The International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia (IDAHOTB) is an important annual event to mark the ongoing fight against discrimination on the basis of sexuality, sex and gender.

Fare has been marking the day since 2015; we have been honoured to join a global movement against discrimination affecting LGBTIQ+ communities.

IDAHOTB aims to provide a greater understanding of the discrimination faced by LGBTIQ+ groups and the importance of protecting the human rights of all people regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation.

It is quite shocking to think that IDAHOTB was only created after the World Health Organisation’s decision to declassify homosexuality as a ‘mental disorder’ as late as 1990.

Under cover of the Coronavirus

During a time of global crisis, minorities come under threat and progress made within anti-discrimination arenas can seem fragile. The impact of the coronavirus pandemic on LGBTIQ+ communities has been felt worldwide. Lockdowns have meant LGBTIQ+ people forced to live in isolation with others hostile to their sexuality and gender. Domestic abuse is a very real danger to members of the community. Individuals may also lose access to vital health care and support services.

In some countries, minorities are being blamed for the spread of the coronavirus and targeted for abuse. In South Korea, for example, there has been a rise in homophobia with a recent spike in cases that has been linked to LGBTIQ+ places of social gathering.

Meanwhile, governments are using the pressures on the economy and public health to push through discriminatory laws and practices.

Several Latin American countries have introduced gender-based lockdown policies, through which men and women are given separate times to leave the house and visit shops. This has led to the arrest and harassment of trans and gender nonconforming people who have been accused of breaching quarantine rules. In the UK, revisions to the Gender Recognition Act have come under greater scrutiny as part of an attack on transgender rights. In Hungary, the government is attempting to pass a bill that will prevent transgender people from changing their gender.

As the coronavirus pandemic has paused sport across the globe, the LGBTIQ+ community has lost access to an important space. It is clear that inclusive sporting organisations will need to be protected and their recovery supported following the pandemic.

Be inspired

On IDAHOTB 2020, Fare wants to celebrate all sporting organisations fighting against discrimination towards LGBTIQ+ communities and helping to create a better, more inclusive world. We salute you and offer our support to your work.

We are profiling some organisations from across the globe for their work and their successes. Many of them are at the forefront of tackling exclusion and creating safety and belonging at a community, national and international level.

They inspire us and many others. The movement for equality is marked every year on 17th May through IDAHOTB; football and its LGBTIQ+ leaders will remain at the centre of it.

Follow our IDAHOTB leaders on the Fare twitter, facebook and insta platforms.