IDAHOBIT
The International Day Against Homo-, Bi-, Inter- and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT) has been celebrated in more than 130 nations worldwide since 2005, including nations where homosexuality is still a criminal offense (IDAHO Committee 2021).
On May 17, 1990, the World Health Organization removed homosexuality from the diagnostic code for diseases. To commemorate this milestone, May 17 was chosen as the date for the annual day of action (IDAHO Committee, 2021). In Germany, there is also a parallel to § 175, a law that criminalized sexual acts between men until 1994.
In 2005, after a year-long campaign, the day was first launched as the International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO) by Frenchman Luis-Georges Tin. In addition to his activism for the queer community, he also campaigns internationally against racism. Many of the largest LGBTIQ+ organizations, such as the International Lesbian Gay Association (ILGA), joined the initiative as early as 2004 (IDAHO Committee, 2009). Since 2014, the IDAHOBIT Committee has been headed by Tamara Adrian, a Venezuelan lawyer, politician and trans* activist (IDAHO Committee, 2014).
Signs and actions against queer hostility - worldwide and in Dortmund
Transphobia was included in the acronym IDAHOBIT in 2009. That year, the organizers placed a special focus on the discrimination and representation of trans people. Biphobia followed in 2015, as bisexual people are subject to discrimination within and outside the LGBTQ community.
Most recently, interphobia was added to the acronym to draw attention to the often overlooked struggles of inter* people. Actions on IDAHOBIT range from large demonstrations to speeches by heads of state and online events. The day offers a low-barrier opportunity to organize diverse actions for all sexual and gender minorities (IDAHO Committee, 2021). IDAHOBIT has created space for actions in countries where queer activism was previously unthinkable. Over the years, IDAHOBIT has become one of the most important days for the queer community alongside Christopher Street Day.
Since then, various laws in favor of the LGBTIQ+ community have been passed on IDAHOBIT. For example, France was the first country in the world to remove transgender from the catalog of mental illnesses on IDAHOIBIT in 2009 (IDAHO Committee, 2009), and in 2013, marriage was opened up to same-sex couples, also on IDAHOBIT. In 2019, Taiwan became the first Asian country to legalize same-sex marriage at the IDAHOBIT (IDAHO Committee, 2019).
In Dortmund, rainbow flags are hoisted in front of the town hall and on the university campus every year at IDAHOBIT to show solidarity with the LGBTIQ+ community.
IDAHOBIT 2024 will take place under the motto "NO ONE LEFT BEHIND: EQUALITY, FREEDOM AND JUSTICE FOR ALL".
Last updated: 2024
Sources (in German)
IDAHO Committee (2009): IDAHO Annual Report 2008 2009.P. 5. Last call 28.04.2021
IDAHO Committee (2014): IDAHOT Summary Report 2014. P. 2. Last call 28.04.2021
IDAHO Committee (2015): IDAHOTB Summary Report 2015. P. 3. Last call 28.04.2021
IDAHO Committee (2019): IDAHOTB Annual Photo Album 2019. P. 2. Last call 28.04.2021
IDAHO Committee (2021): What is May 17? Last call 28.04.2021