Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Veterans Face Elevated Suicide Risks
A new report published December 28 on JAMA Network Open found that lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) veterans are at greater risk of suicide than the general population. Data from more than 96,000 LGB veterans revealed that suicide accounted for 3.8 percent of deaths among LGB veterans in 2017 alone, while suicide accounted for 1.7 […]
LGBTQI advocate Richard Lusimbo honored for fighting HIV stigma
LGBTQI advocate Richard Lusimbo is one of six Ugandans recognized by the International Community of Women Living with HIV / Eastern Africa (ICWEA) for their outstanding role in fighting HIV-related stigma. The recognition for Lusimbo came during a recent national dialogue in Kampala focused on elimination of HIV-related stigma and discrimination. The LGBTQI community in […]
SA may be getting random ID numbers – or an ‘X’ for transgender people
The department of home affairs is considering assigning random identity numbers to South Africans, to replace the current structured, 11-digit system. Random ID numbers are more secure and private, it says. They also don’t exclude transgender people. If ID numbers don’t go random, they may get the possibility of an “X” in place of one […]
A Year of Intersex Victories
While 2020 has been a rough year for just about everyone, 2020 has also been a year of many intersex victories and of the overall global advancement of intersex rights. The term “intersex” is an umbrella term that refers to anyone born with variations in their sex characteristics—including variations in their hormones, chromosomes, internal anatomy, […]
First Person: Vietnamese man finds ‘true voice’ in gay community
Nguyen Trong Hung opened a café in Son La in northwestern Viet Nam to serve as a meeting place for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and to offer HIV testing. While in middle school, realizing that I was gay, the only thing I could do was to torment and blame myself. My father left, […]
The data scientist exposing US white supremacists: ‘This is how you fight Nazis’
The far-right Proud Boys group, whom Donald Trump refused to denounce this week, have been linked to assaults on protesters, white supremacist organizing, the spread of Covid misinformation and other threats against Americans. Emily Gorcenski has been tracking them every step of the way. Since 2018, the 38-year-old data scientist has been exposing members of […]
Polish city funds LGBT shelter despite government hostility
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Authorities in the Polish city of Krakow have become the first to include financial support for an LGBT shelter in a country where the community has faced hostility from the government. The shelter offers temporary accommodation and psychological counseling for up to 12 homeless LGBT people. It has been run by […]
Chengdu: China’s permissive ‘gay capital’ refusing to fold
It’s Saturday night at the HUNK club in Chengdu and men in gold lycra shorts and black boots dance on stage. They wear kimonos, in an apparent tactical compromise with new morality codes creeping into China’s “gay capital”. But across town, young women still lounge on leather sofas drinking beer at a lesbian club, while […]
LGBTQ+ year in review: 47 troubling events of 2020
The year 2020 had more than its share of grim news for LGBTQ+ people. If you read this summary, you might want to dilute its impact by also reading “LGBTQ+ year in review: 42 examples of good news in 2020”. To read more about any topic, follow the link to the original article in Erasing […]
Russia Adds Women’s Rights NGO to ‘Foreign Agents’ List
Russia has labeled prominent women’s rights organization Nasiliyu.net (“No to Violence”) as a “foreign agent,” the Justice Ministry announced Tuesday. The Justice Ministry’s addition of the NGO, which provides legal and psychological help to domestic violence victims, to the “foreign agent” registry comes amid fears of a renewed crackdown on critical voices ahead of Russia’s […]
From coronavirus crackdowns to court battles: 10 top LGBT+ stories in 2020
LONDON, Dec 24 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Coronavirus dominated news around the world in 2020, creating particular challenges for the LGBT+ community in terms of mental health, access to HIV medication and scapegoating by religious groups seeking to apportion blame for the virus. The year provided the backdrop for both victories and setbacks for LGBT+ […]
Same-sex couple wins immigration rights battle
A Cayman Islands couple have won the right to have their same-sex marriage recognised by the island’s immigration authorities. Developer Paul Pearson and his partner Randall Pinder, who were legally married in Ireland, applied to have Pinder acknowledged as a ‘spouse of a permanent residency holder’ for immigration purposes. The application was denied by the […]
37 arrests of allegedly LGBTQ Senegalese since September
In Senegal, an almost totalitarian atmosphere reigns in the holy city of Touba. It is patrolled by Islamist religious militias. Citizens are encouraged to denounced suspected homosexuals. The latest arrest of a young suspected gay man occurred yesterday (Dec. 28). He is the 37th person arrested in Senegal since September for his alleged sexual orientation […]
Transgender people in China turning to grey market for hormones
“In China, the channel is hidden,” he tells Sky News. Buying and administering unapproved drugs is risky. Unscrupulous dealers can substitute safe substances for animal hormones. Transgender people have experienced kidney problems and even paralysis as a result. Andy trusts his dealer and he stays away from more dangerous treatments. He grimaces as he injects […]
How LGBTQ+ members of the South Asian diaspora navigate stigma and stress
When Gurleen Kaur came out as queer to her friends three years ago, she was all too familiar with her family’s expectations—that she marry a man someday. That was still a possibility for the 27-year-old, which would likely then lead to the full-package large celebration with all her friends and family present. But Kaur also […]
‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’: The Indonesian Military Case
In October, news broke about Indonesian Military (TNI) personnel who were dismissed for being a part of the LGBTQ community. As of this writing, TNI had fired and incarcerated 16 service members who were found to be homosexuals with the charge of disobedience to service orders. TNI argues that homosexuality is against military discipline and […]
Ancient Roman ‘homophobic graffiti’ found in unearthed Pompeii snack bar: ‘Nicia cinaede cacator’
Archaeologists who have been excavating an Ancient Roman snack bar in Pompeii, Italy, have discovered “homophobic” graffiti scrawled on the walls. According to a press release from Pompeii Sites, the colourful Thermopolium of Regio V was one of the snack bars at Pompeii, and it has finally been revealed in its entirety by archaeologists. After […]
Germany’s Transgender Law seen as ‘archaic, degrading’
“Degrading, expensive and illogical” — that is how one trans* person described her experience of legally changing her gender in Germany. Felicia Rolletschke is one of many activists who is fighting for a reform to the so-called Transsexual Law, which determines the legal process for trans* people to change their gender and name in Germany. […]
FROM THE FIELD: Misunderstood and mistreated; transgender women in Mexico
The Women of “Casa de las Muñecas Tiresias” shelter, have been providing up to 80 free meals a day to some of their most vulnerable neighbours. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people are often indiscriminately attacked, or, according to media reports, murdered in Mexico and have been experiencing heightened stigma during the COVID-19 pandemic. Read […]
Muslim school accused of expelling pupil over lesbian claims
The SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) is investigating a private religious school in Johannesburg for allegedly throwing out a pupil who was “accused” of being lesbian. The Citizen reported that the family of the 17-year-old lodged a complaint with the SAHRC, claiming that Madrasah Mu’einul Islam, a school for girls, expelled her earlier this year. […]
My two daddies: Row rages in Latvia over LGBT-friendly children’s books as critics blast initiative ‘imposed by EU elites’
For modern liberals, they are an important step in normalizing different kinds of families. But for others, children’s books depicting gay parents are an attack on traditional values. That’s the debate now playing out in Latvia. On Saturday, local media in the Baltic state reported that a complaint had been formally lodged with authorities over […]
This artist is proving you can be disabled, queer and sexuality active one powerful illustration at a time
llustrator Dandy Doodlez has opened up about sex, the intersection between queerness and disability, and why the LGBT+ community is so inaccessible. Dandy developed Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME), a complex neurological disease that presents with symptoms in multiple body systems, around two years ago and she told PinkNews: “Overnight, I sort of lost everything in my […]
Pope proclaims year of families, offers advice to keep peace
Pope Francis on Sunday proclaimed an upcoming year dedicated to the family as he doubled down on one of his papal priorities and urged renewed attention to his controversial 2016 document on family life. Francis announced the upcoming year on the family would begin March 19, the fifth anniversary of his document “The Joy of […]
38% of LGBT people in Japan sexually harassed or assaulted: survey
Nearly 40 percent of sexual minority people in Japan have been sexually harassed or assaulted, a private survey involving more than 10,000 respondents showed Saturday. The survey of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people was conducted by Yasuharu Hidaka, a professor of social epidemiology at Takarazuka University. Hidaka said many more cases likely remain unknown […]
Pompeii archaeologists uncover ancient homophobic insult to tavern owner
Archaeologists excavating a snack bar in the ruins of Italy’s Pompeii have uncovered “exceptional” frescoes, and obscene graffiti likely directed at the establishment’s seventh century owner. The volcanic ash which buried the town during the eruption of Mt Vesuvius in AD79 has preserved an intimate historical record of the Roman town 14 miles southeast of […]
Tears of joy as LGBTQ asylum seeker battered by police wins fight to stay in Liverpool
An LGBTQ asylum seeker described their tears of joy when a judge said they could stay in Liverpool after fleeing murder, police brutality and discrimination in El Salvador. The artist, who now identifies as non-binary meaning they do not fully identify with either gender, came to the UK in 2017 from their native country after […]
My intersex husband
Aku finally nailed it. She got married to the love of her life, a 40-year-old man, after two years of courtship without intimacy. As tradition will have it, the lovebirds went naked the wedding night and kick-started their honeymoon with great joy in a calm atmosphere. Barely two hours of pleasure and lovemaking, Aku’s husband […]
Bihar mulls over raising transgender battalion
If all goes right, Bihar would soon become the first state in the country to have a separate police battalion of transgenders. Till now, the state government doesn’t have specific or separate policy on recruitment of transgenders in police service. There are over 40,000 transgenders abover 18 years in Bihar. When asked, additional chief secretary […]
This secret lesbian couple organised the first-ever White House meeting on LGBT+ rights, changing the path of equality forever
When Jean O’Leary, co-executive director of the National Gay Task Force, was asked by writer Eric Marcus how she managed to get a meeting at the White House, she recalled: “I had a lot of contacts with the White House, actually. Our main contact was Midge Costanza, who I had worked with… we had built […]
Lawyers will now have to specify pronouns in courts in British Columbia
Lawyers, witnesses, defendents, and other individuals in court proceedings in British Columbia will now have to specify a gendered title – Mr., Ms., Mx., or “Counsel” – to ensure that the court addresses them correctly. “I would do a better job for my client, if I’m not thinking about being misgendered,” said Vancouver lawyer Lisa […]