Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is state-sanctioned homicide as punishment for a crime. Crimes that are punishable by death are known as capital crimes, capital offences or capital felonies, and vary depending on the jurisdiction. Globally, of the 195 UN members or observer states, 54 countries carry out capital punishment. And in some countries, the death penalty applies for same-sex sexual acts. But as we will learn tonight, the death penalty is just one part of the story.

Eleos Justice, Monash University in partnership with the Capital Punishment Justice Project here in Australia have delved into this complex and often hidden area to produce the first comprehensive study of its kind. The report is titled: State-Sanctioned Killing of Sexual Minorities: Looking Beyond the Death Penalty. It was launched this week with an international online forum. Guests include:

* Internationally-respected Australian jurist, Julian McMahon;

* Report co-authors: Associate Professor Mai Sato (director, Eleos Justice, Monash Faculty of Law) and Christopher Alexander (Eleos Justice Fellow, Monash Faculty of Law);

* Rasha Younes, covering the Middle East and North Africa for international advocacy group Human Rights Watch;

* Professor Paula Gerber, Eleos Justice Fellow, Monash Faculty of Law; and

* Roya Boroumand is the Executive Director, Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran.