Trends of Transphobia in France and beyond

In light of the recent surge of anti-trans legislations as well as violence against trans people, we want to use the week around IDAHOBIT (International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia) to talk about the history and current situation of transphobia in the case of France. The first part of this panel will be concerned with recent developments in France, which many are parallel in other parts of Europe and the world. We will be looking at narratives about and the situation of different transgender groups during the covid-19 pandemic. In the second half, we will dive deeper into the ways in which contemporary transphobia is rooted in French colonial history.

Panelists:

Simon Petitjean, Senior Advocacy Manager at the Global Interfaith Network, is based in Geneva. He holds a MPhil in International Relations from Oxford University, and has 10 years of experience in international policy working at the European Commission, UNESCO and OECD and human rights work (in South East Asia and East Africa, notably working in NGOs and for local political representatives).

Anwar Ogrm is Transgender Europe’s Senior Programmes Officer. An activist from France, he is combining different struggles, such as queer and trans rights, gender equality and anti-racism. Anwar is engaged in several grassroots organisations addressing racism as well as queerphobia from an intersectional perspective. Advocacy work and empowerment for queer and trans Muslim people is one of his priorities.