HRW warns that lesbian, bisexual and queer women face undocumented discrimination

14 Feb. () –

The NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) has denounced this Tuesday that lesbian, bisexual and queer women, as well as non-binary people, face attacks and discrimination “at all times” that are not “properly” documented.

“The scale of brutal violence, legal discrimination and sexual harassment that these communities face is rarely documented,” Erin Kilbride, a researcher on LGBT rights and women’s rights at HRW, said in a statement.

In this sense, HRW has denounced, in a report of more than 200 pages, that there is a “chronic” lack of investigation into how the rights of these people are affected by patriarchal laws, policies and customs “that limit the rights of women to own and manage property”, among many other consequences.

“States should end patriarchal legal systems, such as male guardianship laws that restrict women’s rights to marry, study, work, rent or own property, have reproductive health, and travel, and refrain from issuing laws, policies , decrees and emergency measures that discriminatoryly restrict the freedom of movement of women,” he specified.

Another pending challenge, according to the NGO, is the promulgation of labor laws that protect women belonging to the group from violence, harassment and discrimination in their respective jobs.

Finally, among others, the NGO points out that it is necessary for the States to revoke the laws that prevent single women and unmarried couples from adopting, as well as to approve parental recognition laws.