Breaking The Silence: This IDAHOBIT use your voice to stand up for LGBTQ+ equality

This Sunday, May 17^th, marks International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT or IDAHOT). This year it will be celebrated in over 130 countries, 37 of which same-sex love can still be criminalised. This year marks a particularly unique IDAHOBIT, with the majority of the world facing a pandemic and lockdowns and social distancing the norm. This means that this year’s celebrations will mainly be from the safety of our homes, however this makes them possibly more important than ever.

The day has received official recognition from a myriad of state bodies and international institutions, including the European Parliament, many UN member states, and countless local authorities. As the day is now marked in so many countries around the world, there is no one unifying campaign, instead, everyone is invited to take part and utilise it to focus on issues most important to their local community.

May 17^th was chosen as it commemorates the day in 1990 when the World Health Organisation removed homosexuality from the International Classification of Diseases. The first International Day Against Homophobia took place back in 2004 and was the success of a yearlong effort between several organisations and more than 24,000 signatories of the “IDAHO initiative”. This was a myriad of empowering events and campaigns across the world, all speaking up against homophobia and issues important to the LGBTQ+ community. For many places, such as China and Bulgaria, this was the first event of its kind and lit the match of an ongoing fight for LGBTQ+ equality.

Over the years the day has morphed and grown, becoming more inclusive and ensuring that no one in the LGBTQ+ community is left behind. In 2009 transphobia was added to the name – at the same time, France became the first country in the world to remove identifying as transgender from its list of mental illnesses. In 2015 biophobia was added, and more attention was given to the very needed conversations around bisexual visibility and inclusion. Some organisations and areas of the world have also Intersexphobia to the acronym and given focus to issues faced by the intersex community. Wherever in the world you may be celebrating the importance of unity and including all voices is strong.

This year’s theme is Breaking the Silence and sits in line with the purpose for IDAHOBIT which is to bring public attention to the ongoing discrimination the LGBTQ+ people continue to face across the world. The day aims to open a dialogue with those in the media, policy decision-makers, and in the wider society about how we can continue pushing for change and promoting tolerance. within LGBTQ+ spaces.

We also need to ensure these conversations are happening within our community, sending a message that discrimination such as racism and transphobia will not be tolerated within LGBTQ+ spaces. This means that the most marginalised voices from our community need to be at the forefront. As writer Alan Lopez explains “I’m Black, low-income, and formerly undocumented… My Blackness is visible. My accent marks me a foreigner. And my gender presentation makes me a target of violence in a world where femininity is devalued and to be destroyed…Liberation takes hard work and a community commitment to help each other. To be liberated, we need to work together. We need to analyse, critique, and provide ways to move forward.”

In the workplace, LGBTQ+ people are still discriminated against. Surveys have found that 62% of new LGBT graduates go back into the closet upon entering the workforce and 35% of all LGBT employees lie about their personal lives while at work. The public opinion is often that LGBTQ+ equality is a fight of the past, that this was won with equal marriage and equality laws. However, many LGBTQ+ people are acutely aware that this is not the reality. Although some battles have been won, true acceptance is still an ongoing fight.

For those most marginalised in our community, this is even more bluntly apparent. Research has revealed that 41% of trans people in the UK have been attacked or threatened with violence. This also revealed that over half of trans people (55%) had received negative comments at work and a quarter had been discriminated at work. This shows just how much work we have to do until everyone is able to feel safe being who they are. Discrimination in the workplace should be unacceptable in any form, yet we need visibility and open conversations around these issues if we are able to ingrain this into our work culture.

The purpose for IDAHOBIT is to bring attention to the issue’s LGBTQ+ people everywhere are faced with and to ignite conversations about how we can create a more inclusive society.

In many parts of the United States, it is still possible to lose your job simply for being LGBTQ+. Last year, the High Court heard the first-ever transgender rights case with Aimee Stephens standing up against the fact that she was fired because of her trans identity in 2013. After 6 years as a funeral director, Aimee was let go only two weeks after coming out as transgender to her employer through a letter. Although we are still awaiting the landmark decision, which could change employment rights for transgender people across America, Aimee will never get the justice she deserves as she sadly passed away earlier this year. Chase Strangio, a member of her legal team, has spoken out in support of her “Aimee did not set out to be a hero and a trailblazer, but she is one, and our country owes her a debt of gratitude for her commitment to justice for all people and her dedication to our transgender community.”

Celebrities in support of Aimee Stephens read out the letter that led to her dismissal

It is exactly this type of discrimination that means that LGBTQ+ people are 16% more likely to be unemployed. In the workplace, 70% of non-LGBT workers believe it unprofessional to talk about sexual orientation or gender identity in the workplace – however, if you cannot discuss an issue it becomes impossible to fight it. These conversations are a vital tool in creating workplaces where everyone can be themselves and should be encouraged, not shied away from.

Paul Reed, previously the Chief Executive of BP Integrated Supply and Trading, has been an outspoken voice on this issue “I don’t want people saving a quarter of their brain to hide who they are. I want them to apply their whole brain to their job.”

Another important way to shows LGBTQ+ employees your organisation is inclusive and a safe space for them, is to lead by example. Ensure you have visible LGBTQ+ people in the workplace, this needs to be in senior positions and across the organisation. It’s time for organisations to open up conversations around inclusivity and unequivocally stand with their LGBTQ+ employees.

This IDAHOBIT, wherever you may be, stand by the side of LGBTQ+ people everywhere and speak up for inclusion, because the fight for equality is not over yet. Only by coming together and working as a community can we continue to fight against discrimination, in the workplace and everywhere else.