Part I Experiences of being lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex in the Asia Pacific Third, as in many other areas of human rights violations, violations perpetrated against lesbian, gay and bisexual people are exacerbated by other factors, such as gender, race, ethnicity, class, economic status and religion.78 This is called ‘intersectionality’. The nature and severity of the violations can be different where they are based not only on sexual orientation but also on other types of identity or status. The violations can be especially severe where a gay or lesbian or bisexual person is also transgender or intersex. The APF’s Advisory Council of Jurists (ACJ) noted that: … the identity of each individual is made up of a multitude of components. In addition to sexual orientation and gender identity, other factors include gender, age, nationality, profession, political opinion, religious affiliation and social origin. Minority groups therefore often face the cumulative effects of discrimination on a variety of grounds. This is often the case for persons of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities, where the impact of discrimination is felt more acutely when experienced in association with other forms of this form of discrimination or exclusion.79 Lesbians and bisexual women, on the basis both of their sexual orientation and of being women, can experience compounded discrimination. For that reason, lesbians and bisexual women are confronted by treatment that is quite specific to them. Violence in particular is experienced differently by women. Lesbians and bisexual women are especially subjected to sexual violence from men because of their sexual orientation. In the Ang Ladlad case, the Chief Justice of the Philippines Supreme Court identified the violence and discrimination experienced by lesbian, gay and bisexual people in the Philippines, which included: • the murders of gay men • parents or guardians beating effeminate or gay youth to ensure gender conformity • fathers allowing lesbian daughters to be raped to cure them • the use of an anti-kidnapping law to break up adult consensual same sex partnerships • the performance of exorcisms and other religious practices to cure lesbian, gay and bisexual persons • forced psychiatric therapy and counselling to ‘cure’ young gays and lesbians.80 Thoughts and stories of being Being LGBTI by Being LGBTI in Asia. 78 High Commissioner for Human Rights, Discrimination and violence against individuals based on their sexual orientation and gender identity, 4 May 2015, A/HRC/29/23, para. 42; International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (now OutRight Action International), Violence Through the Lens of Lesbians, Bisexual Women and Trans People in Asia, 2014, p. 2. 79 APF, ACJ Report: Human rights, sexual orientation and gender identity, 2010, pp. 22-23; at www.asiapacificforum.net/resources/ acj-report-sogi/. 80 Ang Ladlad LGBT Party vs. Commission On Elections, G.R. No. 190582, 8 April 2010; at http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/ jurisprudence/2010/april2010/190582.htm. Chapter 2: Being lesbian, gay and bisexual in the Asia Pacific | 29