Can Douyin, China’s Version of TikTok, Help China’s LGBT Community?
The Beijing LGBT Center recently opened an account on Douyin, the domestic version of TikTok, attracting over 2,400 followers and featuring short videos that address misconceptions about the LGBTQ+ community. Center staff members are optimistic that they can inform more people about the true stories of China’s LGBTQ+ community by using creative videos. In an […]
Internet provides vital connection for Africa’s LGBT communities
As lockdowns and restrictions limit physical movement across Africa, persecuted and marginalised LGBT communities have been finding new support online. This has ranged from fundraising opportunities to more chances to connect internationally. In one example of transcontinental support, US-based charity and activist group the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence began holding online drag shows to raise […]
From victim to protector: Pakistan’s first trans cop fights for justice
After enduring death threats, transphobic slurs and sexual harassment at college, Pakistan’s first trans police officer Reem Sharif now shields other trans people from abuse. In her first two months as a trans victim support officer, Sharif helped 16 trans people in Rawalpindi in Punjab, Pakistan’s most populous province, as well as receiving about 40 […]
Taiwan parade celebrates LGBT Pride, island’s virus…
The Taiwanese capital held its annual LGBT Pride parade on Sunday, making it one of the few places in the world to proceed with such an event in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. The parade in Taipei has drawn tens of thousands of people in the past, but participant numbers Sunday were reduced by […]
Russian parliament begins legalising ban on same-sex marriage
Russian lawmakers late on Tuesday submitted draft legislation that would ban same-sex marriage after voters backed changes to the constitution which define marriage as a union of a man and a woman only. The changes, championed by President Vladimir Putin, were overwhelmingly approved by voters this month in an exercise that opened the door to […]
Poland’s LGBT community feels fear and anger after election
Members of Poland’s LGBT community say they are angry and afraid after President Andrzej Duda won re-election in a divisive campaign that cast their movement for equal rights as a dangerous “ideology” that threatens families in the deeply Roman Catholic country. Some activists say the homophobic rhetoric that emerged echoes policies in Russia under President […]
Thailand Is Taking Steps to Recognize Same-Sex Couples. But What About the Rest of Southeast Asia?
A year ago, Taiwan made history by becoming the first Asian country to permit same-sex marriage in a region where any form of legal recognition for same-sex partnerships—let alone marriage—remains stubbornly elusive. Last week, however, Thailand took tentative steps towards joining Taiwan when its government approved a bill that would allow for registration of same-sex […]
Her death sparked Transgender Day of Remembrance. 22 years later, still no answers
Rita Hester fought like hell. The story was written in blood. The phone had been ripped from the wall. Half a shoe print — not Rita’s — marked the bloody floor. The locks on the front and back doors had been left intact, leading neighbors and police to believe her killer had been invited in. […]
UK debates creation of gender-neutral passports
Gender-neutral passports (where ‘X’ replaces M/F) will be debated again this week in the British Parliament after judges ruled in March that the Home Office has the right not to give out such passports. The new bill demands that ministers recognise gender-neutral passports, and is backed by LGBTQ organisation Stonewall. According to the UK Parliament, […]
LGBTQ+ community sees spike in first-time depression in wake of coronavirus
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, anxiety and depression rates are spiking in the LGBTQ+ community, especially in individuals who hadn’t struggled with those issues in the past, say researchers. “What I was hearing at the beginning of the pandemic was that people who were already anxious were more anxious than ever, and we […]
Brazil LGBTQ group avoids coronavirus in Copacabana’s Casa Nem building
In a courtyard a few blocks from Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana beach, a dozen people get settled on broken couches beneath a banner reading “Cure Your Prejudice.” They face the makeshift stage where a transgender woman appears in a short, tight dress and performs to a song about transgender visibility. It’s a standard Saturday night […]
Russian constitution change ends hopes for gay marriage
At the Lagutenko wedding in 2017, the couple exchanged vows, rings and kisses in front of friends and relatives, then took a traditional drive in a limousine, stopping at landmarks for photos. But because they were both women, the wedding wasn’t legal in Russia. If Irina and Anastasia Lagutenko had any hopes they could someday […]
Trump’s New Asylum Regulations Could Have Devastating Effects For LGBTQ People
In June, the Trump administration released a 161-page draft rule that many say would essentially shut down the United States asylum system. The regulations would impose harsh restrictions on who can qualify for asylum and could have severe effects on LGBTQ asylum seekers. Katie Sgarro and Hans How of AsylumConnect—which helps LGBTQ asylum seekers access […]
Netherlands plans to remove gender from ID cards entirely
The Netherlands will stop including any gender marker at all on identification cards. Several countries – including India, Australia, and Canada, as well as the Netherlands – already allow people to choose an “X” gender marker in the place of “M” or “F” if the latter two don’t fit them. But with this move the […]
Poland’s Duda narrowly beats Trzaskowski in presidential vote
Poland’s incumbent President Andrzej Duda has narrowly beaten challenger Rafal Trzaskowski in Sunday’s presidential vote. The National Electoral Commission said Mr Duda had won 51.2% of the votes. It is Poland’s slimmest presidential election victory since the end of communism in 1989. One of the major issues of the election was the future of the […]
Here’s Who Drives the Anti-LGBTQ Agenda in Poland Elections
The final round of Poland’s presidential election held Sunday was dominated by incumbent President Andrzej Duda’s efforts to mobilize voters against the country’s LGBTQ people. It was a very ugly campaign, with the groundwork carefully laid. Hubert Sobecki, who has been an activist for LGBTQ rights in Poland for more than a decade, says, “I […]
Turkish university student threatened with murder for LGBTQ+ rights lecture
A political sciences student at Ankara University in Turkey, Nazli Ikra Öztay, has been threatened with murder for organising an event about LGBTQ+ rights. Nazli organised an ‘LGBTI+ rights struggle on campus’ lecture, and announced the details on WhatsApp. However, Birgün reports that Nazli then faced death threats for the event. “I was confronted with […]
Facebook & Instagram Ban All Content Promoting So-Called “Ex-Gay” Conversion Therapy
On Friday, Facebook and Instagram announced a ban on all videos, images, and written content promoting so-called “ex-gay” conversion therapy or reparative therapy, a widely disavowed and debunked form of psychological torture that purports to change someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity. The social media giant which owns both platforms said that the ban was […]
Duda vs Trzaskowski: The fight for Poland’s future
Poland’s presidential election on Sunday will be crucial in shaping the country’s future and its strained relations with the EU for at least the next three years and perhaps beyond. If the incumbent President Andrzej Duda is re-elected for another five-year term, his allies, the nationalist Law and Justice-led government will continue their socially conservative […]
Supreme Court’s religious employer ruling could weaken LGBTQ protections
The Supreme Court’s ruling Wednesday in Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru, which strengthened the legal protections that shield religious institutions from job discrimination lawsuits, could weaken LGBTQ worker protections, according to some legal experts and advocates. The case involved Roman Catholic schools in California that were sued after deciding not to renew contracts […]
UN Rights Expert Describes ‘Dire’ Situation In Belarus Ahead Of Presidential Vote
The UN special rapporteur on the human rights situation in Belarus says the country’s “already dire” human rights situation has deteriorated further over the last year, amid a widening crackdown on civil society ahead of a presidential election. “The systemic and systematic human rights violations remain, both in law and in practice,” Anais Marin said […]
Russian LGBT activist fined for ‘gay propaganda’ family drawings
A Russian LGBT activist said she was fined 75,000 roubles ($1,000) on Friday on charges of spreading “gay propaganda” among minors by publishing drawings of same-sex couples with children online. Yulia Tsvetkova and her lawyer said she was prosecuted over a series of colourful pictures, some showing two men or two women, holding babies or […]
Mexico City lawmakers vote to outlaw LGBT+ conversion therapy
Lawmakers in Mexico City on Friday voted to ban conversion therapy, part of a small but growing movement to end the practice of trying to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. Under Mexico City’s proposal, which needs further approval before taking effect, anyone who forces someone to undergo the practice can be punished […]
US Scrabble bans racist and LGBTQ slurs from tournaments
North American Scrabble competitors will no longer be able to play racist and homophobic slurs from the “N-word” to “bumboy” and “poofs”, the head of the players’ association has said, in an 11th-hour ruling that went against his own advisory board. John Chew, chief executive of the North American Scrabble Players Association (NASPA), said he […]
Northern Ireland to get religious same-sex marriage
Same-sex religious marriages will be allowed in Northern Ireland, the British government said on Thursday, bowing to pressure from LGBT+ campaigners after the first secular lesbian wedding in February. Gay and lesbian couples in Northern Ireland will be able to have religious weddings from September, a British government spokeswoman said in an emailed statement, while […]
Kosovo LGBTI groups criticise civil partnership plans
Groups supporting LGBTI rights have labeled a special law allowing for the registration of same-sex civil partnerships in Kosovo that is set to be put before the Assembly as “discriminatory.” A letter signed by 49 civil society organizations, CSOs, states that such a law would deny members of the LGBTI community the same rights to […]
Baja California legislators push to codify same-sex marriage protections in law
Baja California state legislators on Tuesday approved a draft initiative that seeks to eliminate the costly and lengthy legal obstacles that gay and lesbian couples face when seeking a marriage license in the northern border state. The governance commission of the state Congress approved the draft measure with five votes in favor, zero opposed and […]
Norway will prioritise lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender refugees
Norway is to prioritise refugees who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender, the government has confirmed. LGBT+ refugees will, for the first time, be given priority both as a group and individuals when Norway selects for transfers. Under previous guidelines, vulnerable women and children were given priority. The new rules will only apply for the […]
Gay rights: the taboo subject in Singapore’s election
Among a record eleven parties set to contest Singapore’s election on Friday, there has been virtual silence on one of the conservative city-state’s most controversial issues, gay rights. Advocacy groups have stepped up awareness campaigns with scorecards for politicians and online rallies in recent weeks over what they see as everyday discrimination that stems from […]
The Dutch are putting LGBT+ rights in Article 1 of their constitution
The Netherlands is planning a way to guarantee LGBT+ rights for generations to come by including them in Article 1 of its constitution. The 150-member House of Representatives, the lower house of the Dutch parliament, voted 124 in favor and 26 against the proposal. Dutch LGBT+ organization Cultuur en Ontspanningscentrum (COC) has campaigned for the […]