Protests over transgender rights at LA spa turn violent

Police arrested several dozen people and fired non-lethal projectiles to disperse an unruly crowd on Saturday after a dueling protest over transgender rights at a Los Angeles spa turned violent. The protests stemmed from a video that circulated online earlier this month, in which an irate customer complained to the staff at Wi Spa about […]

Trans Ugandans issue desperate food appeal as lockdown bites harder

Transgender rights defenders in Uganda have issued a desperate appeal for food for the transgender community amid the ongoing COVID-19 countrywide lockdown. More than 524 trans persons are on the verge of starvation and failing anti retroviral drugs uptake if no food is secured within 14 days, the activists say. The transgender leaders from Initiative […]

AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT FAILS TO PROTECT RIGHTS OF TRANS AND INTERSEX PERSONS

The Australian government has failed to accept two of five recommendations regarding LGBTQI+ rights, following the United Nations Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in Geneva earlier this year. On Thursday, July 8, in response to the review, the Australian government announced that they would commit to ensuring free and timely access to healthcare […]

E.U. takes action against Hungary, Poland over anti-LGBTQ measures

The European Commission has started legal action against Hungary after the country passed a law that bans sharing content in schools that seemingly endorses gay and transgender issues, the commission announced Thursday. “Equality and the respect for dignity and human rights are core values of the E.U.,” Ursula von der Leyen, the European Parliament’s president, […]

New York City Hospitals Prohibit Unnecessary Intersex Surgeries

New York City Health & Hospitals, the largest public healthcare system in the United States, has instituted a policy to defer all medically unnecessary surgeries on intersex children. The move is a major boost for Intersex rights following City Council legislation earlier this year that mandates public education on the issue. Intersex people, or people […]

Here are 3 Olympic couples who will be competing on the same team in Tokyo

A record number of out LGBTQ athletes are heading to Tokyo, and naturally, that means several Olympic couples will be making the trip together. We’ve seen same-sex couples compete on the same Olympic team before. Back in 2016, Helen Richardson-Walsh and Kate Richardson-Walsh of Great Britain became the first married couple to accomplish the feat, […]

These 15 Historical Examples Of LGBTQ Culture Around The World You Might Not Have Known About

Nonbinary Vikings – Viking imagery in contemporary culture is heavily associated with stereotypes surrounding masculinity; long-haired, heavily muscled warriors are used to sell everything from beer to sports. While gender boundaries were rigidly policed, as in any raider society, these borders were more permeable than people today may think. “The Vikings were certainly familiar with […]

At the Tenacious Unicorn Ranch, trans farmers raise alpaca, patrol for threats

WESTCLIFFE, Colorado, July 16 (Reuters) – The ranch hand walks along rocky ground, the beam of her flashlight cutting through the moonlit night. She holds a shotgun loosely at her side during her patrol of an alpaca ranch founded as a haven for transgender and non-binary people. Penny Logue, who grew up on a farm, […]

Erdogan fires university rector after 6 months of student protests

ISTANBUL: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday replaced a top Istanbul university rector whose controversial appointment led to months of student-led protests against his rule. Erdogan appointed Melih Bulu as rector of Bogazici University in January but was immediately met by anger over the president’s influence on educational institutions. But in an announcement published […]

American LGBTQ+ Museum coming to N.Y.C.’s oldest museum as part of expansion

New York’s oldest museum will soon expand to incorporate a museum dedicated to LGBTQ history. Representatives for the New-York Historical Society, established in 1804, announced earlier this month that the museum will expand by 70,000 square feet to include space for The American LGBTQ+ Museum. The new museum is slated to open its doors in […]

Four Georgian TV stations go off air in protest over journalist’s death

TBILISI, July 14 (Reuters) – Four television channels in Georgia went off the air on Wednesday in protest at the death of a cameraman who was beaten up during violence against LGBT activists, and demanded the prime minister’s resignation. Hundreds of people took to the streets of the former Soviet republic’s capital, Tbilisi, on Sunday […]

LGBTQ in China lament ‘dark day’ after social media crackdown

Chengdu, China – A week ago without warning, WeChat, a popular social media platform in China, permanently suspended the official accounts of more than a dozen college LGBTQ groups, igniting a new round of debate on the country’s already threatened community. The suspensions largely affected groups almost entirely run by students, including at prestigious academic […]

Arrested, abused and accused: wave of repression targets LGBT+ Ghanaians

All I wanted to do was help vulnerable people,” said Shaun Apong, tears streaking down his face, from behind the bars of a squalid police cell in Ho City in eastern Ghana. Apong was one of 21 people arrested in early June, charged with unlawful assembly and accused of spreading an LGBT+ agenda, amid a […]

Russia: European Court of Human Rights rules ban on same-sex unions violates human rights

Reacting to the news that the European Court of Human Rights has ruled that Russia is in violation of the European Convention on Human Rights by not providing same-sex unions with the ability to gain legal recognition under domestic law, Natalia Zviagina, Amnesty International’s Moscow Office Director, said: “This landmark decision underlines that the Russian […]

Jailed transgender women in Cameroon to be released pending appeal

DOUALA, July 13 (Reuters) – Two transgender women in Cameroon convicted in May of “attempted homosexuality” were ordered released from prison on Tuesday until a court hears their appeal, their lawyer said. Shakiro and Patricia were arrested on Feb. 8 for wearing women’s clothing in a restaurant. Shakiro is a celebrity in Cameroon with thousands […]

Jailed transgender women in Cameroon to be released pending appeal

Two transgender women in Cameroon convicted in May of “attempted homosexuality” were ordered released from prison on Tuesday until a court hears their appeal, their lawyer said. Shakiro and Patricia were arrested on Feb. 8 for wearing women’s clothing in a restaurant. Shakiro is a celebrity in Cameroon with thousands of social media followers, drawing […]

Russia: European Court of Human Rights rules ban on same-sex unions violates human rights

Reacting to the news that the European Court of Human Rights has ruled that Russia is in violation of the European Convention on Human Rights by not providing same-sex unions with the ability to gain legal recognition under domestic law, Natalia Zviagina, Amnesty International’s Moscow Office Director, said: “This landmark decision underlines that the Russian […]

Arrested, abused and accused: wave of repression targets LGBT+ Ghanaians

“All I wanted to do was help vulnerable people,” said Shaun Apong, tears streaking down his face, from behind the bars of a squalid police cell in Ho City in eastern Ghana. Apong was one of 21 people arrested in early June, charged with unlawful assembly, and accused of spreading an LGBT+ agenda, amid a […]

LGBTQ in China lament ‘dark day’ after social media crackdown

A week ago without warning, WeChat, a popular social media platform in China, permanently suspended the official accounts of more than a dozen college LGBTQ groups, igniting a new round of debate on the country’s already threatened community. The suspensions largely affected groups almost entirely run by students, including at prestigious academic institutions such as […]

Thai hospital opens one-stop center for LGBTQ services

BANGKOK — Thailand’s Bumrungrad International Hospital has launched a clinic for LGBTQ patients, bringing together specialized services catering to this minority demographic. The high-end private hospital operator’s new Pride Clinic will offer gender confirmation surgery, hormone treatments, cosmetic surgery and health checkups. These services had been scattered across multiple facilities. The clinic aims to tap […]

Fresh protests in Spain over killing of gay man

MADRID (AFP) – People took to the streets of cities across Spain again on Sunday (July 11) to demand justice after a young gay man was beaten to death last weekend in a suspected homophobic attack. Crowds filled a central Madrid square and activists marched the streets of Almeria and the northern city of Coruna, […]

New Malaysian Anti-LGBT Law Proposal

On Friday 25 June, a task force within the Malaysian government proposed modifications to the laws governing social media. The new amendments would allow Malaysian officials to pursue legal action against users who insult Islam and “promote LGBT lifestyles.” The Sharia law was proposed in response to the increase in social media posts celebrating Pride […]

Pride Event in Israeli Settlement Draws Opposition From Multiple Directions

An LGBTQ Pride event in Ariel on Thursday marked one of the first such events in an Israeli settlement. The event was the initiative of 26-year-old Gal Hevroni, a gay former combat soldier now in his third year of civil engineering studies at Ariel University. Staging it was an uphill battle, though: Ariel, the fourth-largest […]

Hungary and Poland prime ministers with defiant rainbow protest

Rémy Bonny, an LGBT+ activist and the executive director of nonprofit organisation Forbidden Colours, shared images of the bold demonstration on Twitter Friday (9 July). The images show a variety of LGBT+ Pride flags entwined in a fence across from a busy road and walkway. Bonny explained: “Slovenian LGBTIQ organisations prepared a rainbow welcome to […]

Israel’s Supreme Court rules in favour of same-sex couple surrogacy rights

Israel’s Supreme Court on Sunday ruled that current legal restrictions barring same-sex couples from becoming parents through surrogacy were unlawful and must be lifted within six months. The country’s LGBTQ+ community praised the decision as a breakthrough. It had demanded for years to be allowed to pursue surrogacy, which is already accessible to heterosexual couples […]

Georgian TV Cameraman Dies, Was Injured Amid Anti-LGBT Violence

A Georgian TV cameraman who was among dozens of journalists attacked by a right-wing mob during a melee aimed at LGBT campaigners has died. Co-workers of Lekso Lashkarava said on July 11 that he had died, apparently of injuries suffered during the violence six days earlier, but provided no further details. Lashkarava’s employer, Pirveli TV, […]