Dear RCers,
The political situation in the United States has changed significantly in recent weeks, and the targeting of LGBTQ+ people is increasing. As we explain in our Guidelines (J.8.), the RC community will not provide lists of any kind through which Co-Counselors might be identified for oppressive or malicious purposes. When we revised that guideline at the last World Conference, we wrote that people who live in countries where persecution of LGBTQ+ people is illegal are encouraged to have sessions about how they wish to identify in RC publications. However, in the current era in the U.S., it is no longer clear that legal protections against discrimination and oppression of LGBTQ+ people will be respected. Therefore, as an organization we are making a decision that LGBTQ+ users writing in RC publications in this period will be required to write anonymously or use a pseudonym, so that RC has an organization does not risk colluding in any way with oppressive forces by providing information about people that could set them up for oppression.
The United States is not the only country that has taken a turn recently in a direction that threatens to undermine or reverse existing legal protections for LGBTQ+ people. We continue to encourage LGBTQ+ people who live in countries with legal protections and who have already made a decision to be visible outside of RC to have sessions about how they wish to identify in RC publications, and to consult with the ILRPs for LGBTQ+ people and/or the International Reference Person before deciding how they want to identify in RC publications.
As we wrote in the Guidelines, “as societies collapse, repressive laws are being passed that target additional groups or remove rights previously granted.” We encourage all Co-Counselors to have sessions about the current situation regarding the oppression of LGBTQ+ people where they live, and we as an organization will continue to monitor the global situation and seek to respond appropriately.
With love and appreciation,
Tim, "Jeanne D’Arc", "David Nijinsky"