Equal & Indivisable

Introduction

Equal and Indivisible is intended to help non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and activists prepare inclusive shadow or alternative reports for the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). An inclusive report not only recognizes that women experience multiple, intersecting forms of discrimination based on characteristics like race, class, age, ethnicity, physical ability and national origin, but it also incorporates an analysis of the discrimination that women face on the basis of their sexual orientation, gender identity and/or gender expression. Lesbian, bisexual, transgender (LBT) and other women whose sexual orientation or gender identity or expression does not correspond with dominant norms are routinely subject to some of the most heinous of human rights abuses.

They are regularly arrested, forced into psychiatric “treatment” or marriage, denied basic job protections, housing, education, healthcare, and parental rights, brutally attacked, tortured, raped and even murdered just because of how they express their sexuality and gender identity. These abuses are not systematically addressed by United Nations treaty bodies such as CEDAW.

Equal and Indivisible is a tool to help activists challenge the status quo. It draws attention to the fact that all women are equally entitled to and deserving of human rights protections, while it encourages human rights activists to be inclusive in their reporting practices. Throughout Equal and Indivisible we emphasize that sexual rights include freedom from violence and discrimination for both women who do and women who do not conform to dominant sexual and gender norms.

A publication of the IGLHRC (International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission)