Story at a glance
- Recent state-led efforts that limit how LGBTQ+ identities can be talked about in school or bar transgender students from using the restroom or playing on sports teams is eroding LGBTQ+ rights nationwide, a United Nations independent expert said Tuesday.
- Equality is “not within reach” for LGBTQ+ people in the U.S., Victor Madrigal-Borloz said following a 10-day visit to cities including Birmingham, Alabama, Miami and San Diego.
- Madrigal-Borloz urged the Biden administration to double down on its efforts to combat discriminatory legislation and protect LGBTQ+ Americans.
Equality is still “not within reach” for LGBTQ+ Americans despite more than five decades of progress, a United Nations expert said Tuesday.
Often, equality is “not even in sight,” Victor Madrigal-Borloz, the organization’s independent expert on violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, said Tuesday following a 10-day tour of Washington, Birmingham, Alabama, Miami and San Diego.
Madrigal-Borloz, a Costa Rican lawyer and human rights advocate, said he met with more than 70 federal, state and local representatives and more than 100 people with “lived experience” in the LGBTQ+ community.
Overwhelmingly, he said, LGBTQ+ people – particularly LGBTQ+ people of color – reported facing significant inequality in health care, education, employment and housing. LGBTQ+ individuals also reported being disproportionately impacted by violence.
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According to data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, roughly 20 percent of hate crimes committed between 2017 and 2020 were related to sexual orientation or gender identity bias.
A recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report found that bisexual women encounter intimate partner violence at higher rates than straight or gay women, with more than 60 percent reporting having been raped or being victims of physical violence or stalking.
Madrigal-Borloz called those numbers “extremely worrying” and stressed the need to combat recent state-led efforts to rebuild stigma against LGBTQ+ people.
“I am deeply alarmed by a widespread, profoundly negative riptide created by deliberate actions to roll back the human rights of LGBT people at state level,” he said Tuesday during a UN press conference in Washington.
Legislation that would in some way restrict the rights of LGBTQ+ Americans was introduced in nearly every state this year, with lawmakers arguing that measures to ban minors’ access to gender-affirming care or bar transgender athletes from playing sports with their peers are necessary to protect children and preserve the integrity of women’s sports.
Other bills have sought to limit how public school teachers may address topics including race, sexual orientation and gender identity and prevent transgender students from using the restroom or locker room consistent with their gender identity.
“The evidence shows that, without exception, these actions rely on prejudiced and stigmatizing views of LGBT persons, in particular transgender children and youth, and seek to leverage their lives as props for political profit,” Madrigal-Borloz said Tuesday.
He noted that his comments reflected only his “preliminary” observations, and a final report with recommendations will be presented to the Human Rights Council next year.
He added that “significant efforts” have been deployed by the Biden administration to “dismantle systems of social exclusion,” but urged officials to do more to protect LGBTQ+ individuals.
“In light of a concerted attack to undermine these actions, I exhort the administration to redouble its efforts to support the human rights of all LGBT persons living under its jurisdiction, and helping them to safe waters,’’ he said.
