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Five Horrific Testimonies in LGBT Network’s Report Highlights Chechnya’s Atrocities

August 6, 2017 Brian McBride Human Rights Campaign, Social & Civil Issues

The Russian LGBT Network published a new report this week exposing the alleged atrocities endured by gay and bisexual men in Chechnya. The dossier not only breaks down the Russian and Chechen politics that led up to the brutal human rights violations, but also contains horrific testimony from more than 30 survivors.

Since news first broke in April, reports indicate more than 100 gay and bisexual Chechen men have been arrested and detained without charge. Chechen leaders have denied these accusations, going so far as to deny the very existence of LGBTQ people in Chechnya. Nonetheless, there have been numerous verified reports of torture and at least three and possibly as many as 20 men have been killed. HRC continues working closely with the Russian LGBT Network, the primary organization leading efforts to evacuate people in danger in Chechnya.

Here are five personal accounts from LGBT Network’s report highlighting the disturbing conditions gay and bisexual men faced at the hands of Chechen authorities and the culture that encourages families to ostracize or even murder their LGBTQ family members. These victims gave anonymous testimony.

“Every day, I was transported to the premises for torture. It was situated underground. I was beaten there every day. Every new day. <…> It was impossible to sleep there; you could be captured anytime and thrown into another place. There were no windows, nothing. It was always as dark as night. <…> They put plastic bags on my head, and when I was running out of oxygen, they tore the bag away and hit my legs at the same time. <…> We had no water inside. The only water we could drink was when we were going out of the cells.”
“One day, all my relatives were informed about the fact that I was detained. “The Lord” came to us, the chairman of the parliament — Magomed Daudov. We were all set down before the Lord. The Lord approached us, took pictures on his phone, and asked if each of us was gay. We had to answer “yes”. This all happened in front of our relatives. He talked to our relatives, saying that we brought disgrace to the nation and to our families. He told them that if they honor the traditions, they must kill us. And that if they did everything, they would not be punished for it. After all this talk, a few people were released to their relatives.”
“On February ** of 2017, my friend called me late at night and offered to come over. I agreed. When he arrived, I went outside the house to see him. I saw him with other people and immediately realized that it was a set-up. The people who were with him were wearing camouflage uniforms. They said that they were taking me away. They started beating me up and saying humiliating things. They said that I’m not a man, just some creature, that I am nothing. That I should rather be a terrorist than a faggot. That a dirty piece of cloth was worth more than me.”
“We were forced to lie on the floor with our bottoms up, and each person in the cell would hit us with a pipe 3 times. As the week went by, there were already 18 LGBT people being detained and tortured. The youngest was around 17 years old, and the oldest was about 47 years old. We were not allowed to wash. Some detainees developed open-cut wounds, and the cell smelled like rotten meat.”
“One day, when all of us were tortured, the head of the ROVD had a “conversation” with us about the deadly sin of homosexuality. He said that we should be ashamed, and that we are a disgrace for such a proud nation. That there had never been such people among the Chechens. One of us said that there is no way we can change who we are, and he replied that they would continue their efforts to clear the Republic of such contamination. There was a question about our constitutional rights, and he answered: “We have our own laws, and the law is what the current government of the Republic says to do.”

HRC through its #EyesOnChechnya effort is continuing to take action to stop the atrocities and help the victims. Click here for background information and actions that individuals can take to help end the violence.

HRC Youth Ambassador Jazz Jennings Explains How the Tobacco Industry Targets the LGBTQ Community

July 31, 2017 Guest contributor Human Rights Campaign, Social & Civil Issues

Transgender rights activist and HRC Foundation Youth Ambassador Jazz Jennings appears in a new video to share a disturbing example of how the tobacco industry takes aim at the LGBTQ community.

“A tobacco company once planned to increase cigarette sales by targeting the gay community. They even called their plan Project SCUM,” says 16-year-old Jennings in the video for truth®, a youth tobacco prevention campaign.

For years the tobacco industry has made efforts to appeal to LGBTQ consumers through strategies such as targeted advertisements in LGBTQ press, event sponsorships, cigarette giveaways and free tobacco industry merchandise. They have also included LGBTQ pride themes in their advertisements and sponsored pride events to promote their products.

While the youth smoking rate is at a historic low of six percent, the LGBTQ community uses tobacco at much higher rates.

HRC’s “Preventing Substance Abuse among LGBTQ Teens” issue brief found that LGBTQ youth experiment with alcohol and other drugs occurs at twice the rate of their non-LGBTQ counterparts. HRC’s “Health Disparities among Bisexual People” issue brief also noted that bisexual adults have elevated rates of smoking and alcohol use compared to their heterosexual counterparts.

Additionally, research found that LGBTQ adults smoke at rates up to two and a half times higher than straight adults. LGB high schoolers are more than twice as likely to have smoked a cigarette before the age of 13, and about one in three transgender young adults smokes.

“We hear that smoking rates are lower, but what we don’t hear is that they are not lower across all these different communities,” said Director of HRC Foundation’s Children, Youth and Families Program Ellen Kahn at Truth Initiative’s 2017 Warner Series discussion. “The LGBTQ community needs to be educated about how they have been targeted.”

Jennings’ activism began at age six when she appeared on 20/20 with Barbara Walters. Now 16, she is stars in TLC’s GLAAD Award-winning docu-series, “I am Jazz” and is one of America’s most well-known transgender youth. Jazz is the co-author of the book, I am Jazz, and released her memoir, Being Jazz, in 2016.

Click here to learn more about how the tobacco industry profiles the LGBTQ community.

Welcoming Schools Completes National Facilitator Certification Training

July 24, 2017 HRC staff Human Rights Campaign, Social & Civil Issues

Post submitted by Cheryl Greene, Welcoming Schools Deputy Director

As Deputy Director of Welcoming Schools, I am proud to announce the completion of our program’s second National Facilitator Certification Training. Last week, we welcomed 22 participants from 16 states (plus Mexico and Washington, D.C.) to HRC headquarters for four days of intensive training in the Welcoming Schools approach.

Supporting me in my role as Facilitator Certification Program Manager were Program Director Johanna Eager and our team of knowledgeable, experienced Expert Trainers: Tarah Fleming, Michele Hatchell, and Toni Smith. This year, we were thrilled to have Nationally Certified Facilitator and Boston Public Schools Senior Equity Manager Steven Chen with us. Chen was part of our first ever cohort and joined us to train the newest group in laws and policies that support LGBTQ students.

I was impressed by our participants’ creativity, talent, knowledge base, and passion. I can say with confidence that all of our newly-minted Facilitators are outstanding, committed advocates who will represent our program well and bring much-needed training to elementary schools across the country.

Above all, we are excited to see our program grow. By adding 22 Facilitators to our nationwide network, we greatly increased our capacity to serve schools and youth-serving organizations around the country, getting professional development, information, and resources into the hands of educators who so desperately need it.

In the days following the training, our participants have remarked on how inspired they were by the experience. They aren’t the only ones who were impacted. I know I speak for the entire Welcoming Schools team when I say that these 22 individuals have energized and inspired us. We can’t wait to watch the amazing work they will do in support of schoolchildren everywhere.

HRC’s Welcoming Schools is the nation’s premier program dedicated to creating respectful and supportive elementary schools in embracing family diversity, creating LGBTQ-inclusive schools, preventing bias-based bullying, creating gender-expansive schools, and supporting transgender and non-binary students.