Kashmir: LGBT+ demand health care access during COVID pandemic
Kashmir’s LGBT+ community members are calling for the right to access health care and COVID-19 vaccines. They are also urging the government to set up support schemes as the pandemic takes a toll on their lives. In the congested Basant Bagh locality in India-administered Kashmir’s Srinagar city, Shabnum Subhan, 45, who identifies herself as a […]
‘Epidemic of violence’: Brazil shocked by ‘barbaric’ gang-rape of gay man
An act of “barbaric” violence where a 22-year-old gay man was gang-raped and tortured has prompted fierce reaction in Brazil and is evidence of a growing tide of hate crime in the country, according to human rights campaigners. The man, who has not been named, was attacked last week in Florianópolis by three armed men […]
Equality watchdog, LGBT activists hit back at pro-Beijing lawmakers’ attacks on Gay Games
LGBT activists and the Equal Opportunities Commission have lambasted pro-Beijing lawmakers for opposing the 2022 Gay Games. The event promotes values of equality, inclusion and diversity, and are consistent with the principle of equal opportunities, Ricky Chu, chairperson of the EOC, said in a radio program on Thursday. He called on the public not to […]
The church’s complicity in dehumanizing the LGBTQ community in Ghana
The West African country of Ghana is one of the most homophobic countries in the world today. It not only refuses to recognize same-sex unions, but it also criminalizes consensual same-sex acts with imprisonment of up to three years. Those who are arrested for being gay are then often subjected to further physical, psychological or […]
Somewhere under the Bengaluru FC rainbow
On the first day of this month, Bengaluru FC uploaded a social media post that had the sketch of a floodlight throwing rainbow colours over their home ground, Sree Kanteerava Stadium. Tagged with #LoveKnowsNoGender, its caption said: “This June, remember that your love is yours to colour”. The tweet didn’t go viral and in a […]
Manitoba gay couple lose fight to have 1974 marriage validated
A gay Winnipeg couple have lost their fight to have their marriage of nearly five decades registered by the province of Manitoba. Chris Vogel and Richard North got married in 1974, becoming the first gay couple to get married in a Canadian church. When they tried to register the marriage with what is now the […]
Almost all Australian LGBTQ+ high school students hear homophobic language at school, study finds
More than 90% of LGBTQ+ students hear homophobic language at school, with more than one in three confronted with slurs on a daily basis, a study of Australian high school students has found. Despite common experiences of homophobia, just 6% of gender and sexuality diverse students said that teachers within earshot always intervened, with some […]
LGBT activists denied bail in Ghana
A Ghanaian court on Tuesday denied bail to 21 gay rights activists arrested nearly three weeks ago for what police described as an unlawful gathering, their lawyer said. The 16 women and five men were told to reappear in court on June 16 for their next hearing. Some were seen weeping after the ruling in […]
Pride flags lowered and burned in Waterford
PRIDE FLAGS celebrating the LGBT community and Pride Month have been lowered and burned in Waterford city in what has been described as a ‘disgusting act’. As part of the annual ‘Pride of the Deise’ LGBT+ celebration weekend, rainbow flags were erected across the city in recent days, including outside local authority offices. On Sunday […]
Uzbekistan: Top lawmaker calls for deporting the LGBT community en masse
The head of one of Uzbekistan’s leading political parties has suggested depriving gays, lesbians and transgender people of citizenship and deporting them as a way of ending the national conversation on LGBT issues. Alisher Kadyrov, who heads Milliy Tiklanish, or National Revival, which bills itself as a champion of tradition and family values, said in […]
‘Hope In A Box’ Program Aims To Promote LGBTQ-Inclusive Curriculums At Public Schools
“Hope in a Box ultimately wants to make LGBTQ-inclusive education the norm, rather than the exception in every single public school in this country,” said founder and executive director Joe English. That’s a lofty ambition, but English seems to be on his way to doing just that. “At its heart, Hope in a Box helps […]
Lesbian couple in China sues over hetero-only ‘couples discount’
It’s certainly not Pride month in China. A lesbian couple is suing a zoo in Guangzhou as well as the tourism booking service Ctrip after they were denied a promotion being offered to couples. The case, now advancing to China’s top courts, is a prime example of the state’s lack of recognition for the LGBTQ […]
Intersex people on the importance of being understood, their inclusion in upcoming census
Usually the Queen’s Birthday Honours have been divided into men and women, but this year for the first time, there’s a third column after Mani Mitchell, who is intersex and non-binary. They were awarded the honour for services to intersex advocacy and education, after helping found Intersex Awareness New Zealand in 1997. Recently it was […]
The Pentagon Is Keeping Its Ban On The Pride Flag At Installations
The Pentagon confirmed Friday it will not allow rainbow pride flags to fly at military facilities in celebration of Pride Month. That fell in line with the Pentagon’s 2020 decision to permit only certain flags at Department of Defense installations. Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby told reporters the DOD chose not to make an exception to […]
Japanese LGBTQ groups and supporters stage rally in Tokyo, demand equal rights
Japanese sexual minority groups and their supporters staged a rally outside Tokyo’s iconic Shibuya Station on Sunday calling for equal rights and public support for enacting a long-sought equality law before the Olympics, despite fading hopes due to the governing party’s resistance. Around 100 people wearing rainbow facemasks danced and held banners with slogans in […]
KILL THE BILLS: PROTESTERS RALLY IN SYDNEY AGAINST MARK LATHAM’S ANTI-TRANS LAWS
As a pair of “transphobic” law reforms proposed by One Nation’s Mark Latham make their way through the NSW parliament, community groups are amping up their rally cries for the bills to be killed. On Saturday, hundreds of protesters gathered outside Town Hall in Sydney to make their opposition heard and raise awareness about the […]
‘Gay conversion therapy roadshow’ hits WA churches with ‘reformed’ gay man at the helm
A ‘gay conversion therapy’ roadshow visiting West Australian churches has sparked outrage and renewed pressure on state and federal governments to outlaw the controversial practice. Albany Baptist Church last week hosted two Real Lives presentation events by True Identity International, which claimed to “tell stories of hope, vision and dignity beyond LGBTQ+.” The Church said […]
Ugandan court frees dozens of gay men on bail after days in jail
A court in Uganda granted bail on Friday to 39 people, most of them gay men, held for days after what police said was a raid on a same-sex wedding that violated coronavirus rules, but which a rights group described as a round-up at an LGBT shelter. Frank Mugisha, Executive Director of rights group Sexual […]
Hundreds of Catholics share sacred blessings with LGBT+ worshippers in defiance of Vatican
Hundreds of Catholics stepped forward to bless LGBT+ people during a virtual service in response to the Vatican’s ban on blessings for same-sex couples. The live-streamed event was hosted by Dignity USA, an organisation that works to secure justice and equality for LGBT+ people in the Catholic Church, and was run in conjunction with 19 […]
Pentagon not to allow pride flags to be flown on installations
The Pentagon said on Friday that it would not make an exception to allow U.S. military installations to fly rainbow pride flags in June, keeping a policy set by former President Donald Trump that limited the type of flags that could be flown on bases. Earlier this week, President Joe Biden said that nearly 1,500 […]
Ghana court delays bail decision for 21 detained LGBT+ activists
A Ghanaian court on Friday delayed its ruling on a bail application for 21 Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT+) activists detained two weeks ago for an allegedly unlawful gathering, which rights group deny. The delay will mean the group will have to spend at least four more days in detention. LGBT+ people face widespread […]
The Lives Of LGBTQ+ Youth In Puerto Rico Are In Danger — More Than Ever
A transgender woman, Mila García, was 12 years old when she started conversion therapy in Puerto Rico. Her parents found a love letter she had exchanged with a boy in her class, and they forced her into three years of the pseudoscientific practice that seeks to reverse an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity by […]
Groups Come Together to Create Safe Spaces for Asian American LGBTQ Community
Several groups in the D.C. area are raising awareness about what it means to be LGBTQ and Asian American. “We exist in so many different ways, and our stories are so important,” said Mitch Chan of Asian Pacific Islander Queer Society. The Asian Pacific Islander Queer Society holds social events and provide a support system, […]
Tax rebate for Bangladesh companies hiring transgender people
Bangladesh has declared a tax rebate for companies hiring transgender people to boost the government’s social inclusion efforts for the marginalised group in the Muslim-majority South Asian country. “I propose to enact special tax incentives with a view to providing employment and ensuring rise in living standards and social and economic integration of the members […]
Thousands join Jerusalem Pride march in call for LGBT rights
Thousands of people marched through Jerusalem on Thursday in the annual Pride parade, celebrating LGBTQ rights in the conservative city amid heavy police security. Pride events in Jerusalem, which is home to a large ultra-Orthodox Jewish community, tend to be less raucous than those in more liberal Tel Aviv. A radical ultra-Orthodox Jew stabbed a […]
Namibia: Landmark test for stance against gay marriage
Two couples challenging the government’s refusal to recognise same-sex marriages concluded outside Namibia are now waiting for three judges to announce their decision following a combined hearing of their cases in the Windhoek High Court yesterday. Judges Hannelie Prinsloo, Orben Sibeya and Esi Schimming-Chase reserved their judgement after hearing oral arguments on two cases in […]
More than 100 LGBTQ candidates compete in Mexican election
For years, transgender activist Roshell Terranova protested in the streets and knocked on the doors of Mexico’s Congress to make the demands of the country’s LGBTQ community known. Now thanks to her efforts and an electoral rule change, Terranova is running for Congress in a first for Mexico. Terranova will be one of more than […]
New bill won’t “discriminate”, Cook Islands government says
Same sex rights groups are expressing guarded optimism after Government disclosed that work is underway to ensure new criminal legislation will not contain clauses that discriminate against any Cook Islander or resident. The Government has revealed the Crimes Bill – a proposed piece of legislation that updates the existing criminal code – is currently being […]
Pride month: The LGBT history you probably didn’t learn in school
If you think we live in an open-minded, sex-positive society now, just wait until you hear what may have been going on down the Yorkshire mines in the 1950s. There’s a lot of LGBT history many of us don’t know. Partly because it wasn’t covered in school, partly because so much of it happened in […]
St. Petersburg prosecutors drop claim on blocking the Russian LGBT Network’s website
The St. Petersburg Central District Prosecutor’s Office has withdrawn a claim seeking to block the website of the advocacy group Russian LGBT Network, due to a lack of evidence of “LGBT propaganda” on the platform, Novaya Gazeta reported on June 1. According to lawyer Alexander Belik, who works with the Russian LGBT Network, the prosecution […]