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LGBT liaison officers or Gay and Lesbian Liaison Officers (GLLOs) are individuals who work within organisations as a point of contact. They build rapport and trust between an organisation and the communities they serve. LGBT liaison officers ensure that the LGBT community are receiving equitable and culturally competent service provision. [1] [2] LGBT liaison officers also raise issues within organisations that may impact LGBT communities and play a significant advocacy role when developing policies, programs, and services. [3]
LGBT Liaison Officers have been appointed since at least 1962, when San Francisco Police Department appointed Elliott Blackstone as the United States' first liaison officer to the "homophile community". A pioneer of community policing, Blackstone worked within the police department to change policy and procedures directed against the LGBT community, such as entrapment of gay men in public restrooms.[ citation needed ]
The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) is an organization which is committed to advancing human rights to all people, disregarding gender identity, sex characteristics and expression. ILGA participates in a multitude of agendas within the United Nations, such as creating visibility for LGBTI issues by conducting advocacy and outreach at the Human Rights Council, working with members to help their government improve LGBTI rights, ensuring LGBTI members are not forgotten in international law, and advocating for LBTI women's issues at the Commission on the Status of Women.
ILGA-Europe is the European region of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association. It is an advocacy group promoting the interests of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex (LGBTI) people, at the European level. Its membership comprises more than 500 organisations from throughout Europe and Central Asia. The association enjoys consultative status at the United Nations Economic and Social Council and participatory status at the Council of Europe.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Afghanistan face severe legal challenges and discriminations not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Afghan members of the LGBT community are forced to keep their gender identity and sexual orientation secret, in fear of harassment, intimidation, persecution, violence, and the death penalty. The religious nature of the country has limited any opportunity for public discussion, with any mention of homosexuality and related terms deemed taboo.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights in Australia have advanced over the latter half of the twentieth century and early twenty-first century to make Australia one of the most LGBT-accepting countries in the world, with opinion polls and the Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey indicating widespread popular support for same-sex marriage. A 2013 Pew Research poll found that 79% of Australians agreed that homosexuality should be accepted by society, making it the fifth-most supportive country surveyed in the world. With its long history of LGBT activism and annual Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras festival, Sydney has been named one of the most gay-friendly cities in the world.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in Cyprus face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Both male and female same-sex sexual activity are legal in Cyprus since 1998, and civil unions which grant several of the rights and benefits of marriage have been legal since December 2015. Conversion therapy became banned on Cyprus in May 2023.
OutRight International (OutRight) is an LGBTIQ human rights non-governmental organization that addresses human rights violations and abuses against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people. OutRight International documents human rights discrimination and abuses based on their sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics in partnership with activists, advocates, media, NGOs and allies on a local, regional, national and international level. OutRight International holds consultative status with ECOSOC.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Albania face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents, due in part to the lack of legal recognition for same-sex couples in the country and prevailing negative attitudes about LGBT people throughout society, although LGBT people in Albania are protected under comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation. Both male and female same-gender sexual activities have been legal in Albania since 1995, but households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for the same legal protections available to opposite-gender couples, with same-sex unions not being recognized in the country in any form.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in Armenia face legal and social challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents, due in part to the lack of laws prohibiting discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity and in part to prevailing negative attitudes about LGBT persons throughout society.
Elliott R. Blackstone was a sergeant in the San Francisco Police Department, known as a longtime advocate for the lesbian, gay and transgender community in that city.
The LGBTI Health Summits are an opportunity for individuals working for the health of intersex, trans, bisexual, lesbian and gay people to meet and share ideas. Attendees are mostly health activists, a mix of medical care professionals, alternative and complementary health providers, outreach workers, volunteers, and other interested parties.
In 2007 Nepal repealed the laws against gay sex and introduced several laws which explicitly protected sexual orientation. The Nepalese Constitution now recognizes LGBT rights as fundamental rights. In March 2023, the Supreme Court of Nepal ordered the Nepali government to legally recognize same-sex marriage.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) rights in Kosovo have improved in recent years, most notably with the adoption of the new Constitution, banning discrimination based on sexual orientation. Kosovo remains one of few Muslim-majority countries where LGBT pride parades are held annually.
The Out In Africa South African Gay and Lesbian Film Festival (OIA) is a gay and lesbian film festival launched in 1994 to celebrate the inclusion, in the South African Constitution, of the clause prohibiting discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation. The Festival set out to address the lack of visibility of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex individuals (LGBTIs) in South African social and cultural life after decades of apartheid repression, to counter negative images of LGBTIs that prevail in traditional and religious communities, and to serve as a platform for discussion and debate about the situation of LGBTIs in a newly founded democracy.
Australia is one of the most LGBT-friendly countries in the world. In a 2013 Pew Research poll, 79% of Australians agreed that homosexuality should be accepted by society, making it the fifth most supportive country in the survey behind Spain (88%), Germany (87%), and Canada and the Czech Republic. With a long history of LGBT rights activism and an annual three-week-long Mardi Gras festival, Sydney is considered one of the most gay-friendly cities in the world.
Sexual orientation and gender identity in the Australian military are not considered disqualifying matters in the 21st century, with the Australian Defence Force (ADF) allowing LGBT people to serve openly and access the same entitlements as other personnel. The ban on gay and lesbian personnel was lifted by the Keating government in 1992, with a 2000 study finding no discernible negative impacts on troop morale. In 2009, the First Rudd government introduced equal entitlements to military retirement pensions and superannuation for the domestic partners of LGBTI personnel. Since 2010, transgender personnel may serve openly and may undergo gender transition with ADF support while continuing their military service. LGBTI personnel are also supported by the charity DEFGLIS, the Defence Force Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender and Intersex Information Service.
Kenita Placide is a human rights, HIV and LGBT activist from St. Lucia. She is the executive director of United and Strong and the Eastern Caribbean Coordinator of Caribbean Forum for Liberation and Acceptance of Genders and Sexualities (CariFLAGS). Between 2014 and 2016, she served at the Women's Secretariat for the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association. She has been on the forefront of bringing LGBT issues into discussion throughout the Anglo-Caribbean and international community. In 2013, she was selected as Star Publishing's People’s Choice for Person of the Year in St. Lucia, the first time an LGBT person had been honored with the award in her country.
Monique Dorsainvil was the Deputy Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor for the White House Office of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs. She previously served as LGBT Liaison to the White House.
Gautam Raghavan is an Indian American political advisor who is the director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office. Raghavan previously served as the associate director of the Office of Public Liaison in the Obama administration.
GALZ An Association of LGBTI People in Zimbabwe is an organisation established in 1990 in Harare to serve the needs of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) community in Zimbabwe. GALZ's vision is "a just society that promotes and protects human rights of LGBTI people as equal citizens in Zimbabwe".
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