The Hirschfeld-Eddy Foundation (, HES) was founded in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

in June 2007. HES is the human rights foundation of LSVD⁺. The foundation focusses on

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...

, gay,

bisexual Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...

transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...

intersex Intersex people are those born with any of several sex characteristics, including chromosome patterns, gonads, or genitals that, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, "do not fit typical binar ...

and other

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are non-heterosexual or non- cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against LGBTQ people in the late 19th century. From the late 1980s, queer activists began to ...

( LGBTIQ) people.

Name origin

The Foundation's name remembers two personalities who are important for the worldwide struggle for the Human Rights of gay people: Dr

Magnus Hirschfeld Magnus Hirschfeld (14 May 1868 – 14 May 1935) was a German physician, Sexology, sexologist and LGBTQ advocate, whose German citizenship was later revoked by the Nazi government.David A. Gerstner, ''Routledge International Encyclopedia of Queer ...

(1868–1935), after the German physician, sexologist, sexual reformer and civil rights activist and FannyAnn Eddy (1974–2004), the prominent lesbian human rights activist from Sierra Leone, who was murdered in 2004.

Background

The initiative came from the Lesbian and Gay Federation in Germany (LSVD), today LSVD⁺ – Association Queer Diversity. LSVD⁺ is one of three queer organisations which was formally granted consultative status at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

in 2006 and is giving organizational support for the Foundation.

Aims, idea and concept

The purpose of the foundation is "to foster respect for the human rights of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people, contribute to international human rights advocacy, provide active support to human rights defenders, promote awareness-raising and dismantle

prejudice Prejudice can be an affect (psychology), affective feeling towards a person based on their perceived In-group and out-group, social group membership. The word is often used to refer to a preconceived (usually unfavourable) evaluation or classifi ...

s." The combination of the names of the "founding father of the gay rights movement in Germany" and the modern-day "human rights activist" and Martyr from Africa reflects that the struggle for the human rights of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people began in Europe but is now being waged in every continent of the world. Human rights for LGBTIQ people is a global issue which concerns universal principles. "The work which began in 1897 with Magnus Hirschfeld, who established the world's first homosexual rights organization, is now being carried forward by countless people on every continent – often at great personal risk. The Hirschfeld-Eddy Foundation also aims to raise awareness of, and counteract, this threat to human rights advocates through international publicity campaigns. The name of FannyAnn Eddy symbolizes this brave dangerous struggle against oppression which often puts the lives of those involved at risk."

Founding council members

* Boris Balanetkii, Executive Director of Information Center GenderDoc-M, Moldova; *

Gloria Careaga Pérez Gloria Angélica Careaga Pérez (born 1947) is a Mexican social psychology, social psychologist and feminist. She has taught at the Faculty of Psychology in the National Autonomous University of Mexico since 1979. She is co-founder of Mexican organ ...

, El Closet de Sor Juana, Mexico and Latin American board member, (ILGA), Faculty of Psychology in the

National Autonomous University of Mexico The National Autonomous University of Mexico (, UNAM) is a public university, public research university in Mexico. It has several campuses in Mexico City, and many others in various locations across Mexico, as well as a presence in nine countri ...

(UNAM); * Rosanna Flamer-Caldera, Executive Director, Equal Ground,

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

and Co-Secretary General, ILGA; * Muhsin Hendricks, The Inner Circle,

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, first openly gay

imam Imam (; , '; : , ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Salah, Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, ...

; * Joey Matale, ANZAPI (Aotearoa/New Zealand, Australia and Pacific Islands ) board member, ILGA, Tonga Leiti’s Association; * Juliet Victor Mukasa, SMUG ( Sexual Minorities Uganda); * Dede Oetomo, Founder and Trustee o
GAYa NUSANTARA

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

; * Arsham Parsi, Executive Director, IRQR Iranian Railroad for Queer Refugees; * Carlos Perera, Equal Ground Pasifik,

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

; * Belissa Andía Pérez, Instituto Runa,

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

, Trans Secretariat, ILGA; * Toni Reis, President of ABGLT (Associação Brasileira de Gays, Lésbicas e Transgêneros - Brazilian LGBT federation).

References

External links