Ghana’s anti-LGBTQ bill leads to surge in anti-LGBTQ violence
“The anti- LGBTQI bill in the Parliament of Ghana is fueling hate and emboldens homophobic individuals and groups to harm LGBTQ persons. The worrying part is that the perpetrators mostly go unpunished. We fear their actions may result in deaths soon if the police don’t act now,” says the LGBTQ advocacy group Rightify Ghana. “While […]
Spain extends free IVF treatment to single women and LGBT+ community
Spain has extended the availability of free IVF treatment to single women and the LGBT+ community. Health minister Carolina Darias signed an order on Friday granting more women access to medically assisted reproduction in Spain’s public health system. The measure had long been demanded by LGBT+ rights groups that represent lesbian, bisexual, and trans people. […]
Alleged leader of Bulgaria LGBTQ community center attack charged
Bulgarian authorities have charged an ultranationalist presidential candidate in connection with an attack against an LGBTQ community center. Media reports indicate Boyan Rasate, who leads the Bulgarian National Union, has been charged with hooliganism and infliction of injury in connection with the Oct. 30 attack against Rainbow Hub, an LGBTQ community center in the Bulgarian […]
‘Disgraceful’: Italy’s senate votes down anti-homophobic violence bill
Italy’s senate has killed off a bill that would have made violence against LGBT people and disabled people, as well as misogyny, a hate crime. The 315-member senate voted by 154 to 131 on Wednesday to block the debate on the law, named after the gay centre-left Democratic party (PD) legislator Alessandro Zan and previously […]
Gay Polish politician asks SF supervisors to reinstate Lech Walesa street name
A gay Polish politician is asking the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to reverse a street name change made seven years ago that saw a gay icon replace a former Polish president. On October 12, Robert Biedro?, a Polish member of the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium, wrote to the city’s supervisors requesting to revert Dr. […]
China LGBT rights group shuts down amid hostile environment
An LGBT advocacy group in China that has spearheaded many of the country’s legal cases pushing for greater rights is halting its work for the foreseeable future. LGBT Rights Advocacy China announced it was ceasing all activities and shutting down its social media accounts in an announcement on social media Thursday. “We are deeply regretful to tell everyone, Queer Advocacy […]
Texas Ruling Opens Route for Religious Carveouts to LGBT Rights
A Texas federal judge recently laid a path allowing for-profit businesses to use religion as a shield against LGBT anti-discrimination claims, but attorneys and academics question whether it’ll survive appellate review or make its way to the U.S. Supreme Court. District Judge Reed O’Connor’s opinion—weighing in on several questions left unanswered by the Supreme Court’s landmark 2020 decision in Bostock v. […]
COVID-19 pandemic could lead to HIV surge in West & Central Africa, says UNAIDS chief
DAKAR, Nov 3 (Reuters) – West and Central Africa could see a rise in HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths in a few years due to disruptions in health services because of the coronavirus pandemic, the executive director of the U.N. AIDS agency said. Although human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection rates, and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)-related […]
NSW government announces inquiry into Sydney’s unsolved gay and transgender hate crimes, murders
The NSW government has announced an inquiry into brutal hates crimes committed against members of Sydney’s gay community over 40 years. In July 1989, 25-year-old newsreader Ross Warren disappeared from Sydney’s eastern suburbs. His car had been parked on a street near the popular gay beat Marks Park, and his keys were found at the […]
LGBT+ group left ‘frightened’ after queer Liverpool art viciously torn down in suspected hate crime
Homotopia – the UK’s longest-running LGBT+ arts and culture festival – said on social media it was “devastated” after two acts of vandalism just days apart. On Saturday (30 October), Homotopia reported that Rosa Kusabbi’s artwork “Hate Has No Place in Liverpool” was “ripped down” from its display in School Lane. Four days later, on […]
Mexico punished again for homophobic chant, will play more World Cup qualifiers without fans
Mexico’s men’s national soccer team will be forced to play two more World Cup qualifiers in empty stadiums after its fans continued yelling an anti-gay slur at matches in October. FIFA, soccer’s global governing body, previously sanctioned Mexico for the infamous “p***” chant. In June, it announced that the team’s first two home World Cup qualifiers would be […]
Penn State students condemn message of Milo Yiannopoulos’ ‘Pray the Gay Away’ event
“Pray the Gay Away.” These words, plastered on large posters above the face of British alt-right political commentator Milo Yiannopoulos, greeted visitors at Penn State’s HUB-Robeson Center on Oct. 25 — and again on Thursday. Featured in prominent display cases in the HUB, tacked to poster boards, announcement forums and walls throughout campus buildings, and […]
Stitching gender and untold stories
New Delhi, Nov 3 He goes back a few decades a time when as a child he could not take his eyes off whenever his older sisters stitched diverse patterns with multiple coloured threads. He says the finished garment would ‘say’ a lot to him things tough for a child to express. “I would never […]
The Better Lives Project to educate on intersex variations
The Better Lives Project has been launched to educate midwives and parents about the needs of children born with variations of sex characteristics. Intersex is the umbrella term used for people with variations of sex characteristics. The project is a joint initiative of Working it Out and Intersex Peer Support Australia and is funded by […]
‘The Taliban has a kill list’ for the Afghan LGBT community, NGO says
Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan at the end of August the persecution of the country’s LGBT+ community has ramped up, forcing many to live in hiding, fearing for their lives. “We now know for sure the Taliban has a ‘kill list’,” said the head of the Rainbow Railroad, a Canadian NGO helping under-threat […]
Supreme Court turns down Northern California Catholic hospital appeal over transgender patient
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is declining to wade into a case involving transgender rights and leaving in place a lower court decision against a Catholic hospital that wouldn’t allow a transgender man to have a hysterectomy there. The high court turned away the case Monday without comment, as is typical. Three conservative justices — […]
‘I feel invisible’: The challenges of being trans in Nigeria
Tom Kola was five years old when he realised he was a boy. But it took more than two decades and a move halfway across the world before he would have an official document to prove it. Growing up in Nigeria, Tom did not have the language to articulate his trans identity. But he understood […]
Watch: Activists in Poland are fighting back against so-called ‘LGBT-free zones’
So-called ‘LGBT-free’ zones have made Poland the laughing stock of Europe. But it’s no joke for LGBTQ+ people who face physical attack and verbal abuse – even from their own president. Activists are now leading a fightback that is showing signs of success.
LGBTQ Activists Create Día de Muertos Altar To Honor Trans Victims Who Died While in ICE Custody
As many of us sit down with friends and family to celebrate Día de Muertos, and honor those we’ve lost, it’s also an important reminder to honor those beyond our close circle and remember the many victims of violence and poverty around the world. That’s exactly what one group of activists recently did outside Immigration […]
‘I’m tired of feeling invisible’: Italian bill’s rejection leaves LGBT+ community in anger
For many in Italy’s LGBT+ community, the rejection of a bill meant to ban discrimination has been viewed as a step backwards on the already-fraught road to equality. Fabio Perna, a 33-year-old gay man living in the Northern Italian town of Rimini, said he was left feeling deeply distressed by the Italian Senate’s rejection of […]
LGBTQ Afghans, who were in ‘grave danger’ from the Taliban, evacuated to the UK
A flight of LGBT Afghans arrived in the UK, following a mission from the government and gay rights organizations to move them to safety, it was confirmed. Since the fall of Kabul on August 15, several governments, NGOs, and charities have been working on getting people out of Afghanistan who may be vulnerable under the […]
Hackers threaten to out Israeli LGBTQ dating site users
A hacking group calling itself Black Shadow threatened Sunday to reveal personal details of a million users of Israeli’s leading LGBTQ dating site, an attack some cyber experts linked to Iran. “If we have 1 Millions $ in our wallet in the next 48 hours, we will not leak this information and also we will […]
DUP councillor thinks conversion therapy ban is a ‘hoax’ that will push ‘neo Marxist utopia’
Colin Kennedy, a councillor for Ards and North Down Borough Council, spoke out a conversion therapy ban after the council passed a motion calling on Stormont to ban the discredited practice in Northern Ireland. Alliance councillor Connie Egan said a conversion therapy ban would be “a small but significant” step towards building a “more inclusive and welcoming” society for […]
Taliban say gay rights will not be respected under Islamic law
In a rare statement addressing LGBT rights, the Taliban said that their intended support for human rights did not include gay rights. Although Western powers want to avert a humanitarian disaster in Afghanistan, they have refused to officially recognise the Taliban government. Haqmal said Afghanistan would allow women an education, although not in the same […]
Taiwan’s transgender community calls for more awareness
Taiwan’s transgender people say the society has become more tolerant and open-minded towards them, but they still face discrimination in various aspects of life, speaking at the third annual Taiwan Trans March held online on Friday. Transgender people have a gender identity or gender expression that differs from their assigned sex at birth. Due to […]
Critically queer: L Heidenreich explores transgender Mestiz@ history
As someone who identifies as genderqueer, Mestiz@, materialist, and Catholic, L Heidenreich brings a unique perspective to the study of history that is hard to find in most classrooms. “I loved my history classes growing up, but my family wasn’t in them,” said Heidenreich, an associate professor of history at Washington State University. “It wasn’t […]
‘I feel free’ – LGBT Afghan refugees arrive in UK
I feel like “a human being for the first time” in my life, a gay Afghan man has said after arriving in the UK with 28 others from the LGBT community. The man – who the BBC is not naming for safety reasons – fled Afghanistan, fearing for his life under the Taliban. The hard-line […]
Polish parliament debates anti-LGBT legislative proposal
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Polish lawmakers held an emotional debate Thursday on proposed legislation dubbed “Stop LGBT,” which would ban pride parades and other public gatherings deemed to “promote” same-sex relationships. The lawmakers are due to vote Friday on whether to reject or continue work on the proposal, which is a citizen’s legislative initiative that […]
Ghana’s law curbing LGBT rights sparks Anglican church rift
A proposed law in Ghana to toughen curbs on the LGBT community has triggered a rift between the Archbishop of Canterbury and the local Anglican church, which strongly supports the bill. Gay sex is illegal in highly religious and conservative Ghana, but the proposed law will criminalise even LGBTQ advocacy while imposing longer jail terms […]
The wins and woes of Hong Kong’s rainbow families – has city made progress on policy and law for LGBT community?
When a lesbian couple in Hong Kong broke up last year after nearly two decades together, they agreed it was crucial they both continued to play an equal role in the lives of their two young children. Securing shared custody would make dealing with many of the tasks that constantly pop up in the lives […]