A trans woman in Cyprus has filed a complaint with the police and reported being repeatedly harassed and subjected to hate speech. The woman's private property has been vandalized multiple times with hateful messages written on her walls, and she has been targeted with consistent slurs [04a94e9d].
In a similar incident, a transgender teacher in Pitt Meadows, B.C., Canada, has filed a human rights complaint after being targeted with online hate and doxxing. The teacher, identified as Wilson Wilson, has received numerous messages of hate and violence, including being called slurs and accused of being a groomer and a pervert. The messages have come from a social media account called 'Blonde Bigot,' allegedly operated by Joanna Evenson, a parent of a student at the school where Wilson teaches. In November, Wilson's name, picture, and place of work were shared on TikTok, leading to an onslaught of hateful messages. Wilson is now off work and has filed a human rights complaint against Evenson [d5284ed5].
In Fiji, the Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Commission has filed a complaint with the Fiji Police Force and the Online Safety Commission following allegations that a member of the LGBTIQ+ community was driven to suicide after being cyberbullied. The deceased was allegedly humiliated, threatened, and abused on a public chat forum. The Commission is calling for collective action to address cyberbullying, harassment, and hate speech on social media platforms. They believe that the administrators of the public chat forum and the commenters should face legal consequences. The Commission emphasizes that freedom of speech has limitations and that hate speech violates the right to be free from discrimination. They urge social media users to create a safer online environment [c79c915b].
The NGO Accept has made the case known in Cyprus, and the justice ministry has responded by assuring immediate consultations to create a national LGBTI+ strategy. The goal is to present the strategy by the end of 2024, which should include proper information and education to promote respect for human and LGBTI+ rights. It should also address LGBTI+ health and healthcare issues, as well as labor rights issues. Same-sex couples who have married in another country and come to Cyprus face difficulties in paperwork regarding children, as civil partnership is not recognized in certain countries like Greece. The training of police officers to handle LGBTI+ cases is also needed, as progress has been made but more steps need to be taken in some provinces [04a94e9d].
Transgender people are often targeted online, and filing a human rights complaint is a way to hold the perpetrators accountable and empower others facing transphobia. The complaint process in Canada is expected to take a couple of years [d5284ed5].