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Sexual Identity and Torture
LGBT Activists Face Repression and Exile Across the Globe

Torture and ill-treatment of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgender (LGBT) people--or those perceived to fit these categories--takes place all over the world, including within the United States. In at least 12 countries, people can legally be put to death for engaging in same-sex sexual behavior. In Afghanistan, for example, under the current Taliban regime, in at least five separate instances, men convicted of sodomy have been crushed to death by having walls toppled upon them. Many other countries have laws which criminalize same-sex sexuality, whether those accused call themselves gay or not. Sodomy laws, and laws against "hooliganism" or "public scandal" are all tools used by states to control the sexual expression of those within their borders.

In some countries, punishments such as flogging are applied by law as a sanction for the "crime" of homosexuality. In others, torture is meted out as an extrajudicial punishment by police or prison guards.

People whose initial contact with a criminal justice system is unrelated to their sexual identity may also be ill-treated because of their real or perceived sexual identity. Homophobic violence in custody is often sexualized, with rape or the threat of rape used as a method of breaking down a person's pride or sexual identity, or of forcing a confession or the naming of other people under suspicion by authorities. Once convicted and jailed, LGBT people often find themselves on one of the lowest rungs of the prison hierarchy, and are therefore vulnerable to abuse by both guards and other inmates.

Facing Abuse and Impunity
While LGBT people are not the only group targeted for ill-treatment by state agents (police and other law enforcement officials, prison guards and authorities, immigration agents), many of these officials act with a sense of impunity against people seen to have a "transgressive" sexual or gender identity, fueled by the belief that no one will care about the victim, and that they will not be held accountable or punished for their abusive acts. In Brazil in 1996, a lesbian couple was held in detention in a police station where they were beaten by officers, sexually assaulted and verbally harassed about their sexual orientation. One of the women was threatened with rape by the officers so that she would "learn to be a proper woman." "See him?" an officer asked her. "He loves to mess around with dykes."

In the United States, a Black gay man was assaulted by police in Chicago. According to the human rights organization Amnesty International (AI):

The arresting officer is alleged to have pulled down [the claimant's] pants, and sprayed blue cleaning liquid on a billy club before ramming the baton into [his] rectum. As he sodomized [the man], the officer is alleged to have made remarks such as "I'm tired of you faggot..." [The claimant] contends that he was subjected to abuse--including racist and anti-gay names such as "faggot ass nigger" and "nigger fag"--from the moment he was arrested.
The above examples show all too clearly the link between sexual identity and torture. The US and Brazilian cases additionally reveal the link between torture and multiple forms of discrimination based on race, gender or class in addition to sexual identity or orientation. Those who represent more than one socially subordinated group are particularly vulnerable to ill-treatment in police or prison custody, as well as violence on the streets or in the home.

Various aspects of an individual's identity may also affect the kinds of torture to which they are subjected. For example, while all people can be the targets of sexual assault, only women can be targeted for forced pregnancy. Questions of context are always relevant to unraveling the meanings of the infliction of torture and the relative vulnerability of a target: is the victim a person of color living in a white racist culture? A women living in a male dominated culture? Both? Is s/he poor? Uneducated? An immigrant? The child of a judge or government official?

Torture and International Law
Although, in the context of international human rights law, the term "torture" applies most often to acts perpetrated by agents of the state, it can also apply to acts perpetrated by "private," or "non-state" actors, especially when patterns of violations occur and governments don't act to investigate or punish the perpetrators. This extended definition is critical because, for many LGBT people, the most common experience of violence is in their homes, schools, places of work or on the street.

Frequently, for example, LGBT people, and in particular young lesbians, are antagonized by family members. Though the perpetrators in these cases are not state officials, the treatment is often as severe as state-sponsored torture: the purposes are similar and the consequences just as damaging. Efforts by women's and LGBT and other social justice groups to make human rights instruments available to those who have been tortured in "privatized" contexts such as homes, families and intimate relationships are strengthening the call for governments to be held accountable when they do not provide adequate protection for all people within their borders.

One salient problem in ending torture of LGBT people is that is greatly under-reported. The stigma surrounding homosexuality in many cultures means that homophobic violence--whether perpetrated by state officials or private actors--goes unreported, un-investigated and unchallenged. While some governments deny that such torture takes place, others openly justify it in the name of morality, religion or ideology. Those who are survivors of torture sometimes don't seek redress and justice because they may fear retribution against themselves or their families, they may fear not being taken seriously by authorities, and they may fear breaches of confidentiality--either "by accident" or through threats of blackmail and extortion.

In countries where homosexuality is illegal, lesbians and gay men are particularly susceptible to ill-treatment both from state agents and private actors, including those in the families and communities of the people targeted. How can survivors seek justice and call for those responsible to be held accountable if proceeding with a claim could result in their own arrest? But this vulnerability seeps into contexts where homosexuality is legal, as well.

In June 2000, Amnesty International released a report on torture and ill-treatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. This is the first time there is a major focus on sexual identity in a world-wide Amnesty theme campaign. The focus of the report is on ending torture, addressing discrimination and challenging impunity for those who violate the human rights of LGBT people. AI's campaign aims to hold governments accountable to their obligations to end the torture of LGBT people, whether inflicted by agents of the state or private groups and individuals. AI will campaign for repeal of "sodomy" laws and other legal provisions which have been shown to facilitate torture, and will call for specific preventive safeguards for LGBT people in custody. In addition, AI will call for more effective protection of LGBT refugees fleeing torture and human rights defenders working on issues of sexual identity.