Sexual orientation and gender identity in Canada’s “feminist” international assistance
| Author | Erin Aylward,Stephen Brown |
| Published date | 01 September 2020 |
| Date | 01 September 2020 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0020702020953425 |
| Subject Matter | Scholarly Essay |
Scholarly Essay
Sexual orientation and
gender identity in
Canada’s “feminist”
international assistance
Erin Aylward
University of Toronto
Stephen Brown
University of Ottawa
Abstract
Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy (FIAP), launched in June 2017, marks
the first time that sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) have been mentioned
in an overarching Canadian aid policy. The inclusion of SOGI in the policy document
sent an important signal to domestic and international development partners on the
need to consider these sources of discrimination and marginalization. This article asks
two basic research questions. First, what is the place of SOGI in Canada’s “feminist”
international assistance? Second, what additional steps does Canada’s development
program need to take to protect the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and
intersex (LGBTI) people in the Global South? Based on an analysis of official documents
and secondary sources, we argue that FIAP itself sends only a weak signal about the
importance of SOGI-related concerns, but Canadian foreign aid has expanded its
understanding of LGBTI issues and has begun to commit dedicated resources to
addressing them. Nonetheless, the initial programming (2017–2019) was channelled
in an ad hoc manner and through one, major stand-alone commitment, rather than
through a broader framework that would guide SOGI’s integration into Canadian pro-
grams over the long term. If serious about addressing LGBTI rights more syst ematically,
the Canadian government needs to expand its definition of what SOGI entails and move
Corresponding author:
Stephen Brown, School of Political Studies, University of Ottawa, 120 University Private, 7th Floor, Ottawa,
Ontario, K1N 6N5, Canada.
Email: brown@uottawa.ca
International Journal
2020, Vol. 75(3) 313–328
!The Author(s) 2020
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/0020702020953425
journals.sagepub.com/home/ijx
beyond niche programming to recognize the cross-cutting dimension of LGBTI rights in
foreign aid, especially in the area of sexual and reproductive health and rights.
Keywords
Foreign aid, sexual orientation, gender identity, LGBTI, Canada, feminism
Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy (FIAP), launched in June 2017,
marks the first time that sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) have been
mentioned in an overarching Canadian aid policy. Although Canadian involve-
ment in defending the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT)
rights in the Global South predates FIAP, the inclusion of SOGI in the policy
document signals to domestic and international development partners the need to
consider these sources of discrimination and marginalization in foreign aid projects
and programs.
1
This article asks two basic research questions. First, what is the place of SOGI in
Canada’s “feminist” international assistance? Second, what additional steps does
Canada’s development program need to take to protect the rights of LGBTI
people in the Global South? We argue that FIAP itself sends only a weak signal
about the importance of sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex
characteristics (SOGIESC) concerns, but Canadian foreign aid has expanded its
understanding of LGBT issues and has begun to commit dedicated resources to
addressing them. Nonetheless, the initial programming (2017–2019) was channelled
in an ad hoc manner and through one major stand-alone commitment, rather than
through a broader framework that would guide SOGIESC’s integration into
Canadian programs over the long term. If serious about addressing LGBTI rights
more systematically, the Canadian government needs to expand its definition of
what SOGIESC entails and move beyond niche programming to recognize the
cross-cutting dimension of LGBTI rights in foreign aid, especially in the area of
sexual and reproductive health and rights.
We make those arguments based on publicly available information, including
government documents and secondary analysis by academics and civil society
1. As discussed below, the FIAP document uses the expressions “sexual orientation” and “gender
identity” a few times, but never the words lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, or the acronym
LGBT. In this article, we use the terms SOGI and LGBT interchangeably in relation to FIAP.
These terms have been the predominant ones used in relation to sexual and gender diversity inter-
nationally over the last two decades. In recent years, however, the scope has often been expanded to
include the rights of intersex people (individuals born with sex characteristics that do not fit con-
ventional definitions for female or male bodies). We therefore prefer to use the acronyms LGBTI
and SOGIESC (sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex characteristics) when
not referring directly to the FIAP document or to other initiatives whose scope excludes sex
characteristics.
314 International Journal 75(3)
To continue reading
Request your trial