Sarfaty is fearless about recounting his sex life and it’s a resolutely and unapologetic gay sex life.
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Violence is usually discussed within the context of heterosexual families and social groups. It’s widely assumed that people in same-sex households, communities, and relationships are either incapable of causing harm to each other, or that their needs can’t be met by mainstream anti-violence groups. As a result, significant issues like intimate partner violence or the particular needs of transgender youth seeking shelter from abusive homes are not addressed. This leaves portions of the LGBTQ community without the conventional resources available to heterosexuals who seek relief from abuse.
The Center on Halsted’s Anti-Violence Project and the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs recently hosted a roundtable and regional training sessions. These included a public screening of the documentary, Dangerous Living: Coming Out in the Developing World, May 22. It was one of three events at the Center that week that examined violence and the LGBTQ community.
Arsham Parsi is the head of the IRQO (Iranian Queer Organization). Parsi was born in 1980. As he tells it, he grew up in Shiraz with no contact with other gay people until he found queer communities on the Internet. Following that, he worked on HIV issues, until rumors of his sexual orientation began to spread and he feared persecution. According to Human Rights Watch, “Iranian law punishes all penetrative sexual acts between adult men with the death penalty.” Reports indicate that women and lesbians also endure lack of access to equal rights and persecution. Parsi fled to Turkey and then to Canada, where he applied for asylum. Today, according to Parsi, IRQO works for the decriminalization of homosexuality in Iran, and to increase awareness about queer issues among Iranians.
Bashar Barazi is the president of 3B Media, Inc., the parent company of MAQAM, a sponsor of the 2006 Gay Games VII in Chicago. MAQAM brought artists to perform at the Opening/Closing Ceremonies and is now producing A Dream of Arabia. Barazi spoke to Windy City Times on the phone about the upcoming show.
