‘Dedicated LGBT cell need of the hour’: Priya Dutt
Extending support to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community, Priya Dutt, the Congress candidate from Mumbai North Central constituency, on Sunday said she would push for formation of a dedicated cell in the party for the community. “Congress president Rahul Gandhi feels strongly about LGBT rights. We want to make it happen across […]
‘Stigma does not go away’: Mumbai’s dedicated LGBT health clinic
Vivek Sharma has travelled 20km from his home to the congested eastern suburb of Mumbai for his HIV treatment. But the journey is no hardship for the 23-year-old student. “My file was shifted to this clinic. I am so happy that this has finally happened.” Sharma, who is bisexual, is waiting in the reception of […]
United Methodists edge toward breakup over LGBT policies
There’s at least one area of agreement among conservative, centrist and liberal leaders in the United Methodist Church: America’s largest mainline Protestant denomination is on a path toward likely breakup over differences on same-sex marriage and ordination of LGBT pastors. The differences have simmered for years, and came to a head in February at a […]
More needs to be done’ to support North-East LGBT community
A LEADING campaigner who believe life is improving for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community says that much more needs to be done to bring about more change in the region. The North-East still lags behind other parts of the country on levels of acceptance and especially trans-inclusion, with some still living in fear […]
Court lifts ban on LGBT Pride events in Turkey’s capital city
LGBT+ Pride events can now be held in Ankara, the capital city of Turkey, as a court has lifted a ban that previously prohibited such celebrations. The news was announced on Thursday 19 April, explaining that it was Turkish LGBT+ rights group Kaos GL that managed to get it appealed. The organisation had previously attempted […]
Our time to seek justice is now’: Transgender woman speaks for first time since Oak Cliff attack
A transgender woman made her first public comments Saturday, a week after she was attacked by a large group in east Oak Cliff. Edward Dominic Thomas was arrested days after the attack on a transgender woman in east Oak Cliff. Edward Dominic Thomas was arrested days after the attack on a transgender woman in east […]
Lyra McKee: kindness defined her, we must fight for her memory
Like a lot of gay people, Lyra McKee spent a long time hiding first. Of course she did. The Bible told her she was going to Hell. Her society told her she was going to be ostracized or worse. Because she was young and smart she quickly figured out their Faustian bargain: to be that, […]
Converse releases new Pride collection that features both rainbow and trans flag designs
Converse has unveiled its Pride collection for 2019 and we couldn’t be happier to finally see the flag that represents the transgender community be included in the designs for the first time. The collection features eight different styles, with boasting just the colours of the rainbow flag while the others are decorated in the pastel […]
Honduran transgender woman freed after a year in US detention
A Honduran transgender woman who was detained in a US immigration facility for seven months despite being granted asylum has been released after a legal challenge. Nicole García Aguilar was freed from the Cibola County detention facility in New Mexico on Wednesday night, a week after lawyers filed a habeas corpus writ challenging her unjustified […]
THOUSANDS TURN OUT TO SAY NO TO SAME-SEX MARRIAGES IN CAYMAN
An estimated 2,000 people filled Cayman’s capital on Saturday (13 April) to rally against same-sex marriage in the Cayman Islands. It comes on the heels of the Government saying it will appeal a court decision made last month that would allow same-sex couples to marry in Cayman. The protest was called “say no to same-sex […]
LGBT ally and psychiatrist who argued homosexuality isn’t a disorder dies
A pioneering LGBTQ ally and psychiatrist has died at the age of 82. Richard Green was one of the first psychiatrists to speak out against labelling homosexuality as a mental disorder. His son, Adam Hines-Green, told the New York Times his father died of esophageal cancer on 6 April at his London home. In 1972, […]
China’s largest e-commerce site removes LGBTI products
China’s largest e-commerce site, Taobao, began removing LGBTI-themed items from online stores this week. Taobao, owned by Chinese billionaire Jack Ma, told Vendors selling products such as rainbow clothing and accessories that ‘erotic, violent and vulgar content’ was not allowed. It told Hu Nao, a 27-year-old from ShanDong who sells handmade rainbow accessories, the company […]
Northern Ireland Mourns Lyra McKee, Journalist and LGBT Activist Shot at Nationalist Riot
Lyra Mckee, a young journalist and activist for LGBT rights in Northern Ireland, was killed Thursday night by a bullet fired in the direction of police officers during a riot in the northwestern city she advised people to call neither Derry nor Londonderry, but “LegenDerry.” McKee, who was 29, was mourned in a series of […]
Jamaica: Gay panic defense in killing of Pride icon
The man who killed fashion designer Dexter Pottinger had his murder charge reduced to manslaughter after he told Jamaican authorities that he stabbed Pottinger 25 times after Pottinger appeared to him naked and aroused. Tattoo artist and thief Romario Brown pleaded guilty to the manslaughter charge on April 10. Pottinger was a fashion designer, video […]
Russian LGBT activists arrested in St.Petersburg Day of Silence protest
A group of Russian LGBT+ activists have been arrested in St. Petersburg during an annual “Day of Silence” protest for sex and gender equality. Some 11 people were detained by police on April 17, including Daniel Maksimenko, who spoke to reporters at local news. “The police are going to detain everyone who walked with their […]
Trans weddings in Japan: forced surgery before ‘I do’
For Tacaquito Usui to marry his partner, Japanese law first requires him to undergo sterilisation surgery and be diagnosed with a mental disorder because he is transgender. Usui, who lives with his partner and stepson after coming out as trans five years ago, lost a three-year legal bid to change the rules in January. “If […]
Amnesty to monitor Italian politicians’ social media for hate speech
The Italian arm of Amnesty International said it would be tracking comments posted amid concerns verbal and physical violence is on the rise under Italy’s populist government. The global advocacy organisation is asking candidates across Europe to become more involved in issues such as climate change, women and LGBT rights, and migrants and refugees. But […]
Opinion: Nigeria is a cold-blooded country for gay men-I have the scars to prove it
In 2017, I started A Nasty Boy magazine to validate and affirm the lives and experiences of gay men in Nigeria. I hoped that it could contribute, in some way, to broader tolerance for the LGBTQ+ community across the country. I wanted to start meaningful conversations around gender norms and masculinity that speak specifically to […]
Politicians urged to cut ties with ‘homophobic’ pastor
Two assembly members have been urged to sever their links with a controversial pastor who claimed homosexuality is a “sin”. Yang Tuck Yoong called homosexuality an “abomination” during a sermon. Darren Millar and Russell George are trustees of the Evan Roberts Institute which has financial links with the pastor’s Cornerstone Community Church. They say they […]
Thousands feared at risk after Mexico reforms HIV+ regime
Thousands of Mexicans living with HIV or at risk of infection could be left without life-saving services after the government changed the way it funds treatment, according to public health experts and LGBT+ rights advocates. Reforms announced last month to centralize drug procurement risk sparking shortages, they say, while the government counters that it has […]
Weibo Reverses Ban on Lesbian Content Amid Uproar
Lesbian content was banned on Sina Weibo last week, with related same-sex discussion forums and LGBT hashtags removed from the popular microblogging site. This censorship operation comes almost exactly one year after the microblogging platform made similar attempts to remove gay-themed content in an effort to “clean up” the site last April, before the decision […]
Buttigieg shrugs off anti-LGBT protesters in Iowa swing
Pete Buttigieg is confronting another sign that his history-making candidacy is rising to the top tier of the Democratic presidential race: protesters. A few anti-LGBT protesters, including religious activist Randall Terry, have interrupted the South Bend mayor, who is openly gay, at nearly all of his stops in Iowa this week — from a man […]
Colombians stage kiss-a-thon in support of LGBT rights
Dozens of same sex couples kissed simultaneously outside an upscale shopping mall in Colombia’s capital Wednesday, in the latest demonstration calling for LGBT rights in the South American country. The “kiss-a-thon” was held just days after two gay men in their early 20s were harassed at the Andino shopping center by a man who pushed […]
Russia transgender woman wins case in rare win for LGBT rights
When Anastasia, a Russian transgender woman, took her employer to court for firing her after a gender reassignment operation, she did not expect to win. “I knew the chances were slim, I understand what country I live in,” the 43-year-old told AFP in her native Saint Petersburg. But in the first known case of its […]
‘DRAG STORY TIME’ CANCELLED AT IRISH LIBRARY AFTER ‘VIOLENT HOMOPHOBIC’ MESSAGES
A drag collective have announced their event with Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council has been cancelled due to ‘age appropriateness’. Glitter Hole had arranged to read children’s stories at a library in June as part of Pride, a festival which celebrates the LGBT community. Following news that the event, Drag Story Time, had been cancelled, […]
Malaysian LGBT rights activist Numan Afifi questioned by police
Malaysian LGBT+ rights activist Numan Afifi is being questioned by police over a speech highlighting discrimination against the queer and trans community. Afifi, who founded a LGBT+ rights group in Malaysia, raised concerns alongside a coalition of human rights organisations at a United Nations conference in Geneva last month. “The statement that I read was […]
LGBT couples speak of their suffering in lawsuit seeking marriage for all in Japan
In the first oral argument of an unprecedented trial challenging the constitutionality of Japan’s same-sex marriage ban, LGBT couples spoke Monday of their experiences, aiming to highlight the social stigma and discrimination affecting their lives, and called for the government to recognize their right to marry. Thirteen couples of various age groups, from their 20s […]
New gay rights coin divides LGBT community — and outrages social conservatives
A new dollar coin designed to commemorate 50 years of homosexual rights has sparked a dual backlash — from both members of Canada’s LGBT community and from a social conservative group. The loonie, to be launched April 23 at an invitation-only event in Toronto, will feature a stylized depiction of two overlapping human faces within […]
Peru law-and-order official takes on new battle: legalizing gay marriage
Susel Paredes often finds herself in dangerous situations, donning a bulletproof vest to lead high-profile police operations and breaking up cartels of street vendors in one of the grittier parts of Peruvian capital Lima. Now the short, curly-haired city official is taking on a more personal battle: legalizing gay marriage in the conservative, majority-Catholic country […]
LGBT Syrian refugees launch legal challenge against UK Home Office ‘abandonment’
Fifteen LGBT Syrian refugees, living in Turkey, launched a legal claim against the UK Home Office on Monday. The group claim the British government has abandoned them despite assurances they will be brought to the UK. The 15 refugees were accepted by the Home Office onto a resettlement scheme that curtails the lengthy asylum process, […]