Trump vows to reverse transgender student protections ‘on day one’
Former President Trump said Friday he would roll back transgender student protections enacted last month by the Biden administration “on day one” of his presidency if he is reelected in November. The Education Department in April unveiled a final set of sweeping changes to Title IX, the federal civil rights law preventing sex discrimination in […]
Gay parades shake up the weekend in several parts of Brazil
Until a few years ago, few places in Brazil had gay parades. Today, however, the reality is different. From Oiapoque to Chuí, distant cities celebrate their LGBT pride day. Good for many, bad for few. This weekend, no less than seven locations, including municipalities and states, will celebrate their gay pride day. In Minas Gerais, […]
Out in the World: Bay Area fundraiser for LGBTQ refugee group ORAM features gay Ugandan
The Organization for Refuge, Asylum, and Migration had a homecoming in the San Francisco Bay Area in an effort to drum up support and talk about its work. The LGBTQ refugee organization, founded in San Francisco in 2008, hosted its first local fundraiser to help queer refugees and learn about ORAM’s current efforts since 2019. […]
No happy ending for exiled Ugandans a year after gay crackdown
A year after Uganda enacted one of the world’s harshest anti-gay laws, many LGBTQ+ exiles are struggling to start over, facing a host of new hurdles alongside some of the same old threats that forced them out. From Canada to Kenya to Germany, their new homelands have not proved the sanctuary that many LGBTQ+ Ugandans […]
Swinney remains committed to gender reform bill
The Scottish government has recommitted to legislation that will allow someone to self-identify their legally recognised sex. The Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill was passed by the Scottish Parliament in December 2022 but the UK government blocked it from becoming law over fears it would impact on equality laws across Great Britain. UK ministers used […]
David Duke’s godchild comes out as transgender in new memoir about leaving white nationalism
In a revealing new memoir titled The Klansman’s Son: My Journey from White Nationalism to Antiracism, R. Derek Black, once known as a figurehead of American white nationalism, has come out as transgender. The memoir, which traces Black’s journey away from the extremist ideologies of their family, also delves into their personal experiences with gender […]
Good news for LGBTQ prisoners: You did it! Project Not Alone hits goal in a week
Generous donors have contributed $9,447 in the seven days since Project Not Alone announced its 2024 fund drive on May 3. That surpassed the goal of $8,122. The total includes several hefty donations from generous individuals and the previously announced grant of £2,450 (about $3,000) from the Attitude Magazine Foundation. As planned, the money will […]
Kraków’s new mayor to become first to attend city’s LGBT parade
In one of his first decisions after taking office, the newly elected mayor of Kraków, Poland’s second-largest city, has announced that he will attend the city’s annual LGBT Equality March next week, something his long-serving predecessor never did. He will also hang a rainbow flag at city hall. “I want to build a sensitive and tolerant […]
Notorious homophobe faces misdemeanour charge for discrediting Russian military
The authorities in Moscow are considering a misdemeanour charge against a self-described “gay basher” and “defender of traditional values” for discrediting the Russian army, news outlet Ostorozhno Novosti reported on Tuesday. Timur Bulatov, a St. Petersburg resident who has become notorious for his denunciations and harassment of queer people in recent years, told independent media outlet […]
New intolerance figures: Every hour, an LGBT person is raped in Brazi
Homophobia and transphobia numbers show that violence against the LGBT group has not decreased. On the contrary, it increased. This year, every hour a homosexual, bisexual, transvestite or transsexual suffers some type of violence in Brazil. The data comes from Dial 100, from the Human Rights Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic, which registered more […]
Georgia: ‘Foreign Influence’ Bill Threatens Rights
(Berlin, May 9, 2024) – The Georgian parliament’s introduction of a bill obliging certain nongovernmental groups and media outlets to register as “organizations serving the interests of a foreign power” threatens fundamental rights in the country, Human Rights Watch said today. The bill, under debate since mid-April 2024, prompted harsh criticism from Georgia’s bilateral and international partners and led to […]
Boy Scouts of America announces new gender-neutral name – and conservatives aren’t taking it well
The largest scouting organisation in the US announced on Tuesday (7 May) that it will change its name to Scouting America as part of an initiative to make everyone feel welcome. “Though our name will be new, our mission remains unchanged,” Boy Scouts of America president, Roger A Krane, said in a statement. “We are […]
Anti-LGBT law in Iraq doesn’t affect Kurdistan without parliamentary endorsement: advisor
Iraqi Kurdistan region,— The recent changes made by the Iraqi parliament to the country’s laws against prostitution, which now include penalties for homosexuality and transsexuality, will not immediately apply in the Iraq’s northern Kurdistan region. This is according to an advisor to the Kurdistan parliament who spoke to Rudaw TV. According to the amended law, […]
Russian who made career of informing on others is charged himself
Timur Bulatov, a Russian activist who has boasted about denouncing LGBT people and Kremlin critics to the authorities, is now in the line of fire himself, charged with discrediting the Russian armed forces. A notice posted to Moscow’s court website showed Bulatov, an outspoken supporter of Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine, was charged under […]
Ghana’s fight over anti-gay law threatens $20 billion debt deal – Bloomberg report
Ghana’s Supreme Court will on Wednesday May 8, 2024 start hearing a case that has the potential to both threaten the West African country’s 20 billion debt restructuring and test the World Bank’s commitment to support LGBTQ rights.
China’s first publicly recognised transgender woman divorces German husband – remarries him 18 years later
China’s first publicly recognised transgender dancer has remarried the love of her life whom she was forced to divorce 18 years ago. Jin Xing, 56, from Liaoning province in northeastern China, is a renowned transgender performer with 14 million followers on Weibo. In April 1995, Jin underwent gender reassignment surgery in a Beijing hospital, becoming […]
South Korea LGBTQ event finds home in streets after permit struggle
The Seoul Queer Culture Festival will take place in the capital’s streets this year, organisers of South Korea’s annual LGBTQ gathering said on Tuesday, after the city government denied their requests to hold events at four locations. The controversy contrasts with recent strides in other democracies in East Asia, such as Taiwan, where same-sex marriage […]
More GOP states challenge federal rules protecting transgender students
Seven more Republican-led states sued Tuesday to challenge a new federal regulation that seeks to protect the rights of transgender students in the nation’s schools. Republican plaintiffs call the effort to fold protection for transgender students under the 1972 Title IX law unconstitutional. The lawsuits filed in federal courts in Missouri and Oklahoma are the […]
Bangladesh police arrest 2 lesbians who want to get married
The arrest in Bangladesh of two lesbians who wanted to get married has drawn criticism from Paris-based human rights advocates. Asha Sinha, age 16,, and Liza Akhter, age 18, fell in love on Facebook. Rejected by their families, they moved in together in Gopalpur, which is about 125 kilometers north of the capital, Dhaka. But […]
Research shows LGBTQI+ health-related content in medical school has increased
Reducing barriers to comprehensive and affirming health care for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTQI+) populations requires physicians to receive LGBTQI+ health content during undergraduate medical education (UME). With more than 7% of the U.S. adult population, 4% of the Canadian adult population and 20% of persons in the U.S. ages 18–25 who […]
Thousands gather in France streets to protest anti-transgender Senate report
Thousands of protestors gathered in 50 cities throughout France this Sunday, rallying against the ‘offensive’ on transgender rights. The protests were sparked by a report from French Senators highlighting a concerning rise in child gender transitions and a proposed bill aiming to ban medical transitioning for minors. Activists, left-wing politicians, transgender-rights groups and youth mobilized […]
Tories propose ban on gender-neutral toilets in new buildings – including offices and restaurants
A policy proposed by the Department for Levelling Up on Monday (6 May) will prevent all non-domestic new builds, including restaurants, shopping centres, offices, and more, from having gender-neutral toilets. Equalities minister, Kemi Badenoch, said the long-discussed policy will end the “rise” of gender-neutral toilets and “mixed sex toilet spaces,” which she claims “deny privacy […]
The Many Enemies Of Iraqi Transgender: The State, Islamists — And Some Feminists
I don’t know if such words somehow justify, with their naivety, the ignorance of what is happening to trans women in Iraq among queer circles in the Arab and regional region. The neglect extends to feminist institutions that claim to reject and resist discrimination based on sex and gender and gender-based violence. We must rely […]
Transgender activists storm police station in Gujrat over abuse claims
Members of the transgender community in Gujarat staged a vehement protest outside the Sadar Kharian police station, alleging molestation and mistreatment by law enforcement officials. The protest, which escalated into a standoff, saw the temporary closure of the road leading to the police station. According to reports the transgenders, incensed by the alleged misconduct of the […]
Galloway cuts off interview after question about gay relationships comments
George Galloway has cut off a broadcast interview after being asked about remarks in which he suggested he did not think gay relationships were equal to heterosexual relationships. The Workers Party of Britain leader and Rochdale MP hung up the phone when asked by LBC’s Sunday With Lewis Goodall about the remarks he made in […]
Shortages of doctors and drugs bedevil LGBT+ Haitians — and everyone else
As Haiti endures chaos, shortages, inflation and gang warfare, the LGBTQ community shares the nation’s agony, even as it has challenges and plans of its own. Under pressure from the international community and regional states concerned about the power vacuum in Haiti, a new transitional council set to organize general elections in 2026 has just […]
LGBT organisations ask UN to revoke status of British rights watchdog
A group of 20 LGBT organisations have asked the UN to revoke the status of Britain’s Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC). A 19-page submission to the UN – which the groups said was prompted by the EHRC’s stance on trans rights – asks for the independent status of the EHRC to be reviewed. “Their […]
We speak to Ohotuowo Ogbeche about the impact of Ghana’s new anti-LGBTQ law
The west African country of Ghana has passed some of the harshest anti-LGBT laws. The country imposes gaol terms for anyone identifying as LGBTQ, anyone who founds LGBTQ groups and members of the public who fail to report anyone who they think is LGBTQ. The only thing stopping these laws is the country’s president. This […]
Austin City Council passes transgender protections
Members of the Austin City Council voted Thursday afternoon to approve offering some protections to local transgender people seeking gender-affirming care, though it may lead to more pushback by Texas Republican lawmakers. By a vote of 10-1, the council passed a resolution introduced by Council Member Chito Vela, who represents District 4. The measure directs […]
Dangerous Instagram? Iraqi LGBTQ+ community loses safe space
Social media has always been one of the only places where members of the LGBTQ+ community in Iraq could meet and be more open about their sexual identity. “Before Instagram, members of the community created fake Facebook accounts and joined secret groups to get to know one another,” Khalid, a 22-year-old student in the central […]