Chile’s lower house approves same-sex marriage, bill sent back to Senate
Chile’s lower house approved on Tuesday a bill that would permit same-sex marriage in the South American country of 19 million, sending the measure back to the Senate where it appears to have the support needed to become law. The measure, which originated in the upper house, was approved in the nation’s Chamber of Deputies […]
#TheSame: Hungarian media defy ban on publishing LGBT+ content for children
Several media organisations in Hungary have defied a ban on publishing LGBT+ content geared towards children. Three television channels and several magazines have said they will feature videos educating people about LGBT+ families. MTV Hungary, Comedy Central Hungary, and Paramount Network Hungary will all take part in the #ugyanaz (#thesame) social media campaign. In June, […]
Brazilian gymnast Arthur Nory says he has a boyfriend
Arthur Nory, an Olympic medalist and world champion gymnast from Brazil, has announced on Instagram that he has a boyfriend. In an Instagram post in late October, Nory wished marketing analyst João Otávio Tasso a happy birthday while expressing his love: “Happy Birthday to the person who “arthura” and freaks out with me. The phrase […]
Labour pledges ‘vital changes’ to hate crime laws and more to make UK fairer for LGBT+ people
Labour’s Anneliese Dodds has pledged to no longer allow those guilty of anti-LGBT+ hate crimes to “dodge longer sentences”. Dodds, who was appointed shadow secretary of state for women and equalities in September, accused the Conservative Party of “sitting on their hands as usual” when it comes to tough sentences for hates crimes based on […]
Defender of LGBT Ugandans nominated for human rights award
Lawyer Nicholas Opiyo, Uganda’s renowned LGBT ally and human right rights defender, has been nominated for the prestigious Tulip Human Rights Award for 2021. The Human Rights Tulip is an annual award of the Dutch government to individuals or organisations that promote human rights in peaceful ways. The award, established in 2008, is intended to […]
Petitioners Seek to End Nebraska Education Board Over LGBTQ-Inclusive Curricula
Apetition drive in Nebraska is trying to change the state’s constitution to eliminate the Nebraska State Board of Education and replace it with a new department accountable solely to the governor. The petition is sponsored by Kelli Brady and Michael Connely, who want to change how the state board of education functions because of its […]
Cameroon: Violent Mob Savagely Tortures Intersex Person for Hours
A group sexually assaulted, beat, and humiliated an intersex person in Cameroon’s capital of Yaoundé on November 15. The victim suffered bruises all over her body, HRW reports. Her doctor said that she would need to be monitored for a couple of weeks because of the seriousness of her injuries. French TV station TV5Monde reports […]
How a Sex Scene in a Young Adult Novel Touched Off Texas’s Latest Culture War
Kathy May was getting her four kids ready for another day at school in late October when she got an urgent voicemail from a friend. “OMG, OMG, this book,” her friend said, alerting May to a book found by another parent in the library catalogue of Keller Independent School District, where their kids go, called […]
THE STRUGGLE FOR TRANSGENDER RIGHTS CONTINUES WITH TAIWAN’S FIRST LEGAL GENDER CHANGE WITHOUT PROVIDING PROOF OF SURGERY
A variety of events happened this past week with regards to the ongoing struggle for transgender rights in Taiwan, including Taiwan’s first successful legal gender change without submitting proof of surgery, Lisbeth Wu’s second preliminary proceedings, and the Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights’ (TAPCPR) second Transgender Film Festival. These gains for transgender rights […]
Infantino says ‘all welcome’ as Qatar begins one-year countdown
DOHA, Nov 21 (Reuters) – FIFA President Gianni Infantino insisted that “all are welcome in Qatar” on Sunday as a digital countdown clock went on display in Doha to mark one year until the opening of the controversial 2022 soccer World Cup, the first to be held in the Middle East. The opening match will […]
Ghana’s Anti-Gay Law: God Loves Gays, Let’s Show Them Love- Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta
Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta has glaringly pooh-poohed the new anti-gay law that has been presented before parliament awaiting passage into law by saying God loves gays too since he created them in his image. He explained his stance on Metro TV’s Good Evening Ghana show with Paul Adom Otchere saying; “It’s a very complex issue […]
Biden honors transgender people killed in US: ‘Each of these lives was precious’
Joe Biden issued a statement in honor of Transgender Day of Remembrance, memorializing the dozens of transgender people who were killed this year in America and saying “each of these lives was precious”. Biden noted that 2021 has been the deadliest year on record for transgender Americans, particularly Black and Latino individuals. A recent study […]
MAN SENTENCED TO SIX AND A HALF YEARS IN PRISON OVER PERTH GAY BASHINGS
A district court in Perth on Friday sentenced a 26-year-old man to six and a half years imprisonment for his role in two separate incidents of bashing and robbing of gay men. Tyler Dean Borinelli had lured the two men – Perth residents Michael Buhle (57) and another man in his 40s, through the gay […]
LGBT bookshop sends 300 Trans history books to MPs across the country
An independent LGBT bookshop has sent hundreds of books about the history of Trans people to MPs across the country – paid for by their own constituents. Queer Lit, an award-winning gay bookshop in Manchester, has packaged up 300 copies of ‘Trans Britain’ and sent it off to members of parliament from all over the […]
New action plans supporting Roma and Egyptians and LGBTI adopted by Albanian government
The adaption of the National Action Plans for Roma and Egyptian minorities (2021-2025) and for the LGBTI community (2021-2027) affirms the Albanian Government’s commitment to further advance the respective agendas in compliance with the European standards and values. The European Union and the Council of Europe supported the respective domestic authorities in carrying out comprehensive […]
LGBT migrants in South Africa: religion can be a blessing, and a curse
The politicisation of religion in Africa is now well documented. It is a strategy used to maintain the idea that heterosexuality is the only natural and normal expression of human desire. What is less often spoken about is the positive role that religion plays in the lives of LGBT Africans, including refugees. Even less attention […]
Biden Nixes Trump Policy Allowing Anti-LGBTQ Discrimination in Foster Care
The Biden administration’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is nixing a Trump-era rule that exempted federally-funded foster care providers from following non-discrimination rules in Michigan, South Carolina, and Texas. In a new policy unveiled on November 18, HHS asserted that the administration would instead revert back to its previous policy of examining religious […]
Statement by Russian and International Human Rights Organizations in Support of Russian LGBT Rights Activists under Attack
We, the undersigned Russian and international human rights organization condemn the escalating attacks against Russian LGBT Network, its leadership and partners. We call on the Russian authorities to cease targeting the largest and most prominent LGBTI rights group in Russia and foster a normal working environment for activists for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, […]
Mauritius: Island nation’s Supreme Court weighs constitutionality of anti-LGBT law
Nov. 16, 2021 — A crucial hearing in a case challenging the constitutionality of Section 250, brought by Abdool Ridwan Firaas Ah Seek, a 31-year-old human rights activist, took place today in the Supreme Court of Mauritius. Mr Ah Seek has been supported in his endeavour by the Collectif Arc-En-Ciel (CAEC), the largest and longest-standing organisation […]
NHS gets green light for game-changing HIV treatment injected just six times a year
Currently, people living with HIV are offered antiretroviral medicines that must be taken every day to suppress the virus – usually one to four daily pills. Effective treatment reduces a person’s viral load – the amount of virus in their blood – to an undetectable level. When the virus is undetectable, it cannot be transmitted, and a […]
French dictionary sparks anger by adding non-binary ‘iel’ pronoun
French dictionary Le Robert has added the “iel” pronoun for non-binary people to its online edition, sparking heated debate in a country where grammar is sacrosanct. Le Robert, one of France’s leading dictionaries, said in a statement it added the “iel” pronoun to its list of words a few weeks ago after its researchers noticed […]
Swiss to allow same-sex weddings from July 2022
ZURICH, Nov 17 (Reuters) – Same-sex couples can wed in Switzerland from July 1 next year, the government said on Wednesday, enacting the results of a ground-breaking referendum on the issue in September. Voters approved the “Marriage for All” initiative by a nearly two-thirds majority, making Switzerland one of the last countries in Western Europe to […]
Despite its reformist agenda, Ukraine’s government shows little commitment to LGBT+ rights
In September, thousands of people marched peacefully through the Ukrainian capital Kyiv in the city’s now annual LGBT+ pride parade – a victory of sorts given that previous parades have not always been so peaceful. In 2015, 10 people were injured when they were attacked by homophobic protesters in Kyiv, while in 2020 Odesa Pride […]
Olympics Committee Updates Eligibility Rules For Transgender Athletes
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — Aiming to help sports write eligibility rules for transgender athletes, the IOC published advice Tuesday shifting the focus from individual testosterone levels and calling for evidence to prove when a performance advantage existed. No athlete should be excluded from competing based on an “unverified, alleged or perceived unfair competitive advantage due […]
Israeli Blood Drives Drop LGBTQ-friendly Wording Amid Pressure From Religious Groups
Israel’s Magen David Adom blood bank will restore the original wording of its forms for blood donors, after pressure from religious groups over the use of gender-neutral terminology. The questionnaire for donors will once again have the words “father” and “mother” under the boxes that ask where the donor’s parents were born, instead of the […]
India set to appoint its first openly gay judge
India is set to appoint its first openly gay judge. The Supreme Court Collegium recommended that senior advocate Saurabh Kirpal be elevated to the role of judge to the Delhi High Court, which would make history in the country if approved. However, Kirpal has been passed over for the elevation approximately three times since 2017, […]
In 102 anti-trans bills in 7 states, the word ‘transgender’ appears just 7 times. It’s not an accident.
Over three special legislative sessions this year, Texas legislators introduced 47 proposed bills that aimed to restrict transgender kids’ access to sports or gender-affirming care, plus three bills that would block birth certificate updates for minors. The word “transgender” didn’t appear in any of them. Proponents of the bills in Texas, which brought triple the […]
LGBT+ Church of England members stage defiant protest after archbishop of Canterbury’s Ghana apology
A gay canon and other LGBT+ members of the Church of England have staged a demonstration at a meeting of the General Synod to show solidarity with queer Ghanaians. Canon Simon Butler spoke out in defence of Ghana’s embattled LGBT+ community during a debate at the Church of England’s General Synod (its legislative body) on […]
You can’t target LGBT people like they are the source of Ghana’s sexual problems – Prof Prempeh fumes
Executive Director of the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), Professor Henry Kwasi Prempeh, has expressed his utter disgust at the treatment being meted out to members of the LGBTQI+ community. According to him, there are other bigger sexual offences that ought to be dealt with rather than targeting homosexuals. He believes that it will […]
Gay priest and partner make Church in Wales history with ‘rejoiceful’ same-sex blessing
Father Lee Taylor, 44, and his partner Fabiano Da Silva Duarte, 45, received a blessing from the Church in Wales on Saturday (13 November). Father Lee said the service at St Collen’s Church in Llangollen, where he is priest-in-charge, was “a great day of celebration”. He told PinkNews: “It was very important and exciting to […]