Unpacking Indian Supreme Court’s verdict on same-sex marriage
India’s top court has declined to grant legal recognition to same-sex marriages, drawing criticism from LGBTQ rights activists, who dubbed the verdict “regressive”. “The court has failed its duty to uphold the constitutional rights of the people of India not to be discriminated on the basis of their sexuality,” Pyoli Swatija, a lawyer at the Supreme […]
LGBTQ+ community in Kenya defies anti-gay protests
The LGBTQ+ community in Kenya is fighting back against recent anti-gay protests pushing for the curtailment of their rights as they seek recognition and acceptance. Recently, anti-gay protests have taken place following a court ruling last month by Kenya’s Supreme Court to reaffirm the LGBTQ+ community’s right of association. Kenya’s laws outlaw same-sex relationships, but […]
Hong Kong court rules that gay couples get equal housing rights
A Hong Kong court on Tuesday dismissed a government bid to deny same-sex married couples the right to rent and own public housing saying that it was “discriminatory in nature” and a complete denial of such couples’ rights. The ruling by Hong Kong’s Court of Appeal is the latest in a series of legal breakthroughs […]
India’s Supreme Court refuses to legalize same-sex marriage, says it is up to govt
India’s top court on Tuesday refused to legalize same-sex marriages, passing the responsibility back to Parliament in a ruling that disappointed campaigners for LGBTQ+ rights in the world’s most populous country. Chief Justice DY Chandrachud also urged the government to uphold the rights of the queer community and end discrimination against them. Earlier this year, […]
National Meeting for the Platform of Gay and Bisexual Rights 2024-2030, Chiapas, Mexico
The energy and determination were evident, demonstrating that, through unity and collective action, challenges can be overcome to create a more inclusive and respectful society.
Poland’s LGBTQ+ community celebrates right-wing election losses: ‘We’ll fight for the future’
LGBTQ+ people in Poland are celebrating after the country’s right-wing government lost its majority in a landmark election, paving the way for long overdue progress on queer rights. LGBTQ+ people in Poland are celebrating after the country’s right-wing government lost its majority in a landmark election, paving the way for long overdue progress on queer […]
FBI crime statistics show anti-LGBTQ hate crimes on the rise
Anti-LGBTQ hate crimes rose sharply in 2022, jumping more than 19 percent over 2021, according to the FBI’s annual crime report released Monday. More than 11,600 hate crime incidents were reported to the FBI in 2022, the highest number recorded since the agency began tracking them in 1991. A majority of hate crimes recorded last […]
Japan Court Rules Against Mandatory Transgender Sterilization
A Japanese family court has ruled that the country’s requirement that transgender people be surgically sterilized to change their legal gender is unconstitutional. The ruling is the first of its kind in Japan, and comes as the Supreme Court considers a separate case about the same issue. In 2021, Gen Suzuki, a transgender man, filed […]
India’s top court is set to rule on same-sex marriage.
It wasn’t love at first sight when Aditi Anand met Susan Dias at a book club in Mumbai. “We didn’t get along with each other at all,” Anand, a filmmaker, said with a smile as she recalled the encounter. “We were always antagonistic toward each other’s views on the books we were reading.” Weeks later, […]
LGBTQ+ Groups Denied Registration Even After Supreme Court Decision in Eswatini
In a move sparking international concern, the government of Eswatini has declined to register an LGBTQ+ rights group, Eswatini Sexual and Gender Minorities (ESGM), defying a ruling by the country’s Supreme Court. The decision, unveiled in late September by the Eswatini Commerce, Industry, and Trade Ministry, as reported by the Washington Blade, underscores a widening schism between the nation’s judicial […]
Why Black women face barriers to accessing PrEP, an HIV-preventing drug
Alexis Perkins thought her OB-GYN’s office in Atlanta would be just the place to get a prescription for the type of drug that reduces a person’s risk of contracting HIV. But during a recent visit, the medical assistant who greeted her had not heard of the medicines known as preexposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, and she seemed […]
South African transgender pilot fights to return to the skies
An experienced South African transgender pilot says that his flying career has been unfairly grounded by the aviation authorities due to his gender identity. Kailer Smit, 32, based in Pretoria, dreamed of becoming a pilot from a young age. “It was on December 12, 2011, during a flight with my family as a ten-year-old, that I […]
The ‘gay tax’ facing same-sex couples starting a family
Same-sex couples are still having to pay thousands of pounds before they can access NHS fertility treatment, BBC News has found. In England, the NHS will fund in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) for heterosexual couples who have been trying for a baby unsuccessfully for at least two years and meet certain other criteria such as age and […]
South African LGBTQI+ rights are still something to fight for
We know how brilliant our country’s Constitution is, and how well it protects the rights of LGBTQI+ people. There is no constitution like it on the continent of Africa. However, how many of us know exactly what our rights are? Coenraad Kukkuk is an attorney with extensive knowledge of LGBTQI+ rights in South Africa. He […]
Poland’s LGBTQ-friendly businesses roll on despite politics
Poland’s capital, Warsaw, has become a center for multinational companies and global investment banks to set up offices, as the country aims to become Central Europe’s financial hub. But, a few streets away from the bustle of Warsaw’s business district, in the basement of a residential building, Sebastian Wareluk’s sewing machine whirs constantly. Wareluk and […]
‘You left Russia, but Russia never left you’: Queer couple scarred after fleeing anti-LGBTQ+ violence
Max and Sasha are just two of the many LGBTQ+ people who have joined the mass exodus fleeing Russia to avoid violence, discrimination and war. Now, the queer Russian-Ukrainian couple are left with the scars of living under Vladimir Putin’s repressive regime. Putin’s obsession with rejecting what he sees as Western “degradation” has led to […]
After Years of Erasure, Black Queer Leaders Rise to Prominence in Congress and Activism
On the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington this summer, a few Black queer advocates spoke passionately before the main program about the ongoing struggle for LGBTQ+ rights. As some of them got up to speak, the crowd was still noticeably small. Hope Giselle, a speaker who is Black and trans, said she felt […]
Supreme Court ruling tells LGBTQ people in Mauritius that their dignity is valued: UN expert
Mauritius’ Supreme Court decision to decriminalise same-sex relations amongst consenting adults is a crucial step forward for equality, a UN human rights expert said today. “I am profoundly encouraged by the Supreme Court’s findings, which evoke the principle of equality and the imperative of respecting all the elements that create a person’s identity and their […]
Gay and targeted in Uganda: Inside the extreme crackdown on LGBTQ rights
At a small shelter in Uganda, members of the LGBTQ community seek refuge from persecution after their government enacted one of the world’s harshest anti-homosexuality laws earlier this year. Henry, whose full name is being withheld for safety reasons, runs the shelter along with a local clinic he says also serves the general community. “Somebody […]
25 years after Matthew Shepard’s death, LGBTQ+ activists say equal-rights progress is at risk
It’s been 25 years since Matthew Shepard, a gay 21-year-old University of Wyoming student, died six days after he was savagely beaten by two young men and tied to a remote fence to meet his fate. His death has been memorialized as an egregious hate crime that helped fuel the LGBTQ+ rights movement over the ensuing […]
Turkey: 90 per cent of LGBTQ+ people facing digital violence
New research has determined that 90 per cent of LGBTQ+ people in Turkey are regularly subjected to digital violence. The study, conducted by advocacy group KAOS GL, found that this digital violence, which typically starts with insults and swearing, quickly escalates to stalking, blackmail, harassment, deadnaming, doxing, and hate campaigns. Researchers, who surveyed 305 people and […]
Hundreds protest outside Downing Street after Rishi Sunak’s anti-trans comments
Hundreds of trans activists gathered outside Downing Street this week to protest against comments Rishi Sunak made at the Tory party conference. Activists from across the UK joined together outside the gates of Number 10 to chant messages of pro-trans solidarity in response to the government’s growing animosity towards the transgender community. The prime minister […]
Hundreds oppose LGBTQ people during slanderous Kenyan protest
Human rights organizations have condemned an anti-LGBTQ protest attended by hundreds who chanted hateful and misleading slogans in Nairobi, Kenya, last week. Erasing 76 Crimes presents this account from the EFE News Agency below, along with resources to help fight back against anti-LGBTQ slander. The EFE news agency reported: Hundreds of people took to the streets […]
Nepal Courts Refuse to Register Same-Sex Marriages
Two lower courts in Nepal have denied a couple recognition of their marriage, in defiance of the Supreme Court’s recent interim order to register same-sex marriages while legislative change is pending. The couple – Maya Gurung and Surendra Pandey – are considering seeking redress at the Supreme Court. Gurung, a transgender woman who is legally recognized as male, […]
A transgender student, her crusading mom — and an English teacher caught in the middle
GRAPEVINE, Texas — High school teacher Em Ramser felt her stomach drop when she noticed an empty seat in her second-period English class one morning in January 2021. “You know you get that sudden feeling,” she said, “where you know something is really wrong?” The missing 14-year-old student reminded Ramser of herself when she was that […]
Kenya to lose huge funding if LGBTQ practices banned, report says
A new study has raised concerns over the economic repercussions in Kenya in the event the government enacts legislation against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ). Kenya risks serious economic ramifications estimated at Ksh4.186 trillion ($28.13 billion) if President William Ruto assents to the Family Protection Bill fronted by Homa Bay Member of Parliament […]
NHS report reveals no change in blood safety since allowing gay and bi men to donate
There has been no impact on safety since UK rules changed to permit gay and bisexual men to donate blood, a NHS report has revealed. Findings from the Safe Supplies 2022: monitoring safety in donors and recipients report, produced jointly by NHS Blood and Transplant and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), show there has […]
Syriza’s gay leader plans surrogacy baby
Stefanos Kasselakis, 35, caused a stir recently when he was elected as leader of Syriza, becoming Greece’s first openly gay political leader. He has since caused further shockwaves, telling Alpha TV in recent days that he and his American partner, Tyler McBeth, plan to have sons via surrogacy. “As a society,” Kasselakis said, “we need […]
Two-Spirit Inuit share their stories of growing up queer in the North
Kuujjuaq, an Inuit town in northern Quebec, has been hosting 2SLGBTQ+ pride parades for the past few years – but Two-Spirit youth from the community say a lot of progress has yet to be made. Niivi Snowball, 16, said they’ve already made waves among the 2,700 people living in Kuujjuaq. At last year’s Aqpik Jam, […]
An American LGBTQ+ activist who fled Israel during Hamas attacks says she never imagined feeling safer in Dubai, where being gay is a crime
As an American LGBTQ+ activist, Rachael Fried never thought she would feel a sense of relief upon landing in Dubai, where homosexuality is a crime. But when Hamas launched large-scale surprise attacks on Israel on Saturday, it became the best option. Fried, who works as the executive director of the nonprofit Jewish Queer Youth, flew […]