US State Dept issues worldwide alert amid threat of violence against LGBT community
These comments were made on the International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia, Interphobia, and Transphobia.
The US State Department on Friday issued a worldwide caution security alert, saying it is aware of increased potential for foreign terrorist organization-inspired violence against LGBTQ+ people and events.
"Due to the potential for terrorist attacks, demonstrations, or violent actions against US citizens and interests, the Department of State advises US citizens overseas to exercise increased caution," the department said in a statement.
The alert comes two weeks before the start of LGBTQ+ Pride Month in the United States.
Stigma and discrimination
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement people in the LGBTQI+ community "continue to face insidious forms of stigma and discrimination."
He continued, "Even as more countries make meaningful advancements towards full equality, LGBTQI+ persons continue to be sentenced to death for daring to live their sexual orientation or gender identity, subjected to coercive conversion 'therapies' and 'normalization' surgeries, discriminated against while receiving health services, restricted from exercising fundamental freedoms, and denied the dignity of same-sex partnership and fulfillment of family."
These comments were made to mark the International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia, Interphobia, and Transphobia.
Blinken concluded his statement saying, "We will continue to advocate for the rights of LGBTQI+ persons not just because we have a moral imperative to do so, but because it helps to strengthen democracy, bolster national security, and promote global health and economic development."
According to an October 2023 annual FBI report tracking hate crimes in the United States in 2022, there were 1,947 recorded incidents relating to an alleged victim’s sexual orientation in 2022, up from 1,711 in 2021, and 469 relating to an alleged victim’s gender identity, vs. 353 the year before. The gender identity category included 338 instances that were specifically anti-transgender and 131 that targeted someone who was gender non-comforming.
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