Ghana: anti-gay bill proposing 10-year prison sentences sparks outrage
Draft anti-gay legislation submitted to Ghana’s parliament could propose up to 10 years in jail for LGBTQ+ people as well as groups and individuals who advocate for their rights, express sympathy or offer social or medical support, in one of the most draconian and sweeping anti-gay laws proposed around the world. Support for intersex people […]
Pervasive racism a toxic problem in Vancouver’s LGBTQ community, say activists
Vancouver will be awash with rainbow flags this weekend as people celebrate LGBTQ pride and yet, while the city is perceived by many as an inclusive and safe space to be your authentic self, some members of the queer community say that’s not necessarily the case if your skin is not white. In the lead-up […]
Judge dismisses legal challenges to transgender student protections
A Lynchburg Circut Court Judge dismissed legal challenges to block the Virginia Department of Education’s new policies on protecting transgender students. Earlier this spring, two lawsuits were filed, which were eventually consolidated into one lawsuit by the Christian Action Network, trying to block the “Model Policies for the Treatment of Transgender Students in Virginia’s Public […]
Meet 7 Activists Fighting to Improve LGBTQ+ Rights Across Africa
I’ve personally experienced two homophobic attacks in my home city of Enugu, in southeastern Nigeria: one from the police and the other from a crowd of students. In both instances, I was threatened with death and left traumatized. Unfortunately, such attacks in Nigeria, and in much of Africa, where just 22 out of 54 of […]
Georgia’s LGBT+ community living in fear after violence
TBILISI, July 26 (Openly) – Nino, a 25-year-old lesbian from Georgia, no longer feels at ease when she leaves the house. Since violence forced a Pride march to be cancelled earlier this month, she is afraid of being verbally abused or chased in the street. Reports of hate crimes have risen in the wake of […]
Poland’s heinous ‘LGBT-free zones’ sue the defiant activists fighting back against their hate
In late 2019, Polish activists began compiling an interactive map of the country’s ‘LGBT-free zones’. Within these towns and cities, the promotion of so-called ‘LGBT+ ideology’ is banned. Enraged by this state-sanctioned homophobia, a team of campaigners – Jakub Gawron, Kamil Mczuga, Paulina Pajak and Pawel Preneta – came together to build the Atlas of […]
Berlin parade raises concerns over increase in LGBT+ hate crimes
Thousands of people took to the streets of Berlin on Saturday as revelers marched for LGBT+ rights on Christopher Street Day. The day commemorates riots that broke out in New York in 1969 after police raided a gay bar. It is seen as a turning point for the gay rights movement and has been celebrated […]
Finns Turn against Puberty Blockers for Gender Dysphoria
First, it was the Brits and then the Swedes. Now, the transgender moral panic is receiving more pushback from the Finns. Finnish medical guidelines are now opposed to most puberty blocking and adolescent transitioning, except in the most severe cases and, then, only in a research setting. First, note this eye-opener that most cases of […]
‘The worst anti-LGBTQ bill ever’
The “most homophobic document the world has ever seen” is how LGBTQ rights activists describe Ghana’s sweeping anti-homosexuality bill recently revealed after months of discussion and publicity from the nation’s anti-gay crusaders. The members of Ghana’s anti-gay National Coalition for Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values hope to see it enacted by the […]
Tensions amid Budapest Pride parade
Thousands of Hungarians marched in Budapest’s biggest Pride parade on Saturday, amid tension sparked by a series of anti-LGBTQ steps by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. After an “anti-pedophilia” law was adopted by the Hungarian Parliament last month, Orban’s critics at home and in Brussels have accused him of conflating pedophilia with homosexuality. “Many people […]
”OUT FOR AUSTRALIA’ EXISTS TO SUPPORT LGBT STUDENTS & YOUNG PROFESSIONALS’
Less than 32% of LGBTQIA+ employees in Australia are out to everyone in their workplace and studies reveal that this number is going down. Out For Australia is one of the few charities in the country that is looking to address the issue with its mentorship programs and targeted support for LGBTQIA+ students and young […]
Georgian Condom Company Wins Freedom Of Expression Case At European Rights Court
A Georgian condom company that uses creative advertising on its packaging has won a freedom of expression case at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). The case involved Georgian condom brand Aiisa, whose owner had to pay a small fine and recall its products in 2018 after Georgian courts ruled its advertising was unethical […]
Taxi-driving gay Catholic priest subjected to vile homophobic abuse
A gay Catholic priest in Liverpool has been left “petrified” after he was subjected to homophobic abuse in a “disgusting” hate crime. Father Paul Newbery is a priest at Merseyside Open Community Church in Liverpool, which is part of the LGBT-inclusive United Liberal Catholic Church. Newbery, who also works as a taxi driver, told the […]
Budapest Pride stands up for LGBT rights in Hungary
LGBT people and their supporters have marched through the capital city of Hungary to defend their rights. It comes as the government tries to limit discussion of homosexuality and transgender issues in schools. A law to limit teaching on the subject came into force this month, and Prime Minister Viktor Orban plans to back it […]
Hungary’s LGBTQ community: ‘We are afraid of losing everything’
Over the past months, Boldizsar Nagy has had to grapple with things he never expected. He was never anyone “special,” the journalist and children’s book editor said — certainly not a household name, as he is today. When he and his team published a fairy tale book titled Meseorszag mindenkie, or Wonderland Belongs to Everyone, […]
Ghana: anti-gay bill proposing 10-year prison sentences sparks outrage
Draft anti-gay legislation submitted to Ghana’s parliament could propose up to 10 years in jail for LGBTQ+ people as well as groups and individuals who advocate for their rights, express sympathy or offer social or medical support, in one of the most draconian and sweeping anti-gay laws proposed around the world. Support for intersex people […]
Senate unanimously confirms 2 LGBTQ women to top military positions
The U.S. Senate has unanimously confirmed two LGBTQ women to top military positions. “President Biden nominated two historic #LGBTQ+ nominees for key roles” at the Department of Defense,” White House Senior Advisor on LGBTQ+ Engagement Reggie Greer wrote on Twitter. On Thursday, Gina Ortiz Jones was confirmed to be the next undersecretary of the Air […]
False start for intersex athletes barred from Olympics
When the world’s fastest women race for gold over 800m in Tokyo, all three medallists from the 2016 Olympics will be absent – barred as intersex athletes who refuse to alter their natural hormones to meet the rules of sport. The ban is one of many controversies dogging a sporting spectacle that opens on Friday […]
Panama’s Gender-Based Lockdown and the Resilience of Transgender Activism
On April 1, 2020, the government of Panama introduced a gender-based lockdown in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. This meant that women and men were only allowed to do essential shopping on alternate days. The country’s Health Ministry described the gender-based quarantine as “the simplest procedure” to reduce the number of people on the streets […]
Budapest Pride march is a protest against anti-gay laws, say organisers
Saturday’s Pride march in Budapest will be “a celebration, but also a protest”, organisers have said, as Hungary’s LGBT community prepares to rally in defiance of an escalating anti-gay campaign by the country’s government. Johanna Majercsik, one of the organisers of Pride month in Budapest, which culminates with the march, said she expected to see […]
Popular Gay TV Show in Hong Kong Draws Political Attacks, Raising Worries Over Rights
HONG KONG—A TV show about a male love triangle is proving a big hit with viewers, but criticism from pro-Beijing politicians is stirring concern that broader freedoms could be caught up in China’s political crackdown, even as Hong Kong prepares to host the Gay Games in 2022. “Ossan’s Love,” a 15-episode drama focusing on a […]
Hungary to hold referendum on LGBT issues by early 2022
BUDAPEST, July 22 (Reuters) – Hungary plans to hold a referendum on legislation that limits schools’ teaching about homosexuality and transgender issues late this year or early next year, Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s chief of staff said on Thursday. Orban announced the referendum on Wednesday, stepping up a culture war with the European Union. The […]
Letters | Hit TV series shows Hong Kong ready to talk about gay rights, but gently does it
I agree with your editorial, “Let reason prevail in debate on gay rights” (July 20). I can’t say I was not initially taken aback by the headlines concerning the forced shutting down of university LGBT groups in mainland China, but I had a better picture after a closer look at the news. I was not […]
UK to engage Guyana on LGBT rights, abolishing death penalty and decriminalising suicide
The United Kingdom (UK), through its High Commission in Guyana, intends to engage the Irfaan Ali led government on major human rights issues in the coming months. These include but are not limited to the abolition of the death penalty, decriminalising suicide and more protection for members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) […]
Chile senators approve gay marriage bill; one step left
Senators in Chile passed a long-awaited bill Wednesday authorizing same-sex marriage, in what LGBT campaigners hope will be the penultimate step to its final approval. Chile, which legalized same-sex civil unions in 2015, has been waiting on this bill since 2017, when it was sent to congress by then-President Michelle Bachelet. In a surprise move, […]
Argentina rolls out ID cards for non-binary people
In a first for South America, people who do not identify as male or female can tick a third box in their ID cards. People who neither identify as male nor female in Argentina will be able to use “X” the gender field in their national ID document and passports starting July 21. Argentina is […]
Embassies from across the world demand ‘freedom from violence’ for queer Hungarians
Ahead of Budapest Pride, 30 embassies from across the world have demanded “freedom from violence” for queer people in Hungary. The open letter, published Monday (19 July) was signed by the embassies of Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, Netherlands, […]
RELIGIOUS DISCRIMINATION BILL CANNOT BE AT THE COST OF LGBT RIGHTS, SAYS LIBERAL MP
The Federal government is set to bring in a new – its third – draft of the Religious Discrimination Bill later this year. But a growing number of Liberal MPs are voicing their concerns about its impact on marriage equality and LGBTQI+ rights in Australia. The latest to add his voice to the growing chorus […]
Times are changing in Uganda: Parliament gets a progressive clerk
In what appears to be a positive shift in state policy thinking, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has appointed Adolf Mwesige, a liberal and progressive lawyer with a sense of urgency on human rights, as the new Clerk of Uganda’s Parliament. It could represent a new dawn for Uganda’s legislative process, with a renewed concentration on […]
Gay rugby player wins five-year battle against deportation to Kenya
A gay rugby player is celebrating after winning a five-year battle against deportation to Kenya, where he feared he would be persecuted because of his sexuality. Kenneth Macharia, 41, on Monday won an appeal in the immigration tribunal against Home Office plans to remove him from the UK. His campaign attracted huge public backing, with […]