A new open course on Monitoring the Situation of LGBTI+ Persons Deprived of Liberty is now available on the APT’s Torture Prevention Village.
The course is for anyone who monitors places of detention - or has an interest in prison issues - and wants to know more about situations of risk faced by LGBTI+ detainees.
Using plain language and practical examples, the course explains:
- Key concepts related to sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics
- How to identify risk factors contributing to torture and other ill-treatment of LGBTI+ detainees
- How to develop a monitoring methodology sensitive to issues faced by LGBTI+ detainees.
“We know that LGBTI+ detainees face very serious and specific risks in places of detention,” said Sara Vera López Senior Adviser, Latin America & Oversight, who developed the course content.
We hope the ideas and strategies shared in this course will be adopted by individual detention monitors and mainstreamed into the work of monitoring teams to protect LGBTI+ detainees from discrimination, violence and ill-treatment.
With input from experts in the field, the course addresses issues such as targeted violence and arbitrary sanctions. It also outlines the key moments when LGBTI+ detainees face heightened risk of discrimination and ill-treatment, including during allocation, body searches, in relation to visits and when accessing health care.
Examples from different countries of effective advocacy for changes in law, policy and practice affecting LGBTI+ detainees are also featured.
The course takes around 45 minutes to complete. It is currently available in English, with other languages to be added soon.
“The course is beautifully illustrated thanks to a very talented illustrator from Mexico, Naandeyeah, and includes a range of materials to make learning interesting and engaging,” said Audrey Olivier Muralt, APT Deputy Secretary General. “It also features issues that participants in other courses asked us to examine.”
The course complements existing open courses on the Torture Prevention Village: Fundamentals of Detention Monitoring and Gender-Sensitive Detention Monitoring. Other courses on thematic issues will be added soon, with a focus on addressing vulnerabilities in detention.
