South Asian same-sex attracted women in the United States experience discrimination and marginalization that puts them at an increased risk for mental health issues. Research shows their rates of counseling and psychotherapy use are low due to perceptions of stigma, lack of knowledge, and concerns about culturally insensitive treatment plans. Mental health providers lack the literature needed to inform culturally sensitive treatment plans to address these concerning gaps in services, and an extensive literature review found no studies on the lived experiences of this population. Guided by feminist theory, this research study examined how discrimination, oppression, and marginalization mold women's lived experiences; this knowledge aims to serve as a means to advocate for social and political change for this population. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand the lived experiences of this population. An emergent hand coding analysis, using experiential anecdotes, of data collected from interviews of 10 participants generated 10 major themes and 25 subthemes of experiences. Themes included importance of cultural values; familial relationships; marital life plan; intersectionality; and discrimination from gender disparity, patriarchal hierarchy, and sexual modesty. The study contributes to social change initiatives by providing culturally and contextually practical information to mental health professionals, counselor educators, and educational institutions that provide services to this population.

With the abolition of apartheid and the introduction of a new constitutional dispensation, the state’s totalitarian exclusion of homosexuals from legal recognition was relegated to a past era. The constitutional commitment to human dignity and equality and the inclusion of sexual orientation as a prohibited ground of discrimination led to the recognition of same-sex life partnerships and, inevitably, same-sex marriage by means of a civil union regime. The object of this study is to investigate the scope of the legal consequences provided to same-sex couples by the Civil Union Act 17 of 2006 and to determine the legal standing of same-sex couples who fall outside the ambit of the Act. The study includes constitutional arguments pertaining to the continued recognition of same-sex life partnerships and a critical analysis of the constitutionality of the Civil Union Act as a separate measure to govern same-sex marriage. This investigation is conducted with reference to relevant legislation and case law. / Private Law / LL.M. (Private Law)

With the abolition of apartheid and the introduction of a new constitutional dispensation, the state’s totalitarian exclusion of homosexuals from legal recognition was relegated to a past era. The constitutional commitment to human dignity and equality and the inclusion of sexual orientation as a prohibited ground of discrimination led to the recognition of same-sex life partnerships and, inevitably, same-sex marriage by means of a civil union regime. The object of this study is to investigate the scope of the legal consequences provided to same-sex couples by the Civil Union Act 17 of 2006 and to determine the legal standing of same-sex couples who fall outside the ambit of the Act. The study includes constitutional arguments pertaining to the continued recognition of same-sex life partnerships and a critical analysis of the constitutionality of the Civil Union Act as a separate measure to govern same-sex marriage. This investigation is conducted with reference to relevant legislation and case law. / Private Law / LL.M. (Private Law)

My thesis should provide a comprehensive sum up of the life of homoparental families in the Czech Republic. I would like to closely see and monitor functioning of those LGBTI families and to research obstacles that these families must overcome to fully function in the society. In terms of equal and discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity I will examine in more details the processes, tools and institutions that provide the same conditions to all families without exception. I am primarily interested in barriers to the full functioning of these families, their access to assisted reproduction, surrogacy for gay families, and the legalization of non-biologic parent relationships to a child in a common household, their rights and duties. From a public policy point of view, I will find out whether these processes are in the accordance to equal and not discrimination treatment for all. By legalization of the partnership between homosexuals in the Czech Republic it has caused the logical development of this status and issues connecting to this law. Today, is often discussed the nature of this relationship and the possibility of its "transformation" into a full family structure ended up by marriage. This development raises a number of theoretical and practical issues. In my work,...