Queer Criminology Through the Lens of the Global South and Its Impact on Human Rights

As one of the youngest fields in criminology, queer criminology in the last decade has made significant efforts to place LGBTQ identities at the center of criminological analyses. This chapter discusses tensions with the word ‘queer,’ who constitutes the ‘Global South,’ and what is the state of ‘queer criminology’ in the South. Three themes concerning queer criminology in the Global South will be discussed: 1) colonial laws and cultural wars; 2) police and religious violence in ‘securitized’ states; and 3) elitist and biased courts and their transformative power in the South. The chapter will conclude with a section on how Global South queer criminology should advance, and will provide some final thoughts on how it can inform international human rights practices.