Trump Judges Strike Down Bans On LGBTQ ‘Conversion Therapy’
A federal appeals court struck down Friday local ordinances prohibiting licensed therapists from engaging in “conversion therapy” practices that aim to change a minor’s sexual orientation or gender identity—despite widespread consensus among experts that such therapy is harmful—arguing that banning the controversial practice is a violation of the therapists’ First Amendment rights. The court ruling […]
For Hungary’s same-sex couples, a narrow window to adopt is closing
After three years, Marton Pal and his partner Adam Hanol received the phone call they had been waiting for in 2018 and a few months later they adopted Andris, a smart and lively boy who has since turned four. As a Hungarian same-sex couple, the only way to adopt was if Pal applied as a […]
Demands for same sex marriage in India gathers momentum
Two years after India‘s Supreme Court struck down a colonial-era law that had made homosexuality a criminal offense, courts are hearing petitions seeking to legalize same-sex marriage. Recently, three couples filed petitions, two in the Delhi High Court, and one in the Kerala High Court, arguing that the state’s refusal to recognize their marriages violates […]
Emboldened Thai Protesters Vow to Expand Set of Demands
Anti-government protesters in Thailand are planning to expand their set of demands after generating “significant” support for a movement that’s broken long-held taboos about publicly criticizing the monarchy. Following four months of regular street protests, the youth-led groups will also take on issues like changes in the crown property laws and the recognition of same-sex […]
Latvia Court recognizes right of same-sex couple to parental leave
Constitutional Court had received an appeal from a mother whose female partner was unable to receive the ten-day leave which, according to Labor Act, is to be granted to the child’s father. The applicant said that this was contrary to the best interests of the child, since it did not allow the person to provide […]
HIV tests to be dispensed through vending machines, in first for NZ
In a first for New Zealand, at home self-administered HIV testing kits will be available for free through ‘smart’ vending machines. The machines are a new innovation by the New Zealand AIDS Foundation to break down barriers in accessing HIV testing. Regular testing ensures people know their status and can start treatment sooner, but the […]
Trans People at Risk in Honduras
William Alejandro Martínez, a trans man from Honduras, stood up for his rights when military police officers stopped him in Comayagüela in May 2019 and asked to see his identity card. They questioned him about his gender identity, physically assaulted him, and threatened to arrest him. “Don’t touch me, I’m a human rights defender,” Martínez […]
What Brazil’s local elections could mean for Bolsonaro’s political future
On Sunday, in the midst of a pandemic, Brazil voted to choose city councilors and mayors. The results show a confusing electoral scenario in which the so-called Centrão (Big Center), composed of parties without much ideological alignment, gained ground. Meanwhile, the far right, led by President Jair Bolsonaro, retreated and the left underwent a great […]
Anti-Trans LGB Alliance launches insidious email campaign
The anti-trans pressure group LGB Alliance Ireland has urged schools to ignore a vital anti-LGBT+ bullying campaign, claiming it raises “safeguarding” concerns. The Irish branch of the group was set up in October, with organisers claiming to represent lesbian, gay and bisexual people in Ireland – however, the LGB Alliance Ireland has mostly concerned itself […]
Lesbian political powerhouse Karine Jean-Pierre is the “top candidate” to be Biden’s press secretary
Several journalists are reporting that Joe Biden is considering lesbian Democratic advisor Karine Jean-Pierre to be the public face of the White House next year. If she is picked for the job, she would be the first Black woman in that role and the first out person to be White House press secretary. “Karine Jean-Pierre […]
“LGBT people still tend to hide”
Homophobia haunts many African countries, including Uganda. The civil-society organisations Queer Youth Uganda is making efforts to improve things for LGBT people. The four letters stand for “gay, lesbian, bisexual and transsexual”. Queer-Youth leader Sam Opio told D+C/E+Z about both the progress made in recent years and lasting problems. How has the situation of LGBT […]
Homophobic Tanzania seeks close ties to gay-friendly Joe Biden
The homophobic Tanzanian President, Dr John Magufuli, has sent a belated congratulatory message to U.S. President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, seeking a continued close relationship between the two countries even as local gay activists kept running an online campaign against hate. “On behalf of the Government and the people of Tanzania, I […]
LGBTQ advocates call 1st Islamic school for transgender students in Bangladesh a “positive step,” but not enough
The first madrassa, or Islamic school, specifically for transgender students in Bangladesh opened last week in the capital city of Dhaka. It was a first not only in the country, but across South Asia, and experts and rights advocates say it could help a marginalized community feel more welcome, while also challenging perceptions of madrassas […]
First NYC housing complex bought by and for the LGBTQ+ community opens
New York City’s first LGBTQ+ owned and run housing complex opened in Queens on Friday, 30 years after the owner said she first conceived the idea. Ceyenne Doroshaw, a trans woman who is the founder and executive director of Gay and Lesbians Living in a Transgender Society, or GLITS, bought the complex, which has 11 […]
LGBT activists welcome rainbow light show in Poland, say more action needed
LGBT rights have been a flashpoint in Poland over the last two years, with politicians tied to the ruling nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party and senior members of the Catholic Church arguing against what they term “LGBT ideology”. Last week liberal Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, along with several other city mayors, pledged to illuminate […]
Draft laws impacting children’s and transgender rights in Russia withdrawn from State Duma
The authors behind two separate packages of amendments to Russia’s Family Code have withdrawn their initiatives from the State Duma following backlash over proposed changes that would impact child protective services and the rights of transgender people. The withdrawn documents include amendments to the Family Code prepared by the Duma’s Legislation Committee Chairman Pavel Krasheninnikov […]
Historic first as trans flag raised across Dublin city to mark Transgender Awareness Month
The month of November is observed globally as Transgender Awareness Month with Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDoR) being held November 20, which memorialises victims of transphobic violence. Transgender Awareness Month was marked across Dublin with the trans flag being raised along the quays and outside City Hall. Speaking of the show of solidarity around Dublin […]
Historic wins for transgender candidates in Brazil vote
Transgender candidates on Monday celebrated a series of historic wins in municipal elections in Brazil, where they were allowed to run for the first time under their chosen names. “WE WON! BLACK TRANS WOMAN ELECTED TO CITY COUNCIL. First time in history,” tweeted Erika Hilton, who won a seat in Sao Paulo, the country’s biggest […]
How teens made Yukon one of the only places in Canada to ban conversion therapy
Aiden Falkenberg was in Grade 11 when they found out conversion therapy was still legal in Canada. They were with a friend, Mercedes Bacon-Traplin, when the two decided to google what year it was banned in Canada. “We kind of went into shock a little bit.” “It had only been protected against in a couple […]
Wait times for trans healthcare are out of control. These activists take matters into their own hands
Being transgender in Britain in 2020 has at times felt incredibly difficult: not because being trans is in itself hard, necessarily, but because society makes it so. From a long-awaited and ultimately disappointing “reform” of the Gender Recognition Act (GRA) – which saw the Conservative government ignore almost all of the proposed reforms that could’ve […]
Transgender people to gain inheritance rights in Bangladesh says country’s Law Minister
Transgender people will soon be able to inherit property from their families, Bangladesh’s law minister said Sunday, the latest effort to give the minority group more rights in the conservative Muslim-majority nation. While the country of 168 million people is officially secular, property legislation still follows religious laws, with transgender people mostly barred from inheriting […]
Poles apart: the Polish activists in Scotland fighting for equality back home
Remigiusz Jabłecki had never organised a protest before. During the four years he had lived in Scotland he had never felt much need to become involved in politics. Back in Poland something as inconsequential as the colour of his socks or the rips in his jeans could be understood, by some, as a political statement. […]
How LGBTQ people have been affected by COVID
The experiences of LGBTQ+ people of the Covid-19 pandemic vary immensely. Some have been forced to return to families who don’t accept them, where as others have even had to put their medical transitions on hold. However, others have found themselves being accepted in their homes after going through months of bonding with their families. […]
‘Mob Fest’ wraps up the Democracy Monument and turns backs on Thai King and Queen
In a peaceful but controversial gesture, protesters yesterday turned their backs on the royal motorcade as it carried the Thai King and Queen to the opening of a new railway line. As their backs were facing the passing cars, the mostly young Thai protesters raised their hands with the 3 finger salute and sang the […]
St. Petersburg authorities disrupt LGBT film fest opening
St. Petersburg police and officials from Russia’s consumer safety watchdog Rospotrebnadzor disrupted the opening night of Russia’s only annual LGBT film festival, its organizers said. The Side By Side film festival has been subjected to numerous disruptions, bomb threats and protests in its 13-year history. Last year, the film festival’s opening was disrupted by bomb […]
Justice Alito takes aim at gay marriage in ‘politically charged speech’
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito criticized same-sex marriage as a harbinger of the erosion of free speech in America, drawing renewed concern from LGBTQ advocates about the future of this recently gained right. In a virtual address Thursday to the conservative Federalist Society, Alito took aim the landmark 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges decision that guaranteed […]
Angola: New penal code adds protections for sexual orientation
Angola’s National Assembly approved a final reading of the new Penal Code which will go into effect in February 2021. The code removes the phrase “vices against nature” which had been used to criminalize same-sex sexual activity. The code also expands protections from discrimination to include threats “directed at a person because of their race, […]
Instead of controlling the pandemic, Hungarian government launches crusade against LGBTQI people
Tuesday was an eventful day at Parliament. The Judicial Committee of the Parliament initiated the abolishment of the Equal Treatment Authority (ETA), Hungary’s most important equality body set up in 2005. The ETA has a broad mandate to investigate cases of discrimination on grounds of sex, race/ethnicity, religion, age, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity. […]
Biden rekindles American Dream for Africa’s LGBT+ refugees
Joe Biden’s electoral victory has revived the American Dream for scores of African LGBT+ refugees who fled persecution at home only to languish in Kenya when President Donald Trump denied them a fresh start in the United States. Trump is due to leave office in January, with his Democratic successor promising to open the door […]
Bolsonaro tells Brazil not to deal with pandemic ‘like fags’
President Jair Bolsonaro drew criticism Tuesday for telling Brazilians not to deal with Covid-19 like “a country of fags,” the far-right leader’s latest controversial outburst on the pandemic. Bolsonaro, who has consistently downplayed the virus even as it has killed 163,000 people in Brazil — the second-highest death toll worldwide, after the United States — […]