August 24, 2023

DON’T SAY GDP | THE FULL COST OF HATE

The focus of discussions surrounding anti-LGBTQ laws tends to remain on their impact on the marginalized community, domestically and globally. However, it is crucial to consider the broader consequences of such discriminatory legislation. While the harm inflicted on those targeted is undeniable, it is worth examining the cost of these laws for society, whether at a state or national level.

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AFRICA

‘Intimidated and stalked’: Citizens living in fear over nation’s shocking new bill

News.com.au – Like every other queer community on the continent already living in fear, the LGBTQ+ community in Kenya might be the next to be hit with an additional extreme bill. Following the draconian anti-gay bill passed by the Ugandan parliament on March 21, Kenyan Opposition MP George Peter Kaluma submitted an anti-gay bill to the National Assembly of Kenya, which he called the Family Protection Bill.

LGBTQ+ Ethiopians flee in the face of sudden crackdown

Deutsche Welle – Few understand the dangers of belonging to a marginalized group in Ethiopia like Faris Cuchi Gezahegn. “The reality of being queer and being part of the LGBTQ+ community in Ethiopia and being Ethiopian is to the point of like, you know, we don’t exist,” they told DW. Gezahegn are far from alone in their anxiety. The fear of persecution among gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and other sexual minorities in Ethiopia is so great that some are fleeing abroad.

ASIA

LGBTQ fears grow in Malaysia as Islamists shatter reform hopes

Pink News – Artist Carmen Rose used to perform regularly in Malaysia, until a police raid last year put an end to the veteran drag queen’s act and fueled the fears of the LGBTQ community at a time when Islamists are rapidly gaining political clout. Since the raid, during which several party-goers were arrested, Rose has stopped doing shows, and rarely ventures out in public in costume. “It’s always a risk going out in drag.

LGBTQ Afghan Migrants In Limbo For Asylum

voicepk.net – Even as night settles over Quetta, there are plenty of cars whizzing past us as we disappear into a two-story house along Sattar Road. We grope the walls on either side as we take every cautious step up a set of very narrow stairs, engulfed in darkness. We reach the top floor, but our path is barred by a closed door – I rap my knuckles on it, and our feet are suddenly illuminated by light spilling out from under the gap. It swings open. With a lit cigarette in hand, a cloud of smoke billows out from Danish’s lips, scattering the electrical light so that it almost looks like he is briefly surrounded by a halo before the smoke eventually dissipates in the air.

EUROPE

Spain’s first openly transgender senator, Carla Antonelli, pledges to protect queer and trans rights

Pink News – Spain’s first openly trans senator has pledged to defend the country’s trans self-ID law as right-wing parties attempt to roll back trans rights. Carla Antonelli joined the Senate of Spain on Thursday (17 August) after an inconclusive July parliamentary election. Speaking with the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the prominent trans activist and former actress, said “we will defend our rights tooth and nail”, in response to Spain’s recent passing of a trans self-ID law, a reform she was a leading advocate for.

UK Black Pride 2023: Revellers descend on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park to mark event’s 18th year

Yahoo News – Revellers descended on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park on Saturday to celebrate UK Black Pride. In what is the event’s 18th year, LGBTQI+ people of African, Asian, Caribbean, Latin American and Middle Eastern heritage gathered in the sunshine to celebrate inclusivity and equality in east London. At the event, were performers including Miss Banks, DJ Biggy C, and KSoul alongside a community stage where there were a host of panels to discuss different topics.

Putin’s adviser says U.S. is using brainwashing to make gay Ukrainian super-soldiers

LGBTQ Nation – An adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed that Ukraine’s military will become “unified through gay sex” like the Greek Spartans. While the comment may seem bizarre, it’s just the latest example of Russian authorities using anti-LGBTQ+ nationalist sentiment to justify its unprovoked war against Ukraine. “Military theorists and historians know which army in Greece was the strongest, remember? The Spartans!

NORTH AMERICA

Eight in 10 LGBTQ+ Americans fear for safety as bigotry sweeps nation, study finds

Pink News – The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), an LGBTQ+ nonprofit organisation, revealed in data analysis published on Wednesday (16 August) that almost 80 per cent of LGBTQ+ adults feel less safe amid the rise in right-wing laws across the US. For trans and non-binary adults, this number is significantly higher, with more than nine in 10 (94 per cent) feeling unsafe in the US. Results were pulled from a Community Marketing Insight (CMI) survey as part of its 17th annual LGBTQ+ Community Survey, which HRC co-sponsored.

OCEANIA

How the Cook Islands fought off the shackles of colonialism and freed its LGBTQ+ community

Pink News – When Nerida Williams visited the Cook Islands late last year, she was struck by just how many Pride flags were dotted about the place. The Cook Islands, known as a religious and somewhat conservative place, is a self-governing territory in the South Pacific Ocean that has a free association with New Zealand. It has a population of around 17,000 people, meaning it sometimes gets overlooked in discussions about global LGBTQ+ rights.

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