Part I Experiences of being lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex in the Asia Pacific Lesbians and bisexual women were said to be often: … especially at risk owing to gender inequalities and restrictions on autonomy in decision-making about sexuality, reproduction and family life.144 Family rejection can also be associated with broader discrimination in the right to adequate housing. Lesbian, gay and bisexual people can suffer violations of their rights at the hands of their families, by being confined to the home, isolated socially and subjected to violence, or by being evicted from the family home and so deprived of housing. They then encounter discrimination in seeking and retaining housing.145 Landlords can discriminate by refusing rental accommodation and financial institutions may refuse loans to purchase housing. Discrimination based on sexual orientation can lead to poverty for lesbian, gay and bisexual people and can trap them in poverty. Different treatment in relation to relationship recognition is a more complex issue and international law is not clear on the issue.146 Domestic laws in this region take a variety of approaches, including to: • authorise marriage between two persons of the same sex on the same basis as between two persons of opposite sexes • recognise same-sex relationships civilly for certain purposes, such as property ownership, guardianship of children, next of kin status and inheritance • deny any form of recognition of or legal status to same-sex relationships. Photo by UNESCO/UNDP/V. Dithajohn. 144 Ibid, para. 66. 145 International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (now OutRight Action International), Violence on the basis of Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Gender Expression Against Non-Heteronormative Women in Asia 2012; at http://iglhrc.org/sites/ default/files/386-1_0.pdf. 146 The international legal issues are discussed in Chapter 6 in the context of the Yogyakarta Principles. Chapter 2: Being lesbian, gay and bisexual in the Asia Pacific | 41