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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
Weibo is removing content with the #les hashtag
The Chinese microblogging website Sina Weibo has reportedly been removing posts and comments with the hashtag #les. The ban on the term, which is short for lesbian, was discovered by users who use the site’s “super topic” feature, where people can create online communities using a hashtag. Prior to its removal, the #les hashtag’s “super […]
Millennial activism: Daryl Yang fights for LGBT issues and more
In 2014, the Health Promotion Board (HPB) published a set of FAQs on youth sexuality and received backlash for being affirming of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) experiences. There was even a petition asking for it to be taken down. Mr Daryl Yang, then 20, organised at least 20 other young people to write […]
Baby boomers ‘de-gay’ to survive life in Scottish care homes
Baby boomer LGBTQI people in care homes are “de-gaying” themselves to hide their sexual or gender identity for fear of bullying and discrimination from staff and other residents, a film maker has said. Glenda Rome’s film, Return To The Closet?, featuring Scots who lived in some of the toughest times to be gay, will be […]
Gay hunters: How criminal gangs lure men on dating apps before extorting cash and beating them
It was supposed to be a harmless liaison, starting as it sometimes did: an attractive profile on a gay site, a few messages about nothing much at all, an exchange of photos, and an agreement to meet. Sergei, 38, surname withheld, says he felt something wasn’t quite right about his date when they met in […]
OutSaskatoon gets $1.1M to help LGBT survivors of gender violence
OutSaskatoon says $1.1 million in new federal funding to provide support for LGBT people, particularly youth, who are survivors of gender-based violence will help the organization make a difference in a community disproportionately affected by violence. Rachel Loewen Walker, executive director for the organization, called the five-year commitment from the federal government for two projects “phenomenal.” […]
PM: I cannot tell why LGBT Forum was canceled in Yerevan
The rule of law operates in Armenia, and all citizens have the same rights and obligations, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said during PACE spring session. His remarks came in response to comment on PACE delegate’s quoting about the LGBT Forum in Yerevan last November.
Brunei once held off on strict Islamic law to stay in a U.S.-backed trade pact. Then Trump pulled out.
When more than 100 members of Congress raised worries in 2014 over plans to include Brunei in a sweeping Pacific trade deal, envoys from the tiny sultanate rushed to Washington with a message: We may be thinking about stricter Islamic laws, but we won’t really enforce them. The damage-control mission by Brunei — an oil- […]
Navy will allow off-duty sailors to ‘live socially’ according to their preferred gender, but not do so on duty
For transgender people in the U.S. military, April is shaping up to be a bittersweet month. But mostly bitter. Just a few days before the implementation of President Trump’s ban on transgender troops, a clarification from the Navy on the dress code of sailors could be perceived as a consolation prize, but it might feel […]
Barbados: No jail time for violent attack on trans activist
Brandon Coward, who attacked Barbadian trans woman Alexa Hoffmann with a meat cleaver on February 18, 2018, was today convicted in the Oistins Magistrates Court by Magistrate Elwood Watts and ordered to compensate Alexa BD$460 (about CAD$306) [about U.S. $230] or face three months in prison. The gruesome attack left Alexa with serious injuries, including […]
Turkish professor calls homosexuality a ‘secret service conspiracy’
A Turkish professor has said homosexuality is a “secret service plot” employed by unnamed actors against countries that are seen as a threat, news website T24 reported on Friday. “In this way, they (secret services) put an end to population increases of societies considered a threat. This is completely a secret service plot and treason. […]