Panel discussion on Global Queer Movements: Perspectives from the Global South

LawTransform is collaborating with Skeiv Verden Vest and Rafto on an event that is part of the official Bergen Pride calendar.

Date/Time: 07 June 2022, 19:00-20.00
Venue: Pride House (Festplassen)

After a series of setbacks in the queer movements in Europe and the US, this panel discussion will give light to the Queer movements in the Global South. Skeiv Verden Vest is inviting speakers from Asia-Pacific, Middle East, Africa and South America to give us a picture of the current situation when it comes to fighting for rights and the existence of LGBTQ+ people around the world.
Panelsist:
Frank Mugisha (he/him) LGBT advocate from Uganda, Rafto prize and John F. Kennedy Human Riights winner. Frank is the most prominent LGBT advocate in Uganda
Suneela Mubayi (she/her) scholar, translator and writer. Advocate in gender and sexual liberation, and the intersection between language, the body and poetry. Has Indian descent and citizen of the world
Ana Cortes (she/her) lawyer, activist and researcher. Has a background in working with trans rights cases in Brazil. She is the current Board leader of Skeiv Verden Vest
Romeo Cabarde (he/him) lawyer, queer and political activist from the Philippines. Has a background in law and is very engaged in the promulgation of queer rights in the Philippines.
This panel discussion is in cooperation of Skeiv verden vest, Raftostiftelsen and CMI – UiB Centre on Law & Social Transformation.

About the Queer Lawfare Seminar Series

To mark the celebration of 50 years since homosexuality was decriminalised in Norway, LawTransform (the Chr. Michelsen Institute/CMI – University of Bergen/UiB Centre on Law & Social Transformation) will run, throughout 2022, a seminar series focused on queer rights activism in different contexts. While fighting for the recognition of rights, activists have to develop strategies and adapt to complex political landscapes and sometimes even face persecution and repression.

This 50th anniversary is a great and important opportunity not only to remember and commemorate what has already been achieved but also to increase awareness about the challenges the queer community continues to face in Norway and beyond. LGBTQ rights have become increasingly politicised, and queer persons continue living under threat because of their sexual and gender identity. There are still countries that criminalise homosexuality and even more societies that, even without criminalisation, are marked by homotransphobia and do not recognise rights such as marriage, adoption, change of name and gender marks for trans people, and ban of reversion therapies. And activists that fight for these rights face harassment, arrest, and persecution.

With the Queer Lawfare seminar series, we aim to engage audiences inside and outside academia in debates around queer struggles for equality and rights. We will highlight research carried out in Norway and beyond in discussions with policymakers, civil society organisations, and artists working on LGBTQ rights in national contexts as well as transnationally.