As a former first researcher on LGBT rights at Human Rights Watch and the current executive director of OutRight ( formerly the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission ), Jessica Stern remains optimistic even while starring squarely in the face of adversity.
"Over the 15 years I've been doing this work, LGBTI communities have organized in nearly every corner of the globe, have increasingly spoken out, and have consistently proven their resilience in spite of the greatest threats and opposition," she said. "I am shocked and delighted by how fierce LGBTI people are, in spite of it all. Quite simply, our global LGBTI movement gives me hope."
Stern explained the reasoning behind the decision to change IGLHRC's name to OutRight in September.
"Well, it's no secret that our former acronym, IGLHRC—sometimes pronounced 'EAGLE-HURTS'—was hard for people to remember and hard to say," she said. "People in many countries had a difficult time with the acronym. It never rolled off the tongue in any language!"
All joking aside, Stern continued: "But the truth is that we changed our name because rendering bisexual, transgender, intersex, and queer realities invisible was unacceptable. We wanted to make clear in word and deed that our commitment is to the full spectrum of our community. And so, we removed the alphabet soup from the name itself while still trying to suggest queer identities. Our new tag line—'Human Rights for LGBTIQ People Everywhere'—emphasizes the point. We also emphatically chose to include 'action' because we believe that only through collective and tenacious activism will we change the status quo."
Landing on the proper moniker was no easy task.
"To find our new name, our staff and board of directors consulted nearly 250 activists, journalists, academics, community members, and old and new friends who helped us think through the implications of language and identity," Stern said.
The mission of OutRight will remain consistent with IGLHRC's legacy.
"We hope our new name will help more people grasp who we are, what we do, and why they should join us in the movement for LGBTI rights globally," Stern said. "We also hope that removing the focus on gay and lesbian identities in our name will encourage even more people on the frontlines of daily acts of discrimination and violence to feel like they have a partner and advocate in OutRight. There's no denying that bisexual, trans, intersex, and queer people are, in nearly every country, at high risk of abuse."
To Stern, the future of OutRight appears bright.
"As far as our mission goes, we will continue to focus on improving the lives of people who experience discrimination or abuse on the basis of their sexual orientation, gender identity or expression," Stern said. "With more than 75 countries still criminalizing same-sex behavior and countless more targeting trans and intersex people, there is a lot of work to be done. We are especially focused on increasing evidence of anti-LGBTI human rights violations and raising those problems to the attention of governments, multilateral institutions like the UN, and those in power."
Stern said personal stories of discrimination consistently remind her that the organization's work is far from over.
"Hardly a week goes by when a member of our staff doesn't receive an email or a phone call from a person who's been discriminated against in some way—rejected from school, thrown out of their home or even violently attacked or jailed because of who they are or who they love," she said. "So, the concept of 'universal human rights' is not abstract to me. Its meaning is quite clear: I'm standing up and supporting people who are threatened, arrested and face extreme hardships just because of who they are. It's simple. If we don't stand up for human rights, we will fuel the efforts of those who try to undermine fundamental humanity and dignity."
The underdog mentality was etched throughout Stern's childhood.
"Some kids read adventure books, teen romance novels or the Babysitters Club," she said. "Actually, I read those books, too! But along with conventional children's books, I read about the horrors of WW2 as a way of trying to understand what it meant to be a minority ( Jewish ) on Long Island. The systematic oppression of not only Jews but of so many groups deemed 'unacceptable' to the Nazi ideology inspired me to think critically about the world and speak out about injustice."
One current injustice resonating with Stern involves poverty.
"Last month all of the governments of the United Nations committed themselves to the sustainable development goals [SDGs]," she said. "The SDGs are a 15-year strategy for ending poverty, expanding social justice and strengthening equality between now and 2030. Yet, LGBTIQ people are never mentioned. This means as the UN and governments around the world decide how to allocate funding to meet the goals, there will be no mandate to fight homophobia or transphobia. Yet, we know that people whose rights are abused experience greater poverty. We need to make sure we can assert that accurately by counting ourselves along with other impacted populations. Right now, OutRight is campaigning for LGBTIQ people to quite literally be counted in poverty alleviation programs and equality strategies like the SDGs."
Stern also shared a message to the Kentucky woman making global headlines for her "religious freedom" stance against equality.
"It seems pretty obvious that if your job involves upholding the law and you disagree with the law, you should find another job," Stern said. "Good luck, Kim Davis."
She added, "On the attempts by extremists to promote the view that equality before the law for one group undermines 'religious freedom,' their argument simply has no credibility. Individuals or institutions refusing to provide services to LGBTIQ people based on religious objections are basically manipulating faith to justify discrimination."
In August, Stern was invited to testify before an informal meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss OutRight's views concerning ISIS in Syria and Iraq.
"During the three-hour UN briefing, we presented evidence of 29 killings of people by ISIS who have been executed for what we'd broadly call 'sodomy' or other 'morality-based' crimes," Stern said. "Since then, we have documented more killings. And to be clear, our count should not be considered comprehensive. Yet, LGBTI Iraqis and Syrians were persecuted long before the emergence of ISIS. Murder is only the most extreme form of violence. LGBTI Iraqis and Syrians have been persecuted by intolerance permeating all aspects of life."
Stern continued, "I'm under no illusion that the security council, the UN or the U.S. has a strategy for addressing the larger humanitarian crisis unleashed by ISIS. However, the tragedies facing vulnerable populations in conflict areas, including the LGBTI community, can be mitigated. There are UN agencies that have presence in Iraq and Syria. They could function like beacons of hope. We've urged the Security Council and governments who are involved in humanitarian relief in the region to act urgently to protect lives."
Learn more about Jessica Stern's work and OutRight by visiting www.outrightinternational.org/where-we-work .
