Part I Experiences of being lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex in the Asia Pacific GOOD PRACTICE: ENABLING VISIBILITY AND RESPECTING PRIVACY IN NHRI ACTIVITIES The terms described in this chapter describe fundamental and very personal aspects of someone’s identity, status or characteristics as a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or intersex person. Many people will not wish to disclose these personal details in a group situation and should never be forced to do so. Some people may choose to disclose this information in a workshop or community consultation but not outside that venue. This means it is very important to remind participants that information shared in discussions is confidential. This includes taking care what name is used to greet someone in future interactions, following that person’s lead. A transgender woman who uses a female name and pronoun at a community consultation may not have disclosed her gender identity to other friends, family or work colleagues. Breaching her privacy could endanger her safety or expose her to discrimination. At the same time, community consultations are a valuable way to increase the visibility of marginalised groups. In this region, many strategies have been used to promote the visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex groups, without disclosing people’s identities. These include photographing some participants from behind or with placards or balloons in front of their faces. During community consultations or workshops, it is often useful to start with an introductory round where each person says one or two things about who they are. This can demonstrate the wide diversity in the room, including if people share other aspects of their lives beyond their lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender identity or intersex status. It also enables people to choose how much, if anything, they wish to disclose. In parts of the region where the local language has different pronouns or terms for women and men, it can be very helpful to ask each person to share their preferred word. This demonstrates awareness that people’s pronouns and gender identity are not always obvious and may change. It can reduce the chance that people will make incorrect assumptions about another participant’s gender identity. This can particularly be an issue for gender nonconforming people, those who have recently started to transition or those who are less visible within a community. For example, in many parts of this region, the invisibility of transgender men is compounded when they are referred to incorrectly as lesbians or by using female terms or the pronoun ‘she’. Chapter 1: Understanding sexual orientation, gender identity and sex characteristics | 25