Transgender sex workers feel under attack. These women are working to protect their own.
With a bag of condoms and a stack of business cards, Tamika Spellman began a route she knew by heart, peering out the window of her Lincoln sedan at dark sidewalks where she once stood. West Virginia Avenue. K Street. Eastern Avenue. Street corners and alleyways where women wait for a steady trickle of clients, […]
Anti-gay candidate leads in Tunisia’s presidential election
Anti-gay law professor Kais Saied won the most votes in the first round of Tunisia’s presidential election, the Tunisian electoral commission announced. This is the country’s second free presidential election since protesters during the 2011 Arab Spring ousted Tunisian leader Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Africa News reported that Saied, a political outsider, received 18.4 […]
Arizona Supreme Court rules business can discriminate against gays & lesbians
The Brush & Nib Studio’s owners have won a major LGBTQ discrimination case despite never being accused of discriminating against anyone. Instead, the business preemptively sued for the right to refuse to print wedding invitations for gay and lesbian couples in an attempt to nullify the city of Phoenix’s nondiscrimination law. The company was represented […]
Inside Australia’s Christian churches where gay people are told they are ‘broken’ and ‘need to be fixed’ before they undergo ‘conversion therapy’
Gay Christians are being sent to ‘conversion therapy’, an outdated form of ‘counselling’ which teaches homosexuality is a form of ‘brokenness’, it has been revealed. An explosive investigation by 60 Minutes showed at least 10 organisations in Australia and New Zealand are offering conversion therapy, which is known to cause ‘severe mental trauma’. Robert Williams […]
Jamaica tops Caribbean countries for human rights violation, Guyana comes second
Jamaica has recorded the most incidents of human rights violation when compared to its Caribbean neighbours. According to the regional civil society-led human rights reporting mechanism, the Shared Incident Database (SID), of the 1,413 reports received for the period August 2013 to 2018, Jamaica had a total of 505 incidents, most of which were violence […]
Ex-rugby star could become role model for HIV+ people – HIV/AIDS groups
Former rugby international Gareth Thomas’s decision to come out as HIV-positive could transform the sports star into a role model for millions of people living with the virus, HIV/AIDS groups said on Monday. Ash Kotak, who leads the AIDSMemoryUK Campaign to establish a national tribute to HIV/AIDS in Britain, said Thomas’s reputation as a successful […]
‘We are seeing a push back on human rights’
LGBTQ and women’s rights are particularly targeted in the current proliferation of hate speech and backsliding on human rights in the world, including in some EU countries. This is acknowledged by the EU Special Representative for Human Rights, appointed in March, that explained his priorities, this week, to the new members of the European Parliament. […]
London’s first ever Trans+ Pride march – in pictures
On September 14, thousands of transgender people and their allies took to the streets of London in a historic first – the UK capital’s first-ever Trans+ Pride march. London Trans Pride was born partly as a response to the hijacking of the front of the Pride in London parade in 2018 by a group of […]
China: Discrimination against same-sex couples must come to an end
Despite government commitment to equal opportunities for all, many discriminatory practices are still entrenched by policies and legislation. More often than not, the court needs to step in to speed up necessary overhaul, as in the case with the victory of the fight for same-sex spousal benefits and joint taxation assessment by a gay civil […]
Rwandan gospel singer comes out as gay, to country’s shock
Friends of Albert Nabonibo, a well-known gospel singer in Rwanda who recently came out as a gay man, do not want their names revealed. It is too shameful, one says. Another says he is anguished because his family knows he often used to socialize with Nabonibo. Nabonibo shocked many Rwandans in August when he revealed […]
Transgender Woman Found Burned Beyond Recognition in Florida, Officials Say
The body of a black transgender woman, said by the authorities to have been burned beyond recognition, was found inside an abandoned car in Florida. The victim, Bee Love Slater, 23, was the 18th transgender person known to have been killed in the United States this year, according to Human Rights Campaign, a civil rights […]
73% of news stories on LGBTQ topics are flagged as inappropriate for advertisers, survey finds
A new report found that nearly three-quarters of articles on LGBTQ news are flagged as brand-unsafe to advertisers. The survey, designed by the cybersecurity company CHEQ, showed that 73% of the articles from LGBTQ news sites such as The Advocate and the U.K.’s PinkNews had been blacklisted. The simple mention of terms such as “lesbian,” […]
Conservative Christians, feminists unite to fight transgender rights in Australia
Conservative Christians and feminist campaigners may seem unlikely bed fellows – but the two groups have found common cause when it comes to blocking transgender rights in Australia. Both argue that trans women pose a risk to women and children in changing rooms, toilets and rape shelters, in a microcosm of an increasingly vicious culture […]
Death threats ‘broke my heart’ says popular Lebanese band singer
The lead singer of one of the Middle East’s most popular bands said on Thursday he was heartbroken by rising homophobia in Lebanon, after death threats stopped him performing last month. Organisers of the Byblos International Festival – one of the largest in Lebanon – said indie rock band Mashrou’ Leila’s slot was axed “to […]
Surge in chemsex parties arranged on ‘hook-up’ apps is fuelling fresh HIV epidemic in European cities, doctors warn
A surge in “chemsex” parties, where some people spend days getting high on drugs and having sex with scores of partners, is refuelling epidemics of HIV among gay men in European towns and cities, doctors say. Despite much higher risks of contracting the virus that causes AIDS, as well as other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), […]
Kazakhstan: Feminist Group Denied Registration
An appeals court in Kazakhstan on September 3 upheld a decision denying Feminita, a national feminist initiative, registration as a nongovernmental organization (NGO). The group’s focus includes the rights of lesbian, bisexual, and queer women. The Almaty department of the Justice Ministry had refused the group registration on the grounds that it didn’t comply with […]
New film captures the truth of gay life in Nigeria
Members of the gay community in Nigeria are excitedly anticipating the release of a new film that people believe has captured the true experience of life for gay men in Nigeria. The new film ‘Walking With Shadows’ is based on an award-winning 2005 novel of the same name by Jude Dibia. The Initiative for Equal […]
NYC Council wants to repeal a ban on LGBT conversion therapy
The City Council is moving to repeal a ban on conversion therapy to avoid fallout from a pending lawsuit that advocates and lawmakers fear could curtail LGBT protections across the country. Speaker Corey Johnson, who is gay, will introduce a bill Thursday overturning a law passed in 2017 that banned all forms of LGBT conversion […]
EQUAL MARRIAGE: HARBOE POSTPONED VOTE AND MOVILH DENOUNCED CENSORSHIP
The president of the Senate Constitution Commission, Felipe Harboe (PPD), postponed the vote on the idea of legislating for equal marriage , arguing that he should listen to various organizations. The Movilh denounced that the parliamentarian did not allow his intervention. “The processing of today was totally useless and inefficient, because no step was advanced […]
Uruguay: Government will authorize this year equal marriage for foreign visitors
In addition to promoting the right to marriage between people of the same sex, it seeks to attract more tourists. It was announced by the Minister of Education and Culture, at the opening of the fourth Congress of the LGBT Chamber of Commerce and Business, which takes place until Wednesday at the Municipality of Montevideo. […]
“ONE OF A KIND” DAY OF EVENTS TO DRAW FRESH ATTENTION TO MARRIAGE EQUALITY BILL
An international conference on marriage equality will take place at the Czech Senate on Thursday, followed by a demonstration in support of the issue nearby. Organisers We Are Fair! are hoping those events will focus fresh attention on a bill, submitted well over a year ago, that would make the Czech Republic the first ex-Eastern […]
First same-sex weddings in Northern Ireland to take place on Valentine’s Day
The first same-sex marriages in Northern Ireland are set to take place on Valentine’s Day next year. Campaigners for marriage equality say British government ministers have confirmed same-sex marriage will be legal from January 13, with couples having to wait 28 days after they submit their notice of intention to marry before they can have […]
US citizen sues Japanese government for denying him long-term visa to be with husband
US citizen barred from receiving a long-term visa to live with his husband in Japan has sued the country’s government, claiming he is being denied a family life. Andrew High, who met his Japanese husband 15 years ago in the United States and married him there in 2015, legally challenged the Japan government on Wednesday. According to Japanese law, […]
Strange bed fellows unite to fight trans rights in Australia
Conservative Christians and feminist campaigners may seem unlikely bedfellows – but the two groups have found common cause when it comes to blocking transgender rights in Australia. Both argue that trans women pose a risk to women and children in changing rooms, toilets and rape shelters, in a microcosm of an increasingly vicious culture war […]
Opposition in Brazil blame political tone for anti-LGBT+ violence
The political opposition in Brazil on Wednesday said the government of President Jair Bolsonaro was failing to stop violent attacks on women and LGBT+ people that have risen in the past year. Research published this week showed murders of LGBT+ people rose more than 10% last year while reports of sexual violence increased 4% in […]
Homophobic hate crime reports soar but charges fall
The number of homophobic hate crimes reported to police have more than doubled in the past five years – yet only 8% result in prosecutions, figures show. Reports of homophobic abuse recorded by UK police forces soared from 5,807 in 2014-15 to 13,530 in 2018-19, according to the data. But the number of prosecutions dropped […]
Indian city encouraged trans people to apply for police force. Instead of being given jobs, they were outed
Forty young transgender folk in Chhattisgarh, a state in central India, left their jobs and homes when the local government announced a recruitment drive for trans police officers. Many of the applicants had previously been harassed or tortured by the police – but the promise of work, respect and escaping the fate of many trans […]
Local Groups Help LGBT Victims of Hurricane Dorian in Bahamas
Local LGBT and LGBT-friendly organizations are joining forces to get much-needed funds and supplies to LGBT Bahamians whose lives were upended after Hurricane Dorian. Thousands of residents of Grand Bahama and the Abaco Islands are relocating after the storm because they lack access to housing, food, and water. Among that population are presumed to be […]
Gay rights groups push for same-sex marriage in Chile
Gay rights activists are renewing efforts to legalize same-sex marriage in Chile. Two groups have formally asked the South American country’s controller-general to require President Sebastián Piñera’s government to promote a measure in congress to legalize same-sex marriage. The left-leaning administration of former President Michelle Bachelet promised the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in 2016 […]
The first same-sex weddings in Northern Ireland will take place on Valentine’s Day
Campaigners for marriage equality in Northern Ireland have confirmed that same-sex marriage will be legal from January 13 2020, with the first weddings taking place on Valentine’s Day. Northern Ireland is the only country in the UK where same-sex marriage is not legally recognised. On July 9, MPs voted overwhelmingly in favour of changing the law if […]