Ugandan LGBT advocate wins HIV/AIDS global award
Susan Atuhura was honored for her study of the successes of community-based adherence clubs in reducing HIV levels and increasing the levels of self-care among for men who have sex with men (MSMs). Atahura is the monitoring and evaluation officer for the long-established Ugandan anti-AIDS and LGBTI rights group Spectrum Uganda Initiatives. Her honor — […]
Police launch investigation after homophobic comic books pushed through letterboxes
Officials are investigating after extreme anti-LGBT+ cartoons listing homosexuality alongside incest, bestiality and child sacrifice were pushed through letterboxes in the suburb of Redland and possibly other parts of the city on Saturday (July 18). “We have received a report about offensive material being distributed in the Redland area in recent days, an Avon and […]
Nigeria’s queer history told by those who lived through it
When Goodluck Jonathan, the former president of Nigeria, passed a bill into law that criminalised any active part of gayness in January 2014, he was lauded by many in the country for being a custodian of Nigerian culture. By others, namely international human rights activists, he was criticised, his actions were seen as a destructive […]
Grocery store’s coronavirus sign sparks Pride event and Trump-supporting counter protest
The small Pennsylvania town of Mifflinburg witnessed a face-off between LGBT+ protestors and Trump supporters on Sunday (26 July). It started as a response to a bizarre note stuck on a grocery store door which linked mask-wearing, catching coronavirus and being LGBT+. But it ended with a couple of hundred LGBT+ people and allies in […]
LGBT youths’ suicidal thoughts decline with community supports: study
Supportive communities and a progressive political climate can help combat LGBT teen suicides, especially among girls, new UBC school of nursing research shows. “Consistent evidence has indicated higher rates of suicidal behaviour among sexual minority youth than their heterosexual counterparts,” the report said. Data came from the 2013 British Columbia Adolescent Health Survey. The study […]
Moroccan women break through in rap scene dominated by men
In a rap scene dominated my men, women’s voices are starting to make waves in Morocco. Houda Abouz, a 24-year-old who majors in film studies at a university in the northern city of Tetouan, has long been fascinated by hip-hop, and, encouraged by friends, she picked up a mic and began to perform. In January […]
Italy opens historic debate on long-awaited bill to outlaw LGBT+ hate crime
Italy has been divided by debate over the country’s first law that would punish discrimination and hate crimes against LGBT+ people. The proposed legislation would bring Italy in line with its western European counterparts by explicitly recognising discrimination against LGBT+ people as well as women. As lawmakers begin debating the draft in parliament on Monday […]
Saudi Arabia: Yemeni Blogger Convicted for Supporting LGBT Rights
A Saudi court sentenced a Yemeni blogger to jail and then deportation to Yemen for a social media post supporting equal rights for all in Saudi Arabia, Human Rights Watch said today. After a trial in which he was provided no counsel, Mohamad al-Bokari, a Yemeni living in Riyadh, was sentenced on July 20, 2020 […]
On Screen, Normalizing Queer Love in the Philippines
Known primarily for his poetry and acting, Juan Miguel Severo announced his latest show this month, produced by Globe Studios, about same-sex love between two adolescent boys. “Gaya sa Pelikula” or “Just Like the Movies” is set to air in the last quarter of 2020. The plot revolves around a university romance and borrows motifs […]
Rideshare Profiles With LGBTQ Symbols Canceled More Often by Drivers
Racial and anti-LGBTQ+ bias persists in ridesharing services even though companies have taken steps to reduce it, according to a new study from Indiana University Bloomington’s Kelley School of Business — and the authors believe they’re the first to show that an indication of support for LGBTQ+ equality can trigger this bias. “Platforms such as […]
Haitian Christians protest new law providing protections for LGBT community
Several thousand members of Protestant churches demonstrated Sunday in Port-au-Prince against the country’s new criminal code, which they consider “immoral” because it penalizes discrimination based on sexual orientation. “If a pastor doesn’t want to marry two men together or two women, he will be arrested and at risk for one to three years in prison,“ […]
Poland to withdraw from European treaty aimed at preventing violence towards women
Poland’s right-wing government says it will withdraw from a European treaty aimed at preventing violence against women. The Istanbul Convention is the world’s first binding instrument to prevent violence against women but the Polish Justice Minister, Zbigniew Ziobro, described the text as “harmful” because it requires that schools teach children about gender from a sociological […]
Malaysia: Ignore criticisms by LGBT activists, says PAS MP
A PAS MP today said most of the criticisms levelled against the government’s policies on the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community were “biased” and urged the government not to entertain them. Describing the actions by LGBT activists against the government as “prejudiced”, Nik Mohamad Abduh Nik Abdul Aziz (PAS-Bachok) said these individuals were […]
‘We’re living in fear’: LGBT people in Italy pin hopes on new law
For 15 years, Marco and his boyfriend had lived together fairly peacefully in a town outside Rome. Then, in early June, a neighbour started harassing them. “It began quite lightly, with him being provocative whenever we met in the street,” the 38-year-old said. “Then he came to our home and forced his way in, calling […]
Why the struggle for same-sex marriage in China will continue, despite civil code setback
The Chinese government has rejected the LGBT community’s demand for the legalisation of same-sex marriage when the country’s parliament adopted China’s first civil code in May. This is a new and clear condemnation of same-sex marriage rights by the state in the two-decade long struggle in China. The fight started officially in 2001 when Li […]
Thai LGBT activists raise pride flag in anti-government rally
Hundreds of Thai LGBT activists and allies raised rainbow flags on Saturday evening as they called for democracy and equal rights, the latest in a series of youth protests calling for the government to step down. Several youth-led demonstrations have sprung up across the country since last week, when thousands of Thai activists defied a […]
Mexico City just outlawed traumatising conversion therapy
Mexico City has become the first jurisdiction in Mexico to outlaw the damaging practice of conversion therapy, in a historic victory for the country’s LGBT+ community. According to The New York Times, the bill to criminalise conversion therapy, defined by Mexico City regional congress as any practices or treatments which aim to “nullify, hinder, modify […]
Germany reveals details of compensation plan for gay soldiers
German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer is working on a bill that would compensate soldiers in Germany’s Bundeswehr military who have been discriminated against because of their homosexuality, RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland (RND) reported Saturday. Citing a draft of the bill from Kramp-Karrenbauer’s office, RND said the compensation would not take the form of social benefits. The new […]
Israeli diplomats buy 600 pounds of tahini to help Arab firm hit by LGBT boycott
The Arab-Israeli owner of a popular tahini brand facing a boycott for donating to an Israeli LGBTQ rights group has some friends in the Israeli diplomatic community. Dozens of Israeli diplomats in Israel and around the world have purchased more than 600 pounds of the tasty sesame paste to support Julia Zaher, who owns Al […]
Pennsylvania governor blasts ‘vile acts’ against transgender official leading pandemic response
The man sitting in a Pennsylvania carnival’s dunk tank at a fundraiser last weekend was going for a Marilyn Monroe look, he said, styling himself in a floral print dress and a long blond wig. But on social media, the organizers of the Bloomsburg, Pa., event said he resembled a more local public figure: Pennsylvania […]
Republican platform condemned for claim LGBT+ people ‘recruit children’ and ‘prey’ on cis women
The Republican Party in North Dakota has been condemned by a raft of party officials after it published vile and offensive remarks about the LGBT+ community. In the party’s extended policy platform, they claimed that LGBT+ people “recruit children” and “prey” on women. The policy document refers to bills that would advance LGBT+ rights as […]
Her husband kicked out their teenage son for being gay, but this ‘Country Mama’ fought back
There has been a drastic change in public opinion over homosexuality in the past thirty years, especially when it comes to parents accepting their gay children. According to Pew Research, in 1985, 89% of parents said they’d be upset if their child came out as homosexual and just 9% said they would not be. In […]
Japan: Pass Equality Act Before Olympics
Japan’s government should pass the Equality Act ahead of next year’s Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, Human Rights Watch, Athlete Ally, and Japan Alliance for LGBT Legislation (J-ALL) said today. The groups will launch #EqualityActJapan on July 23, 2020 in support of the proposed law, which would protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people from […]
In Haiti, More LGBT-friendly Penal Code Prompts Outcry from Pulpit
An overhaul of Haiti’s penal code that punishes marriage officiants who refuse to perform same-sex weddings is provoking outcry among religious leaders in the socially conservative Caribbean nation. The tension is emerging in a nation that has never spelled out LGBT rights and same-sex unions have never been recognized and homosexuality has never been expressly […]
LGBT pride flag influenced by Satan? Artiste Joanna Theng receives backlash
Sharing hot takes on the internet is not always rainbows and butterflies, as one local artiste found out after her opinions on the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community were not well-received, to say the least. Local artiste Joanna Theng, 22, has received a wave of backlash after linking the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and […]
Brazilian football fans put aside rivalry to protest ‘homophobic, racist’ president Jair Bolsonaro
Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil’s “proudly” homophobic president, has been globally criticised for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, consistently playing down the virus despite recently contracting it himself. Fears have been growing that Bolsonaro will soon exert more control over the country’s Supreme Court, one of few forces in the country able to progress civil – […]
Barbados invites same-sex couples to live on the island for a year
Barbados, one of the smallest but most-visited Caribbean islands, recently announced it would allow foreigners to live and work remotely on its shores for 12 months in an attempt to kickstart its tourism economy, hampered by the pandemic and a lack of rapid testing throughout the nation. Though the announcement made for enthusiastic headlines around […]
Guatemala: Rights Official at Risk of Dismissal
Members of Guatemala’s Congress should act swiftly to block the attempt by a number of lawmakers to remove the ombudsperson, Jordán Rodas, for supporting the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people and access to abortion, Human Rights Watch said today. On July 6, 2020, the legislature’s human rights commission summoned ombudsperson Rodas […]
Netflix pulls show as Turkey objects to gay character
Netflix axed a Turkish drama series after the government denied it a filming licence over a gay character, a spokesman for the streaming service confirmed on Tuesday. The move comes amid concerns over a rise in anti-LGBT+ rhetoric from Turkey’s political and religious leaders. Filming of the show, which was called “If Only” and told […]
Rwandan church embraces LGBT+ community
A new church in Rwanda has opened its doors to the country’s LGBT+ community, providing them with a safe space to worship on their own terms. The church, called the Church of God in Africa in Rwanda, is based in the capital, Kigali. It comes at a time when the LGBT+ community in Rwanda is […]