Transgender migrants find safe haven in Juarez
A rainbow flag sways in the wind outside a pink two-story house in an out-of-the-way Juarez neighborhood. Inside, 38 men and boys tell jokes, try on new skirts or dresses and help fix each other’s hair. The environment is cheerful, almost festive. Each laugh and smile helps these transsexual migrants from Central America overcome a […]
LGBT-community attacked in Kyiv
On June 16-23 a week in support of LGBT-community is held in Kyiv. On June 19, a group of perpetrators committed an attack at the participants of Kyiv rally, as the organizational committee of KyivPride reported on its official page. On June 19, the participants of the movement were attacked near IZONE creative space. Four […]
LGBT rights across the world: Progress achieved in 50 years
Fifty years since the 1969 Stonewall Riots in New York City, which sparked an LGBT liberation movement in the U.S. and elsewhere, 36% of countries are yet to decriminalise homosexuality. In other words, same-sex sexual acts remain a criminal offense in 71 conutries. In 6% of countries, homosexuality is punishable by death. In a report […]
Sinaloa Congress says no to same-sex marriage by 20-18
Sinaloa lawmakers voted Tuesday against a measure that would have legalized same-sex marriage in the state with 20 votes against and 18 in favor. Most of the yes votes came from the ruling Morena party, which holds 23 of the 40 seats in the Sinaloa Congress. But six defectors from Morena, along with deputies from […]
Liberal Democratic Party and tradition may stymie push for same-sex marriage in Japan
As Japanese lawmakers grapple with a landmark same-sex marriage bill, campaigners fear it may die at the first legislative hurdle as lawmakers pander to aging voters and old traditions. While surveys show overwhelming support for gay rights, most people who identify as LGBT say they keep their sexuality a secret in a nod to the […]
LGBT Refugees Allege Harassment in Kenya, a Rare Safe Haven
Burundi national Nina Muregwa says she feels threatened again. After escaping death threats back home over her sexual identity the 17-year-old thought she had found a sanctuary in Kenya. Recent incidents, however, have left her scared for her life once more. She and other LGBT refugees allege they have been harassed by police in recent […]
Jean Wyllys Travels Abroad and Says ‘Stupidity Virus’ Strikes Part of Brazil
Nearly a month after resigning from his political office and leaving the country under threat, former federal deputy Jean Wyllys is touring Europe giving talks on the political situation at home. He started in Berlin and claims to have already been invited to speak in Portugal, France, Sweden, and Canada. Not everyone is contaminated by […]
Malaysia PM Mahathir Mohamad: Gays shouldn’t get married because they can’t have kids
Malaysia Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has claimed that same-sex marriage is “regressive.” In an appearance at the Cambridge Union in the UK on Sunday (June 17), the 93-year-old leader railed against same-sex unions. He claimed: “I don’t understand this gay marriage. Marriage is about producing children. Gay marriage, do they get children? What do they […]
St. Lucia plans its first Pride celebration
The Caribbean island nation of St. Lucia is gearing up for its first Pride celebration, although it still clings to anti-gay laws. On paper, St. Lucia’s laws provide for up to 10 years in prison for same-sex intimacy., but the nation also hopes to expand its tourist industry, including LGBT tourism. ILGA’s “State-Sponsored Homophobia” reported […]
Mumbai LGBT film festival celebrates pride
A gay-and-lesbian themed film festival in Mumbai, said to be the biggest of its kind in India, concluded on Sunday (June 16), manifesting celebrations of colours, art, and artists. The 10th edition of the Kashish Mumbai International Queer Film Festival that began on Wednesday (June 12) had ‘over the rainbow’ as its theme. The festival […]
What it’s like to be gay and Qatari
Homosexuality is so taboo in Qatar that it doesn’t feature in public discourse, yet practically it very much exists. Being gay is frowned upon here, and a lot of people have this hate and anti-homosexual sentiment. But it’s complicated. I know of someone who has very homophobic views and is vocal in sharing these on […]
Scuffles break out at anti-trans rally in Vancouver
Tempers flared between pro- and anti-trans rights protestors in Vancouver on Saturday (15 June). Several hundred people from both sides converged outside the Vancouver Art Gallery in the early afternoon. The two sides – both chanting and carrying banners – were largely separated by a large police presence in British Columbia’s biggest city. While there […]
Zanele Muholi captures powerful portraits of South Africa’s LGBT community
Last week, Botswana’s High Court made history when it overturned colonial-era laws criminalizing consensual same-sex relations. The ruling, which came mere weeks after Kenya’s High Court ruled to uphold its own 19th-century laws criminalizing “carnal knowledge against the order of nature,” is being seen as a landmark victory for LGBTQ activists across the continent. The significance of the […]
The Lavender Scare: the shocking true story of an anti-LGBT witch-hunt
When Josh Howard began working on his documentary The Lavender Scare, way back in 2009, America was a very different place – not least for its LGBT citizens. Barack Obama had recently been elected president; one of his early actions, in a reversal of Bush administration policy, was to sign a UN declaration calling for […]
LGBT couple in landmark Hong Kong case say coming forward was vital to give encouragement to others
Having recently won a landmark court case against the government, Angus Leung Chun-kwong and his husband Scott Adams recalled giving their first press interview four years ago, holding hands on a windswept waterfront promenade. But Leung, a senior immigration officer, and Adams, a pilot, wanted to keep a low profile at the time, so they […]
The Biggest LGBT Center In The World Just Got Bigger — And Better
The construction wasn’t quite finished on the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s new Anita May Rosenstein Campus in mid-May. There was still caution tape on some of the planters outside, and men on ladders were drilling into ceilings, securing fixtures and sweeping up, like frantic workers in “The Truman Show.” But inside the sparkling glass complex, […]
Fighting For Recognition in Japan
When 13 LGBTQ couples sued the Japanese government earlier this year, arguing for legal recognition of same-sex marriage, it made headlines around the world as a historic moment in the country’s journey toward equality. But for the couples involved, it’s been a long journey – and one that legal experts say may last many more […]
Young people key to combatting homophobia: LGBT rugby chief
Educating young people about the evils of homophobia was a key message from Europe’s largest LGBT+ inclusive rugby tournament, the biennial Union Cup, held in Dublin last weekend, organisers said. Richie Fagan, chairman of the organisers and president of the Irish LGBT inclusive rugby club Emerald Warriors, invited his 12-year-old nephew’s school team to play […]
Teens on growing up LGBTI in Iran: ‘My boyfriend was killed’
Teens have opened up about what it’s like to grow up LGBTI in Iran. Dozens of young people revealed they are ‘depressed’ and ‘frustrated’ by living in the Muslim-majority country. One even also said his boyfriend was killed by family members. The messages came after a tweet went viral among young people in Iran and […]
Male couple refused entry to restaurant ‘because a couple is a man and woman’
A male couple were told they couldn’t dine at a restaurant in the northern city of Nazareth Illit because the special event was reserved for families and couples, and a couple had to be a man and a woman. The incident occurred on Friday, as an estimated 250,000 people parade through the streets of Tel […]
Legalising homosexuality: Germany did it 25 years ago – what about other European countries?
This week Germany celebrated legalising homosexuality twenty-five years ago. Until June 11, 1994, it was still considered a crime in Germany even though since 1969 homosexuals were no longer prosecuted for “fornication”. Eighteen years ago, it became legal for same-sex couples in Germany to register their partnership and since 2015, people in a partnership can […]
‘Police are a force of terror’: The LGBT activists who want cops out of Pride
It took half a century, but this LGBT Pride month, the New York police department (NYPD) finally apologized for the infamous 1969 raid on the Stonewall gay bar. Some queer New Yorkers had a simple response: apology not accepted. “It was a symbolic PR stunt,” said Colin P Ashley, a local queer black activist. “The […]
Understanding of LGBT realities ‘non-existent’ in most countries, says UN expert
In a statement issued ahead of presenting his latest report to the Human Rights Council later this month, Victor Madrigal-Borloz urged States to collect more data in an effort to understand the root causes of violence which is often routinely directed towards Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) people in societies across the world. “States […]
Detective investigated for calling for execution of LGBT people
A church sermon by a sheriff’s detective is being investigated after it called LGBT+ people to be arrested and executed. The Knox County Attorney General’s Office is looking into the hour-long sermon delivered by Detective Grayson Fritts, who is also a pastor at the All Scripture Baptist Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. Fritts told his congregation […]
Brazilian president says decision to criminalise homophobia ‘completely wrong’
Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro criticised the country’s Supreme Court after they ruled to criminalise homophobia, making it a crime equivalent to racism in Brazil. Bolsonaro told reporters on Friday the Supreme Court was “completely wrong” and had overstepped its powers, moving into legislative territory. Judges who voted for the criminalisation of homophobia felt that in […]
Malaysian human rights group reject LGBTI rights in letter
A Malaysian human rights campaigner has rejected LGBTI rights, claiming they are a ‘western import’. Azril Mohd Amin from the Centre for Human Rights Research and Advocacy (Centhra) wrote a letter to the New Straits Times condemning the pursuit of LGBTI rights. Centhra are a coalition of Islamic NGOs. They argue that while they respect […]
Gay people unlikely to report intimate partner violence: expert
It is possible that more that 90 percent of individuals subject to intimate partner violence in homosexual relationships in Taiwan do not seek help from government-run support networks, Fan Kuo-yung (范國勇), a former member of the Executive Yuan’s Gender Equality Committee said Friday. According to the World Health Organization, intimate partner violence is one of […]
AP Explains: The rocky rise of LGBT rights in Latin America
Despite a dark past, today many LGBT citizens in Latin America are enjoying the right to marry, choose their gender identity and adopt children. But while laws in several of the region’s biggest countries are changing that doesn’t necessarily translate into a broader societal shift toward acceptance. Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court ruled Thursday that sexual […]
Same-sex couple on viral London bus attack: ‘We were just sexual objects’
A same-sex couple have opened up about the homophobic and misogynistic attack they suffered on a bus in north London. A picture of a bloody and crying couple went viral last week. The picture was of medical student Melania Geymonat and American-born Chris on a bus after being attacked by a group of young men. […]
Supporters and opponents of LGBT pride march clash in Tbilisi
Participants of a protest demonstration of LGBT activists in the center of Tbilisi in front of the government office building clashed with Orthodox activists last evening. The latter tried to prevent LGBT activists from carrying out a demonstration, during which several people were detained by police. LGBT activists and human rights activists decided to hold […]