International partners in transgender visibility

In January, executive orders to recognize only two genders on the basis of biology issued by the United States’ new presidential administration underscored the constant threat of invisibility that people who identify as transgender face, as well as the tenuous rights of LGBTQIA+ people.

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The International Trans Day of Visibility, celebrated annually on March 31, resists this foundational act of oppression that renders particular groups of human beings invisible, through the celebration of their existence and their contributions to families, churches, communities and nations across the globe. In addition to creating educational resources on transgender identity and inclusion, the Interim Unified Agency of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) addresses the need for international advocacy and healing for LGBTQIA+ people through global ecumenical partnerships like a recent one formed in Eastern Europe.

“We are currently navigating an incredibly uncertain period, not just in the context of Bosnia and Herzegovina, but globally. The political climate has significantly transformed, demanding organizations like ours to be more resilient, adaptive and committed to human rights, ” said Amina Imamović (ona/they), program director of Sarajevo Open Center, a new global partner of the PC(USA). “Our work is crucial because we continue to create spaces of support, visibility and empowerment for LGBTIQ+ individuals and women, even when societal and political pressures seem overwhelming.“

In December 2024, Sarajevo Open Center received a grant from the PC(USA) to focus on providing psychological support for LGBTQIA+ people in Bosnia and Herzegovina. “These sessions are not merely therapeutic interventions, but acts of healing, empowerment and resilience-building for a community that often faces significant challenges and marginalization,” said Imamović.

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Founded in 2007, the center defends and promotes the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex people and women. The center embraces a holistic approach, combining healing, education and advocacy. It provides direct services such as legal and psychological counseling to victims of discrimination and hate crimes. It advocates at the national and European levels for legislative changes to uphold the rights of women and LGBTIQ+ people under Bosnia and Herzegovina’s constitution and international obligations. By conducting studies on paternity leave, abortion access and urban mobility, Sarajevo Open Center does “not just document challenges, but actively influences national and international policy discussions,” said Imamović. The center also provides training for police, judges, civil servants, social workers, psychologists and psychiatrists.

In 2024, the center adopted an approach to transgender health care through training medical experts across psychiatry, endocrinology and gynecology to improve individual experiences as well as reshape institutional understanding and support. Imamović noted the emergence of the LGBTQIA Activism School last year as a “powerful catalyst nurturing a new generation of changemakers.” They described how through intensive training, “our young activists are now equipped to challenge harmful narratives, combat online violence and create powerful stories of resistance and hope.”

“Partnering with organizations such as the Sarajevo Open Center is part of our wider missional understanding of being church globally and among the marginalized, ” said Luciano Kovacs, (he/him) global ecumenical liaison of the PC(USA)'s Interim Unified Agency. “As one of the co-facilitators of the PC(USA) LGBTQIA+ Round Table, I am keen on fostering a network of affirming denominations and LGBTQIA+ organizations working to promote and protect the rights of the queer community across the globe.“

When he and retired mission co-worker, Ellen Smith went to visit the Sarajevo Open Center in February 2024, they met with Emina Bošnjak, executive director of the Sarajevo Open Center, to discuss ways that a partnership with the PC(USA) could benefit both entities. According to Kovacs, Bošnjak described how “the support of an affirming denomination such as the PC(USA) is a great opportunity for us to show faith communities in Sarajevo that religion and queer justice can go hand in hand.”

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Supporting the work of inclusion and equity has been central to Kovacs’ witness and work in the regions of Europe and the Middle East. In December 2024, during the Accra+20 Consultation of the World Communion of Reformed Churches in Hanover, Germany, Kovacs joined a panel to discuss the gaps in the Accra confession as they relate to the full inclusion and affirmation of LGBTQIA+ people in the church. Kovacs worked with the LGBTQIA+ Roundtable to advocate for the inclusion of LGBTQIA+ rights in public issues statements to be approved by the General Council of the World Communion of Reformed Churches when it meets in Chiang Mai, Thailand, in October.

The LGBTQIA+ Roundtable was created in response to a General Assembly mandate to support global mission partnerships with queer rights and inclusion issues. It is comprised of staff of the PCUSA’s Interim Unified Agency, including the manager for advocacy support, Mel Tubb, who resources another queer advocacy committee comprised of church leaders called the Advocacy Committee for LGBTQIA+ Equity (ACQ+E). Abbreviated ACQ+E, the committee is one of the three advocacy committees of the General Assembly. It was created by the 225th General Assembly (2022) to "advocate for full inclusiveness and equity in all areas of the life and work of the church and society." Alongside a transgender member of ACQ+E, Zayn Silva, Tubb and Kovacs have worked through the Rainbow Pilgrims of Faith to advocate on behalf of queer rights and inclusion in the World Council of Churches.

At the 226th General Assembly (2024), ACQ+E advocated for the consideration of the welcome of LGBTQIA+ people as the PC(USA) conducts its ecumenical relationships. They did this through advice and counsel memos, such as in item ECU-04, where their recommendations were added as an amendment. The ACQ+E most recently produced statements affirming transgender identity and rights in the wake of U.S. presidential orders and statements issued last year and Monday honoring Trans Day of Visibility.

Kovacs connected the work of the Sarajevo Open Center with the efforts of the larger network of advocates for LGBTQIA+ people in the PC(USA) and its global ecumenical partners.

“We have started working with the leaders of More Light Presbyterians, Covenant Network of Presbyterians and the PC(USA) LGBQTIA+ Equity Advocacy Committee (ACQ+E) to see how our efforts can be combined in the struggle for justice in partnership with others across the globe,” said Kovacs.

“I am keen on promoting such global connections and creating opportunities of solidarity in the world,” Kovacs said. “They are so much needed in a world where regression on human rights is eroding the hard-fought achievements of the LGBTQIA+ movement.”