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 […]
Damning report reveals extent of brutality, violence and persecution LGBT+ people face in Myanmar
A damning report has revealed the shocking extent of violence and persecution faced by LGBT+ people in Myanmar and has recommended urgent law reform. The report – which was produced by the Denmark-Myanmar Programme on Rule of Law and Human Rights – tells the stories of LGBT+ people in the Asian country to illustrate the […]
LGBT+ delegates say sidelined at ‘inclusive’ global sexual health summit
A global summit on sexual and reproductive health hailed by organisers as being an inclusive event failed to adequately hear the voices of sexual minorities, some LGBT+ delegates said as the three-day event ended on Thursday. Discussions at the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) ranged from how to end maternal deaths and eliminate […]
‘We stand and we resist’ says head of Brazil’s first LGBT+ bank
The head of Brazil’s first bank for gay and trans people said on Thursday that he aimed to tap into an overlooked market, combat prejudice and support social issues that matter to LGBT+ people. Marcio Orlandi Jr., chief executive of Pride Bank, which launched in beta testing mode this week, said other banks were failing […]
Suicide rates fall after gay marriage legalised in Sweden and Denmark
Suicide rates among those in same-sex relationships have fallen significantly in both Denmark and Sweden since the legalisation of gay marriage, according to a study, although whatever their marital status, homosexual people remain more likely to take their own life. The joint study by the Danish Research Institute for Suicide Prevention and researchers from Stockholm […]
India: PIL against insistence of sex-reassignment surgery proof for passport
An LGBT activist has approached the Madras high court to declare a proviso in passport rules mandating submission of sex re-assignment surgery certificate for effecting change of sex in passport, as illegal and unconstitutional. Admitting the PIL, filed by T D Sivakumar, a division bench of Justice M Sathyanarayanan and Justice N Seshasayee ordered notices […]
Armenian Parliament Refuses To Hear Bill Banning Same-Sex Marriage
Armenia’s parliament has rejected consideration of a bill seeking to expressly outlaw same-sex marriages in the Caucasus nation. A majority of lawmakers on November 12 dismissed consideration of a draft law proposed by the opposition Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK), saying it was redundant given that the country’s constitution already defines marriage as a union between […]
Sacked, shunned and suicidal – the Cameroon sports stars battling anti-gay laws
Cameroonian athlete Thierry Essamba still trains every day, even though he has little hope of reviving a career cut off when he was ousted from the national squad in a scandal over homosexuality. The 38-year-old hurdling champion was training for the 2014 Commonwealth Games when a senior sports official told a crowd of journalists and […]
Saudi promo video labels feminism, atheism, homosexuality as extremist ideas
A promotional video published by Saudi Arabia’s state security agency categorises feminism, homosexuality and atheism as extremist ideas, even as the conservative Muslim kingdom seeks to promote tolerance and attract foreigners. The animated clip posted on Twitter at the weekend by a verified account of the State Security Presidency said “all forms of extremism and […]
LGBTQ acceptance grew globally over past four decades — but not everywhere
The “most accepting” LGBTQ countries are becoming “more accepting,” while “the least accepting” are becoming “less accepting,” according to a recent report from The Williams Institute, a think tank at the UCLA School of Law. In executing the study, which came out last month and was built upon the organization’s previous reports, researchers analyzed survey […]
Singapore court to hear legal challenges on gay sex ban
As a Singapore court prepares to hear a series of legal challenges to a law that bans gay sex, LGBT+ activists on Tuesday called for the “right” verdict to be delivered so similar reforms can be triggered across other parts of Asia. Like many other former British colonies, Singapore has retained an old law that […]
Uganda charges 67 after raid on gay bar
A Ugandan court charged 67 people with causing a nuisance on Tuesday after they were arrested in a gay-friendly bar, in a move condemned by activists as the latest “homophobic” attack. The 67 – who were among 127 arrested at Ram Bar, in the capital, Kampala, on Sunday – could face up to one year […]
Turkish judge refuses to throw out trial of student Pride marchers
A Turkish court on Tuesday rejected calls to throw out the trial of 19 people for participating in an LGBT+ Pride march on a university campus. Most of the 18 students and a faculty member from the Middle East Technical University (METU) were charged with “refusing to disperse” after being arrested at a May 10 […]
Catholic School Students Rally for Lesbian Harassed by Administration
About 200 students at a Los Angeles-area Catholic high school walked out of class Friday in solidarity with a lesbian student after BuzzFeed News exposed how the school’s administration harassed her for years, threatening to out her to her parents if she didn’t adhere to horrific, arbitrary rules. The article detailed how Magali Rodriguez, a […]
Uganda Police Confirm Arrest of 120 LGBT People
Ugandan police said Monday that in an operation around Kampala’s city center, they arrested 120 people suspected to have been using narcotics. However, members of the LGBT community say it was a health meeting that police interrupted. Patrick Onyango, the Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesperson, tells VOA they received intelligence information that the site of the […]
The West’s left-right battle lines run through Brazil
“They did not jail a man,” declared the released prisoner. “They tried to kill an idea, and ideas don’t disappear.” The freed man was Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the former left-wing Brazilian president who was jailed last year on corruption charges that his supporters believe were politically motivated. Lula left office in 2010 with […]
Ireland: Majority of gay teenagers feel unsafe in school
Almost three-quarters of gay or transgender teenagers feel unsafe in schools, according to the largest survey of LGBT young people in the Irish education system. A large majority say they have experienced homophobic remarks from other students and feel school is an unwelcoming environment that excludes them. The findings are contained in a new “school […]
Anti-LGBTQ and Anti-Choice World Congress of Families and Its Russian Backers Seek to Expand Influence in Africa
The World Congress of Families, an international network of anti-LGBTQ and anti-choice activists, sponsored a regional conference in Accra, Ghana, last week. Organizers pitched it as an effort to “position Africa as a more active advocate within the global pro-family movement.” The Ghana News Agency reported that the conference drew participants from 14 African countries […]
The Australian media’s portrayal of trans people is a betrayal of their human rights
As the United Nations independent expert on preventing violence and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, I have the privilege of working alongside LGBT communities and activists all over the world. In every country I visit as part of my mandate, I am consistently moved by the courage and perseverance of […]
Same-Sex Relationships No Longer a Crime in Botswana
Botswana becomes yet another African country to repeal its colonial laws against homosexuality, and recognise gay people as humans deserving of love and respect. Several decades ago, same sex relations were taken as a serious offence by the colonial-era section 164 of Botswana’s penal code. According to the code, same-sex relationships were “against the order […]
Gay sex: is time finally up for Singapore’s Section 377A?
It is a law famously and stubbornly resistant to change. One that has outlived not only the British colonialists who drafted it, but the British empire itself. A law that survived the birth of an independent nation and a new millennium; a law rooted in the 19th century that still causes arguments well into the […]
Myanmar’s law and justice system perpetuates anti-LGBTQ stigma
Myanmar’s criminal laws are outdated and fail to respect and protect human rights, especially the rights of LGBTQ people and rights enshrined in binding international human rights treaties. This is the key finding of the new report ‘In the Shadows: Systemic Injustice Based on Sexual Orientation and Identity/Expression in Myanmar’. The report highlights emblematic cases […]
Trump’s Takeover of America’s Courts Just Hit a Terrifying New Milestone
Thursday, November 7 was a fateful day for the courts in America. By an 86-2 margin, the U.S. Senate approved William Nardini to a lifetime appointment on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals — Trump’s 45th appointment of an appeals-court judge. On the same day, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved another judicial nominee of Trump’s, […]
Georgian police arrest more than 25 in clashes at gay movie premiere
Police in Georgia said on Saturday they had arrested more than 25 people after ultra-nationalist protesters attempting to derail the premiere of an award-winning movie about gay love clashed with security forces. A few hundred demonstrators blocked the road outside a cinema in the capital’s city center on Friday ahead of the first screening of […]
Same-sex marriage ruling overturned in Cayman Islands
The Cayman Islands Court of Appeal has ruled in favour of the government, overturning Chief Justice Anthony Smellie’s previous ruling that legalised same-sex marriage in the Cayman Islands. At the same time, however, the court ordered government to “expeditiously” provide Chantelle Day and her partner, Vickie Bodden Bush, with legal status equivalent to marriage, according […]
Lucy Liu’s secret side hustle is painting lesbian portraits and she’s actually amazing at it
It’s no surprise to anyone that Lucy Liu is an amazing actor but fans are only just finding out about another hidden talent – she also paints incredible lesbian portraits too. While Lucy’s actually been painting since 1993, with exhibitions in America, Germany, Canada and the UK, her works were initially shown under the alias […]
Colombia court upends old Latin America naming tradition
Tradition has long had it that children born to families in Latin America receive two last names: That of their father, followed by that of their mother. Now that practice is being challenged in court. Colombia’s Constitutional Court ruled Tuesday that the tradition violates principles of equality, overturning a law in place since 1989 and […]