Judge rules transgender teen can temporarily play on girls’ soccer team amid new law
When the girls’ soccer team at Plymouth Regional High School in New Hampshire began practice on Monday to prepare for the start of the official season on Aug. 30, transgender athlete Parker Tirrell was able to join her teammates. That’s what a federal judge ruled on Monday after the families of two transgender teens — 15-year-old […]
Mpox not the new COVID, says WHO
The mpox outbreak is not another COVID-19, says the World Health Organization, because much is already known about the virus and the means to control it. While more research is needed on the clade 1b strain which triggered the UN agency into declaring a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), the spread of mpox can be […]
Closing the legal gaps: Advancing transgender justice in Pakistan
The legal recognition and protection of transgender rights in Pakistan has been subject to a complex interplay of societal norms, cultural practices, and legislative frameworks. A significant stride towards addressing the marginalization of this community was marked by the enactment of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act (TPPRA), 2018. While this legislation constitutes a […]
Canada: Anti-Israeli statement from major LGBT group causes rift among local progressives
An anti-Israeli statement issued in early August by Capital Pride in Ottawa, Canada, has sparked a major controversy and a rift among local progressives. In fact, some of the groups that had intended to participate in that organization’s events at next year’s Pride march, scheduled for May 25, have decided not to do so. In […]
Trump-stacked appeals court overturns trans worker’s court victory
A Georgia anti-trans discrimination ruling from May has been voided by an appeals court, half of whose judges were appointed by former President Donald Trump. The ruling concerns a transgender deputy who was denied equal medical care when the Houston County (Georgia) Sheriff’s Office refused to cover her gender-affirming care under their health insurance policy. […]
Same-sex couples and LGBTQ+ activists rally in Nepal’s capital during the annual Pride parade
Hundreds of LGBTQ+ people and their supporters rallied in Nepal’s capital Tuesday during the annual Pride parade, the first since gay couples were able to register same-sex marriages officially in the Himalayan nation following a Supreme Court order in Nov 2023. The annual event brings together the sexual minority community and their supporters in Kathmandu […]
East London bookshop and cafe described as a queer ‘haven’ fundraising to stay open
A bookshop and cafe in East London, seen as a “haven” for the LGBTQ+ community, has launched a fund-raiser to help the venue to keep going. The Common Press bookshop, in Shoreditch, has seen an “absolutely overwhelming” amount of support since launching its crowd-funder on Tuesday (13 August), and has already raised more than £8,000 […]
Did the Supreme Court just overrule one of its most important LGBTQ rights decisions?
The Supreme Court handed down a brief and very odd opinion on Friday that seemed to abandon its landmark civil rights decision in Bostock v. Clayton County (2020), a four-year-old case that compelled the Biden administration to write rules forbidding discrimination against gay and trans students. The Court’s new decision in Department of Education v. […]
QTalk: Nigerian pastor fights for identity after church rejection
Andrew, a 30-year-old gay man from Nigeria, turned to the Qtalk app for counseling after being dismissed from his pastoral role when his church discovered his sexuality. Andrew had devoted his life to his faith and congregation, and the abrupt termination left him feeling betrayed, isolated, and uncertain about his future. During the session, Andrew […]
Joburg Murder Sparks Transphobic Victim Blaming
The horrific murder of Clement Hadebe, a queer individual in Johannesburg, has sparked a flood of hateful, victim-blaming transphobic bigotry on social media. Reports of Hadebe’s death, believed to be a hate crime, went viral on Facebook on Monday, seemingly stemming from an initial article published by Moja Love’s ZiMoja website. The report stated that […]
Taiwanese public largely rejects gender self-identification, survey finds
A new study published in Archives of Sexual Behaviour reveals that an overwhelming majority of Taiwanese respondents strongly oppose gender self-identification for transgender women. Gender self-identification, particularly for transgender individuals, is a contentious issue in Taiwan, despite the progressive stance on LGBTQ rights in other areas. The Gender Recognition Act mandates proof of sex-reassignment surgery (SRS) for […]
China awards visitation rights to gay mom in historic first
In a legal first, China has granted visitation rights to a gay mom separated from her daughter for four years. The woman, identified by her nickname Didi, married her wife in the U.S. in 2016, according to reporting by the Guardian. Later that year, the couple underwent IVF treatment with embryos made from the wife’s eggs and […]
Outrage as librarians reveal UK schools are banning LGBT+ books after complaints from parents
LGBT+ books are being banned from UK schools after complaints from parents, librarians have revealed. A six-month investigation by Index on Censorship, the results of which have been shared exclusively with The Independent, found that 53 per cent of UK school librarians polled had been asked to remove literature and in more than half of those cases books were taken […]
Has Power Moderated Italy’s Leader? Not to Same-Sex Parents.
While their curly-haired rescue dog napped on the floor, an Italian couple logged on to a late-night video call with their American surrogate, sunbathing in her garden in Oregon. The fathers-to-be cooed as she told them she was playing fairy tales close to her belly that they had recorded for their future daughter. “And she […]
West Bengal: LGBTQIA community stages protest over Kolkata rape-murder
Amid widespread outrage and demands for justice following the rape and murder of a woman trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, members of the LGBTQIA community staged a protest here on Saturday, demanding justice for the victim. A member of the trans community told ANI that the police attempted to […]
Mpox is not a ‘gay disease’ – here’s what you need to know
The current mpox outbreak in Africa has left members of the gay community wondering how badly if it will affect them. The virus was first declared a global health emergency by the World Health Organization (WHO) in July 2022, after cases increased in Europe and the Americas. According to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), […]
Friends remember a young, gay Palestinian man who was murdered in occupied West Bank
ARI SHAPIRO, HOST: This next story takes us to the Israeli-occupied West Bank and the streets of Tel Aviv. But it’s not about the current war between Israel and Hamas. It’s about a murder exactly one year earlier, in October 2022. What Israeli media reported as an anti-gay hate crime, an NPR investigation found to […]
Bulgaria’s new anti-LGBTQ+ law is official. Opponents beg EU to take action.
Bulgaria on Friday officially published the text of a controversial law banning LGBTQ+ “propaganda” in schools after the country’s President Ruman Rudev failed to veto the bill on Thursday. The amendment to the country’s education code, which was introduced by the far-right, pro-Russian Revival party and unexpectedly backed by pro-European Union parties, prohibits the “propaganda, […]
Bulgaria’s new anti-LGBTQ+ law is official. Opponents beg EU to take action.
Bulgaria on Friday officially published the text of a controversial law banning LGBTQ+ “propaganda” in schools after the country’s President Ruman Rudev failed to veto the bill on Thursday. The amendment to the country’s education code, which was introduced by the far-right, pro-Russian Revival party and unexpectedly backed by pro-European Union parties, prohibits the “propaganda, […]
Friends remember a young, gay Palestinian man who was murdered in occupied West Bank
The murder of a young gay Palestinian man in the occupied West Bank has challenged the conservative community’s formal and informal systems of justice.
Supreme Court rejects Biden administration’s request to enforce new civil rights protections for LGBTQ+ students
The Supreme Court on Friday turned down a request from the Biden administration to enforce parts of a new federal rule meant to protect LGBTQ+ and pregnant students from discrimination in 10 states where the rule was put on hold by federal judges. The court announced its decision in an unsigned order that drew a […]
Anti-LGBT bias vs. medical advances against HIV: One nation’s story
While progress in medical technology has improved the prospect of HIV-positive people leading fulfilling lives, the challenge of expanding access to those treatments remains. The 25th International HIV/AIDS Conference last month in Munich, Germany, made clear that substantial progress has been made in terms of access to HIV treatment, despite COVID. But at the same […]
LGBT envoy heads to Leipzig after neo-Nazis spoil Pride march nearby
Berlin’s commissioner for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual rights, Alfonso Pantisano, said on Friday that he plans to support Leipzig’s Pride event after neo-Nazis marched at a similar rally nearby last week. Pantisano said he plans to be present to show solidarity and support for the gay and lesbian community in Leipzig on Saturday, after the […]
Activists sound alarm as gay exorcism cult seeks foothold in Scotland
As the Scottish government seeks to ban conversion therapy, it is granting charity status to a notorious cult that believes in witchcraft, advocates gay exorcism, and extolls the virtues of women providing on-demand sex for their husbands, the National Secular Society (NSS) announced this week. Forward In Faith Church International Incorporated (FIFCII) was founded in Zimbabwe in […]
OAS Creates New Position on Prostitute Rights
WASHINGTON, D.C. August 16 (C-Fam) The Secretary-General of the Organization of American States (OAS) announced the appointment of a lesbian activist to the newly-created position of OAS Commissioner for the Rights of Sex Workers. Gloria Careaga Pérez, a Mexican social psychologist, was formerly co-Secretary General of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA). She […]
Texas sues Biden again to block federal protections for transgender workers
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton returned to court on Thursday to press his case against the Biden administration’s workforce protections for transgender employees. Texas’s lawsuit, filed in federal court on Thursday against the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the U.S. Justice Department, argued that the agency’s guidelines were unlawful and asked that the court permanently block them. The EEOC’s […]
Faith and LGBTQ+ groups dismayed by abandoned push for religious discrimination protections
An equality campaigner has called Prime Minister Anthony Albanese “gutless” for abandoning plans to scrap the exemption that allows faith-based schools to discriminate against staff and students on the basis of their gender or sexuality. James Elliot-Watson — who said he was punished by his Christian school for being gay — said he is incensed by […]
Pope Meets Ugandan LGBTIQ Activist in Rome
In a historic moment, a Ugandan LGBTIQ activist has met with Pope Francis at the Vatican, reportedly receiving his support in the fight for equal rights. In a video and images posted on X by Chapter Four Uganda, the organisation’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer, Clare Byarugaba, is seen greeting and sitting next to the Pontiff. Byarugaba […]
Ukraine’s Other Revolution: Embracing the Rights Russia Would Deny
Putin’s Russia has become the poster child in the fight against the global LGBTQ movement, labeling any activists “extremists” and criminalizing any associated activities within its borders. As Russia wages this all-out assault against anything remotely queer, Ukraine is instead embracing our community as an indispensable part of their war effort, and moving toward a […]
Custody ruling in same-sex case hailed as LGBTQ+ milestone in China
A woman fighting a landmark LGBTQ+ custody battle in China said she “still has faith for the future” after winning the right to make monthly visits to her daughter. Last month, Didi, who is 42 and lives in Shanghai, travelled to Beijing to visit her seven-year-old daughter, who lives in the capital with Didi’s estranged wife and […]