No Nigeria amnesty guarantees for gay dating app victims
Police in Nigeria have urged victims of a same-sex dating app scam to come forward to give evidence. But they have refused to offer them the assurance of an amnesty in a country that criminalises gay relationships. People can face up to 10 years in jail for being part of anything considered a gay social […]
Dominican Anglican church goes rogue on gay rights
The current Lambeth conference of global Anglican bishops has been rocked with divisions over the issue of same-sex marriage. In contrast, the primates (heads) of the global Anglican Communion declared in 2016 that laws criminalizing consensual same-sex intimacy are entirely wrong. Despite this unified position by the church’s leaders at least one Caribbean congregation has […]
Explainer: what makes Ghana’s anti-gay bill so extreme?
Same-sex “conduct” is already illegal in Ghana, but MPs introduced a sweeping new anti-LGBTQ+ draft bill a year ago that would fully criminalisie LGBTQ+ people, along with rights groups and anyone coming out in their support. It comes amid an outcry around the very existence of LGBTQ+ people in the west African country, and any advocacy on […]
The Nigerians worried about a bill to outlaw cross-dressing
Trans women and men and non-binary people in Nigeria are nervously eyeing a parliamentary proposal that seeks to criminalise cross-dressing. It aims to amend the Same-Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act (SSMPA) and defines cross-dressing as the “practice of wearing clothes usually worn by a person of the opposite sex”. Anyone found guilty could end up with […]
Powerful Anglican bishops call on ‘homosexual practices’ to be rejected because gay sex is a sin
On Tuesday (2 August), bishops of the Anglican Communion from across the globe held a confidential discussion on sexuality and human dignity. The once-a-decade Lambeth Conference, which brings together international bishops of the Anglican Communion to pass resolutions and decide “the mind of the communion” on current issues, began on 26 July at the University of […]
Hundreds hold ‘kiss-a-thon’ to support gay couple threatened in Colombia
Hundreds of same-sex couples staged a ‘kiss-a-thon’ in a park in Bogotá, Colombia after a gay couple was attacked there. Santiago Maldonado and Jorge Esteban Farías were targeted by a group of women – one of which wielded a broomstick – after the two kissed in public, the BBC reported. Footage of the incident showed […]
Will Ghana introduce some of the harshest anti-gay laws in the world?
In February 2021, a community centre for LGBTQ+ people in Ghana was closed down weeks after it had opened, following a wave of protests. As our west Africa correspondent, Emmanuel Akinwotu, explains to Michael Safi, the incident marked a new and dark chapter for gay rights in the country. Though previously homosexuality was still illegal […]
UK police arrest veteran because anti-LGBTQ post ’caused anxiety’
Shocking cell phone video purportedly shows a police officer in the United Kingdom explaining how an army veteran was arrested over an anti-LGBTQ post he reshared online that had caused someone “anxiety.” The video was recorded by actor and leader of the British Reclaim Party Laurence Fox, who shared a meme on social media showing […]
Scoop: Senate eyes changes to gay marriage bill
Senators are working behind the scenes on changes to a House-passed bill codifying marriage equality to get it across the finish line, Axios has learned. Why it matters: The legislation has been mired in uncertainty since landing in the upper chamber, with just a handful of GOP senators openly stating they plan to vote for […]
An Arabic anti-LGBTQ+ campaign is going viral on Twitter
In late June, an account launched on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Telegram called Fetrah — the Arabic word for “human instinct.” Soon after, the account posted a Twitter thread in Arabic calling on social media users to spread its message: that there are only two genders, and homosexuality is deviant and a rejection of human […]
Ugandan police accused of anti-gay bias in murder investigation
Ugandan police have been accused of homophobic bias and “extortion” following the brutal murder last month of a gay person who had previously been arrested and victimised by the same police force. 11 July, Noah Matthew Kinono, a non-binary gay person, was found lying in a pool of blood in their home in Kampala, the […]
Post-‘Roe,’ Transgender People Fear for the Future
Minutes after the Supreme Court issued its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the country’s full-fledged attack on bodily autonomy reached new proportions in the bistate Kansas City metro area, where Dr. Quinn Jackson, a family physician and former abortion provider, treats transgender patients from both sides of the Missouri-Kansas border. In Kansas […]
Saudi police arrest TikToker for alleged lesbian subtext
Tala Safwan has five million followers on TikTok and 800,000 on YouTube. She lives in Saudi Arabia. Her content is similar to other young social media influencers around the world. Pranks, challenges, skits, and answers to viewers’ questions. But a recent video set off a Twitstorm when conservative Saudis accused her of sexually suggestive comments. […]
An interview with Emmie America: The defiant Russian fashion photographer and LGBTQ+ activist
In 2021, fashion photographer and activist, Emmie America, was detained and fined by Russian authorities, after organising a politically charged photo shoot in Moscow, where 25 participants dressed in police uniforms surrounded the word ‘Freedom’ written in the snow. The Russian-born photographer, who has worked with brands such as Vogue, Urban Outfitters, Guess and Calvin Klein, […]
Fleeing War and Discrimination, LGBT Russians Find Refuge in South Caucasus
YEREVAN, Armenia — When tens of thousands of Russians fled the country this spring following the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine, many chose to resettle in Armenia and Georgia. But for LGBT Russians, their new homes in the conservative South Caucasus — where there are few protections against homophobic violence — may mean facing even greater risks […]
Warn Everyone’: Spain’s Gay Community Acts as Monkeypox Spreads
MADRID — Whether it’s abstinence, avoiding nightclubs, limiting sexual partners or pushing for a swift vaccine rollout, Spain’s gay community is on the front line of the monkeypox virus and is taking action. “With this monkey thing, I prefer to be careful. … I don’t have sex anymore, I don’t go to parties anymore, and that’s until […]
Britain’s only children’s gender identity clinic to shut down
Britain’s only dedicated gender identity clinic for transgender children and young people is to close, England’s national health service announced on Thursday, in response to recommendations from an expert review. The Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust has been instructed to shut down its Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS), NHS England said, which will be […]
Melbourne’s Shrine of Remembrance cancels rainbow light plan, citing threats and abuse
Melbourne’s Shrine of Remembrance has cancelled plans to illuminate the site in rainbow colours, citing “sustained abuse” and threats directed at its staff. The rainbow plan for Sunday night was set to coincide with the opening of a new exhibition inside the Shrine, called Defending with Pride: Stories of LGBTQ+ Service. It is an exhibition […]
Rising hate leaves ‘no place for gays’ in Senegal
Every time Abdou’s mother hears of a homophobic attack in the streets of Senegal’s capital Dakar, she locks him in her bedroom. Abdou – who, like other LGBTQ people AFP interviewed, asked not to be identified by his real name – is used to hiding. He has been concealing his sexuality most of his life. […]
Thailand’s gay-romance TV dramas help revive flagging tourism industry
There is a table in Soontaree Thiprat’s Phuket cafe that is always fully booked. Most of her customers at the Dibuk restaurant want to sit in the corner, at the spot with the red tablecloth and purple flower. It is the table where the male student characters Teh and Oh-aew, played by the actors Putthipong […]
UK Government uses Commonwealth’s ‘soft power’ to push member countries to decriminalise LGBTQ community
The Government has made use of the ‘soft power’ of the Commonwealth to attempt to influence a change in laws discriminating against the LGBTQ in more than half of the international organisation’s members, i can reveal. The Commonwealth Scholarships Commission (CSC), which is part of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), has launched a […]
Biden names gay judge to federal CA bench
President Joe Biden has nominated a gay California state superior court judge to the federal bench. It follows criticism that the Biden administration has been slow to appoint LGBTQ federal judges. Friday, July 29, Biden announced he had nominated Judge Daniel Calabretta to a seat on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of […]
This bisexual journalist returned to Ukraine to face her fears & honor her past
Morning turned into afternoon. A scorching sun blanketed the concrete of the local sports hall belonging to the community of Zolochiv, a frontline village just minutes from the Russian border. There, over the course of several hours, the International Committee for the Red Cross, with the help of local residents, unloaded over 20 tons of […]
Rise of homophobia in Senegal forcing LGBTQ people into the shadows
Every time Abdou’s mother hears of a homophobic attack in the streets of Senegal’s capital Dakar, she locks him in her bedroom. Abdou — who, like other LGBTQ people AFP interviewed, asked not to be identified by his real name — is used to hiding. He has been concealing his sexuality most of his life. […]
UK Government uses Commonwealth’s ‘soft power’ to push member countries to decriminalise LGBTQ community
The Government has made use of the ‘soft power’ of the Commonwealth to attempt to influence a change in laws discriminating against the LGBTQ in more than half of the international organisation’s members, i can reveal. The Commonwealth Scholarships Commission (CSC), which is part of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), has launched a fellowship to […]
Saudi Arabia arrests Egyptian social media star Tala Safwan for ‘immorality’
An Egyptian social media star has been detained in Saudi Arabia under accusations of being immoral and sexually suggestive online. Tala Safwan – who creates content on TikTok and YouTube – allegedly appeared in a recent TikTok live broadcast, which has been accused of having homosexual, lesbian undertones. The influencer’s arrest in the conservative kingdom – where homosexuality is a potential […]
Russia’s LGBT Community Braces For More Persecution As Duma Readies Stricter Propaganda Law
Anna Kosvinitseva is a web designer in the southern Russian city of Astrakhan who has been working mostly from home for the past few years. She says she has experienced numerous unpleasant encounters because of her sexual orientation and now ventures out in public as rarely as possible. Like many in Russia’s LGBT community, Kosvinitseva is […]
Retired gay foreigners targeted in Thai bill
Two foreigners will be able to get legal recognition for longstay visas in an amendment to the civil union bill agreed by a parliamentary committee. Spokesperson Thanikarn Pornongsarote said that the general idea was to promote gay tourism in Thailand, but the main effect may be to promote one year visas and extensions of stay […]
Morocco’s former PM condemned for sharing debunked homophobic theory about monkeypox
Morocco’s former prime minister Saad Eddin El Othmani is under fire for sharing a homophobic theory regarding monkeypox, as the virus spreads rapidly worldwide. “The vast majority of modern monkeypox cases are sexually transmitted, and the vast majority of those infected are homosexual men, according to the largest study on the subject,” he tweeted Monday, sharing […]
EU’s suit against Hungary over anti-gay law isn’t a sure win for LGBT rights in Europe.
The European Commission is taking legal action against Hungary at the European court of justice, escalating a longstanding dispute over the country’s anti-LGBT laws. This is an unprecedented step for the EU, but it isn’t a sure win for LGBT rights in Europe — and even has the potential to endanger them. Hungary (under Prime […]