Italy court urges more rights for children of gay couples
Italy’s Constitutional Court on Tuesday said the country urgently needs a law on the rights of children of same-sex couples, in a step campaigners said did not go far enough. The court issued rulings in two separate cases, relating to a lesbian couple who had children using medically-assisted reproduction abroad, and to two men in […]
Belgian prime minster flies rainbow flag in response to gay man’s murder
Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo flew the rainbow LGBTQ Pride flag outside his office on Tuesday in response to the fatal stabbing of a gay man in a park in Beveren, a city just outside of Antwerp. “In our country, there is no place for hatred. Love wins,” De Croo said in a tweet […]
LGBTQ Travel Safety in Croatia: 39th Most Popular Country in the World
March 9, 2021 – When it comes to traveling, Croatia has been known as a gay-friendly destination, even though not all Croatians in every part of the country are fond of accepting gay and lesbian couples. In a recent study, LGBTQ travel safety in Croatia ranks 39th on the list of 150 world’s most popular […]
Ghana’s emerging LGBT movement battles with hostility
When activists in Ghana opened a support centre for the local gay community, they expected some pushback in a religiously conservative West African country where homosexuality is illegal. But less than a month after its opening, the centre was forced to close and its founders driven were underground after a wave of homophobia swept the […]
Bangladesh’s first transgender news reader takes to the airwaves
To cheers from colleagues, Bangladesh’s first transgender news presenter broke down in tears , but only after her word-perfect debut was beamed to the nation and the cameras were off. Bangladesh is home to an estimated 1.5 million transgender people, who face rampant discrimination and violence and are often forced to live by begging, the […]
From Kyiv To Almaty, Marches For Rights On International Women’s Day
Women have marched across Eastern Europe, the Western Balkans, and Central Asia demanding governments do more to respect their rights as the world marks International Women’s Day. Thousands of activists in Kyiv marched through the city center on March 8 from the Mykhaylivska Square to the Poshtova Square holding posters with slogans like, “My Body-My […]
Meretz Candidate Under Fire for Flip-flopping on LGBTQ Rights Ahead of Election
Ghaida Rinawie Zoabi, the No. 4 candidate on the Meretz list, said in an interview in Arabic that she would abstain on a bill prohibiting so-called “conversion therapy,” then reversed herself and said she would support the bill, sponsored by Meretz chairman Nitzan Horowitz. Horowitz issued a statement saying Rinawie Zoabi’s comments “were made mistakenly.” […]
Researchers perform new study on intersex experience
Intersex and Disorders of Sex Development (DSD) are two terms used to describe those born with sex characteristics (i.e., chromosomes, gonads, genitals) that do not fit the typical definitions of male or female bodies. It is estimated that one out of every 2 000 people is born with invisible or visible intersex/DSD traits. But for […]
Nigerian police raid suspected ‘gay party’ and drag ‘scores’ of men to anti-cult office
Police have reportedly raided a hotel in Anambra, Nigeria, where a group of “suspected gays” were having a party, following an anonymous tip-off. According to a local source who spoke to Nigerian publisher Punch Newspapers: “The gays were holding a party at the facility when trouble ensued, leading to the invitation of policemen from the […]
Senegal: Hate speech flourishes on Facebook in language used by 5 million
In Senegal, anti-gay hate speech spreads on Facebook without restraint in abusive posts that are written in Wolof, LGBTQ+ advocates say. That’s the local language for 5 million people in West Africa, so the activists are urgently appealing to Facebook for help. Activists at the LGBTQ+ advocacy group Collectif Free du Sénégal have reported hate […]
The fallen hope of LGBTQ+ in Ghana
Ghana has mixed record on its treatment of Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) persons. It’s Criminalizes ”unnatural carnal knowledge” in section 104 (1) (b) of its Criminal Offences Act, which the authorities interpret as “penile penetration of anything other than a virgin.” However, the law is a colonial legacy that is rarely, if ever, […]
Pakistan- Accused who tortured transgender person arrested in Nowshera
Nowshera Police have arrested an accused who attacked and injured a transgender person. Police said that transgender person Fayyaz alias Sunny came to Cantt Police Station with a complaint that a boy, Asad came to his residence in Siddique Plaza and indulged into argument with him. He alleged that the boy got furious during the […]
Israeli Right-Wing Parties Court Gay Votes
With Israel’s next election just three weeks away, the various parties are looking for new sources of votes in order to avoid the kind of political deadlock that has resulted in this being the fourth election in just two years. The Right will almost certainly win an overall majority in Knesset, but that won’t be […]
Russia hatches sinister plan to ban trans, bisexual, abortion and polyamorous ‘propaganda’
With Russia’s population expected to decline by 30 million over the next decade, the question of how to raise the birth rate dominated discussions on Thursday (4 March) at a conference of United Russia, the country’s ruling party. Among the many proposals floated under the “Strong Family” project was a ban on polyamorous and bisexual […]
In pictures: Thousands attend LGBT Mardi Gras in Sydney
Revellers usually line the city’s streets for a huge parade but plans were altered this year over Covid-19 concerns. Some 36,000 attended the stadium event instead – though a small protest march also took place on the usual parade route after an exemption was issued by health officials. Saturday’s main event was the 43rd Mardi […]
Tunisians protest for LGBT rights activist’s release
Hundreds of Tunisians demanded the release of an activist sentenced to six months in prison for allegedly insulting a police officer. The incident for which 26-year-old LGBT rights and pro-democracy campaigner Rania Amdouni was convicted on 4 March happened a few days earlier when she was trying to lodge a complaint against police intimidation. Amdouni […]
Confronting Jamaica’s hydra of deadly religious homophobia
Research by Jamaica’s most respected university found that religious homophobia is a major reason the country lags the rest of the western hemisphere in recognizing LGBT human rights. A pernicious brand of intolerant theology has infected all levels of Jamaican society, where almost everyone belongs to a conservative church. Similarly, in Ireland, fundamentalist Christian views […]
Italian politicians targeting LGBTQ people to divert attention away from the COVID economy, experts say
Two years ago, Francesco, then 18, became homeless overnight. His mother, an evangelical Christian, called the police to evict him from the family’s home in the southern Italian city of Naples, saying his relationship with his boyfriend was corrupting his younger sister. “I was literally kicked out on the street with no help from the […]
Hungary’s media authority takes legal action against TV channel due to an LGBTQ+ advert
Hungary’s media watchdog, the National Media and Infocommunications Authority have announced they will be taking legal action against the RTL Hungary media group. The legal action comes after the RTL aired an advert from the Háttér Society group. In the emotional commercial, LGBTQ+ couples were shown reacting to homophobic comments that they encountered online. The […]
Myanmar’s Pro-Democracy Protests Are Giving a Voice to LGBTQ+ People
Sue Sha Shin Thant, a transgender woman, has experienced a lifetime of discrimination and social exclusion in Myanmar, where LGBTQ+ people have no recognized rights or protections and the only words used to describe them in their own language are derogatory. Now, the Mandalay-based activist is among thousands of LGBTQ+ people marching under rainbow flags […]
Archbishop Welby condemns Nigerian Primate’s anti-gay language
THE Archbishop of Canterbury has condemned the “unacceptable” language that the Archbishop of Nigeria, the Most Revd Henry Ndukuba, used to describe gay people (News, 2 March). In response to a statement on the pastoral care of gay people issued by the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) in January, Archbishop Ndukuba wrote last week: […]
American Psychological Association opposes transgender conversion “therapy” in historic statement
The biggest professional psychologist organization in the U.S. has come out against transgender conversion therapy in a new statement, saying that the practice puts “individuals at significant risk of harm.” In a resolution adopted last month, the APA says that gender identity change efforts (GICE) “cause harm by reinforcing anti-transgender and anti-gender nonbinary stigma and […]
Europe’s nurses need more training to ‘reduce biases’ around LGBT+ issues
Calls have been made to ensure nurses across Europe are trained to be “compassionate and culturally aware” towards lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT+) people, after new research found staff from strict religious backgrounds were more likely to have “negative attitudes” towards these patients. Researchers at Middlesex University have warned that health and care professionals […]
Mississippi governor to sign bill banning transgender student-athletes from female sports teams
Mississippi legislators have passed a bill that would ban transgender athletes from competing on female sports teams in schools and universities — one of over two dozen similar measures proposed by state lawmakers nationwide this year. The state House voted 81-28 Wednesday to pass the so-called Mississippi Fairness Act. It passed the state Senate last […]
LGBT practice: Civil society, NGOs back FG’s stand
The nation’s Civil Society and some Non-Governmental Organisation (NGOs) on Thursday added their voice against move by the USA and European to force the Federal Government to accept the practice of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) in the country. The civil society and NGOs at a briefing in Lagos kick against LGBT and the […]
South Korea’s first known transgender soldier found dead
SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea’s first known transgender soldier, who protested the military’s decision last year to discharge her for undergoing gender reassignment surgery, was found dead at her home on Wednesday. Shin Jeong-hwan, a fire department official in the central city of Cheongju, said rescue workers visited the home of Byun Hui-su after […]
The growing calls for a boycott of the Qatar World Cup
In December, Danish caretaker Casper Fischer did something he had never done before. The 32 year old decided to petition Denmark’s parliament – the Folketing – to get the country’s national football team to boycott the World Cup finals being held in Qatar next year. Together with five co-sponsors, Mr Fischer, who lives close to […]
The Trailer: Why Republicans keep running against trans rights
In this edition: The GOP’s transgender politics, lessons from CPAC and a sit-down with a Republican running for Congress against Trump. We don’t have the Kraken anymore, but we’ll always have Paris. This is The Trailer. For most of his 90-minute CPAC speech, former president Donald Trump played the hits. Democrats favor “open borders.” President […]
Polish court acquits LGBT activists in rainbow Virgin Mary case
A Polish court on Tuesday acquitted three activists who were accused of desecration and offending religious sentiment for altering, producing and distributing images of a revered Roman Catholic icon that included the LGBT rainbow. The posters used rainbows as halos in an image of the Virgin Mary and the baby Jesus. Their aim was to […]
UK’s first LGBT+ retirement community given green light to open in 2021
Tonic Housing has been awarded a £5.7m loan from the mayor of London to purchase 19 properties in Vauxhall, Lambeth. This will become the UK‘s first provider of queer-affirming housing for older LGBT+ people. Sales for the property are due to start in the spring with residents expected to begin moving in this summer. Sadiq […]