Thailand: PARTNERSHIP BILL MAY STILL NOT PASS NLA
Opinions are divided on the Life Partnership Bill, which is holding back some rights for same-sex couples, as the bill enters the final phase before becoming law. The LGBT community, on one hand, slams the bill for not recognising their rights – now limited to heterosexual couples – to adopt a child, receive a spouse’s […]
Anti-discrimination ‘We All Belong’ pledge launch
The ‘We All Belong’ campaign in Derry & Strabane have launched their pledge to tackle prejudice, racism, discrimination and all forms of hatred. Public representatives, as well as people with disabilities, LGBT groups and the PSNI, were among the first to sign the pledge, with Mayor John Boyle calling on people from across the city […]
Activists replace 200 Tube adverts with instructions on how to stop deportations
Campaign asks members of the public to protest deportations on commercial flights by refusing to take seat. Campaigners have “hacked” hundreds of adverts on the London Underground, replacing them with notices telling passengers how to disrupt attempted deportations on passenger airlines. The signs, branded “See It, Say It, Stop It” in reference to the British Transport Police’s “See It, Say […]
No ‘Gay Propaganda’ Found in Schoolchildren’s Art, Police Say
Police found no violations of Russia’s gay propaganda laws in confiscated children’s drawings from a school art exhibition after parents complained that they depicted same-sex couples. Russia outlawed “homosexual propaganda” among minors in 2013, a move that allowed courts to ban gay pride events and led to a surge in anti-LGBT sentiment. In November, police […]
Thailand cabinet approves the first draft of same-sex civil union bill
Thailand is moving forward in recognizing same-sex couples. Today the cabinet approved the first draft of a bill regulating civil partnerships. This paves the way for Thailand to become the first country in Asia to endorse same-sex marriage. In the current version of the bill, same-sex couples may adopt children if they are at least 20 years […]
Gay refugees escape Kakuma’s dangers, reach Nairobi’s squalor
The U.N. refugee agency has moved more than 200 gay refugees from dangers of Kakuma refugee camp to safety in crowded, unsanitary quarters in Nairobi. The O-blog-dee advocacy blog reported on the actions by the U.N. High Commission for Refugees( UNHCR). “At this time UNHCR has only been able to come up with a small compound consisting […]
Gay Life in Berlin Is Starting to Echo a Darker Era
Germany has long been lauded for its liberal attitude toward sex. It recently passed laws allowing same-sex couples to marry and adopt, and just became the first European country to legalize a third gender. But LGBT-rights groups have warned of a parallel rise of violent homophobia in mainstream politics. Since the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) Party stormed […]
Gay affirming Church launches day before Christmas in Uganda
A Church that does not view homosexuality as sin, and affirms the full inclusion of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender persons (LGBT) in ministry has been launched in Uganda. Sexual Minorities Uganda, a non-government organization that advocates for the protection and promotion of human rights for LGBT Ugandans on 23 December confirmed the grand opening officiated by […]
Peep Show’s Robert Webb slams trans charity that saves lives: ‘Mermaids sucks’
Peep Show star Robert Webb has attacked a UK charity that helps to save trans lives. The British comedian slammed Mermaids in a series of tweets that backed an article written by The Times’ Janice Turner. Turner accused the charity of lying to people using ‘cod science’. The Times also chose to not include Mermaids’ […]
AIDS council slams Jakim’s ‘conversion therapy’ for LGBTs
The Malaysian AIDS Council (MAC) has censured a purported revamp of the Malaysian Islamic Development Department’s (Jakim) outreach (Mukhayyam) programme to rehabilitate LGBT persons. Referring to a recent report by news portal SAYS, which recounted the testimony of former Mukhayyam attendees about how members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community were being […]
Indonesia’s president turns tough
Joko Widodo was welcomed as a fresh breeze when he stood for election as president of Indonesia in 2014. A stranger to the elites that had long dominated politics, he became a media darling by talking to ordinary people in the street, in what quickly became known as blusukan, roaming around. Now, facing re-election next […]
‘Badhais’ criminalised, LGBT community opposes LS Bill
At the office of the Shaan Foundation, which works with the LGBT community in the district, transgender persons begin a gathering early in the day, holding a ‘siyappa’ (a mourning rite). Cheekily, one of them chants, “Sarkar da siyappa kar rahe haan. Sade dhidd te latt marti” (We are protesting against the government. It has […]
Stonewall hits back at ‘inaccurate’ transgender lottery grant bias claims
Stonewall has responded to an “inaccurate” article by the Sunday Times about a grant reportedly awarded to the charity by the Big Lottery Fund. The piece claimed £500,000 was donated to the LGBT organisation for its transgender rights activism, leading to accusations that the Lottery broke its rules on political donations. It also stated transgender […]
Transgender university students told not to use men’s toilet
Two transgender students have received an apology from their English university after a security guard told them not to use the men’s toilets. The security guard allegedly asked the two students – who are both transgender men – why they had used the men’s toilet, according to the Telegraph. He then told them that there […]
Former Mr Gay World On India Becoming More Accepting Of LGBTQ In 2018
Members of the LGBTQ+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer) community thronged streets as they rejoiced in colours of love and pride. As we passed this test with rainbow colours, we speak to Mr Gay World India 2016, Anwesh Sahoo to share if things have only changed on paper this year.
Barbados LGBT community calls on Buju Banton to publicly denounce ‘Boom Bye Bye’
The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transsexual (LGBT) community has called on Jamaican dancehall recording artist Buju Banton, fresh from serving a prison sentence, to publicly denounce one of his most popular songs ahead of a performance scheduled here next year.
LGBTQ young homeless people often remain invisible when mainstream providers deliver services
Earlier this week, it was revealed that there has been a huge spike in deaths of homeless people sleeping on Britain’s streets. We’re shocked and extremely saddened to hear about the rise in deaths of homeless people on the streets, which is part of the social impact facing those experiencing or at-risk of homelessness in […]
Thousands of Canadians have signed petitions to ban conversion therapy
Thousands of Canadians have rallied behind two petitions calling for a nationwide ban of conversion therapy. It’s part of a wider global trend condemning the practice.
Neighbors cover street with rainbow flags after couple’s flag stolen
A suburban Illinois couple got the best gift they could have imagined this holiday season: a neighborhood filled with rainbows after their LGBT pride flag was stolen. Casey Handel and Zadette Rosado just moved into Barrington, northwest of Chicago, last May with their two daughters. They flew their rainbow flag behind their home. Two weeks ago, someone […]
Singapore government responds to court’s gay adoption decision
Singapore’s Minister for Social & Family Development Desmond Lee has commented on a recent court decision in the island nation that allowed a gay man to adopt the child he fathered oversees through a surrogacy arrangement. Singapore outlaws homosexuality, and does not formally recognize surrogacy or rainbow families, but the court ruled that it was […]
Cuban draft constitution passes without reference to marriage equality
Cuban lawmakers have unanimously passed a revised draft of a new constitution after a reference to marriage equality was removed. The draft had initially contained a statement in Article 68 that marriage is a union of ‘two people… with absolutely equal rights and obligations’. However, the amendment was removed from the draft earlier this week following […]
Apple Removes App Accused of Promoting Conversion Therapy
Truth Wins Out has won its battle to remove an app accused of promoting conversion therapy from the Apple Store. The national LGBTQ group had launched a petition Thursday demanding that Apple remove the “bigoted and hateful app” developed by Living Hope Ministries, a self-described “Christian ministry for sexual wholeness” based in Arlington, Texas. The app, Truth Wins Out claimed, was […]
Costa Rica passes decrees boosting LGBT rights
Costa Rica’s President Carlos Alvarado on Friday signed a number of decrees and norms granting various rights to the LGBT community. These measures will allow same-sex couples to receive an allowance for housing that is given to low-income families, recognizes mixed nationality homosexual couples and extends the recognition of gender identity to migrants, amongst others. […]
Pakistan will make it illegal to harass trans women in the workplace
Pakistan’s trans community is celebrating its inclusion in new laws which ban workplace harassment. The Sindh province, whose seat of government is in Karachi, has drafted a new bill which would outlaw harassment in the workplace. Sindh drafted the bill to go beyond the Federal Government’s 2010 law so that it was more inclusive of […]
India’s lower parliament house passes bill banning same-sex surrogacy
India’s LGBTI community has denounced a new surrogacy bill that would ban same-sex couples from hiring surrogates. The bill limits the practice to infertile couples who have been legally married in India for more than five years. On Wednesday (19 December), India’s lower of Parliament, the Lok sabh, passed the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill 2016. If passed […]
LGBTI Indonesians scared of government’s new app, report it to Google
A new government ‘heresy’ app in Indonesia has troubled the LGBTI community. Smart Pakem, developed by the Jakarta prosecutor’s office, allows everyday Indonesians to report complaints of ‘deviant beliefs’. It features a list of supposedly heretical organizations including their addresses and the names of their leaders.What’s more, the prosecutor may pursue charges under Indonesia’s archaic blasphemy […]
I was reborn here’: Gay Syrian refugee says Canada has welcomed him
Khaled was born in Syria, but his life began anew when he arrived in Canada as a refugee in 2015. “I was born there, but I was reborn here,” he said. Khaled is gay and he and his partner faced violence in Syria even before the country’s brutal civil war began. During the war, ISIS militants targeted […]
Inspirational LGBTI talk avoids China censors and goes viral
More than one million people in China have watched an online inspirational talk about LGBTI rights despite a government ban on homosexual content.Ah Qiang of PFLAG China discussed ’the power of being yourself’ at a Ginkgo Foundation talk in Beijing last month. He was the first LGBTI speaker to present at the foundation’s regular presentations by NGO and civil […]
This billboard message on LGBT rights in Delhi was lost in censorship
It’s business as usual in the bustling lane of Connaught Place’s Block B. But something new catches one’s eye: three new billboards depicting the LGBTQ community in India, have recently been added here. The billboard shows a mother with her son—who has his male partner next to him. The two men are seen cooking together and […]
CONIFA referee Raymond Mashamba, outed as gay in Zimbabwe, granted asylum in UK
Raymond Mashamba was being blackmailed over his sexuality by a former friend in Bulawayo before and during the CONIFA World Football Cup, an international tournament for teams not affiliated to FIFA at which Mashamba officiated in May and June. Details of the 30-year-old’s relationship with his then boyfriend were disclosed to members of their local […]