Article 534: Contesting Dominant Advocacy Discourses and Examining Alternative Strategies at AltCity

Over the past decade, Helem’s activist work on article 534 has been deployed in the form of (1) legal support for people who report arrest, detention, and charge under the article, (2) advocating that the judiciary body ceases the use of the article in criminalizing same-sex acts, and (3) advocating for the article’s annulment. Feminist queer activist perspectives have critiqued Helem’s work for focusing notions of sexual rights on the perspective of gay men at the expense of other non-normative bodies and sexualities. Additional critiques also pointed to the reinforcement of the link between homosexuality and its criminalization.

In light of this debate as well as recent incidents of threats, arrest and prosecution under article 534 (including the Agha raid and subsequent arrests), Helem would like to open a discussion on how to advance advocacy work on the article and sexual rights in general. In particular, we want to address the following questions:

– How has article 534 been interpreted and used by police forces, the legal apparatus and activists?
– How do the rulings in the Batroun (2009) and Metn (2014) courts shape these readings? How can we use these rulings for further advocacy work?
– What are the dominant activist discourses and strategies on article 534? What are the fallouts and limits of these discourses and strategies?
– Is working towards annulling article 534 the best strategy in decriminalizing same sex acts and/or desires? How does it fit into the broader efforts to counter and fight against the policing of sexuality, sexual desires, and acts?
– What alternative and more inclusive strategies can be envisioned and pursued?

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