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7E. LGBTQI
96 PIA GARCIA JOHNSON, C.; and OTTO, K. (2019), Better Together: A Model for Women and LGBTQ Equality in the Workplace , in Psychosocial Risks and Health at Work from a Gender Perspective, 20 April 2019, available at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00272/full
97 PIA GARCIA JOHNSON, C.; and OTTO, K. (2019), idem.
Cities represent the most progressive places globally when it comes to LGBTQI acceptance and support and gender equity more broadly. Thus, municipalities can greatly influence the acceptance of the LGBTQI community in society through their messaging in all spheres of urban planning and governance and policy leadership, and can even help to move national policies and laws forward. All too often, issues of gender and LGBTQI inequality are discussed separately, as if they are mutually exclusive. Yet research suggests that the gender bias that inhibits women s progress also underlies discrimination against queer people96. Inequality between men and women forms the basis for homophobic and transphobic attitudes; women and members of the LGBTQI community experience sexism that is based on the supremacy of masculinity (male, white, heterosexual, strong, objective, rational) over femininity (female, non-white, non-heterosexual, weak, emotional, irrational).
Despite progress in policies, laws and social opinions, members of the queer community still suffer gender bias in all areas of public and private life, including housing, employment, opportunities in academic settings, in the ability to buy goods and services and in the opportunities to participate meaningfully in society s decision-making processes. Some countries in Europe even experience an elimination of queer rights, enacted under the guise of religious freedom, such as Russia s so-called homosexualism propaganda law or Poland s LGBT-free zones. Even actions aimed at increasing gender equality can inadvertently reinforce problems faced by the queer community. For example, many gender equality, gender management, and gender mainstreaming approaches overlook problems faced by queer people and women
of colour, framing their target stakeholders as white, cisgender (meaning someone s gender identity matches their assigned sex at birth), and heterosexual97. Applying the provisions of the Istanbul Convention (the Council of Europe s Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence) without any discrimination on the basis of gender identity means, for example, ensuring that the gender identity of transgender persons does not exclude them from receiving domestic violence, sexual assault or rape supports. Likewise, women in same-sex relationships, including lesbian, bisexual and transgender women should have access to domestic violence shelters and municipal awareness-raising campaigns about intimate partner violence should highlight also non-heterosexual couples.
Transgender and non-binary people are the group that is often forgotten even when LGBTQI issues are discussed. Municipalities can recognise and meet the needs of transgender individuals by providing legal recognition of gender identity, such as the possibility to change one s ID documents in a way that would use the person s preferred gender marker and name, and provide access to affordable and safe medical interventions if the person wishes. The Council of Europe dictates that procedures of legal gender recognition must be fast, transparent and accessible, and that they must be based exclusively on one s self-identification.
Addressing (hetero)sexism and gender inequality with an intersectional approach means including considerations of other forms of discrimination (e.g., racism, ableism, homophobia) in all municipal and national programmes, policies and laws.
