One year later, Uganda’s anti-LGBTQ+ law is destroying families, lives, & future peace
In May 2023, Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni signed one of the harshest anti-LGBTQ+ laws in the world. A year on, the law has worsened the state of LGBTQ+ rights and has become a model shaping the thoughts of other African leaders in regard to queerness — it has also led to a major setback despite the […]
Nearly half of 18 to 24 year olds are ‘not fully straight’, new survey shows
Findings in the Global Sex Survey, marking condom company Durex’s 95th anniversary, suggested society is becoming more open to sexual diversity than ever before. Forty-four per cent of worldwide respondents aged 18 to 24 identified as “not fully straight”, while in the UK that figure rose to 47 per cent. Similarly, a 2023 study by Business Insider and […]
Tel Aviv backs housing for transgender community with support from religious factions
The Tel Aviv City Council has approved a proposal by council member Reut Nagar to consider allocating part of the city’s affordable housing project to the transgender community, according to Mako’s news site. According to the report, this decision follows troubling testimonies published by “Transiot Israel” association, about the harassment transgender women face when seeking […]
We Are Being Killed’: A Gay Man Forced To Escape Turkmenistan
David Omarov, a native of Turkmenistan, says he was arrested and tortured there for being gay — a crime under the country’s repressive regime. He was also charged with “disseminating AIDS” while imprisoned in 2019 and forced to sign a confession before he was finally able to flee to Poland. In his new home, Omarov […]
California bans forced outing of LGBTQ+ students as Gov. Gavin Newsom signs landmark law
California has enacted a landmark law banning schools from outing LGBTQ+ students to their parents or guardians, becoming the first state to ban forced outing. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1955 on Monday, officially prohibiting schools from disclosing a student’s gender identity or sexuality to their guardians without the student’s permission. The law […]
In Senegal, anti-LGBT forces seek longer prison time for gay sex
Since 2020, Senegal has been debating the effectiveness of its repression of homosexuality. Abuses of all kinds against LGBT+ people are commonplace in the West African nation, which current imposes prison sentences of up to five years for consensual same-sex intimacy. A further outburst of homophobia came in June, after new Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko […]
The Struggle to Reclaim Autonomy in the Two-Spirit Movement
For centuries, two-spirit individuals have been subjected to violence and assimilation. Today, two-spirit activists across the United States are coming together to reclaim their autonomy and preserve their legacy. Two-spirit is a beacon of contemporary spiritual and cultural identity for Indigenous peoples. It is rooted in an Anishinaabe term signifying the harmonious coexistence of feminine […]
Ghana’s brazen move to outlaw LGBTQI groups is the latest attack on freedom of association in Africa
The fundamental freedoms of assembly, expression and association for queer individuals are under siege. These are sentiments Graeme Reid, an expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, shared in a statement during Pride Month at the 56th session of the Human Rights Council, highlighting the alarming expansion of […]
Albania Urged to Enhance Implementation of LGBT Protections Amid Discrimination
The Government of Albania has made notable strides in creating a framework to combat discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. However, more efforts are needed to ensure that laws and policies are effectively implemented to reflect the lived experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals, an independent expert said today. “At […]
Republican National Convention: Marjorie Taylor Greene Attacks Transgender Individuals And “Illegal Aliens”
As one of the first big name speakers on the first night of the Republican National Convention, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) delivered a speech that started off somberly in references to the assassination attempt on Donald Trump, but quickly went into some of the red meat rhetoric that is her specialty. “For far too […]
Queer Amsterdam pull out of Pride Walk after Israeli flag row
The Queer Amsterdam foundation has pulled out of organising this year’s Pride Walk, one of the highlights of the annual Pride celebrations in the capital, because of a row over a ban on Israeli flags. Queer Amsterdam caused an outcry last week when it said on social media that Israeli flags would be banned during the walk. […]
Cameroon activists hope for change after president’s daughter comes out
Brenda Biya, 26, shared a photo on social media late last month that showed her embracing Brazilian model Layyons Valença. The post was accompanied by the caption: “I’m crazy about you and I want the world to know it”, along with a heart emoji. It came despite the fact that in Cameroon, sexual relations between […]
Federal appeals court says there is no fundamental right to change one’s sex on a birth certificate
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A federal appeals court panel ruled 2-1 on Friday that Tennessee does not unconstitutionally discriminate against transgender people by not allowing them to change the sex designation on their birth certificates. “There is no fundamental right to a birth certificate recording gender identity instead of biological sex,” 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge […]
LGBT Pride and Euro 2024 Become Focus for Online Hate Speech
The 22nd Istanbul Pride march set out from Bagdat Street in the city’s Kadikoy district instead of the previously announced start point, as Pride week organisers sought to outwit police by bypassing their blockade in and around Istiklal Street and Taksim Square. “We are never tired of deceiving the police and forcing them to deal with […]
Congo’s national prosecutor orders crackdown on homosexuality
Firmin Mvonde Mambu, the Public Prosecutor of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), has ordered regional prosecutors to initiate proceedings “against the perpetrators of deviant practices of a sexual and homosexual nature, as well as the perpetrators of noise pollution”. An illegal decision The order targeting LGBT people and those who disturb the peace was […]
Turkish LGBTI+ Activist Arrested Over Posts Condemning Attacks on Refugees
An LGBTI+ rights activist and member of the Workers’ Party of Turkey, TIP, Iris Mozalar, was arrested on Thursday over her social media posts condemning violent incidents against refugees in past weeks. “While those who burned the homes of small children and wanted to carry out massacres were released, I was arrested because I criticized […]
Uganda rights activists file appeal against ruling on anti-LGBTQ law
Ugandan human rights advocates on Thursday filed an appeal in the Supreme Court against a ruling by a lower court that upheld a draconian anti-homosexuality law which includes the death penalty for certain same-sex acts. An April ruling by the country’s constitutional court declined to void Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act (AHA), a move requested by the […]
These millions of Americans are more likely to live in poverty, be unemployed and have no family support
Quinn Merriss, an 18-year-old who identifies as transgender and non-binary, barely makes ends meet. Merriss was kicked out of their home after years of tension and arguments with their parents over being transgender. They now live independently without any financial support from relatives, working as a server earning $5.50 an hour plus tips. “I’m living […]
Lesbian shares daily reality of life in Cameroon after president’s daughter comes out
Brenda Biya, the daughter of Cameroon’s president, continues to be praised for coming out. Biya, who lives in the US and Switzerland, officially came out as LGBTQ+ on Instagram on 30 June, with a picture of her sharing a kiss with girlfriend, Brazilian model Layyons Valença. Since then, she has spoken about her hope of […]
Black LGBTQ+ spacemakers on building community with intention in L.A.
Nothing upgrades your time in Los Angeles quite like finding your people. For Black LGBTQ+ folks in L.A., spaces created by and for community, where you can show up as your loudest, truest self and feel safe, seen and affirmed, offer an essential type of nourishment that can be life-sustaining. The gathering spaces created by […]
‘Sexual Orientation’ A Political Manipulation Of West – ECOWAS Commissioner
The ECOWAS Commissioner for Human Development and Social Affairs, Prof Fatou Sow Sarr, has said the issue of “sexual orientation” is a political manipulation of the West. Prof Sow Sarr stated this during an interactive session with ECOWAS Commissioners on the implementation of the programmes of their departments at the ongoing 2024 Ordinary Session of […]
Osaka Court Again Overturns Asylum Denial for LGBTQ Refugee
Is Japan warming up to refugees? An Osaka court has overturned a denial of a gay man’s request for asylum – the second time it’s done so. Japan is not a country famous for accepting refugees with open arms. A majority of those who apply are denied; in 2023, there was an acceptance rate of […]
Gay furry hackers target Heritage Foundation
A collective of self-described “gay furry hackers” breached the right-wing Heritage Foundation’s computer networks and released sensitive data from the group that is spearheading the dangerous Project 2025 agenda, which promises to roll back LGBTQ+, women’s, and minority rights in America. The hackers released sensitive data as part of their ongoing campaign against organizations that oppose […]
Labour reportedly drops ban on ‘woke’ LGBTQ+ lanyards in civil service
The government has reportedly dropped the ban on members of the civil service wearing rainbow lanyards. Ministers are also set to consider whether or not to revoke guidance on Whitehall diversity and objectivity, which many saw as a means of moving the civil service to the right and made simply being LGBTQ+ a political view, the i […]
Court in Japan allows transgender woman to officially change gender without compulsory surgery
TOKYO — A Japanese high court has approved a legal gender change for a transgender woman without requiring compulsory gender-affirming surgery, a step that LGBGQ+ groups on Thursday called a mixed victory. Under the law, transgender people who want to have their gender assigned at birth changed on official documents must be diagnosed as having gender dysmorphia […]
Burkina Faso’s military junta to ban homosexual acts
Burkina Faso’s military junta has announced a ban on homosexual acts, making it the latest African state to crack down on same-sex relations despite strong opposition from Western powers. Homosexuality was frowned upon in the socially conservative West African state, but it was never outlawed. Justice Minister Edasso Rodrigue Bayala said the junta’s cabinet had now approved […]
Overturning of sodomy laws a win for human rights in Namibia
The Namibian high court recently invalidated the country’s colonial-era “sodomy law”, which had made consensual sexual acts between men a criminal offence. The court declared that the common law offences of “sodomy” and “unnatural sexual offences” were unconstitutional. This ruling follows a separate decision in 2023 where Namibia’s supreme court ruled to recognise certain same-sex unions contracted outside the country. […]
Reports falsely claim Nigeria’s approval of Samoa deal legalises same-sex relationships
“LGBT: Knocks As Nigeria Signs $150 Billion Samoa Deal,” reads the headline of the Daily Trust article published on July 4, 2024. The newspaper is Nigeria’s most influential daily in the Muslim-dominated conservative north. The newspaper reported that Africa’s most populous country had signed a “$150 billion” accord with the EU containing clauses that “compel underdeveloped and […]
Kazakhstan Should Reject Attempt to Curtail LGBT People’s Rights
In June, Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Culture and Information said it was reviewing a petition, “We Are against Open and Hidden LGBT Propaganda in Kazakhstan!” initiated by the head of Kazakhstan’s Union of Parents, a public association, after the petition met threshold requirements to be considered by the government. The government of Kazakhstan should reject this discriminatory and […]
7 states sue to block new Biden transgender nondiscrimination rule
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey (R) and six other states are suing to prevent the implementation of a federal rule that expands nondiscrimination rules to include transgender people. This lawsuit comes on the heels of a federal judge issuing a preliminary injunction last week against the rule in a separate federal case. “Joe Biden is once again exceeding his legal authority to force […]