Transgender people still face discrimination in Belgium, claims activist
European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen denounced discrimination of the LGBTI community last week, criticising Poland for their LGBTI-free zones. “Being yourself is not your ideology, it is your identity and no one can ever take it away. So I want to be crystal clear, LGBTQI-free zones are humanity free zones,” von der Leyen […]
The pandemic hit LGBTQ Canadians differently. Researchers want to know why
Why were sexual and gender minority people more affected by layoffs, and saw their physical and mental health impacted more severely than Canadians overall as COVID-19 spread this year? Online surveys have suggested contributing factors to these startling truths. Nathan Lachowsky, associate professor at the University of Victoria’s School of Public Health and Social Policy […]
Govt urged to recognise, research on intersex community
There are growing calls for government to recognise the existence of intersex persons and need for research to guide on the realities of the “hidden” community. Intersex is a general term used for a variety of conditions, in which a person is born with a reproductive or sexual anatomy that does not seem to fit […]
Trans rights activists and Home Affairs minister agree to work together
Last month, a group of trans, LGBTI+ and allied organisations wrote to the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) over its reduction of vital gender-affirming services during the lockdown period. The letter was issued along with the results of a survey on the impact of Covid-19 on Home Affairs services for trans individuals. It found “a […]
Senegal: Activists seek funds to rescue 10 men arrested by religious police
Religious police on Sunday night arrested 10 young gay men in the holy city of Touba, Senegal, and threatened them with homosexuality charges. LGBT rights activists are seeking financial help to evacuate them to a neighboring country where allies will take care of them. Six of the men were released after enduring violence at the […]
Could Same-Sex Marriage Advocacy in China Be Poised for a Breakthrough?
Last fall, as China’s lawmakers neared finalizing the country’s first-ever Civil Code, they opened to public comment its draft chapters on marriage and other areas of law. A newly formed coalition of LGBTQ organizations advocating for gay marriage called Ai Cheng Jia (“Love Makes Family”) saw an opportunity. They could use the official comments process—which […]
French court rejects transgender woman’s demand to be recognised as a mother
France’s highest court has ruled that a transgender woman cannot be officially recognised as the biological mother of the child she conceived with her wife before transitioning. The court ruled on Wednesday that a 51-year old transgender woman, referred to in court as ‘Claire’, would have to adopt the six-year-old child in order to become […]
A Step Backward for Same-Sex Couples in Chile
Over three years ago, the Chilean government sent a bill to Congress to uphold same-sex marriage. The bill has not moved forward. Instead, Chile has been taking steps backward. Take the June decision by the Constitutional Court, denying a request by a lesbian couple who were married in Spain and have a child, to have […]
Changes to gender recognition laws ruled out
Ministers have ruled out changes to make it easier for transgender people in England and Wales to have their gender legally recognised. They have rejected calls for people to be able to self-identify their gender and change their birth certificates without a medical diagnosis. Ministers said reform of the 2004 Gender Recognition Act was not […]
A refuge for homeless transgender people is in the works in New Orleans
A group of advocates in New Orleans have raised more than $400,000 to create what will be the city’s first home for transgender and gender non-confirming people who are experiencing homelessness. The project called the House of Tulip (Trans United Leading Intersectional Progress) is believed to be the first of its kind in the U.S., […]
Trans Activist Akkai Padmashali joins Congress Party in Karnataka
Well know transgender activist Akkai Padmashali joined the Indian National Congress in Karnataka on Sunday. Akkai is the recipient of Karnataka Rajyotsava award – the second highest civilian award of the state- in 2015, and is the founder of Onedede, an oranisation working for the rights os sexual minorities and vulnerable groups. Akkai was inducted […]
Beirut’s port explosion shattered a queer oasis, but the residents of Mar Mikhael have vowed to rebuild
Firas Nabulsi remembers dancing in drag under a rain of glitter, rose petals cascading from beneath his wig, the Beirut nightclub crowd cheering as he lip-synched to a Whitney Houston song. Now he doesn’t have anywhere to dance, anywhere to work or anywhere to live. The blast destroyed his home in Beirut’s Mar Mikhael, along […]
Germany: CDU leadership hopeful slammed for comments on homosexuality
Christian Democratic Union (CDU) leadership hopeful Friedrich Merz came under fire on Monday for a response he gave when questioned on whether he could imagine Germany having a homosexual chancellor. Merz, a candidate in the CDU election set to take place in December to find a replacement for Angela Merkel, who is stepping down — […]
BBC journalist had the gall to ask Barbados’ prime minister if people should be ‘allowed’ to be gay. She didn’t hold back
A BBC journalist asked the prime minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley, if people should be “allowed” to be gay – and she did not hold back. Mottley appeared on BBC News to discuss revived plans for the Caribbean island to remove the queen as its head of state and become a republic. In the interview […]
Cayman’s LGBTQIA+ allies ‘let the sun set on hate’
Cayman Islanders gathered in a show of solidarity with the LGBTQ community on Sunday at Seven Mile Public Beach. More than 100 residents arrived, dressed in bright colours, to reject anti-LGBTQ hate speech and stand in support of Colours Cayman. “The greatest message I want everyone to take away from this event and any other […]
Israel’s LGBT tech sector is finally being seen
“I was very concerned about how it would impact my career,” Grembek told CTech when thinking back to coming out of the closet following his divorce. “I was very concerned about how to come out at work, and I started to investigate to see if there were organizations or people who had similar challenges so […]
Nigerian activist: Is it time to march against anti-LGBT bias?
Nigerian human rights activist Samuel Uchenna has suggested that it may be time for public demonstrations by LGBTIQ+ Nigerians pushing back against the country’s anti-gay biases. Sharing his thoughts on Twitter, the activist wrote: “Can/Should we organize a national march to demand the respect of our dignity as humans?” LGBTQ+ Nigerians, allies and activists have […]
The Qwelane case: When human rights meet human rights
When there is a clash between rights, then equality and dignity must be the stars that guide us on the path to resolution, Tembeka Ngcukaitobi SC contends in his written argument in the upcoming Constitutional Court matter on the limits of free speech. The clash, between the right to freedom of expression and the right […]
Medical diagnosis will still be needed to have gender legally recognised after reform
Trans adults will continue to need a medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria to change their legal gender even after a reform of the UK’s gender-recognition laws, the Sunday Times claims. Legal gender recognition for adult trans men and women in the UK is governed by the 2004 Gender Recognition Act (GRA). Planned updates to the […]
Transgender activist Akkai Padmashali joins Congress
In a historic event of sorts, transgender activist Dr Akkai Padmashali joined the Karnataka unit of the Congress party on Sunday. Akkai is the first from the sexual minority community to join the party’s State unit and joins the likes of Apsara Reddy, General Secretary of Mahila morcha of the Congress as representatives of the […]
Inside Poland’s ‘LGBT-free zones’
In Poland, dozens of small towns have declared themselves free of “LGBT ideology”. Politicians’ hostility to gay rights has become a flashpoint, pitting the religious right against more liberal-minded Poles. And gay people living in these areas are faced with a choice: emigrate, keep their heads down – or fight back. Magazine editor Tomasz Sakiewicz […]
Tens of thousands of protesters partake in Thailand pro-democracy rally
Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand’s royal palace Saturday, in a huge rally calling for Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy. The kingdom has seen near-daily gatherings of youth-led groups since mid-July calling for the resignation of Prayut, the former army chief behind the […]
‘Vote like your life depends on it’: Pete Buttigieg’s message to LGBTQ youth
For Pete Buttigieg, the first openly gay candidate to win a presidential primary or caucus, the threat of a second Trump term is both political and deeply personal. “When you see your own rights come up for debate, when you know something as intimate and central to your life as the existence of your family […]
‘Love Falls on Us’ explores the intersection of African LGBT rights and American activism
The book in this installment of the African Politics Summer Reading Spectacular — “Love Falls on Us: A Story of American Ideas and African LGBT Lives” — focuses on LGBTQ rights and draws on multiple experiences from West Africa to paint a fuller picture. Robbie Corey-Boulet’s book analyzes and illustrates the lives and activism of […]
Big Read: The Irish far right is on the rise
Bloodied and bashed, an image of LGBT campaigner Izzy Kamikaze being attacked for voicing her opposition to anti-face mask demonstrators last weekend in the capital went viral. The gay rights activist was beaten around the head with a wooden pole draped in a tricolour by factions of the extremist far right. Suddenly, the general public […]
60% of queer Iranians have been assaulted by homophobic family members
More than six in 10 queer people from Iran have been assaulted by anti-LGBT+ family members, and almost half have been sexually assaulted in public, according to a new report. The report, titled Hidden Wounds: A Research Report on Violence Against LGBTI in Iran, details the shocking violence queer people in the Western Asian country […]
Gay children are ‘children of God’, Pope tells parents
Pope Francis has told the parents of gay children that God loves them “as they are” because they are “the children of God”. His remarks came following the Wednesday General Audience where he had a brief meeting with members for an Italian group Tenda di Gionata (Jonathan’s Tent), which supports the parents of LGBT children. […]
Proposed ‘comprehensive anti-discrimination bill’ called oxymoronic, removes need to protect LGBTQIA Filipinos
A proposed “Comprehensive (sic) Anti-Discrimination Act” is being considered in the House of Representatives (HOR), though the bill eliminates LGBTQIA people among those in need of protection. In a virtual meeting of the technical working group of the Committee on Human Rights of HOR, Rep. Jesus Suntay presented “An act prohibiting discrimination on the basis […]
China Court Rules on LGBT Couple’s Landmark Child Custody Case
A court in eastern China’s Fujian province has ruled against a woman who sued her ex-partner for custody of their 1-year-old daughter in a landmark legal case involving a same-sex couple. The Huli District People’s Court in the city of Xiamen ruled in favor of Amei — the pseudonym media have been using for the […]
Fiji: A long way to go for LGBTQ equality
Fiji’s growth in achieving transgender rights and freedom is less than 1 per cent, says founder of Transgender Fiji Network, Dr Isireli Biumaitotoya. Dr Biumaitotoya said Fiji had a long way to go to achieve equal treatment of transgenders. “Revolving around a little pool of muddy water where people don’t have clear thinking and don’t […]