Report Says Lesbians and Gay Men Are Targeted for Abuse
According to “Breaking the Silence,” a report by Amnesty International, lesbians and gay men are killed, tortured and imprisioned on the basis of their sexual orientation and face prosecution in up to 60 countries. The report cited death squads that kill gay men and transvestites in the name of social cleansing in Columbia and the use of the death penalty and public stoning as punishment for homosexuality in Iran. Homosexuality remains illegal in Nigeria, Romania, and India. Amnesty International called for the decriminalization of homosexuality worldwide, and it praised South Africa for including sexual orientation in its constitution’s anti-discrimination provision, the first country to take such a step. The groups also lauded policies in 10 U.S. states that prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
Media Resources: The Washington Post - February 26, 1997
5/20/2013 Afghan Violence Against Women Law Blocked in Parliament - On Saturday, the Speaker of the Lower House of Afghan Parliament delayed a vote on the Elimination of Violence against Women law after two hours of vociferous debate between conservative religious and more liberal members of Parliament. . . .
5/20/2013 Walmart, American Retailers Refuse to Join Bangladesh Accord - Walmart, along with 13 other major North American companies, refused to sign a legally binding agreement to improve working conditions for overseas factory workers that manufacture their clothes after a garment factory collapsed in Bangladesh killing an estimated 1300 workers, the New York Times reports.
The agreement requires retailers pay $500,000 to improve worker safety measures over a five year period. . . .
