CGE VOWS TO USE LEGAL POWERS TO PROTECT MEMBERS OF LGBTQIA+ COMMUNITY
The Commission For Gender Equality is promising to use its legal powers to protect the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual (LGBTQIA+) community, following a recent spate of killings. In the past few weeks, more than six people from the LGBTQIA-plus community have been murdered across the country, placing the spotlight on how to […]
LGBT+ Travellers: ‘A lot of the community are ignorant towards the trans issue
Imagine a world where you live in fear, and with each waking hour that fear grows to a point where the only escape comes from the promise of closing your eyes forever. Imagine being born into a life without choice or consultation, without the option of bartering the terms and conditions. Imagine then, that you […]
Intersex activist lives as a man rather than a woman because men get ‘so much more respect’
Intersex activist Roshaante Anderson wants people in the LGBT+ community and allies to remember there’s an “I” in the acronym, and there are voices that need to be heard. Anderson, who is an intersex man, told UNILAD‘s Minutes With series that he didn’t find out he was intersex until he was 11-years-old. He told UNILAD […]
Exorcisms and ‘corrective’ rape: inside Indonesia’s controversial LGBT ‘conversion’ therapies
Growing up as someone who does not conform to traditional gender norms is not easy in Indonesia. Just ask Christine*, a 35 year-old transgender woman in West Java who has been made to undergo conversion therapy no fewer than four times. While the pseudoscientific practice has been condemned in much of the West, conversion therapy […]
LGBT activists not excited by Jenner’s campaign for governor
Though Caitlyn Jenner is one of the most famous transgender people in America, the announcement of her candidacy for California governor was greeted hostilely by one of the state’s largest LGBTQ-rights groups and by many trans activists around the country. “Make no mistake: we can’t wait to elect a #trans governor of California,” tweeted the […]
LGBT pioneer’s spectacular painting returns to Monte Verità
After a lengthy restoration, visitors can once again admire the 26-metre circular painting Il Chiaro Mondo dei Beati [The clear world of the blessed] by Estonian artist and LGBT pioneer Elisàr von Kupffer (1872-1932) at the Monte Verità museum complex near Ascona, in southern Switzerland. The polyptych depicts 84 male nude figures relaxing in idyllic […]
LGBTQ migration on the rise in Poland as homophobia deepens
For months, government ministers spewed vicious rhetoric about gay people. Trucks blasted anti-gay hate messages from loudspeakers on the streets of Poland’s cities. Finally fed up with an increasingly hostile environment for gay people in Poland under the governing Law and Justice party, Marta Malachowska, a 31-year-old who works in social media, decided to move […]
Singapore man jailed for threatening ‘torture’ and ‘death curses’ against judges who upheld anti-gay law
A man has been jailed for threatening a High Court judge and the Singapore judiciary on social media after they upheld a discriminatory anti-gay law. Muhammad Hanif Mohamed Huzairi, 31, was sentenced to seven months in prison after pleading guilty to using threatening words towards a public servant on Instagram. He also admitted to two […]
SOUTH AFRICAN LGBTI+ COMMUNITY AND ORGANISATIONS SPEAK UP AGAINTS HATE CRIMES
Several LGBTI+ and human rights organizations came together this week and released a joint press statement condemning the hate crimes that have been rocked South Africa over the last couple of months. They joined forces to call on South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and everyone in the country to condemn and fight every phobia towards […]
What’s in Canada’s budget for LGBTQ2S+ people?
After the pandemic wiped out decades of progress for gender equality in Canada, most especially in terms of women’s participation in the workforce, the Liberal government’s budget this week promises an “inclusive, intersectional recovery that builds a truly equitable society.” They’re bold words, but if you look through the budget documents, you’ll find that Trudeau’s […]
What is conversion therapy and will it be banned?
According to NHS England, conversion therapy, sometimes called “reparative therapy” or “gay cure therapy”, is based on attempts to change someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity. It and other professional bodies have warned all forms of conversion therapy are “unethical and potentially harmful”. In practice, this means trying to stop or suppress someone from being […]
Plans for DUP leader Arlene Foster to meet with LGBT groups ‘belatedly welcome’ say campaigners
Plans for First Minister Arlene Foster to meet with LGBT organisations have been described by campaigners as “belatedly welcome”. The DUP leader is set to meet with LGBT groups in the coming weeks, Belfast Live revealed. It will be the first time a Stormont First Minister has met with representatives of the LGBT community. The […]
Kansas Governor Laura Kelly Vetoes Transgender Sports Ban
Kansas Governor Laura Kelly, a Democrat, on Thursday vetoed a bill that seeks to prohibit transgender women and girls from participating on sports teams. In announcing her veto, Kelly called Senate Bill 55 “divisive” and harmful to Kansas’ economy. “This legislation sends a devastating message that Kansas is not welcoming to all children and their […]
Together for 50 years, a lawsuit reminds China that love and marriage are very different things
After more than 50 years of living with her partner, a Chinese lesbian woman in her late 70s faced a lawsuit from her partner’s family to return money, jewellery and even appliances that they shared. The ruling came despite the judge’s acknowledgement that the couple, who are surnamed Yuan and Li, would be considered a […]
LGBT Couples Not Entitled to Full Property Rights, Court Rules
A court’s recent ruling that same-sex couples aren’t entitled to the same property rights as married heterosexual couples has once again highlighted the legal predicaments many LGBT people face. On April 12, the Shenyang Intermediate People’s Court in the northeastern Liaoning province ruled against a 79-year-old woman who had sued her partner of 50 years, […]
World reacts to murderer Derek Chauvin’s guilty verdict: ‘Victory would be George Floyd being alive’
The 12-member jury in Minneapolis, Minnesota, announced their verdict on Tuesday (20 April) after less than a day of deliberation. Chauvin was found guilty on three charges – second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter – after he knelt on Floyd’s neck for several minutes as he lay handcuffed on the ground. Police officers have rarely […]
Turkish prosecutors seek jail terms for anti-government student protesters
Turkish prosecutors are seeking prison sentences for 97 people for taking part in one of the country’s biggest anti-government protest movements in years, sparked by the state appointment of a new rector at Istanbul’s most prestigious university in January. The issue became an unexpected catalyst for Turkey’s youth to vent their frustrations at both the […]
Hate sign put up against lesbian kindergarten teacher in Be’er Ya’acov
A sign which says “[this kindergarten] is run by lesbians” was hung on a short railing near Moatza square in Be’er Ya’acov on Wednesday, as part of an ongoing campaign of harassment which has recently been focused around the “Motek Shel Gan” kindergarten teacher Aviva Levi. In addition, The Aguda – Israel’s LGBT Task Force […]
Namibia denies residency to infant daughters of gay citizen
A Namibian court ruled Monday against a gay couple demanding the right to bring their infant daughters home after being born to a surrogate in South Africa. The Namibian Ministry of Home Affairs says the girls are not Namibian citizens, despite being born to a Namibian father. Phillip Lühl is a Namibian citizen married to […]
Owner of China’s biggest gay dating app enters online healthcare business focusing on men’s health
BlueCity Holdings, owner of China’s biggest gay dating app, Blued, announced on Tuesday that He Health, the brand’s health service platform for men, has officially obtained an internet hospital license in China, joining the wave of online healthcare business. The establishment of the He Health Internet Hospital means that BlueCity can now offer a more […]
NYC Launches First-of-Its-Kind Program to Help Homeless LGBTQ+ Youth Find Jobs
Although attacks on LGBTQ+ young people, especially trans children, persist across the nation, some hope materialized today for New York City’s homeless LGBTQ+ population. On Tuesday, Mayor Bill de Blasio’s office and the citywide LGBTQ+ programming initiative NYC Unity Project announced a partnership with national LGBTQ+ homeless youth service provider the Ali Forney Center. Called […]
Blocked by YouTube over ‘curing’ gays, Nigerian pastor speaks up
A popular Nigerian evangelical preacher, TB Joshua, has called on his followers to “pray for YouTube” after the platform blocked his channel over allegations of hate speech against LGBT people. The founder of The Synagogue Church of All Nations, a Christian megachurch in Lagos, is one of Africa’s most influential preachers with a large following […]
Immigrant Detention For Profit Faces Resistance After Big Expansion Under Trump
A dozen Central Americans in T-shirts that read Mujeres Luchadores — Fighting Women — marched through a small Texas town last month toward the gates of an imposing private detention center where they all used to be incarcerated. “Biden, hear us! Shut down Hutto!” they chanted. They’re referring to T. Don Hutto Residential Center, the […]
Gay conversion ban: Therapy is a ‘humiliating and harmful practice’
Gay conversion therapy is a humiliating and harmful practice that needs to be banned, a Stormont assembly debate has heard. Politicians on Tuesday passed a motion calling for a ban on gay conversion therapy “in all its forms”. It was proposed by Ulster Unionist assembly members (MLAs) Doug Beattie and John Stewart. The non-binding motion […]
Corporations ask Legislature to drop bills targeting LGBT Texans
Raising concerns about legislation targeting LGBTQ people, a group of leading corporations is urging Texas lawmakers to focus instead on urgent issues involving the pandemic, electric grid and education. “We are concerned to see a resurgence of efforts to exclude transgender youth from full participation in their communities, to criminalize or ban best-practice medical care […]
The Ugandan mum who was once ashamed of her gay son
When Rita heard rumours that her son was gay she refused to believe it. At the time, she thought that homosexuality was an abomination – a “problem” that happened elsewhere, not in Uganda. When she finally realised the truth, she felt that something bad had invaded her own home. “When I confirmed it, I wept. […]
‘It’s not safe’: Parents of transgender kids plan to flee their states as GOP bills loom
George and Emily Spurrier are leaving their home of 16 years in central Arkansas due to a new law that will ban the health care that they say their 17-year-old transgender son needs. Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a Republican, vetoed the measure earlier this month, calling it “a vast government overreach.” But the Arkansas General Assembly […]
We cannot turn this country into a satanic one – Chieftaincy Minister rallies support from Chief Imam
The Chieftaincy and Religious Minister, Ebenezer Kojo Kum has asked for support from leaders of the Muslim community as measures are being put in place to prevent the practice of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ+) in the country. Mr Kum made this appeal when he paid a courtesy call on the National Chief […]
‘End housing bias against gay couples’
Housing Authority should amend Home Ownership Scheme rules to rectify discrimination against gay couples, the high court heard yesterday. But the Housing Authority told high court judge Anderson Chow Ka-ming that changing the rules would significantly increase the number of HOS applications. The applicant, Edgar Ng Hon-lam, married his Henry Li Yik-ho in the United […]
Halt Proposed Shariah Amendment Criminalising LGBTQ People
Malaysia is facing a serious threat to human rights and the HIV response with the announcement by a cabinet minister of the government’s plans to expand the jurisdiction of religious courts and increase penalties for LGBTQ people. IAS (International AIDS Society) strongly condemns the existing laws regarding same-sex relationships and the proposed amendment to strengthen […]