UN Women Statement for International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia

Date: Thursday, May 17, 2018

On this International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, our focus must be strongly on inclusion. That means advocating for change in ways that acknowledge the intersections between multiple forms of discrimination. More

In the words of Yuan Feng: "Different sectors need to work together to fight domestic violence"

Date: Monday, May 7, 2018

Yuan Feng, from China, is the co-founder of Equality, an NGO based in Beijing, dedicated to women’s rights and gender equality. The organization, a grantee of the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women, managed by UN Women, works to end domestic violence and helps survivors of violence. Since the mid-1990s, Feng has also been a founding member, coordinator, chair-person, and board member of countrywide organizations, such as the Gender and Development Network in China, Anti Domestic Violence Network, Women’s Network Against Aids/China, and Media Monitor for Women Network. More

In the words of Sandra Moran: “Being the first openly lesbian Congresswoman in Guatemala has been a big responsibility”

Date: Friday, April 27, 2018

Sandra Moran is Guatemala’s first openly lesbian member of the Congress. She organized the country’s first lesbian group in 1995, and was elected in 2015. She is well-known for her vocal support for women’s rights, indigenous women’s rights and LGBT rights in Guatemala. More

Executive Director’s blog series: Violence against LGBTI persons

Date: Friday, December 8, 2017

Part fourteen in a 16-part blog series by UN Women Executive Director, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka on the occasion of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence campaign.A 16-part blog series by UN Women Executive Director, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka on the occasion of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence campaign. More

In the words of Nongnee Kondii: “I was told that being a lesbian woman is a sin”

Date: Tuesday, November 14, 2017

Discriminatory stereotypes, cultural norms and attitudes that normalize and trivialize violence against women and girls are prevalent in every part of the world. Nongnee Kondii*, 25, from Yala, a southern border province of Thailand, never felt safe expressing her sexual orientation at home or in her community. When she experienced a traumatic sexual assault, she kept silent at first. In May 2016, after participating in a gender retreat for young people organized by Rainbow Sky Association(RSAT), an organization that works to promote the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual women, transgender and intersex persons (LGBTI) in Thailand, supported by the UN Trust Fund to end Violence against Women (managed by UN Women), Kondii decided to speak out and pursue the path of justice. With funding from the UN Trust Fund, RSAT continues to organize workshops with LGBTI individuals in Thailand to support them to combat stigma based on sexual orientation and gender identity. More

Statement for International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia (IDAHOT)

Date: Wednesday, May 17, 2017

On this International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia (IDAHOT), UN Women joins with the international community to support the LGBTI community and “Celebrate Family Diversity”. We stand firmly behind the full human rights of all LGBTI people. Violations of the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people undermines the shared international goal of gender equality. Addressing and ending such violations is part of the fulfilment of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’s promise to leave no one behind. More

UN Women welcomes new Human Rights Council Independent Expert on sexual orientation and gender identity

Date: Friday, July 1, 2016

UN Women welcomes the Human Rights Council’s decision to appoint an Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity and calls for full support to the new mandate. More

Staying true to yourself: A tale of discrimination and love in Cambodia

Date: Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Sao Mimol’s story was one of many heartbreaking, yet empowering life stories heard during a 21-25 May workshop in Prey Sdouk Village, Cambodia for LGBT people and their supporters. More

What is a real man — a 'mard'?

Date: Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Farhan Akhtar, a regional UN Women Ambassador for South Asia and an advocate for the HeForShe campaign, writes about masculinity in the 21st Century, and the pressures men face around identity. More

Joint UN statement on Ending violence and discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people

Date: Thursday, October 1, 2015

On 29 September 2015, 12 UN entities released an unprecedented joint statement calling for an end to violence and discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people. More

UN Women Executive Director Statement on the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia

Date: Friday, May 15, 2015

In a statement for the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia, UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka says the assault on LGBTI rights is an assault on freedoms everywhere. More

UN Women Executive Director Statement on the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia

Date: Saturday, May 17, 2014

Statement by UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka on the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia. More

UN Women to co-sponsor Human Rights Day event against homophobia

Date: Monday, December 9, 2013

On International Human Rights Day (10 December), the LGBT Core Group at the United Nations in New York will organize the event “Sport Comes out Against Homophobia”. More

In the words of Chi Yvonne Leina: How I stopped grandma from ironing my budding breasts

Date: Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Cameroonian journalist and women's rights advocate Chi Yvonne Leina is the founder and coordinator of Gender Danger, a grassroots women`s organization that is fighting to end the practice of breast ironing in Cameroon. She will be attending the upcoming CSW this year as a World Pulse correspondent, in the hopes of raising awareness and creating partnerships to help her NGO expand its work to prevent breast ironing in Cameroon. We bring you her first-hand account of the practice of breast ironing as part of UN Women’s “In the Words of…” series. More

Development and LGBTI rights: join the latest e-discussion on inequalities

Date: Tuesday, November 6, 2012

The e-discussion on Development and Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) People begins on 5 November and will continue for three weeks. More

Empowering lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex women in the Pacific

Date: Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Since 2009, workshops by the Rainbow Women's Network (RWN) have been training marginalized women in Fijian communities. Supported by UN Women's Pacific Regional Facility Fund to end violence against women, it has helped more than 100 women deal with issues ranging from their sexual and gender identities, to HIV/AIDS awareness, violence and abuse. More

Letters and words changing lives in Ecuador

Date: Thursday, March 15, 2012

On November 25, 2011, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, the municipality of Quito in partnership with the German Development Cooperation (GIZ) and with support from UN Women, issued a call to solicit testimonies of women's lives through letters, asking also for letters on what would make a better world without violence or discrimination against women. More