The reality of transgender welfare boards in India: An RTI investigation
New Delhi- In his speech on the last day of the Budget Session of the 17th Lok Sabha, Prime Minister Narendra Modi remarked: “Those who are on the margins have been reassured that there is a government.” These margins — or “Lakshman Rekha” (circle of protection) — remind us of the predicament of Sita, in the […]
Sweden becomes first country to meet global HIV targets
Sweden reached the 95-95-95 UNAIDS and WHO targets for the HIV epidemic, making it the first country in the world to achieve these targets, and even if the targets were supposed to be reached by 2025. This means that in Sweden, 95% of all people living with HIV have been diagnosed, 95% of them are […]
Pro-LGBT Pastor runs for office: ‘The Christian right needs a challenge from the Christian left’
A pastor from O’Fallon, Missouri is running for office as a state representative in a bid to “challenge the Christian right.” Rev. Shumway is an open supporter of the LGBT community. In 2021, 17-year-old Phoenix Lemke left his family due their disapproval of his queer identity. After days of sofa-surfing, Shumway took him in. “She was […]
Moscow police detained over 50 people in raid on LGBTQ+ venues
Police in Moscow raided two gay clubs last weekend, detaining over 50 people, in what Novaya Gazeta Europe described as the continued escalation of the Russian government’s crackdown on the LGBTQ+ community. Photos and video from the raids was posted on pro-Russia Telegram channels MSK1 and SHOT on October 12 showing masked police storming into downtown Moscow club Central Station, forcing […]
Poland publishes civil partnership bill in boost for LGBT couples
Poland moved a step closer to legalising civil partnerships with the publication of a draft law on Friday that the minister responsible for the legislation hailed as a “historic day” in a country where gay rights have proved bitterly divisive. Donald Tusk’s pro-European coalition government swept to power in predominantly Catholic Poland last year largely […]
Russian cash-for-votes flows into Moldova as nation heads to polls
The sniffer dogs at Chisinau Airport have been working extra hard in recent months, searching for money that might be evidence of Russian meddling in Moldovan politics. Ami, a black retriever, gives every suitcase that rolls in on the baggage claim belts a good sniff on all sides. If she detects cash, she will freeze. […]
GOP ads on transgender rights are dominating airwaves in the election’s closing days
Voters consistently say issues like the economy and reproductive rights are their top concerns in this election. But in the closing weeks of the campaign, Republican ads focusing on transgender rights are dominating airwaves all over the country. Consider the ad below from former President Donald Trump. If you’ve seen a Trump campaign ad lately, […]
Gay and unionist – a changing of the times?
When Alison Bennington became the Democratic Unionist Party’s (DUP) first openly gay election candidate, former Health Minister Jim Wells claimed the party’s founder Ian Paisley would be “aghast”. Five years on Wells is gone but Bennington appears to be quietly going from strength to strength. This week with no fanfare she was elected secretary of […]
Poland publishes civil partnership bill in boost for LGBT couples
Poland moved a step closer to legalising civil partnerships with the publication of a draft law on Friday that the minister responsible for the legislation hailed as a “historic day” in a country where gay rights have proved bitterly divisive. Donald Tusk’s pro-European coalition government swept to power in predominantly Catholic Poland last year largely […]
Italy’s LGBTQ community fears international surrogacy ban could trigger ‘witch hunt’
LGBTQ activists and legal experts in Italy fear a new law criminalizing international surrogacy could have a chilling effect on the country’s same-sex families and their children. Same-sex couples singled out for criminal investigation. Legal ties between gay parents and their children severed. Italian citizens jailed for a procedure that’s completely legal in other countries, […]
Supreme Court schedules transgender rights case for December
The Supreme Court’s December argument session will feature the challenge to Tennessee’s ban on puberty blockers and hormone therapy for transgender minors, as well as a case by survivors of the Hungarian Holocaust seeking compensation for the seizure of the property by the Hungarian government and a dispute over the Food and Drug Administration’s efforts […]
Bangladesh activists demand justice for murdered trans woman
Below is an edited and trimmed statement from Mosa Jannatul Ferdaus, Chief Coordinator of the Paris-based human rights group JusticeMakers Bangladesh in France (JMBF), about the recent murder of a trans woman in Bangladesh. JMBF Strongly Condemns the Murder of Transgender Woman Ayub Ali in Tangail, Bangladesh. JusticeMakers Bangladesh in France (JMBF) condemns in the […]
New Pro-Gay Cardinal Blames ‘Foreign Cash’ for African Bishops’ Biblical Stance on Homosexuality
An influential delegate at Pope Francis’s global summit has directly linked African Catholic bishops’ stand for traditional biblical values with financial coercion from American evangelicals, Russian Orthodox, and Gulf-linked Muslims. Cardinal-designate Timothy Radcliffe, who has been the retreat-preacher to the Synod on Synodality both in 2023 and 2024, took a potshot at the conservative African bishops […]
Kazakh artists challenge government’s anti-LGBT crackdown
When Kazakh choreographer Alisher Sultanbekuly went viral for a video of himself dancing inside a traditional Kazakh yurt (or tent), the backlash was almost immediate. Wearing stiletto shoes, short shorts and figure-hugging kamzols (vests adorned with Kazakh ornaments), he danced alongside two women to a Kazakh song. Alisher said it was a birthday gift to himself […]
Education has failed LGBT pupils, politicians told
LGBT young people have been “failed” in the education system in Northern Ireland for many years, it has been claimed. Alexa Moore from the Rainbow Project organisation was giving evidence to assembly members (MLAs) on Stormont’s education committee. MLAs on the committee are carrying out an inquiry into how relationships and sexuality education (RSE) is taught in […]
Ken Paxton sues Dallas pediatrician over providing hormone treatments to teens
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against a Dallas pediatrician, accusing her of violating state law by providing gender-transitioning treatments to at least 21 teenage patients. Thursday’s filing is Paxton’s first attempt at suing a doctor by leveraging Senate Bill 14, a 2023 legislation that prohibits physicians and health care providers from prescribing hormones to minors to […]
Liberia: Legislator seeks supporters for his harsh anti-homosexuality bill
A legislator in Liberia is seeking support for a harsh anti-homosexuality bill that he filed in the summer. So far, he hasn’t announced any success in attracting supporters for the legislation, which calls for prison sentences for children as young as 10 if they are convicted of homosexual behavior.
Most LGBTQ+ community centers face threats and violence, yet they persist: report
LGBTQ+ community centers continue to provide vital resources to queer people across the United States, even in the face of overwhelming threats and harassment. The vast majority of LGBTQ+ community centers (73 percent) reported experiencing anti-LGBTQ+ threats or harassment over the past two years, according to the 2024 LGBTQ Community Center Survey Report from the […]
Italy bans couples from travelling abroad for surrogacy
Italy has made it illegal for couples to go abroad to have a baby through surrogacy. The move extends a ban on the practice inside the country to also include those who seek it out in places where it is legal, like the US or Canada. Those who break the law could face up to […]
Moldova’s LGBTQ+ people say EU referendum offers ‘hope’
Andrei, a gay 20-year-old law student, hopes this month’s referendum to enshrine Moldova’s European ambitions in the constitution will enable the ex-Soviet republic to “finally move into the 21st century” when it comes to LGBTQ+ rights. “Everyone around me talks about the economic benefits of joining (the European Union), but honestly, I’m more excited about […]
Don’t flee from Ghana for fear of harsh anti-LGBTQ bill, human rights boss says
Ghana human rights Commissioner Joseph Whittal encourages LGBTQ Ghanaians not to flee the country, despite the possibility that Parliament’s harsh anti-LGBTQ+ bill might survive a review by the Supreme Court and be signed by President Nana Akufo-Addo. In an interview with the BBC, Whittal said that the anti-LGBTQ bill “seems to overreach” and, as the […]
Finland’s first openly gay hockey player Janne Puhakka allegedly shot dead by partner after break up
The boyfriend of Finland’s first openly gay pro hockey player allegedly confessed to gunning down his much younger beau with a hunting rifle over the weekend — just weeks after they called it quits on their relationship. Janne Puhakka, 29, was found dead Saturday night inside his home in Espoo where he had been living […]
Adir Kadosh’s fiancé expected to be recognized as first LGBT widower, since law changed last year
Adv.-St.-Sgt.-Maj. Adir Kadosh’s fiance, Edi Levy, is expected to be recognized as a widower despite the wedding being planned for November, according to Israel Hayom. Adir, who was killed during the terror attack on Route 4 on Tuesday, was planning to marry his partner of six years in November. The recognition of Edi as a […]
Hundreds of Troops Kicked Out Under ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Get Upgraded to Honorable Discharges
The Pentagon announced Tuesday that more than 800 military personnel have seen their service records upgraded to honorable discharges after previously being kicked out of the military under its former “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. It is the latest development over the decades to undo past discrimination against LGBTQ service members. The 1951 Uniform Code […]
Gay doctor’s ordeal: Struggle of queer professionals in Kenya
Martin Nyambura, not his real name, is an accomplished medical doctor at a major hospital in Nairobi. He is also a gay man struggling for acceptance in his workplace, where he has been for five years. From intrusive and insensitive jokes to being left out of some conversations, Nyambura says homophobic tropes are the order […]
How could the U.S. election affect LGBTQ+ aid funding?
Democrats and Republicans have had completely different stances on funding LGBTQ+ rights around the world through development aid. Since 2011, Democratic presidents have supported LGBTQ+ rights through development policy. Much of these efforts were reversed during Donald Trump’s administration, while President Joe Biden strengthened LGBTQ+ aid programs and policies during his term.
Gay teachers left exposed to ensure equality laws pass
Firing teachers for being gay will remain legal in certain NSW schools after equality advocates relented in the face of a concerted campaign from some faith groups. The dropping of teacher protections is among the changes to a wide-ranging LGBTQI anti-discrimination bill to ensure it can get moving through state parliament during the week. Independent […]
LGBT+ veterans redress scheme to launch in January
Compensation for LGBT veterans who faced mistreatment in the military will begin in January, a defence minister has announced. The government will start a £50m financial redress scheme for victims of the pre-2000 “gay ban” in the military next year, Veterans Minister Al Carns said. The announcement follows Lord Etherton’s report last year, which revealed […]
Bollywood wants to be queer but without making its audience uncomfortable
Amar Prem Ki Amar Kahani starring Aditya Seal and Sunny Singh is touted as an ‘LGBTQIA+ film’ and a part of India’s ‘queer cinema.’ In reality, it is just the end product of what happens when a room full of straight people write queer stories. But it is not just the Hardik Gajjar directorial that […]
Attacks on Gay Rights Push Russia’s LGBTQ Community Into the Shadows
A decade ago, Russian publisher Leo Veles says, he could hang out in gay bars and clubs in Moscow and St. Petersburg. The scene wasn’t as vibrant as in New York or London, but gay people could gather at spots such as Central Station and the Three Monkeys relatively free from scrutiny. “There were places where […]