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The following is a press release from EnGendeRights.
Golden Rainbow follows the life stories of 13 older lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) people in the Philippines. Their stories highlight how lifelong experiences of abuse and intersectional discrimination now impact their lives and well-being as older LGBTIQ people.
Growing up, the storytellers recount their experiences of maltreatment by parents and siblings, bullying in school and in the community, sexual abuse, and mistreatment by other schoolchildren and administration officials, including being singled out by teachers, while transgender girls were forced to wear boys’ haircuts.
“These brave storytellers tell us about how leaving home and dropping out of school led to limited career options and difficulty finding employment — eventually leading to a series of hardships way beyond joblessness, poverty, hunger, and social isolation,” said Atty. Clara Rita Padilla, the Executive Director of EnGendeRights.
“The Golden Rainbow storybook is a must-read for everyone to step up the fight for an inclusive and equal world for all LGBTIQ persons,” Atty. Padilla emphasized. She also stresses that “The Golden Rainbow storybook shows the urgency to pass the SOGIE Anti-Discrimination Law and the Comprehensive Anti-Discrimination Law to prohibit all types of discrimination and violence against LGBTIQ people.”
According to Ging Cristobal, Project Coordinator for Asia and the Pacific of Outright International, “The stories take the readers through a weave of their lifetimes as they hurdle over varied forms of stigma, discrimination, and exclusion that greatly affected their lives as older LGBTIQ persons.
Their lived experiences are a testament to resilience, inner strength, self-love, and their contributions to society. At best, reading through the stories provides hope for future generations of LGBTIQ people in the Philippines.”
“We share the Golden Rainbow storybook of older LGBTIQ people in an effort to pave the way for a better future for older LGBTIQ people and all other LGBTIQ people,” added Ging Cristobal, with this highlight: “We challenge everyone to open their hearts and minds to include issues of older LGBTIQ
persons in their human rights work. We cannot marginalize sectors within our own groups simply because they are silent. The older LGBTIQ persons are now breaking their silence and are ready to let their own voices be heard, far and wide. Let’s listen to them and act now.”
At the storybook launch, the 13 stories will be read by the storytellers themselves and volunteer readers, including singer, actor, and director Ice Seguerra, and videotaped readings by TV host Boy Abunda and Precious Paula Nicole, winner of Drag Race Philippines.
Join the storybook launch of Golden Rainbow: Stories of Pain, Grit, Duty and Love of Filipino Older LGBTI People on Monday, December 4, 2023, from 9 am to 1 pm at the Commission on Human Rights, Quezon City. The launch will also be aired via Zoom and Facebook Live.
Golden Rainbow was written and edited by Ging Cristobal, Clara Rita Padilla, Annette Visbal, and Grace Poore and published by EnGendeRights, Outright International and SAGE.
Golden Rainbow is part of the LGBTI Elders Advancing Project, funded by SAGE USA, that aims to empower LGBTIQ elders to lead advocacy efforts, increase access of older LGBTIQ persons to services, and advocate for responsive policies for older LGBTIQ persons.
The storybook is published in English and Filipino. Copies of the Golden Rainbow storybook will be distributed on December 4 at the launch and will be posted on the websites of OutRight International and EnGendeRights.
To request hard copies, kindly email engenderights@gmail.com with your complete name and address no later than December 6. – Rappler.com
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