Vanuatu's 'two sexes law' raises fears for rights of LGBTQIA+ community
A statue of a father, mother and their children stands outside Vanuatu's parliament. (ABC News: Doug Dingwall)
When Ashley goes out in Vanuatu, he finds it hard to express his non-binary gender identity.
Growing up in a Christian family, he was taught there were only two genders — male and female.
Inside, he felt differently, identifying privately as non-binary.
Ashley, a non-binary person, says LGBTQIA+ people face discrimination in Vanuatu. (ABC News: Lillyrose Welwel)
But Ashley — whose real name and identity the ABC has withheld for safety reasons — said he expressed himself publicly as a male to respect what his family taught him.
"I feel it's hard for me to … wear a dress when walking on the road, to show people [who I am]," he said.
Ashley, who uses male pronouns, said there were other challenges for people with diverse genders in Vanuatu.
The capital Port Vila was a hard environment for LGBTQIA+ people, he said.
"Many face difficulties … on the streets, and increasingly online through social media, cybercrime, and cyberbullying."
Advocates for LGBTQIA+ people in the Pacific fear a proposed change to Vanuatu's laws will further marginalise people with diverse sexualities and genders, and people with intersex variations.
In May, the nation's parliament passed an amendment to the constitution that would only recognise the "fundamental rights and freedoms of individuals who are male or female at birth".
Vanuatu's government, along with supporters of the change, say it will "draw a line" against "foreign" influences whose values are at odds with the Pacific Island country's traditional views on gender and marriage.
Advocates say the new law undermines the safety of LGBTQIA+ people in places like Port Vila. (ABC News: Doug Dingwall)
The so-called "two sexes law" has been a talking point in Vanuatu, where Christianity is ingrained in daily life — but practised and interpreted in different ways.
Within church communities, the ABC has heard varying opinions about the amendment and its potential impact on LGBTQIA+ people.
And advocates for people with diverse genders have pushed back against the proposal.
The office of Vanuatu's president — who signs bills into law — said it was yet to approve the amendment and had referred it to the Supreme Court for review.
The ABC understands the president has asked the court's advice on whether other parts of the amendment bill, unrelated to its clauses on gender, are consistent with the constitution.
Both supporters and critics of gender law fear 'division'
As other Vanuatu MPs voted to pass the "two sexes law", opposition leader and former prime minister Ishmael Kalsakau became one of the country's highest-profile figures to condemn the amendment.
He called it discriminatory, and said the government should leave it to churches and kastom — or traditional law — to address issues relating to gender identity.
"Let kastom evolve with this, let churches find solutions to this, but don't have a law to come and say that from today, we'll start to differentiate between one citizen of Vanuatu and another," Mr Kalsakau said.
Ishmael Kalsakau spoke out against the "two sexes law" in Vanuatu's parliament. (Reuters: Eduardo Munoz)
"This is dangerous, because it sets a pathway for the future that will divide our nation."
Outside the parliament, the proposal has the backing of Vanuatu Christian Council chairperson Collin Keleb, who said the amendment aligns with the country's Christian principles and cultural identity.
"We preserve what the Bible — God's word — says, to ensure that we remain as man and woman," he said.
Mr Keleb said LGBTQIA+ people should be included in the community.
"They belong to our families, our relationships, and our wider communities,"he said.
"If we focus on strengthening family life and wellbeing, instead of excluding people, we can build stronger, more united communities."
Loading...But he opposes LGBTQIA+ people forming their own groups and associations, saying this would open them to "foreign" influences and make it harder for them to be part of the wider community in Vanuatu.
"That is when we create confusion, different feelings, and reactions to each other," Mr Keleb said.
"We are in a world that is rapidly changing, and there are a lot of influences coming in quickly.
"Let's keep ourselves within our context, then we can develop, build, and relate to each other in that context, instead of creating avenues that we are not yet ready to manage in the future."
For Loata Tucika, interim chief executive officer of the Pacific Sexual and Gender Diversity Network, the constitutional amendment does not align so neatly with Christianity.
Loata Tucika says LGBTQIA+ people should be accepted by the community. (Supplied: Loata Tucika)
"All leaders should have a heart. They should have love, as God has said in the Bible. God is love," she said.
Ms Tucika called the proposed change "a dangerous roll back of human rights".
"Everyone deserves to be recognised and protected in this world, not only in the Pacific,"she said.
Ms Tucika said the amendment would effectively erase the legal existence of transgender, intersex and non-binary people.
It could also limit their access to healthcare, justice and social services, she said.
"[It] will constitutionalise discrimination against gender diverse individuals," Ms Tucika said.
People with diverse genders and sexualities experience marginalisation and discrimination in Pacific Island countries. (AFP: Markus Scholz/DPA)
"It makes our communities very vulnerable at this point in time. Their safety is not there.
"[The changes to the constitution] ignore the reality that gender and identity are not always binary."
LGBTQIA+ people had always been part of Pacific Island societies, Ms Tucika said.
"They remain vital members of our communities," she said.
"They are part of us … we should accept them and respect how they express their gender."
'Growing debate' on LGBTQIA+ issues
Vanuatu's government denies it is trying to marginalise LGBTQIA+ people with the "two sexes law".
"Everybody has the right to have access to whatever services the government has, or employment," government spokesperson Kiery Manassah said.
He also rejected comments that people with diverse genders had always been part of Vanuatu society.
"These are influences that are coming from outside," Mr Manassah said.
"When you talk about LGBT … those things are completely foreign to our communities.
"As far as the government is concerned, we want to draw the line so that when people come into the country, we expect them to respect our country, just as when we go to their countries, we respect [them]."
LGBTQIA+ people face violence, marginalisation and discrimination across the region, and many Pacific countries still have anti-LGBTQIA+ laws.
Jotham Napat (left), who was elected prime minister in February, leads the government that supports the "two sexes law". (Vanuatu Broadcasting and Television Corporation)
In Vanuatu, the "two sexes law" follows other recent government moves that have dismayed advocacy groups — including a decision last year not to support the promotion of LGBTQIA+ rights.
Observers who have studied and lived in the Pacific say debate about LGBTQIA+ issues has grown in the past two years — partly through exposure on social media to anti-LGBTQIA+ activism from outside the region, particularly the United States.
"They're [seeing] all the generated outrage … and it's definitely gotten picked up by people,"University of Melbourne anthropologist Debra McDougall said.
But Dr McDougall said traditional views towards gender roles and marriage had also not changed as much in many parts of the Pacific compared to Australia.
"It's not just Christian doctrine … Marriage [in Pacific communities] is so much embedded in a division of labour and that division of labour is really gendered."
She said cultural attitudes had changed before in the Pacific — and that ideas about feminism and women's rights had become more accepted after initially encountering opposition.
"That might also come around on some LGBTQIA+ issues as well," she said.
Meanwhile, advocates for LGBTQIA+ people are urging the Vanuatu government to dump its "two sexes law".
For Ashley, the nation's debate about the amendment has at times been upsetting.
He said there was a need for better public understanding of what it means to be a LGBTQIA+ person.
"Each person's experience and identity should be respected, even if it differs from others," he said.
"It's about understanding that people are born with these feelings and accepting them as they are."