Tunisia: LGBT activist’s assault seen as a pattern by police
A prominent LGBTQ activist in Tunisia has reported that two men, one dressed in police uniform, threw him to the ground, beat and kicked him during an assault they said was punishment for his “insulting” attempts to file complaints against officers for the previous mistreatment. “This was not the first time that I had been […]
How dismantling Roe v Wade could imperil other ‘core, basic human rights’
Constitutional scholars in the US said a litany of rights, from same-sex marriage and sex to birth control and in vitro fertilization, could come into question if the country’s highest court moves to overrule or weaken Roe v Wade. The supreme court last week heard arguments in the case Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization, […]
Gay Indian-American to Become Top LGBTQ+ White House Staffer
Gautam Raghavan, a gay Indian-American, will be the highest-ranking out member of the White House staff when he advances to director of the Office of Presidential Personnel. Raghavan has been deputy director since President Joe Biden took office, but he will move up now that the director, Catherine Russell, is going to UNICEF to become […]
LGBTQ Community in Tunisia Forcibly Outed to Public, Face Police Brutality: Activists
Tunisian LGBTQ activists are demanding change after a series of brutal attacks and harassment campaigns. The Associated Press interviewed activists in the North African country, including Tunisian Association for Justice and Equality President Badr Baabou. He was subjected to an attack in October by a police officer and an accomplice, in which he was thrown […]
Transgender and intersex rights are human rights
As South Africa marked International Human Rights Day on 10 December, activists called on the government to escalate efforts to promote legal gender recognition and end intersex genital mutilation. “As long as transgender and intersex persons are unable to exercise their human rights, South Africans cannot claim to be a Constitutional democracy,” said Iranti Executive […]
LGBTQ+ Iranians Are Suffering and Dying While the World Yawns
Observing Human Rights Day every year on December 10 may pass people by without a moment’s thought — another unnecessary day which no one is aware of and which goes by unnoticed. Yet, Human Rights Day marks the day the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights In 1948. An inspiration […]
Tunisia: LGBT activist’s assault by police seen as a pattern
TUNIS, Tunisia — A prominent LGBTQ activist in Tunisia has reported that two men, one dressed in police uniform, threw him to the ground, beat and kicked him during an assault they said was punishment for his “insulting” attempts to file complaints against officers for previous mistreatment. “This was not the first time that I […]
There could be twice as many LGBT adults in US than previously estimated, report says
At least 20 million adults in the U.S. could be lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, according to a new report released by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation. The report, released Thursday, analyzes data from the Census Bureau. It says approximately 8% of respondents to the Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey said they were lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. That’s […]
Chile’s Pinera signs historic same-sex marriage bill into law
SANTIAGO, Dec 9 (Reuters) – Chile’s center-right President Sebastián Piñera signed into law a bill legalizing same-sex marriage on Thursday, days after it was approved by Congress in a historic vote. The law “puts all love relationships between two people on an equal footing,” Piñera said at a ceremony at La Moneda government palace together […]
New Zealand passes law making it easier to change sex on birth certificates
New Zealand’s rainbow community will be allowed to change the sex recorded on their birth certificates without providing evidence of a medical procedure, after a bill to recognise the right for gender minorities to self-identify passed into law. “Today is a proud day in Aotearoa’s history,” internal affairs minister Jan Tinetti said. “Parliament has voted in […]
“As Chile legalises same-sex marriage, where in Europe is making the most progress on LGBT rights? “
Chileans have been celebrating after their Congress approved equal marriage yesterday. Votes by politicians were overwhelmingly in favour of the legislation, with the Senate voting 21-8 in favour and the Chamber of Deputies voting 82-20 in favour of same-sex unions. After the vote in the chamber, several deputies hugged, including some from opposing parties. Outside […]
There is nothing to cure’: Senators back ban on LGBT ‘conversion therapy’
France’s Senate has overwhelmingly voted in favour of a ban on so-called LGBT conversion therapy. The bill was approved at its first reading on Tuesday, with 305 voting in favour and 28 against. Under the new law, citizens can be punished with prison sentences and fines for attempting to change the sexual orientation or gender […]
“Depression rising among LGBT people in conservative-ruled Poland, survey finds “
WARSAW, Dec 8 (Reuters) – The number of Polish LGBT people with depression rose by more than half between 2017 and 2020, according to a new study, amid what campaigners say is growing intolerance driven by the deeply conservative government. Gay rights have become a deeply divisive issue in predominantly Roman Catholic Poland. Religious conservatives […]
Trans people waiting years for gender healthcare as demand surges
When British tattoo artist Eva Echo found the courage to come out as transgender, she quickly sought specialist medical care to help her transition. More than four years later, she is still waiting for her first appointment. Echo, who is part of a potential legal challenge to England’s National Health Service (NHS) over waiting times, […]
Tokyo governor plans to introduce de facto same-sex marriage next year
Tokyo Metropolitan government will start a system that effectively allows same-sex marriage in Japan’s capital in the next fiscal year from April, Japan’s Kyodo news wire reported Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike as saying on Tuesday. The local government for the city with a population of 14 million plans to introduce “same-sex partnership” after its local […]
‘Love is love:’ Chile legalizes same-sex marriage in historic vote
Chile’s Congress passed a law to legalize same-sex marriage on Tuesday, in a milestone for the conservative South American nation after a decade-long legal battle and with the country delicately poised ahead of a crossroads election this month. “Today is a historic day, our country has approved same-sex marriage, one more step forward in terms […]
Banksy pledges work to help save ‘LGBT cultural heritage site’
A stencil used by artist Bansky to paint the side of a former jail – described as an ‘LGBT cultural heritage site’ – is to go up for sale, with proceeds supporting the building’s transformation into an arts centre. The stencil was used by the anonymous artist in March to create a piece which depicts […]
Argentina made history by legally recognising non-binary people, but now they’re left ‘in limbo’
Argentina made history in July as the first country in Latin America to legally recognise non-binary people – but people issued with documents showing their gender as ‘X’ say they have been left in a legal limbo. Non-binary people in Argentina trying to access essential public services, like their COVID vaccinations, health insurance, tax records […]
Thai court’s marriage ruling riles LGBTQ activists
A statement in which Thailand’s Constitutional Court has argued that permitting same-sex marriage in the country would violate the “natural order” has angered LGBTQ activists and rights advocates. Last month the country’s highest court ruled that a clause in Thailand’s latest military-drafted constitution that states that marriage can only be contracted between a man and […]
Church in Wales could elect UK’s first female and first out gay archbishop
Cherry Vann, the Bishop of Monmouth, is in the running to be elected the Church in Wales’ first lesbian archbishop. Following the retirement of John Davies, the election for a new archbishop of Wales has made history on multiple counts. As well as there being a lesbian in the running, half of the six candidates […]
MAC plans gay marriage for Chinese
Same-sex marriages involving a Chinese spouse might soon be recognized, as the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday said it plans to amend cross-strait regulations to conform with an amendment looking to recognize all international same-sex marriages. Although marriage equality was legalized in 2019, the law only allows for marriages in which both partners are from […]
Victoria bans religious schools from sacking staff for being LGBT
The Victorian government has passed laws banning religious schools from sacking or refusing to hire staff based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. The state parliament’s upper house passed the Equal Opportunity (Religious Exceptions) Amendment Bill, 22 votes to 12 on Friday. The bill bans religious organisations and schools from “discriminating against an employee […]
Anti-LGBT+ hate group appeals to Supreme Court to stop people calling it a hate group
An anti-LGBT+ hate group has asked the US Supreme Court to allow it to sue the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) to overturn its hate group status. D James Kennedy Ministries, also known as Coral Ridge Ministries Media, is an evangelical Christian media organisation, founded in 1974, which broadcasts a weekly TV show. The organisation has […]
“I’m Proud to Be Trans—but For Now Want to Feel Invisible MY CHOICE”
After years of distance between myself and my hometown of Amityville, Long Island, I returned in the spring for my cousin’s birthday. But this time, I had a new look. I was a month post-op top surgery, a gender-affirming procedure for transgender men and non-binary individuals, which results in a flat chest. My beard had finally begun […]
On This Gay Day: The Bisexual Pride flag was unveiled for the first time
The Bisexual Pride flag with it’s three stripes of pink, lavender, and blue, was unveiled for the first time on this day in 1998. The flag was designed by Michael Page from Florida, who is also one of the people behind the establishment of Celebrate Bisexuality Day. The flag made it’s debut at the first […]
Watch Botswana’s queer community rejoice as cruel bid to re-criminalise gay sex fails
The LGBT+ community in Botswana, and indeed around the world, breathed a huge sigh of relief on Monday (29 November) after the country’s Court of Appeal upheld the 2019 ruling that decriminalised gay sex. Now, in a touching video shared on Twitter by Openly, you can watch the immediate aftermath of members of Botswana’s LGBT+ […]
Lewis Hamilton condemns ‘terrifying’ LGBTQ+ laws before Saudi Arabian GP
Lewis Hamilton has said he is not comfortable competing in Saudi Arabia given its repressive laws regarding the LGBTQ+ community. Speaking before this weekend’s grand prix in Jeddah, Hamilton described the laws as “terrifying” and once more called on Formula One to do more to address human rights issues in the countries it visits. On […]
Why Viktor Orbán is fighting a war against ‘LGBT ideology’
‘Do you support the unrestricted presentation of sexual media content that influences the development of underage children?’ In a national referendum likely to be held in the spring, Hungarians will be asked this question and others about the ‘promotion of gender reassignment’ to children, the holding of sexual orientation classes without parental consent, and whether […]
Court seeks interpretation over transgender ID suit
The Taipei High Administrative Court on Thursday sought a constitutional interpretation regarding a lawsuit filed by a transgender woman seeking to change the gender identification on her ID card. The court halted the suit filed by Taipei resident Wu Yu-hsun (吳宇萱), who was seeking an administrative ruling on her application to alter the gender on […]
Could Denmark be on the verge of having its first LGBT PM? The bookies certainly think so
It won’t be a big deal should Konservative leader Søren Pape Poulsen become this country’s first gay prime minister – or at least not by Nordic standards. Per-Kristian Foss was the first LGBT world leader when he briefly served as Norwegian PM in 2002, deputising for Kjell Magne Bondevik during one of his bouts of […]