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Racial and ethnic minorities are disproportionately represented in Portland, Oregon's criminal justice system. Laws, legal procedures and practices that excessively target minorities are not new phenomena. This study focused on a history of political and social conditions in Oregon, and subsequently, Portland, from the 1840' s to 1895, that created unjust state laws and city ordinances that adversely impacted Native Americans, African Americans, and Chinese Immigrants. Attention was also given to the Jewish population. The approach was to examine available arrest and court records from Oregon's and Portland's early beginnings to ascertain what qualitative information records could provide regarding the treatment of minorities by the justice system. As an outgrowth of this observation, it was necessary to obtain an understanding of the legal environment related to arrests and dispositions of adjudications. Finally, a review of the political and social atmosphere during the time period provided a look at the framework that shaped public attitudes and civic actions. Examination of available arrest records and court records recorded during the period were conducted at the City of Portland's Stanley Paar Archives. Observations were limited to the availability of archive records. Oregon's history, relative legislation, Portland's history and applicable ordinances were studied and extrapolated from valid secondary resources. Political and social conditions were reviewed through newspaper accounts during recorded history from that time period. Research indicated that Native Americans, African Americans and Chinese Immigrants were: not legally afforded equal access to Oregon land provisions; denied equitable treatment under the law in comparison to their white counterparts; were unjustly targeted for criminal activities by the enactment and enforcement of laws based on racist views; and, negatively used as political ploys to the advantage of candidates seeking public office. Much of this research is akin to actions in many political, legal and justice arenas of the 1990' s, that continue to adversely impact racial/ethnic minorities unfairly. Although members of the Jewish community were not negatively affected by law, they suffered social injustices. However, they were members of the legal and political fiber that shaped civic sentiments and legislative action in both positive and negative ways.

The debate stirred by the recent appointment of a chief justice and deputy chief justice under the judicial reform process envisaged in Kenya‟s new Constitution has, once again, brought to the fore the attitude surrounding sexual minorities. A section of religious organisations and citizens rejected the nominees because they perceived the duo to either belong to or to support sexual minority groups. The hostility and antipathy directed at the two is not new. In recent times, the clergy and state officials have been quoted calling for the arrest of gays. It is common for perceived homosexuals and lesbians to be harassed because of their sexual orientation. Support for the rights and welfare of this group draws quick condemnation. In October 2010, a minister who stated that there should be HIV/AIDS mitigation programmes for lesbians and gays was sharply criticised by religious leaders who termed her remarks „satanic‟ and „contrary to African culture‟, and called for her dismissal. / Thesis (LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa)) -- University of Pretoria, 2011. / http://www.chr.up.ac.za/ / nf2012 / Centre for Human Rights / LLM

In recent years, we have witnessed a strong global resistance to the acceptance of gender and sexuality rights. This resistance is theorized to be driven by a clash between pro-liberal international forces and traditionalist local political powers, suggesting a reverse trend from the previously anticipated liberal progression. However, existing literature often overlooks the divergent dynamics between various issues by relying on single-issue analyses. This dissertation aims to bridge this gap by examining the multifaceted nature of this resistance, using the case study of Russia, which has become a key sponsor of anti-gender policies on the global stage. By providing a comprehensive understanding of the broader socio-political landscape of this process, I suggest a nuance to the existing explanation for global political dynamics.The central concept of this dissertation, which I have named strategic traditionalism, explains how political state actors can opportunistically promote traditionalist views on certain issues while avoiding others that do not advance their political interests. I argue that a nation’s stance on gender and sexuality does not necessarily align with purely liberal or illiberal trends but is rather relational and dependent on political alliances and opportunity structures. I develop this argument through three interrelated studies. In the first chapter, I investigate why the Russian state promotes strategic traditionalism and explain how it relates to anti-Western ideology. Using the logic of a natural experiment in media analysis, I zoom in on the state's role in shaping media discourse on homosexuality and abortion. I analyze the changes in narratives before and after a prominent Russian news agency underwent an unexpected state takeover. I find that pre-takeover, both issues were framed as traditional values versus human rights conflicts. After the takeover, the narrative shifted to a competition between Russia and the West, with Russia portrayed as defending against Western elites using "LGBT ideology" for global dominance, while the abortion discourse remained unchanged. This study highlights the strategic reinforcement of illiberal position on one topic but maintaining neutrality on others to preserve its hegemony, rather than embracing universally traditional or religious views on both topics. This enhances our understanding of how opposing homosexuality aligns with a state's global and domestic interests. The second study examines the extent to which the public adopts state-sponsored strategic traditionalism by exploring public opinion. Globally, public opinion on homosexuality and abortion tends to correlate, but this is not the case in Russia. Quantitative analysis of a nationally representative public opinion survey reveals that negative attitudes towards homosexuality in Russia are associated with traditional values, religiosity, and anti-Western sentiments. However, negative attitudes towards abortion are linked to religiosity but not to traditional values or anti-Western sentiments, suggesting that the public opinion aligns with the state sponsored ideology. Qualitative findings provide an important nuance, indicating that support for the state’s stance might be influenced by the non-democratic nature of public-state relationships in Russia. Respondents understand and can reiterate the state’s logic, assuming that this conformity is non-negotiable in an authoritarian context. However, when discussing their views on sexuality and gender, they distinguish between public and private spheres. While some respondents support the actions framed in terms of combating foreign influence and defending Russian interests in the global sphere, they reject state intervention in the private sphere, which includes same-sex relations and abortion. Thus, this chapter demonstrates that the state’s propaganda had a significant effect on public opinion, showing that framing in terms of strategic traditionalism was effective but deeper probing reveals limits to this adaptation, highlighting the boundaries within which the state operates. This explains the specific form that state action took, distinguishing strategic traditionalism in Russia from what traditionalist pushback, suggested by the literature so far. Finally, I delve into the connection between two core elements of the Russian state’s anti-Western politics: political homophobia, as a part of strategic traditionalism, and anti-Ukrainian campaign. Although the link between two might not be immediately obvious for the outside viewers, the Russian state framed both anti-LGBT measures and the Ukrainian conflict as strategies to counter perceived Western influence while upholding "traditional values" and national sovereignty. Here, I establish the correlation between anti-LGBT and anti-Ukrainian sentiments in Russian public opinion, analyzing the period before and after the introduction of anti-LGBT+ legislation and the onset of the Russian aggression against Ukraine. The results show no statistically significant correlation between attitudes toward Ukraine and homosexuality in 2010. However, in 2016, following the anti-gay law and Crimea’s annexation, anti-gay views and anti-Ukrainian sentiments became positively correlated. This suggests that the Russian public has embraced a multifaceted anti-Western ideology promoted by the political leadership.

<p>The protection of the rights of sexual minorities in Africa is a controversial issue. It is not unusual to find newspaper reports on gross violations suffered by this minority group. Gays and lesbians are victims of violence, sometimes resulting in death. Sexual minorities in Africa are often confronted with government actions such as those of the Nigerian government that recently submitted to the parliament a Bill to make provisions for the prohibition of relationships between persons of the same sex, celebration of marriage, registration of gay clubs and societies and publicity of same sex relationships. The objective of this study was to suggest possible legal protection and recognition of sexual minority rights under the African human rights system.</p>

<p>The protection of the rights of sexual minorities in Africa is a controversial issue. It is not unusual to find newspaper reports on gross violations suffered by this minority group. Gays and lesbians are victims of violence, sometimes resulting in death. Sexual minorities in Africa are often confronted with government actions such as those of the Nigerian government that recently submitted to the parliament a Bill to make provisions for the prohibition of relationships between persons of the same sex, celebration of marriage, registration of gay clubs and societies and publicity of same sex relationships. The objective of this study was to suggest possible legal protection and recognition of sexual minority rights under the African human rights system.</p>

Modern parliaments are mostly compared to the top echelon of the society.The unfairness of the representation still holds true even where free, fair and periodic democratic elections are held. PWDs constitue the largest minority group accounting for 15.6% of the world's population. In Ethiopia approximately the same percentage of the population is disabled though nor fairly represented in the political system. / Thesis (LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa)) -- University of Pretoria, 2011. / http://www.chr.up.ac.za/ / nf2012 / Centre for Human Rights / LLM

Mémoire numérisé par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

Anti-LGBTQ laws and policies are considered to be institutional forms of discrimination,or the provide legal pathways for people to actively discriminate against LGBTQ+ people, or they fail to provide protections from discrimination to LGBTQ+ communities. Given the rise of far-right government in the (United States) U.S. and its foundations on Christian Nationalism, there has been an alarming increase of anti-LGBTQ legislations across the United States as evidenced by the resurgence of “don’t say gay” bills and transgender health care bans across multiple states. While the detrimental effect of anti-LGBTQ legislation on LGBTQ+ people’s mental health has been documented, little research has been done to understand the ways in which these larger structural forms of discrimination are internalized and translate to individual mental health outcomes. Relevant to LGBTQ+ communities, suicide has been a prevalent public health concern that disproportionally impacts these communities. Building on Minority Stress Theory (MST) and the Psychological Mediation Framework (PMF) the present study sought to understand the direct and indirect associations of anti-LGBTQ legislations and anticipated discrimination with suicidal ideation. Perceived Burdensomeness, thwarted Belongingness, and entrapment were looked as mediators of these associations. Further the role of perceived social support as a potential protective factor was assessed. Results indicated that anti-LGBTQ policies were significantly associated with suicidal ideation. Anticipated discrimination was indirectly associated with suicidal ideation through perceived burdensomeness and entrapment. Finally perceived social support did not moderate any of these associations. Implications for practice, research and policy are discussed.

This study examines the historical and contemporary sociolinguistic status of three minority languages, namely Shangani, Kalanga and Tonga in Chiredzi, Plumtree and Binga respectively within the civil courts of Zimbabwe. This research problematizes the issue of language choice and usage in civil courtroom discourse by native speakers of the languages under study. The background to this research endeavor is the historical dominance of English, Shona and Ndebele in public institutions as media of communication even in areas where minority languages are dominant, a situation that has resulted in minority languages having a restricted functional space in public life. Respondents in this research included native speakers of the languages under study who have attended civil courtroom sessions either as accused persons or complainants, members of rural communities including community leaders, court interpreters stationed at Binga, Chiredzi and Plumtree magistrates‟ courts and members of the Judicial Services Commission (JSC). Data was also collected from minority language advocacy groups including Tonga Language and Cultural Committee (TOLACCO), Shangani Promotion Trust (SPAT) and Kalanga Language and Culture Development (KLCDA) using semi-structured interviews. In addition, participant observation of civil courtroom proceedings involving native speakers of Kalanga, Tonga and Shangani was done. Documentary analysis of colonial and postcolonial language policies in Zimbabwe was also done. Data was analyzed using Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and Ecology of Language theories. The findings for this research revealed that historically, language policy making in Zimbabwe has impacted negatively on the functional roles of Shangani, Tonga and Kalanga in civil courtroom communication because of the lack of implementation clauses in national constitutions. Furthermore, language attitudes that were analyzed in conjunction with a number of factors including age, demographics, naming of provinces, awareness of constitutional provisions on language and language-in-education policies were found to be key determinant factors influencing the sociolinguistic status of Kalanga, Tonga and Shangani in civil courtroom discourse. Court interpreting and initiatives by language advocacy groups also impacted on the sociolinguistic status of the languages under study in civil courtroom interaction. / Linguistics and Modern Languages / D. Phil. (Language, Linguistics and Literature)