the year. On August 27, the

Law Ministry rejected the demand of the Health Ministry to legalize

homosexuality.

In 2006 the Supreme Court ruled that the Delhi High Court should not have

dismissed an earlier case challenging Section 377 brought by two NGOs and

returned the case to the Delhi High Court, which began hearings on September 18.

The government opposed the case based upon the Ministry of Home Affairs' view

that homosexuality is morally wrong. On November 7, the Delhi High Court allowed

litigants one week to present final statements. The case continued at year's

end.

On May 21, 40 gay and transgender groups collaborated on a bid for funding from

the International Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria (GFATM). The

occasion marked the first time the groups had formed a united front to secure

benefits for their cause.

On August 28, the Home Ministry informed the Delhi High Court that it was not

empowered to issue directions to treat transsexuals as a special class entitled

to jobs and other benefits. The Ministry was responding to the Public Interest

Litigation regarding the dismissal of Sanju Behra from the CRPF on the grounds

of gender ambiguity.

Notices were issued to the CISF, Home Ministry, Ministry of Women and Child

Development, and the Health Ministry during the year.

In December the central government submitted a report which asserted that

legalizing homosexuality would lead to more cases of HIV/AIDS.

In March 2007 the UN Development Program released a report on " launda

dancers, " young men and boys hired to dance in women's clothing at various

events in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Dancers were vulnerable to exploitation by

being cheated of earnings or being forced into prostitution. Sexual assault and

gang rape were frequent, and dancers were at high risk of contracting HIV/AIDS.

Some laundas who had illegal castrations to join the hijra (traditional

transvestite) community suffered from post operation complications due to

inadequate medical care.

According to the National AIDS Control Organization (NACO), the government

agency responsible for monitoring HIV/AIDS, there were approximately 2.3 million

persons living with HIV/AIDS in the country, and according to the International

Labor Organization (ILO), 70 percent of persons suffering from HIV/AIDS faced

discrimination.

HRW reported that many doctors refused to treat HIV-positive children and that

some schools expelled or segregated them because they or their parents were

HIV-positive. Many orphanages and other residential institutions rejected

HIV-positive children or denied them

housing.

NACO, with support from UNAIDS and the WHO, produced revised AIDS estimates that

showed as of December 2007 approximately 2.31 million persons were living with

the virus and that HIV prevalence among adults was around 0.36 percent.

Estimates for previous years (since 2002) have also been revised.

On February 14, an AIDS victim's body was denied cremation in Kendrapara

district, Orissa, due to fears the smoke from the funeral pyre would spread the

virus.

On August 13, Kerala became the first state to reserve government jobs for

HIV-positive candidates.

On August 14, an initiative to provide insurance to persons with HIV/AIDS was

launched in Karnataka. The state estimated that 250,000 residents were infected

with HIV/AIDS; however, only 22,000 were registered with the main HIV/AIDS NGO,

the Karnataka Network for Positive People.

In Karnataka, civil society organizations alleged that since the May

elections there was an increased intolerance on the part of police. On

October 20, police in Bangalore arrested five hijras on unclear charges. When

representatives from Sangama, a Bangalore-based NGO that defends the human

rights of sexual minorities, visited the jail, they alleged that both they and

the original arrestees were verbally and physically abused, and at least one

female representative was assaulted by police officials. The confrontation

escalated, and 31 were eventually arrested.

The group included women and men who were detained in the same cell, in

violation of police code. Cases were pending at year's end, but all those

arrested were released within 24 hours on bail. On November 9, Bangalore police

issued notices to a number of landlords in the Desarahalli neighborhood alleging

that hijras were " indulging in immoral activities on the premises " and demanding

that the landlords appear at the local police station. The landlords responded

by

evicting some 30-40 hijras, many of whom were long-term residents.

In 2006 authorities denied five HIV-positive children admission to the Mar

Dionysius Lower Primary School in Kottayam district, Kerala, after pressure from

the community. In August 2007 state government authorities readmitted them.

Best regards,

Aditya Bondyopadhyay

e-mail: <adit.bond@...>