The International Lesbian, Gay, Trans, and Intersex Association (ILGA) began its 30th conference on Monday, May 2, the first such event to occur since the COVID-19 outbreak two years ago.
The week-long event, which takes place every two years, gathered least 600 LGBT+ activists from around more than a hundred countries in Long Beach, California to discuss global advocacy efforts.
Founded in 1978, ILGA is a a certified consultant for the United Nations with a network of more than 1,700 members from over 160 countries.
Guests at the conference include LGBT+ activists, leaders, UN and government representatives, and volunteers.
ILGA Conference address recent anti-LGBT+ hostility
Although part of the conference’s aims is to empower and uplift the community, there is also a need to discuss the ongoing violence faced by members of the community and the work needed to dismantle oppressive systems.
Jessica Stern, the first queer woman to hold the position of the US State Department’s special envoy for LGBTQI human rights, stated that “Many LGBTQI activists work in conditions of extreme oppression, isolation and violence.”
Stern and other attendees expressed disappointment at the recent wave of anti-LGBT+ U.S. legislation, specifically the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
Brian Wenke of It Gets Better stated “This year alone, over 300 bills in 36 states were introduced, ranging from restrictive sports participation to ‘don’t say gay’ bills, which are cleverly disguised as parental rights in education.”
Julia Ehrt, director of ILGA, also remarked on an emergence of anti-gender narratives that were “trying to disenfranchise them from the human rights that they deserve.”
For example, a UCLA study reported that in America, transgender people are four times more likely to be victims of violent crime than cisgender people.
Queer youth highlighted by ILGA
This year’s conference is hosted by the It Gets Better Project, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization that aims to empower and connect LGBT+ youth around the world via media outreach and educational resources.
For the sold-out conference, facilitators wanted to focus on LGBT+ youth.
One of the highlighted issues for LGBT+ youth is homelessness, organizers said, with LGBT+ youth being significantly overrepresented in homeless populations compared with the general population.
“We’ve been really fighting for queer rights all across the world, but particularly queer youth rights have been sidelined (and) been invisible,” said Martin Karadzhov, chair of Ilga World’s youth committee.