Dylan Robertson, the international affairs reporter for The Canadian Press in Ottawa, has been awarded this year’s $25,000 R. James Travers Foreign Corresponding Fellowship. The Canadian Press will publish his resulting project – a series of articles as well as audio and video clips in both official languages. His work will be hosted on the CP news website.

See the news release from Carleton University, which administers the endowed Fellowship fund.

The Story

The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association called 2023 a year of "unprecedented intensity" for laws affecting gender and sexual minorities.

It left gay parents in Italy fighting in court for full custody of their kids, for example, and American families moving across state lines so their transgender children wouldn’t lose medical care.

It prompted worries in teenagers across Canada that new provincial policies on gender identity would put their peers at risk.

The issue has become most acute in parts of Africa, where organizations that used to fight anti-sodomy laws now find themselves banned entirely, while people face mob violence and severe criminal penalties — even death — for being gay.

Robertson will look at how this is playing out in three countries where Canada has deep ties: Ghana, Cameroon and Kenya.

The global backslide in LGBTQ+ rights poses a challenge for Canada, as a country with a feminist foreign policy where there is cross-partisan support for refugee programs that protect sexual and gender minorities. Canadian aid dollars and grassroots diaspora groups have helped advance rights for gender and sexual minorities abroad. However, Western politicians are frequently accused of imposing their values on local populations and making life harder for activists.

Robertson will examine what's causing these trends, what those most affected are doing about it, and what role Canadians and their governments should play.

The Journalist

Dylan Robertson has worked as a journalist on Parliament Hill for a decade, including five years as Ottawa bureau chief for the Winnipeg Free Press. As a freelancer, he has reported on a range of issues and events, including the plight of Syrian refugees in Lebanon for the National Post, a riot at a Pride event in Russia for the Toronto Star, and unrest in Ukraine for The Christian Science Monitor.

The Journalism

Dylan Robertson produced a series of eight stories for his Fellowship project exploring LGBTQ+ rights in Africa. As noted by the Canadian Press, he “travelled to Ghana, Cameroon and Kenya to look at what is happening in those countries, as well as the consequences for Canada as a country with a feminist foreign policy that prioritizes gender equality and human dignity.”

Read his work, below. And listen to him talk about his series on CBC Winnipeg during the afternoon commuter radio show: https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-111-up-to-speed/clip/16114653-canadian-reporter-investigates-lgbtq-rights-parts-africa