Uganda bans thousands of charities in crackdown
Uganda’s government has told more than 12,000 charities that they can no longer operate in the country. Following a review that took place in August and September, the number of officially registered NGOs in Uganda has been slashed from 14,207 to 2,118. Little more than 2,000 NGOs managed to renew their licenses, meaning 73 percent […]
Battered with bricks and stabbed: Two trans women brutally killed in Colombia in two days
In just two days, two trans women were found dead by Colombian authorities in a spree of anti-LGBT violence that has battered the country. Jerrika Rivas Ruíz was found allegedly murdered in the Los Mártires neighbourhood Bogotá, the capital, on November 16. It comes as the capital city has become a battleground of protests – […]
‘Forbidden’ LGBT+ art takes center stage at Thai gallery
Intimate portraits of friends created by a Chinese artist before he took his own life. An Indian painter’s depiction of life before and after gay sex was decriminalized. These are some of the images on display at an Asian contemporary art show that opens in the Thai capital Bangkok on Saturday, seeking to fight LGBT+ […]
Malawians conflicted over LGBT+ rights, tolerance, research finds
Nearly all Malawians think LGBT+ human rights should be protected, yet the same number could not accept a gay or lesbian family member, according to a first-of-its kind report released this week. A third said transgender people deserve human rights and should be protected from violence, while half said they had reported gender non-conforming people […]
All-transgender hockey team believed to be a first for the sport
The goals are big for an all-transgender hockey team known as Team Trans. Comprised of more than a dozen players from Canada and the United States, it’s believed to be the first ice hockey team made entirely of transgender men, transgender women, and gender non-conforming athletes. Honorary co-captain Harrison Browne says hitting the ice for […]
Uncovering Colonial Williamsburg’s LGBTQ history
Aubrey Moog-Ayers was outside of an apothecary shop a few years ago, working as an orientation interpreter at Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia, when two men pulled her aside. The men, who said they were partners, asked her questions that stayed with her years later: What did she know about queer people in 18th-century America? Did […]
LGBT advocates call for Australia to release Saudi gay journalist couple
Two gay Saudi journalists, who claim they were outed in retaliation for contacts one of them had with a foreign media outlet, have been detained in Australia after requesting asylum. LGBT advocates are calling upon the Australian government to release the two men, who fled Saudi Arabia after realizing they were being targeted by the […]
The Oldest LGBT Film Festival in Europe Returns to Slovenia
The Ljubljana LGBT Film Festival is back for its 35th edition, officially starting Saturday, 23 November, and with events planned for Ptuj, Koper, Maribor, Bistrica ob Sotli, Idrija and Trst (aka Trieste, if you must), although the fun has already been going for more than week. First put on back in 1984 as part of […]
What is International Transgender Day of Remembrance and why is it so important?
Today, November 20, is the International Transgender Day of Remembrance – a day to honour and remember the many lives lost to transphobic violence. Trans allies across the country will be marking the day with a series of events to highlight the suffering experienced by the transgender community worldwide. Because the rate of transgender hate […]
Lil Nas X makes Grammy history as the first openly gay rapper nominated in top categories
Last week Lil Nas X made history when his earworm of a hit “Old Town Road” nabbed a Country Music Assn. award, making him the first openly gay black male to do so. Yet “Old Town Road” — which spent much of the year as the No. 1 song in the country — wasn’t awarded […]
Ireland Slips in Global LGBTI Safety Poll
Ireland’s reputation among LGBT holidaymakers has fallen slightly, according to a new global poll. Gallup asked 1,000 Irish participants ‘Is the city or area where you live a good place or not a good place to live for gay and lesbian people?’ In 2017, 84% of respondents said it was a “good place”, while the […]
Vietnamese pop music’s exuberant take on LGBT
A slew of musical videos featuring LGBT characters have been released and become YouTube sensations in 2019. The most popular has been Truc Nhan’s song titled “Sang Mat Chua” (Serve You Right), which has amassed almost 45 million views since it was released at the end of July. Filmed for two years in Vietnam and […]
Malaysia’s LGBT community under siege as government ignores abuse
Malaysia’s LGBT community is on high alert after its members have received rare jail terms, raising fears of increased persecution by religious authorities as the government steps aside, unwilling to anger conservative Muslim voters. Already a target of violent attacks, online abuse and discriminatory laws, the LGBT community fears further attacks after the recent conviction […]
American Medical Association announces support for U.S. ban on conversion therapy
The U.S. physicians’ group the American Medical Association announced on Tuesday it would begin supporting a ban on so-called conversion therapy, as well as working toward more inclusive healthcare record-keeping for transgender patients. Conversion therapy, now widely discredited, is rooted in the belief that LGBT+ people have a mental illness which can be cured through […]
From ultra-Orthodox rabbi to openly transgender: Abby Stein shares her story
Abby Stein discovered what the word “transgender” meant — and that the term accurately described her — when she snuck on the internet for the very first time back in 2011, in a mall bathroom, at the age of 20. “The first thing I searched was whether a boy could turn into a girl in […]
Fast-food chain Chick-fil-A changes donations after facing LGBT+ protests
U.S. fast-food chain Chick-fil-A said on Monday it had stopped funding two Christian organizations, including The Salvation Army, that have come under fire from LGBT+ campaigners. The fast-food chain’s charitable arm, Chick-fil-A Foundation, donated millions of dollars over a period of years to The Salvation Army and to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA), which […]
Trans children have ‘strong sense of identity’ from early age, study finds
Transgender children are no more or less likely than other children to conform to gender stereotypes in how they dress and play, suggesting they have a strong sense of identity from an early age, according to a study published on Monday. All young children tend to favor the toys and clothing typically associated with their […]
GAY SAUDI ARABIAN JOURNALISTS SPEAK OUT WHILE DETAINED IN AUSTRALIA
Two gay Saudi Arabian journalists detained in Australia while attempting to seek asylum have spoken out about their ordeal, labelling their treatment “unconscionable”. Last week, The Guardian reported the pair fled their home country after political harassment and threats of being publicly outed. When they arrived in Australia, they were searched, handcuffed and taken to […]
Brexit Party candidate declares ‘war’ on LGBT+ community and wants to turn ‘Christ-rejecting creatures’ into shoes and handbags
Victor Farrell is the Brexit Party’s candidate for Glenrothes in Scotland. His bizarre social media rants against “perverts pushing sodomite rights” were revealed on Monday by SNP MSP Jenny Gilruth on Twitter. “Look at the state of the @brexitparty_uk candidate standing in Glenrothes – crusading against lesbians, rampant youths and all those without god in […]
It’s ‘deviation’ and ‘mental disability’: Some Indonesian institutions put ban on LGBT applicants
Adding to the long list of prejudices faced by the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community in Indonesia, some government institutions are refusing to recruit those they say possess “deviations” of sexual orientation and behavior. November marks the opening of civil servant recruitment at 74 ministries and state agencies as well as 467 local […]
Only Three People Attended Dallas Straight Pride Event
A Straight Pride event at Dallas City Hall plaza attracted three supporters on Saturday. The march was hosted by the anti-LGBTQ group Protecting Our Next Generations (PONG). On its Facebook, the group promised the event would include discussions of abortion (“it is murder”), marriage values (“one man and one woman”) and genders (“there are only […]
Uganda: Stop Police Harassment of LGBT People
The Ugandan authorities should drop charges against dozens of people arrested over the last month in Kampala, the capital, on the basis of their presumed sexual orientation or gender identity, Human Rights Watch said today. The police carried out two mass arrests on spurious grounds, abused the detainees, and forced at least 16 to undergo […]
The Secret Battle To Save LGBT People From ISIS — And Bring Their Persecutors To Justice
One is the son of a communist who smuggled messages in kebabs for party members. The other is an army widow whose husband was killed by al-Qaeda. Together they want to convince the world that targeting LGBT people is a crime against humanity. The first time Majid and Ahlam saved a gay person’s life, they […]
Abomination: A DUP Opera review – an outstanding new work
Driving over the hills into north Belfast, as fields give way to houses, the visitor is plunged into election fever. Images of Nigel Dodds, the Democratic Unionist party MP for this hotly contested ward, smile from lampposts like a human flag parade all the way into the city. A few hours later, this same face […]
National Transgender Group Sees Exodus of Workers in Clashes With Leaders
A well-known national transgender policy group finds itself having to rebuild after a mass exodus of staff members amid discontent over its leadership, claims of retaliation for labor organizing and concerns about minority hiring and outreach. The group, the National Center for Transgender Equality, has lost about two-thirds of its staff in just weeks, Mara […]
Thousands show up for pride parade on LGBT rights in Hong Kong, as some wear masks and chant anti-government protest slogans
Thousands from Hong Kong’s LGBT community showed up at an annual pride rally on Saturday after police banned organisers’ application for a march for the first time since the parade was held in 2008. At Edinburgh Place in Central, a smaller crowd turned up for this year’s carnival-like event, with the theme “Equal Justice, Equal […]
Lebanon protests seen as an ‘opportunity’ for LGBT+ community
Despite being seen as a bastion of relative freedom in the largely conservative Middle East, Lebanese society remains reluctant to extend rights to the LGBT+ community. Nationwide protests that have thrown Lebanon into political and economic turmoil could end up being an opportunity for the LGBT+ community, according to the head of the country’s most […]
Pope compares politicians who rage against gays to Hitler
Pope Francis said on Friday politicians who rage against homosexuals, gypsies and Jews remind him of Hitler. “It is not coincidental that at times there is a resurgence of symbols typical of Nazism,” Francis said in an address to participants of an international conference on criminal law. “And I must confess to you that when […]
Pete Buttigieg is the top choice for the Democratic nomination in a crucial poll
Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg has topped a new poll which could prove crucial to his campaign. Mayor Pete, as he is known to the residents of South Bend, Indiana, led the pack in a Monmouth University poll of Iowa caucus voters released on Tuesday, November 12. Buttigieg garnered 22 per cent support, just ahead […]
This is what it’s like to be an LGBTIQ+ asylum seeker in Australia
LGBTIQ+ people seeking asylum in Australia face a unique set of challenges and often find themselves isolated in a new country, say a support group working to change that. Like many refugees, Tina Dixson and her partner Renee’s decision to seek asylum in Australia was a matter of life or death. The couple had been […]