A Queer Perspective on Sustainable Development

I’m sitting on the floor following negotiations on health, education and gender equality paragraphs for the Rio+20 outcome document ‘The Future We Want’. What strikes me is how what these suited people, sat round the table, relates (or completely doesn’t relate) to me.

I’m here in Rio with the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, and back home I’m also a member of the Stonewall Youth Panel – the UKs main Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual rights organisation. And I’m sat here thinking ‘I haven’t seen a single person at this event addressing gender and sexual minorities’. I know that, after many nation states walked out of a meeting addressing these issues at the Human Rights Council earlier this year, there’s unlikely to any direct reference in the formal outcome document. However, I haven’t seen a single NGO side event talking about it or an organisation working on these issues directly represented (if they’re happening please point me in the right direction!).

And, I mean, there’s plenty for them to be talking about here on the small number of topics I’m following alone.

Firstly I should say that I think the idea of ‘developed countries’ is a myth – no country is perfect and all are still developing. Countries are in different places, but this linear notion of development is misguided and any support for sustainable development needs to work for ensuring rights and access to services of populations the world over.

Health

There has been extensive discussion (and challenges) of sexual and reproductive health and rights over the last few days but in a most definitely heterocentric and binary gendered fashion – what else would you expect when the Holy See is vehemently  participating in discussions?!

Being young and queer my experience of sexual health provision in the UK has been lacking, and obviously such services are non-existent in the majority of countries. Refusal to administer certain tests for sexually transmitted infections is common – the misconception being that certain diseases can’t be passed between same-sex partners being concluded for the low rates of transmission. On several occasions I have had to assure a doctor of an opposite sex sexual partner before they’ll take my request for STI testing seriously. Heterosexuality is always presumed, with me having to tell a medical practitioner otherwise – usually with the narrow category options of heterosexual, homosexual and bisexual which simple don’t reflect the diversity of sexual minorities.

Hate crime has also had a serious impact on my health as a young person, mentally and physically, and there is no doubt that levels of economic and social development, as well as historical factors, seriously influence the likelihood and severity of such crimes. Within the UK I have faced verbal and threats of physical violence based upon my sexuality and gender identity on far too many occasions. However I have also experienced the much harsher hate violence prevalent in many other countries during a visit to Ghana. Aged 17, I was picked out based on my clothing and mannerisms amongst other things, and subjected to things that no person should ever face…Everybody has a right to live a life free from violence and this is a right denied to sexual and gender minorities on a daily basis. Violence has a dramatic cost – socially, economically and environmentally – and so any programme of sustainable development should seek to address it.

Education

I was buoyed by this article today showing that a UN agency has recognised the specific education barriers faced by gender and sexual minorities, and it makes many important points. Whilst it’s well-known that girls are forced out of school for reasons based around their gender, sexuality and gender identity forces many others out of education to. In the UK, bullying based on my sexuality and gender identity forced me to drop out of formal education at the age of 13. Sustainable development, in all countries should ensure that children can remain in education regardless of any factor of their identity.

Whilst I am heartened by the news of progress that schools who participate in Stonewall’s Diversity schools programme are making in terms of homophobic bullying – I firmly believe that non-formal education has an incredible role to play it is ability to promote shared values of diversity and equality.

Conclusions

I am incredibly frustrated by my position within a group who still don’t have their rights formally recognised within the UN system – one day I hope that gender and sexual minorities will be given the due space and consideration to productively input into international political processes.

#SaveOurSay in the #FutureWeWant

We are now into part two of the Rio+20 conference process - yesterday the Brazilian government took the text under negotiation and consolidated it. Lots of great things stayed in - like the paragraph on non-formal education that WAGGGS and the major group of children and youth campaigned for - but there were noticeable omissions.

These omissions include language around establishing a high commissioner for future generations and around ensuring the participation of civil society of the Sustainable Development Framework going forward. I am currently sat in negotiations listening to coutries views about this section of the text and there are sympathetic ears out there.

To show the wealth of support for these concepts we are taking to twitter to raise awareness of the importance of these two concepts - inevitably by using a hashtag! If you support children, youth and all members of civil society eing able to inut into this process then please join our campaign by tweeting "#SaveOurSay in the #FutureWeWant" and sharing this blog (and the many others on this topic) through Facebook and email.

Thanks for your support!

Lot's of Talk and Little Substance - We Must Not Regress!

Back-tracking and regression is the theme of these latest days of negotiations and we're working hard to ensure that rights based language - particularly that from previous UN agreements - remains throughout the text.

What we really want to see is mentions of the importance of non-formal education and the need to address violence against women in the text. To raise awareness I am supporting two hashtags on Twitter and I urge you to do the same - #EducationEverywhere along with a message about non-formal education and #SexRightsRio to highlight the need for sexual and reproductive rights to be ensured.

It's an indication of the busy nature of the conference that this is the first entry I have written whilst in Rio - however it is not indicative of the pace of negotiations. Things are going slowly and as of yet it is unclear whether quality text with strong language will make it before the ministers and heads of state next week...

In the Departure Lounge!

I'm sat at Heathrow airport, waiting for my flight to board, ready to head to Rio for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development. This is a once in a generation summit and I hope that, along with the rest of the delegation from the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, we can get serious consideration of the issues faced today and in the future by citizens of the world and how those issues differently affect people based on age and gender.

The Guardian have published the text under negotiation as it current stands and I encourage you to look at it and contact your government delegation with any points that you think it is imperative that they consider.

WAGGGS have published an article on actions that you can take for the comfort of your own home - you don't need to be in Brazil to engage with this conference!
I hope to have another update for you after my flight.

“You’re not a Guide – you talk about real issues.”

The title of this entry is the response I received from a water engineer when I spoke on an expert panel at #Yorio on Thursday. This event was a youth pre-event where participants aged 12-21 engaged in discussions around how we can create sustainable water usage before putting these ideas to Caroline Spelman, the environment minister (part of the UK government delegation to Rio).

This response was further reiterated by some of the comments on this article about the same event. Young people are frequently being underestimated in our passion, our knowledge and our capabilities, and frankly it’s just not on anymore. I’m proud to be part of a worldwide movement that engages with politics at every level, but I, and other members, know that we can’t leave all that action up to politicians. One of the other comments on the same article put it well – politicians are thinking to the next election, young people are thinking for the rest of their lifetimes!

That’s why members of Girlguiding UK and of the WAGGGS run their own projects to make a difference to their own communities – in this case around environmental sustainability. In my speech on Thursday I talked about toilets at Hautbois (the Girlguiding activity centre in Norfolk) and how some are flushed by rain water, whilst others use grey water from showers and sinks to move the sewage from ensuites to the septic tank. We launched a ‘Going Green’ challenge for local groups to take their own environmental action and raise money for further sustainable projects.

Back in March 1^st Greenisland Brownies took part in hedge planting and met with members of a local Green Gym. 1^st Marford Guides recycled clothes from friends and neighbours selling them on to raise money for their next guiding adventure and benefitting a local charity. On Thursday we also had a skype call from Miriam – part of the Girl Guides of Kenya. She spoke passionately about how they run projects to teach girls, from the slum areas of Nairobi, how to harvest rain water as a source of clean drinking water. The system at the guiding centre provides water for drinking, bathing and watering a kitchen garden – feeding the girls too! Later this month a transatlantic project (funded by ALCOA) will start, whereby girls from the east of England will partner with girls in Atlanta to think about ways they can make their communities more environmentally sustainable.

You don’t need to be a politician to help create sustainable development in your community, but that doesn’t stop you engaging with politics either. I like to think that in Rio, Caroline Spelman will effectively represent the great ideas she heard from young people this week – and I will do my best to keep her to the promise of a meeting so that she receives youth input right through the conference!  Because I am a guide, and I do talk about real issues.