Korean media’s focus on ‘gay’ club in COVID-19 case further stigmatizes LGBT people
A 29-year-old man living in Yongin tested positive for COVID-19. He went clubbing in Itaewon, a party district in Seoul, when he had no symptoms, exposing at least 1,500 people to the virus. It was the first local infection in four days, triggering fears of further community spread. Another thing that made headlines was that […]
Minister defends Germany’s limited gay therapy ban
Germany’s ban on so-called gay conversion therapies needs to be robust enough to withstand court challenges, Health Minister Jens Spahn said in response to criticism that his proposed law would not protect young adults. The Bundestag is expected later on Thursday to pass a law that will ban the therapies, which purport to turn gay […]
Forced exorcisms touted as ‘cure’ for LGBT Indonesians
Andin is haunted by memories of being forced into an exorcism to “save” her from being transgender — a ritual that could become mandatory for Indonesia’s LGBT community if a controversial new law is passed. For two decades she has endured harassment and abuse as her family desperately tried to “cure” her. Treatments ranged from […]
One in three trans people targeted for ‘conversion therapy’ in Colombia
One in five LGBT+ people have undergone “conversion therapy” to make them straight in Colombia, rising to one in three trans people, researchers said on Wednesday, amid global moves to ban the practice as it can cause severe mental health problems. High levels of psychological distress were evident, with one in two thinking of suicide […]
Kenya LGBT refugee protest ends with tear gas and batons
Police attempted to disband a protest of about 60 LGBT refugees outside the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugee’s office in Kakuma, Kenya at the end of last week. Some of the demonstrators, who wore rainbow face masks, brought their children. They orchestrated a peaceful sit-in outside the office that started April 27. A few […]
Same-sex marriage is still illegal in Tunisia!
Thirty-five LGBTQ+ and human rights groups united today to dispel the false belief, spread by flawed news articles, that Tunisia has accepted same-sex marriage. The 35 organizations also expressed their solidarity in the ongoing struggle for justice and equality in the Middle East/North Africa. The false belief began spreading in late April after the Tunisian […]
U.S. lawmakers push for ‘invisible’ LGBT+ coronavirus patients to be counted
Authorities must count how many novel coronavirus patients are LGBT+ as they face greater health risks than the population at large, a California lawmaker said on Tuesday, after introducing a bill that would make such data collection mandatory. Figures on the number of LGBT+ people infected by the virus are not yet widely available, but […]
Turkey’s president Erdogan orders children to stop drawing rainbows in case they turn people gay
Children in Turkey have reportedly been ordered to stop drawing rainbows as authorities believe it is part of a “plot” to turn them gay. Turkey has seen a sharp spike in homophobia following a televised anti-LGBT+ sermon by the head of religious affairs to mark the beginning of Ramadan. His inflammatory comments about homosexuality “corrupting […]
LAWS ALLOWING LEGAL GENDER CHANGE WITHOUT SURGERY INTRODUCED IN AUSTRALIAN STATE OF VICTORIA
New laws have come into effect in the Australian state of Victoria that now allow trans and gender diverse Victorians to alter the sex recorded on their birth certificate without having to undergo surgery. Due to the new laws an applicant still needs to sign a statutory declaration stating they believe their sex is the […]
Famed NYC Lesbian Bar Seeks Community Help After Feds Deny Aid
Henrietta Hudson, the country’s longest operating bar for queer women, is pleading for financial help from the LGBTQ community after requests for government aid went unanswered. “Over the years we have seen it all… 911, the 2008 recession and Super Storm Sandy in 2012. We rose above all of these obstacles, but never could have […]
Muslim LGBT ‘Allies’ Silent as Muslim Attacks on Gays Increase
There’s a new slur trending in Turkey these days aimed at the LGBTQ population: “#YallahHollandaya” or “Go to Holland.” The expression reflects the Netherlands’ longstanding acceptance of homosexuality, having been the first country to legalize gay marriage. But tell that to gay people in Holland, or at least those who venture into certain neighborhoods of […]
Top Egyptian actor goes public about trans son
A well-known Egyptian actor has spoken on television about having a 26-year-old transgender son, in a rare public show of support for LBGT+ rights in the conservative Muslim country. Hesham Selim, 62, made the revelation on a Sunday night television talk show in which he spoke of the difficulty his son had faced. “One day […]
In Ganjam’s quarantine centres, no separate provision for the transgender community
Due to the lack of separate arrangements for transgender persons at a quarantine centre, Prasant*, an 18-year-old transgender person, had to spend a 14-day quarantine period, till April 29, with a group of men. Prasant is a resident of Mathura panchayat in Khallikote block of Ganjam district. Violating lockdown restrictions, Prasant had visited Purushottampur in […]
False marriage claims in Tunisia have led to anti-LGBT+ attacks 04 MAY 2020
Reports of Tunisia becoming the first Arab country to recognise a same-sex marriage have put LGBT+ people in danger. Tunisian LGBT+ organization Mawjoudin – We Exist – told GSN the reports are wrong and ‘disappointing’. They admit that officials in Tunisia may have made an administrative mistake. But they say Tunisia did not recognize a […]
Hate crime or stray bullet? Kansas City man’s death stirs fears in LGBTQ communities
Ta’Ron Carson knew how to apply makeup, so his expertly contoured jawline and highlighted cheekbones stood out as he twirled along the sidewalk on Main Street in Midtown Kansas City on a Saturday night. As usual, he was surrounded by friends. They had spent the night dancing to electronic music at Aura, a nightclub near […]
Husband, father, sex worker: As adults, Afghanistan’s ‘dancing boys’ lead double lives
In conservative Afghanistan, former dancing boy Farhad leads a double life; married father-of-six by day, cross-dressing dancer and sex worker by night. The practice of “bacha bazi” – translated as “boy play” – involves boys dressing up and dancing at private parties, but it was outlawed in 2017 amid concerns it fostered sexual abuse and […]
‘Fearless’ Scots lawyer who worked to decriminalise sex between men found dead in his home
65-year-old Derek Ogg QC was found dead at his home in Langside, Glasgow on the evening of May 1. There are not thought to be any suspicious circumstances surrounding his death. The legal titan was a pioneer for gay rights in Scotland from the 1970s onwards, campaigning for the decriminalisation of sex between men and […]
Turkey: Criminal Case for Opposing Homophobic Speech
The Ankara Prosecutor’s office in Turkey has opened a criminal investigation into the Ankara Bar Association after it filed a complaint against the head of Turkey’s Religious Affairs Directorate for a homophobic speech, Human Rights Watch said today. The case revolves around a Friday sermon about the Covid-19 pandemic on April 24, 2020 by Ali […]
Trans woman sets herself on fire in Georgia as virus lockdown cuts income
A transgender woman set herself on fire in Georgia to highlight the plight of trans sex workers with no income during the coronavirus lockdown, LGBT+ groups said on Friday as they called for more state support. The incident happened as several trans women staged a small demonstration in the capital, Tbilisi, on Thursday evening. Local […]
Indiana restaurant is using drag queens to deliver food to customers
The Michigan City, Indiana restaurant Fiddleheads is now offering Dragside Pickup. Customers can order online or telephone and when they arrive to pick it up, a drag queen will bring it to their car. Owner Aaron O’Reilly, a gay man, says the creative way to serve customers isn’t just a gimmick to increase sales. “This […]
Students unite in support of gay teacher sacked from Catholic school because of his sexuality
English teacher Jim Zimmerman had worked at Alter High School in Ohio for 23 years, and is a graduate of the school himself. He was forced out when an anonymous person sent a copy of his marriage certificate to the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, which oversees the school and opposes same-sex marriage. As a result, officials […]
Two arrested in alleged hate crime killing of transgender women in Puerto Rico
Two men have been arrested in Puerto Rico in the shooting death of two transgender women whose bodies were found last week in a burned-out car. The two suspects, Juan Carlos Pagán Bonilla, 21 and Jose Díaz De Léon, 19, were arrested Wednesday, according to the Negociado de la Policía de Puerto Rico, the island’s […]
Brazil’s president accuses World Health Organization of turning kids gay
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro accused the World Health Organization (WHO) of trying to turn children gay in a series of bizarre claims on Facebook. He later deleted the post. Like the Brazilian president’s claims about COVID-19, the statements weren’t true. Bolsonaro, dubbed the “Trump of the Tropics,” has followed President Donald Trump’s lead and repeatedly […]
Pope Francis just threw his support behind a small community of Italian transgender sex workers
Sex workers, particularly those who are undocumented, have been badly hit by the pandemic as many are unable to work or claim benefits. This was the case for a group of trans sex workers in Italy, who found themselves plunged into poverty by COVID-19. Two weeks ago, Father Andrea Conocchia was approached by a trans […]
Groups Express Grave Concern about the Commission on Unalienable Rights
As human rights organizations, scholars, defenders and activists, we the 167 undersigned, write to express our grave concern about the work of the U.S. State Department’s Commission on Unalienable Rights and any potential report or output that undermines the international human rights system and purports to reinterpret its respective treaties and monitoring bodies. In particular, […]
Far-right groups are taking their anti-LGBTQ agenda to lockdown protests
A slew of far-right groups who have openly embraced anti-LGBTQ messages are taking part in so-called “lockdown protests” across the country — further endangering the lives of LGBTQ people who are already vulnerable to the coronavirus. Groups like the Proud Boys and right-wing militia groups are among those protesting the many statewide stay-at-home orders. The […]
Wave of trans murders sparks fear of ‘hunting season’ in Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico has been hit by an “epidemic of violence” with five transgender murders in two months, LGBT+ activists said on Wednesday, adding that homophobic rhetoric from politicians and religious leaders may have fuelled the bloodshed. Opposition lawmakers and campaigners called on the government to publicly acknowledge and investigate the violence, after the bodies of […]
LGBT+ ‘gaymers’ in Mexico escape coronavirus lockdown with virtual football tournament
Confined at home by the new coronavirus, and often in the closet too, LGBT+ football fans in Mexico will get a rare chance to kick a ball about and make friends online on Friday in a national ‘gaymers’ tournament. LGBT+ gaming is in its infancy in Mexico but the event’s organisers hope the three-day tournament, […]
A Court Guessed How Gay Men From Conservative Families Would React After First Having Sex. It Cost Two Men Their Refugee Status.
Two young men from Pakistan who feared persecution because they were in a homosexual relationship had their refugee claims rejected because a tribunal made “illogical” assumptions about how they would respond to their first time having sex, a court has found. The decision of the Federal Court of Australia to send the case back to […]
Erdogan throws support behind cleric accused of homophobia
Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has defended the homophobic remarks of the country’s top Muslim cleric, Ali Erbas. Erbas, who is the head of Turkey’s directorate of religious affairs, on Friday said that Islam condemns homosexuality because “it brings illnesses and corrupts generations”. He added it also causes the HIV virus, that leads to AIDS. […]