Over the last 30 years, more than 85 countries have prohibited sexual orientation discrimination in employment. Enacting such legal prohibitions has thereby become the most common form of legal... Show moreOver the last 30 years, more than 85 countries have prohibited sexual orientation discrimination in employment. Enacting such legal prohibitions has thereby become the most common form of legal recognition of homosexual orientation (more so than the decriminalisation of homosexual sex or the opening up of family law to same-sex partners). The trend is global (ten countries in Africa, more in Asia/Oceania, many in Europe and the Americas). The trend is reflected in supranational rules of the European Union and the Organisation of American States and also in decisions of international human rights bodies. On the basis of these numbers and developments, and in light of the various factors that help explain the strength of this global trend, the author argues that it is to be expected that the trend will continue to reach more and more countries. Explicit legal prohibitions of sexual orientation discrimination in employment can play a useful – perhaps central – role amongst other legal, educational, and social strategies aimed at increasing LGB inclusion.This article in the Dutch Journal for Gender Studies (Tijdschrift voor Genderstudies, https://www.aup-online.com/content/journals/13883186) is based on a presentation the author gave at the international conference on LGBTIQ+ Workplace Inclusion (Leiden University, 20-21 May 2021). See also the video recording of this presentation at: https://video.leidenuniv.nl/media/t/1_jiu0iuyw (part 1, 15 minutes) and https://video.leidenuniv.nl/media/t/1_qytk06b6 (part 2, 37 minutes). Show less
On the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the first legislation in the world that opened up marriage to same-sex couples (in the Netherlands, 1 April 2001) the author investigates if it would be...Show moreOn the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the first legislation in the world that opened up marriage to same-sex couples (in the Netherlands, 1 April 2001) the author investigates if it would be possible to make marriage law, and in particular filiation law, completely orientation-neutral. He bases his analysis in the travaux préparatoires of the wording of the right to marry in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in other human rights documents. The demonstrates that the words “men and women” in the Universal Declaration have never been intended to exclude same-sex couples from marriage. On the contrary, those words were used to emphasize the gender-neutral character of the right to marry. Nevertheless, as regards parenting even Dutch law still makes a distinction between women and men – and thereby between heterosexual and lesbian marriages (especially when the child is conceived with semen from a known donor). The author analyses how these last distinctions can be eliminated (also with respect to surnames, and also in the interest transgenders and intersex people). He concludes that this is possible by merging the Civil Code articles on legal motherhood and legal fatherhood. The new rule could simply start with “Parent is the person who…”. And among other things it could provide that “parent” is the person who at the time of birth of a child is the married or registered partner of the person who gives birth, unless another person, with the consent of both partners, has acknowledged the child before it is born. Thereby the law would no longer distinguish between children conceived with or without a sperm donor, between children conceived with a known or unknown donor, or between children born to a lesbian or heterosexual couple. And so (Dutch) marriage law would become completely gender-neutral and orientation-neutral. Show less
This Italian version of this article is online at www.articolo29.it/genius, the English version at scholarship.law.duke.edu/djcil/vol24/iss1/4, the Dutch version at hdl.handle.net/1887/24920, and...Show moreThis Italian version of this article is online at www.articolo29.it/genius, the English version at scholarship.law.duke.edu/djcil/vol24/iss1/4, the Dutch version at hdl.handle.net/1887/24920, and the Vietnamese version at hdl.handle.net/1887/24934.The right to establish and develop relationships with other human beings was first articulated — as an aspect of the right to respect for private life — by the European Commission of Human Rights (in 1976). Since then such a right has been recognised in similar words by national and international courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court (Roberts v. U.S. Jaycees), the European Court of Human Rights (Niemietz v. Germany), the Constitutional Court of South Africa (National Coalition for Gay and Lesbian Equality), and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (Ortega v. Mexico). This lecture traces the origins of this right, linking it to the meaning of the word ‘orientation’ and to the basic psychological need for love, affection and belongingness (Maslow 1943). It proposes to speak of ‘the right to relate’, and argues that this right can be seen as the common theme in all issues of sexual orientation law (ranging from decriminalisation and anti-discrimination, to the recognition of refugees and of same-sex parenting). This right can be used as the common denominator in the comparative study of all those laws in the world that are anti-homosexual, or that are same-sex-friendly. The right to establish (same-sex) relationships implies both a right to come out, and a right to come together. The right to develop (same-sex) relationships is being made operational through legal respect, legal protection, legal recognition, legal formalization, and legal recognition of foreign formalization. Show less
