Empowerment and Capacity Development for Parents of LGBTI Persons in Asia

• In Event: Poster session 2

Proposal

The rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) people are a crucial aspect of human rights advocacy internationally. However, in many Asian societies LGBTI people are not fully accepted. Individuals live in social harmony with each other and significantly rely on their family well into their adulthood. LGBTI individuals demanding human rights may be seen as too individualistic or even selfish by family for doing what they want and neglecting social harmony. In this context, family members play a key role in shaping social attitudes, knowledge, and awareness of LGBTI people.

The Regional Meeting on Empowerment and Capacity Development for Parents of LGBTI Persons in Asia was convened in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam on August 24-25, 2018. The objectives of the meeting were to understand the role and impact of parents of LGBTI persons in Asian society, share and document best practices, facilitate knowledge sharing and learning among organizations, and to strengthen solidarity.

The meeting highlighted the need to provide support to parents of LGBTI persons, because LGBTI related stigma affects parents both directly and indirectly. Helpful practices included bringing parents together face-to-face and through mobile media groups; building awareness in society by working through schools, businesses, religious leaders or social and mass media; helping LGBTI individuals to plan coming out in a constructive way that could allay parents’ worries; and parents advocating for better treatment for their LGBTI children. The workshop participants’ plans for improving their capacity to provide support to parents of LGBTI persons reflected the diversity of organizational support already in existence.

This poster addresses the lacuna of discussion and research at the CIES conference around LGBTI topics, non-formal education, civil society, and adult learning. Sustainable futures using education as a tool for development requires inclusivity. This poster presentation offers a nuance to the LGBTI conversation by bringing in an ecosystem approach to LGBTI equality. It compares and shares best practices and challenges from nine Asian countries of various contexts, and it discusses it through adult learning and non-formal education. This conference stressed support, advocacy, and education were the tools to a free and equal future. As queer movement globalize, we need to discuss the effect education has on creating just societies.

Author

• Cody Freeman, Faculty of Learning Sciences & Education, Thammasat University