2019 Human Rights Violations Report

This report was published by the South Asian Human Rights Association of People Marginalised Because of their Sexualities & Gender Identity/Expression (SAHRA) – an organisation documenting human rights violations against gender and sexual minorities in South Asia. The report is a regional and country-level analysis of 810 cases of human rights violations – recorded in 2018 – faced by sexual and gender minorities in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal and Pakistan. It was released in the year 2019. Despite positive legislations strengthening the rights of sexual and gender minorities in some parts of South Asia, the experiences of people belonging to these minority groups remain dismal. The report states that laws against “‘indecency’, ‘public nuisance’, ‘unnatural sex’ and sex work” continue to be mobilised against sexual and gender minorities. The report has gathered data on human rights violations against gender and sexual minorities through focus group interviews, forums and social media campaigns held by a network of NGOs, community-based organisations and volunteers. The 36-page document contains five sections: About this report (Section 1); Regional findings (Section 2); Country insights (Section 3); Conclusions (Section 4) and Recommendations (Section 5).