LGBTQ+ activists forced to flee Jordan over government persecution
LGBTQ+ activists have been targeted by authorities in Jordan, in what human rights groups are calling a crackdown on free expression. Jordan’s General Intelligence Department (GID) and its Public Security Directorate reportedly intimidated several prominent activists in the country in an attempt to end gender and sexuality activism. Those targeted were reportedly threatened with violence, […]
Insecure and isolated: The ‘illegal’ life of Russia’s LGBT citizens
Draconian laws and repression are forcing Russia’s LGBT community out of the country, but those who cannot escape face an increasingly grim fate. “My friends and I definitely feel very insecure and isolated,” said Sophia Agapov, a member of St Petersburg’s LGBT community. “Literally every single step can lead to prosecution.” “It’s like a second […]
Outed on TikTok in Ethiopia: ‘How a dance nearly cost me my life’
When a clip of two men dancing at a party in Ethiopia was posted to TikTok, it unleashed a torrent of homophobic hatred and eventually forced one of them to flee the country. The pair were unaware they were being filmed. The videos were initially posted to Instagram where someone took a screenshot of them […]
Russia’s ‘Extremist’ Ban Fuels LGBT Flight
Russia’s recent “extremist” designation of a loosely defined “LGBT movement” has led to a surge in emergency evacuations from the country, independent media reported Tuesday, citing the European human rights group for post-Soviet LGBT people, Equal PostOst. Russia’s Supreme Court on Thursday banned the so-called “international LGBT movement” — which does not formally exist — […]
Pacific Northwest organizations work to support queer Indigenous youth
Hundreds of youth dressed as their authentic selves laughed, danced and watched Indigenous drag performers at a night celebrating queer joy last May. It was exactly the sort of event called for in a new report by the Trevor Project, finding that Indigenous LGBTQ2S+ youth face a significantly higher rate of mental health struggles compared […]
Where’s The Straight Flag? Controversy Over Yarra City Council’s Inclusive Flag Policy
Out gay President of a citizen’s group and former Angry Victorians Party candidate has asked what about “straight pride flag” after Melbourne’s Yarra Council announced its plans to fly around 20 flags through the year, including LGBTQI flags. Yarra Council, which has a diverse group of councillors that includes out LGBTQI councillors, recently updated its […]
Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill passes final hurdle in Parliament
In a historic development, South Africa’s Parliament has passed the amended version of the Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill. It will now go to President Cyril Ramaphosa for his signature. The bill was first adopted by the National Assembly in March after which it was sent to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) which […]
Attorneys general oppose proposed federal rule supporting LGBTQ foster kids
Nineteen states, including Nebraska, joined last week to oppose a proposed federal rule that aims to protect LGBTQ youth in foster care and provide them with necessary services. The attorneys general, led by Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, argue in a letter to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services that the proposed rule […]
Scottish Prison Service publishes new policy on the management of transgender people in custody
Transgender women with a history of violence against women and girls will not be held in female prisons – unless there is “compelling evidence” they do not present a risk, a new policy has stated. The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) has published its Policy for the Management of Transgender People in Custody. No transgender woman […]
‘Gay or not gay, Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act is coming for you,’ human rights lawyer warns
“Gay or not gay, Uganda’s AHA is coming for you.” That is human rights lawyer Nicholas Opiyo’s description of the effects of Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023 (AHA), a law that has been described as draconian by international organizations for its strict crackdown on homosexuality, including stiffer criminal penalties for same-sex intercourse, a prohibition on “promotion” […]
General Vannacci probed over anti-gay book
General Roberto Vannacci was notified on Monday that he is under investigation over a anti-gay book that he recently self-published and has become a best-seller. The general was given the notification after arriving at the Army’s Rome headquarters to prepare for a new role he has been assigned and immediately took a leave of absence […]
Premier League’s LGBTQ advice for Rainbow Laces riles Aussie rugby player
The Premier League’s phenomenal global reach is a major contributing factor to the impact of Rainbow Laces. It’s difficult to quantify exactly how many people the LGBTQ+ inclusion campaign reaches worldwide but we do know the league itself is one of the UK’s most successful exports with an estimated TV audience in the billions. Having two match rounds […]
One Hochemin Islam, our constitution, and ‘cisterhood’
Hochemin Islam, a prominent transgender rights activist, was set to speak at “Women’s Career Carnival” on November 24 at the capital’s North South University (NSU). However, the event, hosted by NSU’s Career and Placement Center (CPC) and organised by Heroes for All and iSocial Limited, did not finally have Islam on board. The decision to […]
Unapologetic Selfhood with Matta Zheng
In a photo series titled “DESPERATE BELONGING,” one of the images features a figure in a qipao and black heels standing expressionless on the sidewalk of a wide street in San Francisco’s Chinatown. Their face is painted entirely white, their eyes colored with the same magenta pigment as their lips. Two elderly Asian women are passing […]
Nepal’s first legally recognized gay couple vow to continue fighting for rights
Nepal’s first legally recognized gay couple have vowed to continue fighting for the rights of men and women who are just like them, citing that their groundbreaking marriage is just the first of many fights they have to undertake. Maya Gurung and Surendra Pandey — a trans woman and a cis man — only had their union […]
Islamic Group, MURIC Lists Bible, Quranic Verses Rejecting Same-Sex Marriage, Warns President Tinubu Not To Sign Pact
The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), an Islamic group, has asked President Bola Tinubu to shun the “LGBT accord which will legalise lesbianism, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) in Nigeria”. Quoting from the Bible in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, Leviticus 18:22 and Romans 1:26-27, MURIC warned the Nigerian government not to sign the “unholy” law. MURIC on […]
Is Argentina’s Milei a threat to LGBTQ+ rights gains?
The election of right-wing libertarian Javier Milei as Argentina’s president has put LGBTQ+ campaigners on alert in the country, long one of the most progressive in Latin America on gay and transgender rights. Milei, a former TV pundit and self-proclaimed “anarcho-capitalist” who favors looser gun controls and is staunchly anti-abortion, has drawn comparisons to former […]
Countries that criminalise gay sex are impeding fight against Aids, UN warns
Anti-homosexuality laws stop people from accessing lifesaving health services and seriously impede progress on eliminating HIV, a senior UN official has said. Sixty-seven countries have laws that criminalise gay sex, and nearly half are in Africa, the continent most affected by HIV. In those countries, prevalence rates are about five times higher among gay men […]
Police raid Moscow gay bars after top court’s LGBTQ ‘extremist’ designation
Russian security forces have raided gay clubs and bars across Moscow shortly after a ruling by the country’s top court that designated the LGBTQ movement as “extremist”. Police officers searched venues across the Russian capital late on Friday, including a nightclub, a male sauna and a bar that hosted LGBTQ parties, under the pretext of […]
How the war in Gaza leaves SF LGBTQ community at odds
A tight-knit community in San Francisco has suddenly found itself divided over the ongoing conflict in Gaza, leaving some feeling cut off from the support of their peers they’ve grown accustomed to. Nasser Mohamed, a Qatari queer and human-rights activist and physician, was devastated by the news of the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, he […]
A Raging Transgender Debate in the Netherlands
If you’ve followed the debate over treating gender-distressed youth, then you know that evidence-based policy changes, along with general public understanding, often lag the latest research. Such a gap might be less significant in other medical subfields, but it has incredibly high stakes in youth gender medicine. Given the nature of the treatments and their […]
The queer artist whose controversial street performances are taking on the Russian government
With a painted white face and head, wearing an all-white ensemble save for long black gloves and gigantic black platform stiletto boots, Gena Marvin teeters as she balances on snow-covered rocks. She poses for a photograph, the sea rippling gently in the background behind her contorted figure, frozen still in the arctic chill. It’s a […]
Fears rise for LGBTQ asylum seekers over Home Office hotel room-sharing push
Concerns are mounting for LGBTQ+ asylum seekers living in accommodation provided by the Home Office as the government ramps up its Operation Maximise exercise to “cram” more people into hotel rooms. A Guardian investigation has identified cases including that of a transgender man who slept on a staircase because he was afraid for his safety, […]
Nepal Registers Same-Sex Marriage – A First
For the first time ever a municipality in Nepal has followed an interim order by the country’s Supreme Court to register same-sex marriages. On November 29, authorities in Dordi, a municipality in the couple’s home district of Lamjung, legally recognized the marriage of Maya Gurung and Surendra Pandey. Gurung, a transgender woman who is legally recognized as […]
Activists condemn creation of Malaysian LGBT+ rehabilitation center
Bangkok, Dec 1 (EFE).- Activist groups called for a review of plans for the inauguration of a rehabilitation center for LGBT+ people and individuals considered “deviant” in Malaysia and reiterated their concern about possible human rights violations that this would imply. “Detaining people on the grounds of changing their SOGIE – sexual orientation, gender identity and […]
Russian LGBT groups begin process of dissolution in wake of Supreme Court’s ‘extremist’ ruling
Human rights groups have begun reacting to the decision by Russia’s Supreme Court on Thursday to deem the “International LGBT Public Movement” an “extremist organisation”. Gay human rights non-profit organisation DELO LGBT+ told Novaya Europe that it had dissolved itself in the wake of the court’s ruling. Konstantin Boykov, a lawyer for the group, said that some […]
Russian court bans ‘LGBT movement’ as ‘extremist’
Russia’s Supreme Court has ruled that LGBTQ activists should be designated as “extremists”, in a move that representatives of gay and transgender people fear will lead to arrests and prosecutions. The court ruled on Thursday that “the international LGBT public movement and its subdivisions” were extremist, and issued a “ban on its activities on the […]
LGBTQ+ Rights Group Sues Over Iowa Law Banning School Library Books, Gender Identity Discussion
Several families are suing to stop Iowa’s new law that bans books from school libraries, forbids teachers from raising LGBTQ+ issues and forces educators in some cases to out the gender identity of students to their parents. The American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa and Lambda announced the federal lawsuit Tuesday, saying the law passed […]
Gay activists in Russia fear arrest as top court weighs ‘extremist’ listing
Members of Russia’s LGBTQ community fear a court ruling due on Thursday will label them “extremists” and pave the way for arrests and prosecutions of those who speak out for gay and transgender people. Russia’s justice ministry asked the Supreme Court this month to recognize what it called “the international LGBT social movement” as extremist […]
We belong’: Muslim Kosovo’s first LGBTQ bar is booming
As the sun rises over Pristina, the call to prayer echoes through the Kosovo capital just as the patrons of its only LGBTQ bar wrap up a night of partying. Once a bastion of traditional values, Muslim-majority Kosovo has experienced a massive opening in the years since declaring independence from Serbia in 2008. With just […]