‘Stigma follows us’: Cape Town’s homeless, transgender women fight for recognition
Beneath a bridge in the Cape Town suburb of Woodstock, a strung-together network of blankets serves as a refuge for a group of women fighting stigma on many fronts. SistaazHood, a group of about 40 transgender women, most of them homeless and sex workers, has become a growing voice on issues such as transgender homeless […]
Georgian far right threatens home premiere of hit gay movie
After winning accolades abroad, a Georgian movie about gay love is drawing threats at home, with far-right groups threatening to block Friday’s premiere in the conservative Caucasian nation. “And Then We Danced”, a joint Swedish, Georgian and French production, tells the story of Merab, a young dancer with a traditional Georgian ballet company who falls […]
Vile bill would force HIV tests slammed by LGBT activists and lawmakers
Plans for forced HIV tests for people whose bodily fluids come into contact with police – despite there being no record of this ever happening – has been widely slammed by lawmakers and activists. New South Wales’s Labor party, Australia, signalled its intent to introduce a scheme that will allow for mandatory testing of HIV […]
Woman divides people with angry rant about rainbow poppies for Remembrance Day
Each year in the run up to November 11, you’ll see people pinning red poppies to their jackets. The little paper flowers or badges are worn for Remembrance Day, or Armistice Day as it’s also known and are intended to honour those who have died in the line of duty. Traditionally, the flowers are red, […]
Bombs and blasphemy: the risks of watching gay art in Russia
Whenever the play “Out of the Closet” is performed, Russian drama company Teatr.Doc has to take extra precautions: the audiences’ passports are checked to ensure everyone is at least 18 and the process is filmed to prove the law has been followed. There is no nudity and few obscene words in the play, which is […]
Danica Roem, first transgender lawmaker, reelected in Virginia
Danica Roem, the first openly transgender person to be elected and serve in a state legislature, was reelected to her Virginia seat on Tuesday. Roem, a Democrat, bested her Republican opponent Kelly McGinn by a 57-43 margin. When she was elected in 2017, Roem beat a longtime GOP delegate who led efforts to restrict bathrooms […]
Voters split on whether country is ready for a gay president
As the Democratic Party fields its first serious presidential contender who is openly gay, half of American voters say that they personally are ready for a gay or lesbian president, but are split about whether the country as a whole is ready. According to a POLITICO/Morning Consult poll of registered voters, 50 percent of respondents […]
Germany plans to ban gay ‘conversion therapy’
German Health Minister Jens Spahn unveiled a draft law on Monday that largely bans “conversion therapy” for LGBT+ people. The practice will be completely banned for all youths under the age of 18, the newspapers of the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND) reported, citing a copy of the draft law. The law stops short of a complete […]
Kenyan census results a ‘big win’ for intersex people
The results of Kenya’s first census to recognize intersex people are a “big win” for their rights, campaigners said as the data was released on Monday, expressing hopes it would lead to more progressive policies. Kenya became the first African nation and one of the only countries in the world to count people born with […]
Poll reveals majority of eastern Europeans ‘fearful for democracy’
Thirty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, today’s eastern Europeans are fearful for the future of democracy, sceptical of government and the main political parties, and distrustful of the media, according to a new survey.But despite what the report’s authors call “alarming levels” of distrust in democratic systems and the media, many also […]
A Conservative Push to Make Trans Kids and School Sports the Next Battleground in the Culture War
From the 12th floor of a glass office tower in the Washington suburbs, a campaign to sway the governor’s race in Kentucky on Tuesday is being waged with an alarmist claim that has little to do with the race itself: If Democrats have their way, soon boys will be able to compete against girls in […]
The Indian army wants to keep homosexuality a punishable offence
Officials in the Indian Army want to keep punishing officers for being gay despite the fact that homosexuality was decriminalised in the country last year. Officials have reportedly approached the Ministry of Defence over concerns that gay officers are going “unnoticed and unpunished” and have said they need to ensure discipline in the army. Furthermore, […]
Proud lesbian Kenyan pastor opens up about her attraction to women in emotional interview
Jacinta Nzilani spoke to a local radio station about her 25-year marriage to a man despite knowing since she was 16 that she was attracted women. She said: “When I was 16 I realised that I was attracted to women more than men. It is not a habit, it is something that is inside me.” […]
Vulnerable LGBTQ migrants left to wait in Mexico
Migrants can still request asylum based on persecution because of their gender identity and/or their sexual orientation. Pedro Luis Perez arrived at the northern Mexico border in early 2019 looking for safety and asylum in the United States, but instead he spent about 10 months waiting in Tijuana where he said he felt threatened because […]
‘Casa Nem’ on Copacabana is a Sanctuary for Rio’s Transgender and LGBT
In Casa Nem a party is being prepared, so the house is bustling. Everybody is getting dressed or helping somebody else. But this is not your average party. Casa Nem is a home for LGBT in Rio, mainly trans people live there. So, bras are stuffed, and some extra make-up is applied. Together they can […]
I have a transgender child in Texas. I know gender affirming parenting can save a child’s life.
Politicians in my state are cruelly using a custody case to promote discrimination against transgender people and perhaps criminalize their loving parents. My son, Jeremy, is transgender. He is also an uncle, a barista, a babysitter, a friend and a neighbor. What my son Jeremy is not is “Satan’s spawn” or “evidence of Satan’s plan,” […]
African HIV experts are calling on Uganda to legalise homosexuality
Four leading African HIV experts are calling on the government in Uganda to decriminalise homosexuality in order to tackle the stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS. Serge Paul Eholié from Côte d’Ivoire, Keletso Makofane from Harvard University, James G. Hakim from Zimbabwe and Kenneth Ngure from Kenya issued a statement following the introduction of the ‘Kill the Gays’ […]
Canberra Is The Same-Sex Capital Of Australia
Canberrans are 50 percent more likely to be in same-sex relationships than any other major city in Australia. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) does not ask respondents their sexual orientation, but it does record those who are living with a partner of the same sex. Using this data, it is possible to make a […]
Popular LGBT club in Slovenia capital attacked, no injuries
Police in Slovenia say unknown assailants have attacked a popular LGBT club in Slovenia’s capital Ljubljana. Police say they are treating the incident as a hate crime. Slovenia’s Prime Minister Marjan Sarec and LGBT rights groups have condemned the attack. The Tiffany Club says the attack took place around 0400GMT Friday, after closing time. They […]
Gay man in Turkmenistan goes missing after posting heartbreaking video fearing he might be ‘forcibly taken away’
A gay man in the central Asian country Turkmenistan has gone missing after claiming in a heartbreaking video that he might be “forcibly taken away”. Kasymberdy Garayev has reportedly vanished alongside his mother, father and siblings after police discovered that he is gay. Gay men can be imprisoned for up to two years in Turkmenistan. […]
Eastern Caribbean LGBT organisation launches five-country legal challenge to anti-gay laws
The Eastern Caribbean Alliance for Diversity and Equality (ECADE), today announced the launch of five legal challenges to the remnants of draconian laws of our colonial past. The claims, all expected to be filed before the end of 2019, will challenge the buggery and indecency laws in Barbados, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda, […]
Lesbian Olympic weightlifting couple show off strength in stunning viral wedding photo
There are many rituals lesbian couples can choose from to include in their wedding ceremony, but doing a tandem deadlift usually isn’t one of them. But this is exactly what lesbian couple Lisa Yang and Wek Hernandez – who are both Olympic weightlifters – decided to do during their wedding. The sight was one to […]
Bisi Alimi Organises First-Ever LGBT Event In Lagos
Nigerian gay rights activist Bisi Alimi has organised the first-ever LGBT event in Nigeria. The event tagged “Night of Diversity 2019” was organised by his foundation The Bisi Alimi Foundation. It held last night in Lagos, Tuesday 29th October. “I am so emotional this morning. Never thought that last night was going to be possible […]
HIV-positive rugby star Thomas’ UK magazine cover hailed for tackling stigma
Former rugby international Gareth Thomas became one of the first openly HIV-positive people to appear on the cover of a mainstream British magazine on Thursday, a move hailed as chipping away at the stigma over the virus. The Welsh sports star said revealing that he was gay and living with HIV sometimes left him feeling […]
ICE ALLEGEDLY DETAINING LGBT ASYLUM SEEKER IN DEFIANCE OF COURT RULING
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have allegedly been detaining an LGBT asylum seeker in defiance of a federal judge’s ruling. Darwin Garcia Portillo and his partner Oscar Juarez Hernandez came to the United States from Honduras in March, accompanied by Garcia Portillo’s younger brother. The couple say their lives were threatened repeatedly in Honduras, […]
Ghana Should Resist World Congress of Families’ Anti-LGBT Message
Emelia, a woman in her thirties living in Kumasi, Ghana, will never forget the day her father found out she was a lesbian. He beat her for three hours – with his fists, and a belt, and then with a broken beer bottle. In this context, it is worrying that the United States-based World Congress […]
LGBTQ Muslims set to celebrate first Pride in London, after successful fundraising campaign
London Muslims are getting ready to celebrate their very own LGBTQ Pride celebration next spring, after raising over 10,000 pounds (around $12,900) in a fund-raising campaign. The event is being organized by Imaan, a network of LGBTQ Muslims across the U.K. Founded in November, 1999, Imaan is a community that empowers “thousands of others like […]
How Alfred Kinsey armed the early gay rights movement with research
There was a time when one out of every two Americans Gallup polled knew Alfred Kinsey’s name, and to gay men, lesbians, and bisexuals he was a living hero. Sadly, for the last quarter-century or so, calling Alfred Kinsey “the man who made the homosexual movement possible” has come not from that movement but the […]
Miss France contest opens to transgender contestants
The rules of the Miss France contest no longer prevent transgender people from participating, the director of the Miss France pageant, Sylvie Tellier, said in a recent interview. But, she added, she does not believe France is ready for a transgender Miss France. In an interview with local newspaper Le Parisien in French, Tellier confirmed […]
Rainbow Caribbean site focuses on LGBTQ rights
Caribbean LGBTQ rights activists announce Rainbow Caribbean, a Facebook page devoted to news articles, videos, features and commentaries about Caribbean LGBTQ people’s struggle for respect and recognition of their human rights. Organizations supporting this initiative are The Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, Trans Advocacy & Agitation Barbados, The United Belize Advocacy Movement, St. Paul’s Foundation for […]