Belarus prepares law against ‘LGBT propaganda’
In Belarus, a draft law punishing the “promotion of non-traditional relationships” – which refers to LGBTQIA relationships – is being prepared. This development (or backward step, to be more apt) was announced by Belarusian state news agency Belta, which quoted the country’s prosecutor general, Andrei Shved, as saying that a bill was prepared establishing administrative […]
Nigerian Police threaten crackdown over viral LGBT TikTok trend
Nigerian police spokesperson ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi has vowed to crack down on a group of LGBT individuals featured in a viral video on social media. The threats were issued against participants in the queer edition of the trending TikTok “I am” challenge, where some LGBTIQ+ Nigerians disclosed their sexuality and gender identity on the social […]
China LGBTQ community hangs tough in dissent amid repression
In a scene like many played out in theaters around the world, last month a smiling dance performance director emerged from the wings after a show to thunderous applause, taking a bow with a rainbow flag bearing the slogan “Love is love, love and gender are unrelated.” But this scene was in China, and the […]
Idaho asks Supreme Court to let it enforce ban on transgender care
Idaho officials asked the Supreme Court to let the state enforce a strict ban on gender-affirming treatments for minors in an emergency request made public Monday by one of the groups involved in the case. The law, signed by Republican Gov. Brad Little last year, makes it a felony for doctors to provide medical treatment […]
Pride And The City: Creating Queer Third Spaces In Bengaluru
In the last few years, potentially due to the pandemic-caused confinement at home, the topic of third places has gained prominence in popular discourse. They can be described simply as a place of leisure and places for people to exist outside of home and work. According to Ray Oldenburg, who coined the term, they are […]
Landmark Victory for LGBTQ Rights: Hong Kong’s Highest Court Mandates Legal Framework for Same-Sex Unions
In a historic decision that reverberates through the corridors of justice and rights advocacy, Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal has decisively ruled in favor of LGBTQ activist Jimmy Sham, marking a significant turning point for the recognition of same-sex unions within the territory. This landmark ruling, delivered on a crisp morning in February 2024, […]
Russian security services drag ‘gay night’ party-goers out into snow and beat them
Russian police raided a party they accused of spreading LGBT propaganda and beat its attendees in the snow, as part of a crackdown sweeping the country. The Typography club in the city of Tula, 100 miles south of Moscow, was holding a night it described as promoting “love, openness and sexuality”. Though not advertised, overtly […]
Cameroon: A merciful principal confronts two lesbian students
Youth Day is a festival held on Feb. 11 each year in Cameroon to celebrate the potential of the nation’s young citizens. But for two LGBT youths, the lead-up to this year’s celebration turned into a time for anxiety and, unexpectedly, a bit of mercy. Traditional activities of Youth Day in Cameroon include parades and […]
Supreme Court Could Kill College Transgender Sports
Riley Gaines, a former NCAA athlete turned political campaigner, has expressed confidence the Supreme Court will end up ruling against transgender women being allowed to compete in women’s sport in school and college, in a “Title 9 case.” In 2022 Gaines, then a student and college swimmer at the University of Kentucky, tied with transgender […]
‘We’re Going to Stand Up’: Queer Literature is Booming in Africa
As a queer teenager growing up in northern Nigeria, Arinze Ifeakandu often found himself searching for books that reflected what he felt. He combed through the books at home and imagined closer bonds between the same-sex characters. He scoured the book stands in Kano, the city where he lived, hoping to find stories that focused […]
Christopher Luxon leaves Big Gay Out after heated protest
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has abruptly left the Big Gay Out festival in Auckland’s Point Chevalier after being confronted by Gaza protesters. The annual Pride event is being held today in Coyle Park as a celebration for Rainbow communities and their allies. At a media standup this morning, Luxon said he was looking forward to […]
Zimbabwe: Government Launches Scathing Anti-LGBTIQ+ Attack
In an extraordinary diatribe, the government of Zimbabwe has launched a scathing attack against a scholarship programme for LGBTIQ+ students, labelling LGBTIQ+ individuals deviants and aberrations who should be denied access to education. Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, on behalf of the government, issued a threatening and paranoid press statement on February 15th, condemning what he […]
Deep disappointment as St Vincent High Court fails to overturn discriminatory anti-LGBT laws
The Human Dignity Trust is deeply disappointed by today’s decision from the High Court in St Vincent and the Grenadines, that upholds the criminalisation of consensual, same-sex sexual activity. The High Court failed to overturn discriminatory anti-LGBT laws, inherited from colonial times. These laws target LGBT people by criminalising same-sex sexual activity, with punishment of […]
This map shows you where same-sex marriage is legal around the world
After Greece voted to legalise same-sex marriage this week, you may be wondering which countries across the world also have marriage equality. Luckily, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation have come up with a handy map to show the places that currently allow same-sex marriage. According to the HRC Foundation, which “tracks developments in the […]
Gay Conversion Therapy Roadshow Sparks Outrage in Albany, Western Australia
In the quiet streets of Albany, Western Australia, a storm brews, not of nature but of ideology. A recent event, dubbed the ‘Gay Conversion Therapy Roadshow,’ has ignited a fierce debate across the state and beyond. Organized by a local religious group, the roadshow’s aim to ‘convert’ gay individuals to heterosexuality has drawn the ire […]
Ghana lawmaker says jailing LGBT offenders would encourage sodomy in prison
A Ghanaian legislator has asked parliament to replace jail terms for gay sex with non-custodial sentences including counselling, saying the anti-LGBT bill currently making its way through the legislature would only encourage sodomy in prisons. A coalition of Christian, Muslim, and Ghanaian traditional leaders have sponsored the legislation, which is favoured by most lawmakers and […]
Teachers Sue Gavin Newsom Over Policy Forcing Them to Lie About Student’s Transgender Status to Parents
Two teachers have added the governor and attorney general of California to a lawsuit. The suit claims that state policies have forced educators to lie to parents by hiding the transgender status of their children from them. Elizabeth Mirabelli and Lori Ann West, two teachers at Rincon Middle School in Escondido, sued the Escondido Union […]
St. Vincent upholds laws criminalizing gay sex in Caribbean island nation in setback for activists
A top court in St. Vincent and the Grenadines upheld laws on Friday that criminalize gay sex, a blow to activists who have long decried the violence the LGBTQ+ community has faced on the conservative Caribbean archipelago. The ruling by St. Vincent’s High Court stems from a 2019 case filed by two gay men from […]
Zimbabwe Government Rejects LGBT Scholarship Offer as ‘Unlawful and Unchristian’
The Zimbabwean government has issued a stern rejection to what it labels as ‘so-called’ LGBT scholarships, branding them as unlawful and unchristian. In a recent press statement, the government criticized foreign interests for attempting to entice Zimbabwean students into what it described as “alien, anti-life, un-African and unchristian values.”
How Latin Americans Are Learning To Embrace The “Coming Out” Of LGBTQ+ Loved Ones
Jorge Apolaya, a 45-year-old Peruvian, is pained to recall his mother’s disappointment in 2007, when she heard him admit he was gay and liked men. Activists like him often say that they don’t want people to accept them, but to respect them. But the truth is that he did want his mother’s acceptance.
Lesbian couple make history as first to have their marriage recognised in Nepal
A lesbian couple has made history as the first to have their marriage recognised by the Nepalese government. In the capital city of Kathmandu, Anju Devi Shrestha and Suprita Gurung, both 33, became the first lesbian couple to register their marriage with the authorities, the Deccan Herald reported.
Greece legalises same sex marriage in landmark change
Greece’s parliament approved a bill allowing same-sex civil marriage on Thursday, a landmark victory for supporters of LGBT rights that was greeted with cheers by onlookers in parliament and dozens gathered on the streets of Athens. The law gives same-sex couples the right to wed and adopt children and comes after decades of campaigning by […]
India’s queer youth find both hope and despair online
In 2016, when Roshni Singh was in Class 9, Reliance Jio launched an offer wherein it provided customers with free SIM cards, along with 1 gigabyte of free internet per day. Singh’s parents procured a SIM card for the family, which she would use. The easy access to the internet opened up a whole new […]
State TV Host Apologizes for Homophobic Propaganda: A Turning Point for LGBTQ Rights in Poland
In a groundbreaking move, Wojciech Szeląg, a host on Polish state-run television, has issued an apology for the homophobic propaganda that was promoted on the air for several years. The apology comes as Poland experiences a shift in power, with liberal and centrist parties forming a new coalition under the leadership of Prime Minister Donald […]
Women’s Bill of Rights’ policies could impact daily lives of transgender community
Several states are considering legislation that would create legal definitions for “man” and “woman” based on their reproductive system. This controversial proposed legislation — dubbed by Republican lawmakers as the “Women’s Bill of Rights” — now seen in West Virginia, Iowa, Georgia, and other states has implications for the transgender community, which has been the […]
‘Grindr 7 gang’ | LGBTQIA victims often unsupported – Yaya Mavundla
It’s a sombre Monday morning when members and allies of the LGBTQIA community arrive at the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court. “Why are you subscribing to a gay dating app, when you are not gay?” are they are chanting through a handheld megaphone while leading the crowd of other members of the community, allies and the Joburg […]
Kansas AG says schools must out trans kids to their parents — even without a law requiring it
Kansas’s far-right Republican attorney general, Kris Kobach, has ordered school districts to out transgender, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming students to their parents, saying that failing to do so is a violation of parental rights. Kobach is making the move even though Kansas does not have a law requiring this disclosure. He had written letters last year […]
Anti-LGBT bills led to more suicides in Poland, research finds
Analysis led by Chad Meyerhoefer shows harmful effects regardless of whether laws passed, with potential parallels to current U.S. “bathroom bills.” A coordinated political effort against LGBT rights in Poland over the past several years has resulted in little substantive policy but substantial negative mental health outcomes for the country’s population, according to a study […]
No Longer Invisible, Greek Same-sex Couples Await Landmark Law
For as long as he can remember, 16-year-old Yannis Belia has had a “second mother” invisible in the eyes of Greek family law. That’s about to change this week, when lawmakers approve a historic bill legalising same-sex marriage and adoption. “Until now, my second mother has been like a ghost in the eyes of the […]
How Wanlov the Kubolor reacted to the revised anti-LGBT bill penalties
Ghanaian activist and musician, Wanlov the Kubolor, has reacted to the decision by the Parliament of Ghana to pass a bill that imposes severe sentences for anyone in LGBTQ+ activities, either as participants or promoters.