Tag Archives: Research

Sexual + Gender Minorities

Indonesia News & Research | LGBTQ+

HIV cases on the rise as Indonesia cracks down on LGBTQ community
  • A report by Human Rights Watch has indicated that HIV prevalence among men who have sex with men (MSM) has increased five-fold since a decade ago, now accounting for a third of the new cases reported annually, a
  • Growing media and governmental discourse has framed LGBTQ people as threats to public security, while police raids, fundamentalist vigilantism, and discriminatory prosecutions have targeted clinics providing sexual health education and services.
  • Clinics have begun limiting public outreach and condoms themselves have begun to be entered into evidence in criminal cases, further stifling distribution of preventive resources.
Study
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Nationality + Migration, Race + Color + Ethnicity

Switzerland Research | Black

Countering Racism in Switzerland

Following an uptick in reports of prejudice, harassment, and discrimination over the last decade, several Swiss federal agencies and civil organizations have undertaken research to outline the prevalence and dimensions of racism, discrimination, and racial prejudice in the country, focusing on the ways in which cultural, political, and administrative practices marginalize people of color and exclude them from conceptions of Swiss national identity. Anti-black racism has emerged as a phenomenon of particular concern, ranging from everyday prejudice and harassment to discrimination in housing, employment, policing, and access to public accommodations and services. The continuing growth of Switzerland’s Afro-descendant population—having doubled over the last decade to some 100,000 people—has made countering racism a priority in the integration of new generations of residents, and experts have begun issuing recommendations including increased service provision, media representation, anti-profiling measures, and data collection.

Study

Recommandations sur le thème du racisme anti-Noirs en Suisse (Federal Commission Against Racism, in French | December 2017)

Incidents racistes recensés par les centres de conseil (Federal Commission Against Racism, in French | April 2017)

Rapports sur la discrimination raciale en Suisse (Federal Department of Home Affairs, in French | 2012-2016)

Read

“Racism in Switzerland: ‘People of colour are automatically perceived as foreigners’” (The Local | January 2018)

 

Gender, Sexual + Gender Minorities

Ghana Research | LGBT

Video

The Ongoing Insecurity of LGBT Ghanaians


Source: Human Rights Watch/YouTube (January 2018)

A relatively stable constitutional democracy, Ghana has seen the beginnings of official outreach to its LGBT citizens in recent years as it has signed on to pro-LGBT international accords and treaties, but new research from Human Rights Watch (HRW) reveals ongoing persecution and gender-based vulnerabilities. Though rarely enforced, a law criminalizing same-sex relations that emerged from the country’s colonial legacy has led to the political and corporal endangerment of LGBT Ghanaians, exposing them to intimidation, violence, fears of public exposure, and little to no recourse to law enforcement protection. Lesbians, bisexual women, and trans men have faced especially high levels of violence and labor precarity, and anti–domestic violence laws have done little to protect them given the lack of trust in the legal system. In response, HRW conducted interviews with LGBT Ghanaians to track insecurity across a range of social, legal, and economic domains and issued a set of recommendations to improve protections for the community.

Study

“‘No Choice but to Deny Who I Am’: Violence and Discrimination against LGBT People in Ghana” (Human Rights Watch | January 2018)

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“‘One guy took a cutlass’: gay women at greater risk of violence in Ghana” (The Guardian | January 2018)

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Solace Initiative

Other, Race + Color + Ethnicity

U.S. Research | Incarcerated Black & Latinx

Mixed Optimism in New U.S. Incarceration Statistics

Racial and ethnic disparities in incarceration in the U.S. have long been the target of research, with the gaps an indicator of the effects of unevenly policed populations and legacies of bondage, segregation, and criminalization. Nevertheless, the difference in rates of incarceration in federal and state prisons between groups has shrunk, and criminal justice reform advocates hope that the last decade has been an indication of a turning of the tide towards de-incarceration and the decriminalization of communities of color.

New data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics continue to enliven those hopes as they show continuing gains in 2016 in the wake of the incarceration apex in 2009, and analysts have begun offering a number of reasons for the tightening numbers, including changes in drug-related law enforcement and an increased focus on sex crimes. However, disparities at the the juvenile level have widened, and advocates and researchers continue to worry over the growth of contributing phenomena including the school-to-prison pipeline.

1,458,173 (2016) vs. 1,553,574 (2009)

Total number of prisoners (decrease of 6%)

486,900 (2016) vs. 584,800 (2009)

Number of black prisoners (decrease of 17%)

339,300 (2016) vs. 341,200 (2009)

Number of Latinx prisoners (decrease of <1%)

439,800 (2016) vs. 490,000 (2009)

Number of white prisoners (decrease of 10%)

33% (black) vs. 23% (Latinx) vs. 30% (white)

Percentage of prison population by race/ethnicity

12% (black) vs. 16% (Latinx) vs. 64% (white)

Percentage of overall population by race/ethnicity

1,604 (black) vs. 856 (Latinx) vs. 274 (white)

Number of incarcerated people per 100,000 adults in racial/ethnic group

Study

Prisoners in 2016 (Bureau of Justice Statistics | January 2018)

Read

“The gap between the number of blacks and whites in prison is shrinking” (Pew Research Center | January 2018)

“A Mass Incarceration Mystery” (The Marshall Project | December 2017)

“Black Disparities in Youth Incarceration” (The Sentencing Project | September 2017)

“Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2017” (The Prison Policy Initiative | March 2017)

“There’s been a big decline in the black incarceration rate, and almost nobody’s paying attention” (The Washington Post | February 2016)

Religion + Belief

Europe & Eurasia Research | Religious & Belief Minorities

Religion and National Identity in Eastern Europe and Eurasia

The Pew Research Center recently conducted a survey on the relationship between religious and national identity in Eastern European and Eurasian countries, noting changes in the way that religious identification has influenced national identity since the fall of atheist fundamentalism with the USSR. For religious and belief minorities—now including atheists—the relationship can be a troubling one, particularly as resurgent nationalism in the region has been accompanied by xenophobia and religious discrimination.

Here are highlights from the findings:

70% (Orthodox-majority) / 57% (Catholic-majority)

Average among countries who believe majority religious identity is very or somewhat important to national identity

82% (Armenia)
81% (Georgia)
78% (Serbia)
76% (Greece)
74% (Romania)
66% (Bulgaria)
63% (Moldova)
57% (Russia)
51% (Ukraine)
45% (Belarus)

Percentage within Orthodox-majority countries who believe Orthodox religious identity is very or somewhat important to national identity

64% (Poland)
58% (Croatia)
56% (Lithuania)
43% (Hungary)

Percentage within Catholic-majority countries who believe Catholic religious identity is very or somewhat important to national identity

Read

Religious Belief and National Belonging in Central and Eastern Europe (Pew Research Center | May 2017)

Gender, Sexual + Gender Minorities

Indonesia Research | Sexual Violence

The Unreported Rapes of Indonesia

A recent online survey conducted jointly by support group Lentera Sindas Indonesia, Indonesian magazine Magdalene, and Change.org indicated that more than 9 out of 10 respondents who had been raped had not reported the crime to authorities. The findings come as Indonesians have expressed outrage over the gang rape and murder of a teenage girl in April and ongoing sexual violence across the country. In response, the government has pledged to begin tracking and reporting data on sexual violence in the country.

25,213

Number of respondents

1,636 (6.5%)

Number of respondents reporting having been raped

62.8% (cisgender women) / 37.1% (cisgender men) / 0.1% (all transgender people)

Breakdown by gender identity of respondents reporting having been raped

93%

Percentage of respondents reporting having been raped who did not report the crime

1%

Percentage of reported cases resulting in legal punishment

58%

Percentage of respondents reporting having been verbally harassed

~25%

Percentage of respondents reporting having been physically assaulted

Read:
“Over 90 percent rape cases go unreported in Indonesia: poll” (The Thomson Reuters Foundation)
“93% of rape victims in Indonesia do not report the crime to the police: Survey” (Coconuts Jakarta)

Additional:
“How a rape that was ignored angered Indonesia’s women” (BBC)

Age, Gender

South Africa Research | Youth

Child Sexual Abuse in South Africa

Commissioned by the UBS Optimus Foundation, the Optimus Study is a first-of-its-kind national survey of the annual incidence and lifetime prevalence of child sexual abuse in South Africa, providing both a point-in-time and longitudinal perspective on South African child victimization. In the context of the study, sexual abuse is defined in both its contact and non-contact forms, including exposure (subjection to voyeurism, exhibitionism, and forced pornographic viewing), exploitation (involvement in sexual activities for pornography and/or prostitution), and contact (sexual assault and rape). With more than a third of schoolchildren reporting having experienced some form of sexual violence, the report offers a framework for addressing not only the high levels of abuse incidence, but also the negative outcomes associated with abuse including mental illness and lowered educational outcomes.

35.6%

Percentage of South African schoolchildren reporting having experienced some form of sexual abuse

36.8% (boys) / 33.9% (girls)

Percentage reporting having been sexually abused, by gender

15 (boys) / 14 (girls)

Average age of first incidence of sexual abuse

11.3%

Percentage who reported unwanted sexual touching by an adult

9.4%

Percentage who reported being made to do sexual things by another child or teen

11.7%

Percentage reporting being forced to have sex

12.9%

Percentage reporting exposure abuse

0% (boys) / 31.0% (girls)

Percentage who reported abuse by a familiar adult to police

~20%

Percentage experiencing trouble with schoolwork and/or school attendance in wake of abuse

2x (anxiety and depression) / 3x (PTSD symptoms)

Likelihood of those who experienced abuse to report symptoms of mental illness relative to young South Africans as a whole

Read:
Optimus Study South Africa: Technical Report (The Centre for Justice and Crime Prevention and the University of Cape Town)

Additional:
“Perfect Storm of kids at risk: Why a third of SA’s children are sexually abused” (The Daily Maverick)
“1 in 3 young South Africans sexually abused” (UBS Optimus Foundation press release, via Parent24)

Commissioning Organization: UBS Optimus Foundation

Gender

India Research | Women

Gender-based Harassment in India’s Urban Spaces

A YouGov/Action Aid UK survey recently polled 502 Indian women about their experiences in urban public spaces, finding that nearly four-in-five women have experienced public harassment in cities like New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, and Kolkata. In the aftermath of the brutal gang rape of a woman on a Delhi bus in late 2012, government and civil society campaigns have encouraged women to report violence, although advocates say crimes (particularly domestic violence) continue to be underreported.

79%

Percentage of women reporting having experienced public harassment in cities

46%

Percentage of women reporting public insults and name-calling

39%

Percentage of women reporting having been groped or touched involuntarily

16%

Percentage of women reporting having been drugged

337,922*

Number of reports of violence against women in 2014, including rape, abduction, and molestation

Read:
“Almost 80 percent of Indian women face public harassment in cities: survey” (The Thomson Reuters Foundation)
“79% of women in India faced public harassment” (The Times of India)
“Three in four women experience harassment and violence in UK and global cities” (ActionAid UK)

* According to India’s National Crime Records Bureau

Sexual + Gender Minorities

Europe & Eurasia Research | LGBTI

The State of LGBTI Security in Europe

ILGA-Europe recently released its annual report on the state of LGBT rights and security across the Europe. Covering developments in individual countries and transnational institutions from 2015, the report notes increasing legal protections for gender minorities and family and partnership rights for sexual minorities in Southern and Western Europe as well as ongoing political exclusion, persecution, and violence in Eastern Europe and Eurasia. Here are some of the highlights:

Malta

Rated the most progressive European country, Malta’s groundbreaking law prohibiting surgical intervention into a person’s sex characteristics without consent and inclusive education policies for trans, intersex, and other gender minorities were cited as distinctive policies.

Finland, France, Greece, Ireland

Other countries with significant judicial or policy victories regarding the rights of gender minorities.

Ireland, Luxembourg

Countries extending marriage rights to same-sex couples

Cyprus, Greece

Countries extending civil partnership rights to same-sex couples

Austria, Portugal

Countries extending adoption rights to same-sex couples

Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia

Bottom three countries for LGBTI security

Armenia, FYR Macedonia, Slovenia

Countries blocking same-sex marriage rights

Hungary, Montenegro, Russia, Slovenia, Turkey, Ukraine

Countries denying, limiting, or antagonizing organization and assembly rights of LGBTI civil society groups

Read:
Annual Review of the Human Rights Situation of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex People in Europe 2016 (ILGA-Europe)

Additional:
Rainbow Europe
“Azerbaijan worst place to be gay in Europe, finds LGBTI index” (The Guardian)
“Which EU states are out of touch on gay marriage?” (euronews)

Age, Gender

Guinea Research | Women & Girls

Female Genital Mutilation in Guinea

Despite political and social efforts to eliminate the practice, female genital mutilation (FGM) has continued unabated in Guinea. The West African country has actually seen support for the ritual increase in the last couple of decades, and the trans-ethnic prevalence of the procedure has made FGM rates in the country one of the highest in the world. The UN recently released a report on the current state of FGM in Guinea and the cultural difficulties in ending the practice, including anti-Western sentiment, social norms, and religious traditions.

96% (2005) vs. 97% (2012)

Percentage of Guinean women aged 15-49 subjected to FGM

96.8% (urban) vs. 97% (rural)

Percentage of women subjected to FGM by area of residence

92% (low-income) vs. 68% (higher-income)

Percentage of women subjected to FGM by socioeconomic status

69% (currently aged 20-24) vs. 61% (currently aged 45-49)

Percentage of women cut prior to the age of 10 (2012)

65% (1999) vs. 76% (2012)

Percentage of Guinean women who support FGM

Read:
Rapport sur les droits humains et la pratique des mutilations génitales féminines/excision en Guinée (UN Human Rights report, in French)
“UN report reveals increasing incidents of female genital mutilation in Guinea, including on infants” (UN News Service)

Additional:
Fact sheet: Female genital mutilation (World Health Organization)

Race + Color + Ethnicity

U.S. Research | Black

The Ongoing Arrest Disparity in Marijuana-Legal States

A recent study conducted by YouthFacts analyzing FBI Criminal Justice Information Services data has found that although arrests in states that have legalized marijuana possession have dropped dramatically, a disproportionate number of black people continue to be arrested relative to non-black peers. While arrests for marijuana in both marijuana-legal and marijuana-illegal states have been trending downward, the ongoing post-reform disparity continues to point to enforcement- rather than law-based problems in the U.S. criminal justice system.

877.8 (2008) vs. 57.2 (2014)

Black arrest rate in Washington (per 100,000)

390.5 (2008) vs. 27.3 (2014)

Non-black arrest rate in Washington (per 100,000)

601.3 (2008) vs. 242.2 (2014)

Black arrest rate in Colorado (per 100,000)

293.3 (2008) vs. 103.8 (2014)

Non-black arrest rate in Colorado (per 100,000)

2.7 (marijuana-legal) vs. 3.0 (marijuana-legal)

Disparity in arrest rates across states

-76% (marijuana-legal) vs. -15% (marijuana-illegal)

Decrease in arrest rates across states from 2008 to 2014

Marijuana-legal states included: Colorado, Washington
Marijuana-illegal states included: California, Connecticut, Massachusetts

Read more:
“Are Young People and African Americans Better Off under Marijuana Reform?“ (YouthFacts)
“Pot legalization hasn’t done anything to shrink the racial gap in drug arrests” (The Washington Post)
“Black People Twice As Likely To Be Arrested For Pot In Colorado And Washington — Where It’s Legal” (ThinkProgress)

Age, Health + Ability, Race + Color + Ethnicity

U.S. Research | Black & Children with Disabilities

Disproportionate Suspension Rates in U.S. Charter Schools

A new study has found that black students and students with disabilities are suspended at considerably higher rates than their peers in charter schools at both the elementary and secondary level. At the secondary level, Latino and Native American students join them in disproportionate suspension. The report from the Center for Civil Rights Remedies at the UCLA Civil Rights Project spells particular trouble for black students with disabilities and has troubling implications in the fight against the school-to-prison pipeline.

4.1% (all students) vs. 9.7% (with disabilities) vs. 3.7% (without disabilities)

Suspension rates at the elementary level by ability

4.1% (all students) vs. 8.7% (black) vs. 2.1% (white) vs. 2.4% (Latino) vs. 3% (Native American)

Suspension rates at the elementary level by race/ethnicity

11.6% (all students) vs. 20.8% (with disabilities) vs. 10.6% (without disabilities)

Suspension rates at the secondary level by ability

11.6% (all students) vs. 22% (black) vs. 5.6% (white) vs. 9.1% (Latino) vs. 10.9% (Native American)

Suspension rates at the secondary level by race/ethnicity

7.8% (charters) vs. 6.7% (non-charters)

Suspension rates at the K-12 level

15.5% (charters) vs. 13.7% (non-charters)

Suspension rates of students with disabilities (K-12)

7% (charters) vs. 5.7% (non-charters)

Suspension rates of students without disabilities (K-12)

50+%

Suspension rate of students with disabilities at 235 charter schools

Years studied: 2011-12

Read more:
Charter Schools, Civil Rights, and School Discipline: A Comprehensive Review (The Center for Civil Rights Remedies)
“Students With Disabilities Suspended More Often At Charters” (Disability Scoop)

Race + Color + Ethnicity

Japan Research | Ainu

Japan’s Ethnic Discrimination Perception Gap

Two government studies have revealed discrepancies in perception of discrimination against the Ainu, an ethnic group indigenous to Hokkaido and nearby islands. Ainu individuals report experiencing inequality and discrimination at higher levels than non-Ainu Japanese recognize. While the Japanese government has long pursued assimilationist policies towards ethnic groups in areas taken over through centuries of imperialist expansion, in recent years, the government has officially recognized the Ainu as an indigenous group and planned to promote its cultural visibility. The surveys represent the first state-level research on public perception of Ainu Japanese.

72.1% (Ainu) vs. 17.9% (non-Ainu)

Percentage of respondents who believe anti-Ainu discrimination and prejudice persist

19.1% (Ainu) vs. 50.7% (non-Ainu)

Percentage of respondents who believe little to no anti-Ainu discrimination and prejudice persist

74.1%

Percentage of non-Ainu respondents reporting having never encountered an Ainu person or Ainu culture

51.4%

Percentage of Ainu respondents reporting having friends and family who have experienced discrimination

26.2%

Percentage of Ainu respondents reporting having experienced discrimination directly

57.5%

Percentage of those who have experienced direct discrimination reporting opposition to their marriage or relationships from their non-Ainu partner’s family

53.8%

Percentage of those who have experienced direct discrimination reporting discomfort due to discrimination in the workplace

Survey response:
707/1,000 (Ainu)
1,727/3,000 (non-Ainu)

Read more:
“Discrimination of Ainu persists; Japanese people largely unaware” (Japan Today)
“72% of indigenous Ainu sense discrimination 18% of mainstream Japanese are ignorant of: surveys” (The Japan Times)

Additional reading:
“Everything you wanted to know about the Ainu, with photos and video” (RocketNews24)

(Image Credit: via The Japan Times)

Gender

Japan Research | Women

Sexual Harassment in the Japanese Workforce

A groundbreaking study by Japan’s Health, Labor, and Welfare Ministry surveyed more than 9,600 women between the ages of 25 and 44 on workplace conditions, revealing that women in the Japanese workforce are subjected to high rates of sexual harassment in the workplace. The governmental study comes as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe struggles towards his target of 30% of women in business leadership positions by 2020.

28.7% (full- and part-time) / 34.7% (full-time only)

Percentage of women reporting having experienced sexual harassment in the workplace

40.1%

Percentage of sexually harassed women who reported having experienced unnecessary physical contact

24.1%

Percentage of perpetrators who were the women’s bosses

63%

Percentage of women who reported doing nothing in response to harassment

~10%

Percentage of sexually harassed women who complained who were demoted or given an unsympathetic hearing

Read more:
“Nearly a third of Japan’s women ‘sexually harassed at work’” (The Guardian)
“30% of working women sexually harassed” (The Japan News)
“A third of Japanese working women were sexually harassed: study” (The Japan Times)

(Image Credit: AP, via The Japan Times)

Gender

Global Research | Women

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Global Companies Profit from Women in Leadership

As global public and private sectors alike search for ways to connect the social value of workplace diversity to companies’ economic value, a study by the Washington D.C.–based Peterson Institute for International Economics has found that increased gender diversity in corporate leadership benefits businesses’ bottom line. The analysis involved more than 20,000 firms from 91 countries.

15% increase

Profitability change associated with an increase in share of women in leadership from zero to 30%

40% of board seats / 20% of executive positions

Women’s representation in corporate leadership in Norway, the highest from countries reported

12% of board seats / 16% of executive positions

Women’s representation in corporate leadership in the U.S., near the middle of the pack

Parental leave policies

Stronger paternity (versus maternity) leave policies correlate with more female leadership

Read more:
“Is Gender Diversity Profitable? Evidence from a Global Survey” (Marcus Noland, Tyler Moran, Barbara Kotschwar)
“Women in Company Leadership Tied to Stronger Profits, Study Says” (The New York Times)

Additional reading:
Women and Leadership (Pew Research Center)