Year after trans military ban, legal battle rages on
In the year since the Trump administration banned transgender individuals from serving in the military, a number of advocacy groups have challenged the policy and many active service members say they’ve been forced to choose between continued service and their dignity and basic health care needs. When the administration implemented the ban on April 12, […]
Frida Kahlo: The surrealist artist and feminist who owned her adverse life story
A coil of dark braids, usually decorated with a flower crown, a vibrant dress and her signature unibrow, were some of the distinct features that set one of the 20th century’s most celebrated female artists, Frida Kahlo, apart from everyone else. Most of Frida’s adverse life story took place at the Blue House, which became […]
Coronavirus pandemic highlights barriers to health care for transgender community
The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted life for billions of people, forcing the world to deal with a sudden loss of jobs, security, and regular health care. But for those who identify as transgender, these barriers have existed for years, and advocates fear the pandemic may only make them worse. One transgender woman, who will be […]
Could Lessons From The Early Fight Against AIDS Inform The Coronavirus Response?
AIDS began as a frightening medical mystery, with clustered outbreaks in California and New York City. Dr. Paul Volberding, who later helped San Francisco General Hospital open a dedicated AIDS ward, remembers seeing his first AIDS patient on July 1, 1981, although he didn’t know it at the time. “I had just finished my training […]
Across Africa, Pandemic Lockdowns Risk Violating Human Rights
More than half of Africa’s 54 countries are restricting people’s movements in hopes of slowing the spread of the coronavirus, with regulations ranging from evening curfews to the total lockdowns that have been imposed in South Africa, Rwanda and, as of this week, the Seychelles. As those constraints expand, so are concerns about the violation […]
UNAIDS condemns misuse and abuse of emergency powers to target marginalized and vulnerable populations
UNAIDS is deeply concerned by reports that the COVID-19 epidemic is being used as an excuse to target marginalized and vulnerable populations, restrict civil society space and increase police powers. In particular, UNAIDS is extremely concerned by reports of new laws that restrict rights and freedoms and target criminalized groups in a manner that will […]
They Were Warriors
Thirty years ago this month, activists — many fighting for their lives — took to the streets of downtown Chicago in one of the biggest AIDS demonstrations in history. When you cross a battleground and read a plaque commemorating the fallen and the brave, you start to believe you can feel the history in your […]
Evangelical field hospital requires health workers to take anti-gay pledge
Staff must agree to a statement of faith that says ‘marriage is exclusively the union of one genetic male and one genetic female.’ An evangelical Christian organization called Samaritan’s Purse set up an emergency field hospital in New York on April 1 to help New Yorkers through the COVID-19 crisis, but some LGBTQ advocacy groups […]
Phyllis Lyon, LGBTQ rights pioneer, dies at age 95
Phyllis Lyon, an LGBTQ rights pioneer who, with her longtime partner, was among the first same-sex couples to marry in California when it became legal to do so in 2008, has died at her San Francisco home. She was 95. Lyon lived her life with “joy and wonder”, said Kate Kendell, a longtime friend and […]
Rights monitor blasts humiliation of 3 LGBT curfew violators
Authorities north of the Philippine capital “publicly humiliated” 3 members of the LGBT community who violated a curfew aimed at halting the coronavirus pandemic, a researcher for the international watchdog Human Rights Watch said Thursday. The 3 LGBT members were running an errand for their grandmother in Pandacaqui, Pampanga when village volunteers stopped them and […]
An Intro to Brazil’s History of Censorship
Brazil has a long history of censoring artists and the arts. In fact, several artists had their works censored and had to flee the country during the Military Dictatorship (1964-1985). Movies, TV shows and songs all had to go through “official channels” before they reached the general public and many were censored—in part or in […]
Gay congressman in Guatemala says indigenous people erased from coronavirus prevention campaign
Guatemala’s first openly gay and HIV-positive congressman has warned indigenous people are being erased from the country’s coronavirus prevention campaign. Aldo Dávila accused Guatemala’s health department of putting indigenous communities at risk by its use of language. “There has been no campaign [of coronavirus prevention] in indigenous languages,” he said in a livestream. He also […]
Asians mobilize in face of coronavirus-related racism
LGBT Asians around the world are fighting back in the face of coronavirus-inspired racist attacks against Asians. “Obviously, there has always been racism toward the Asian community, but we’ve never seen anything that has been so quick and so globally widespread as this,” Amazin LeThi, founder of the Amazin LeThi Foundation, told the Bay Area […]
The Uganda 19: Lawyers barred; no chance of bail; 10 days in prison and counting
Lawyers for 19 LGBT Ugandans arrested March 29 at an LGBT homeless shelter near Kampala still have been barred from seeing their clients. The arrestees are imprisoned 55 kilometers outside the city awaiting an April 29 court date — assuming that Uganda’s courts have reopened by then. Urgent appeals to the Government of Uganda for […]
In Russia’s far east, a feminist theatre director comes under attack
“I feel that today there are so many invisible female political prisoners: mothers, wives – women who bear an incredible burden thanks to political trials,” says Russian artist Yulia Tsvetkova, who’s been designated a political prisoner by the Memorial human rights association. “Political prisoners are heroes, but women are the invisible service staff.” Tsvetkova, a […]
PrEP Users, Many Gay, Bi Men Barred from COVID-Antibody Plasma Donations
As public health officials worldwide scramble to develop antibody tests to enable individuals who have recovered from the coronavirus to donate their antibody-rich plasma for experimental injections to help aid sick patients, here in the US gay and bisexual men sexually active in the past three months as well as anyone on PrEP and others […]
‘Social distancing’ is how LGBT people have always had to live
As news reports with dire predictions about Covid-19 began to multiply exponentially, I quickly realized that the inevitable physical distancing required and resulting social isolation was not as big a deal for me as I suspect it is for many other people. Investigating my own sense of calm, I wondered if I was missing something, […]
Top Americas court finds Peru responsible for torture of trans woman
The top human rights court in the Americas has found Peru responsible for the arbitrary detention and rape of a transgender woman in a landmark case marking the first time it has ruled on a complaint of torture against the LGBT+ community. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights in a ruling made public on Monday […]
Don’t ‘celebrate’ gay people, just accept us, says teacher at centre of schools row
Andrew Moffat, the gay teacher targeted by Muslim anti-LGBT protesters at Parkfield community school in Birmingham, is wearing his usual rainbow lanyard and says he feels safe again. A year on from the ugly scenes outside the school gate, his hands no longer tremble, there have been no recent death threats, and he doesn’t have […]
Protester arrested at NYC COVID-19 field hospital run by anti-gay evangelist
The guerrilla theater activist known as Reverend Billy, decked out in a pink suit and a bandanna mask, was arrested Sunday afternoon at a COVID-19 field hospital in New York City’s Central Park that is being run by an evangelical group whose leader has a long history of anti-LGBTQ beliefs. “They have no business being […]
Coronavirus: Bolsonaro fasts and prays for “Brazil’s liberation from epidemics”
In response to the outbreak of coronavirus, Brazilian President Gerard Bolsonaro said Sunday was a day of prayer and fasting, and encouraged citizens to ask God to “save Brazil from this evil.” The right-wing populist, known as “Equatorial Trump,” met with Pentecostal evangelical priests at his official residence in Brazil on Friday, where the proposal […]
Coronavirus pandemic a perfect storm for LGBTQ homeless youth
Finding a secure place to live has not been easy for Nez Marquez, 23, who has experienced homelessness for the past five years. Born in Mexico and raised in New York, he left home at 18 because his family did not accept his gender identity and sexual orientation, he said. Marquez is staying at Sylvia’s […]
New Ugandan rules allow HIV care during lockdown
Uganda’s Ministry of Health has issued guidelines about how vital HIV/AIDS services can continue with minimal disruption during the current 14-day countrywide Covid-19 lockdown. The guidelines, covering a wide range of health services, were developed by the ministry in consultation with civil society groups in the fight against the HIV pandemic. Among dozens of specific […]
Coronavirus: LGBT+ charity says young people should ‘pause’ coming out in lockdown
LGBT+ young people should “hit pause” on coming out while self-isolating with their families during the coronavirus pandemic, a UK charity has advised. The Albert Kennedy Trust (AKT), a UK charity that helps young LGBT+i people facing homelessness, told Sky News their advice would be to “think hard” before coming out during this time. “If […]
LGBT Migrants Are Vulnerable to Coronavirus, But Our Community Can Help
Our LGBT communities are impacted in various ways by the global Coronavirus pandemic. Some of us are lucky enough to have a safe place to stay, while others must put themselves at risk by going to work in hospitals, grocery stores and delivery companies. But this crisis has presented us with a unique opportunity to […]
The controversial story of the Sacramento Slavic church linked to 71 coronavirus infections
Bethany Slavic Missionary Church doesn’t shy away from controversy. The giant Pentecostal church near Rancho Cordova, one of the cornerstones of the Sacramento area’s Eastern European immigrant community, injected itself into a fierce and borderline violent debate over gay rights more than a decade ago, earning rebukes from elected officials and scorn from the gay […]
India: LGBT is the hardest hit group in these coronavirus times
The one group of people which is always gets excluded from discussion on any subject of national importance is LGBT or Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender. The impact of coronavirus has not left any section of the society unaffected. And so are LGBTs. There are an estimated 100,000 transgender who live in Telangana. Like the […]
Supreme Court scraps April calendar, delays major cases amid pandemic
Citing the ongoing coronavirus public health crisis, the US Supreme Court on Friday cleared its calendar for April, extending an already historic delay of major legal cases, several of which have big implications for the 2020 election. The announcement, coming in a statement by court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg, adds 8 cases to the 13 postponed […]
Panama’s Gender-Based Quarantine Ensnares Trans Woman
When Panama announced it would implement a gender-based quarantine schedule in response to COVID-19, transgender activists were alarmed. And with reason: on April 1, police detained a transgender woman alleging that she was male and out on “the wrong day.” The Ministry of Health’s quarantine measures allow women to do essential shopping on Mondays, Wednesdays, […]
U.S. eases ban on gay blood donors amid coronavirus
The United States eased its policy on gay and bisexual men donating blood on Thursday due to rising concerns about blood supplies during the coronavirus crisis. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, said it was reducing a 12-month ban on men who […]