Sick vandals deface LGBT+ centre with transphobic graffiti amid Spanish fight for trans rights
An LGBT+ centre in Madrid has been vandalised with homophobic and transphobic graffiti as tensions rise over a new “trans law” in Spain. Prime minister Pedro Sánchez’s ruling socialist party has been accused of blocking a new gender-recognition law, which was put forward by far-left minority coalition partner United We Can. Delays to the new […]
Majlis Podcast: Uzbekistan In The Spotlight For The Wrong Reasons
Since 2016, when Uzbekistan’s first president, Islam Karimov, died, the authorities have been working to change the image the country inherited from Karimov as a chronic rights abuser. There have been some signs of progress but starting in late February, things began to fall apart. A group trying to register as an opposition party was […]
Angry LGBTQI+ community demands justice following brutal murder
As Human Rights Month ended, Sphamandla Khoza’s family learnt that he was killed in an alleged hate crime which sparked outrage, calls for justice and marches. Last week, the 34-year-old’s body was discovered in a ditch near his home in Ntuzuma. Khoza’s throat was slit and he was stabbed multiple times. His death was suspected […]
LGBTQ Members Face Threats in Iraqi Kurdistan
The plight of Iraq’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning or queer (LGBTQ) community returned to the spotlight last week when Kurdish security forces in Sulaymaniyah reportedly arrested several gay men. The government denied targeting the group, saying its operation was rather to crack down on prostitution. Members of the community told VOA the arrests […]
LBQ Womxn in Uganda: a plea for equal access to health
Freedom and Roam Uganda, a lesbian, bisexual and queer (LBQ) organisation, is about to publish a book urging Ugandan human rights and health-care rights advocates to incorporate acceptance of sexual and gender diversity in their work. he book “Queering SRHR: A Guide for LBQ Womxn” highlights lessons learned about how health services, health care and […]
Germany bans surgery on intersex infants
Last month, German lawmakers voted to ban unnecessary surgeries on babies born with intersex characteristics. The legislation was officially adopted on March 25. While it makes Germany only the third country to end these unnecessary procedures, intersex rights organizations like the Organisation Intersex International (OII) Germany, OII Europe, and Intergeschlechtliche Menschen want more. From them.: […]
Intersex Kids Are Getting Caught in the GOP’s War on Trans Health Care
Republicans across the country have spent the better part of 2021 trying to cut off transgender children’s access to gender-affirming health care. Some have falsely compared it to child abuse, “genital mutilation,” and even Nazi war crimes. But for children born with intersex traits, or in a body that differs from social expectations about “boys” […]
Attack on Blogger Drives Uzbek Gay Community Underground
Members of Uzbekistan’s LGBT community say they have been driven underground in fear of a violent backlash after a blogger and some of his supporters were attacked last month following social media posts calling for gay rallies at Muslim holy sites. Uzbekistan, for decades one of the world’s most isolated countries, is trying to open […]
Panel of Japan’s ruling LDP to seek early passage of law on LGBT understanding
A ruling party committee said Thursday that it will aim to enact a law to promote understanding of sexual minorities during the ongoing session of the Diet, set to end in June. A draft outline of the bill, presented at a meeting of the Liberal Democratic Party’s Special Mission Committee on Sexual Orientation and Gender […]
Malaysia pushes for Sharia law to be tougher on LGBT+ Muslims
On Tuesday (6 April) the Malaysian government announced plans to move forward with an amendment to the Sharia Courts Act that would allow heavier punishments to be imposed on the LGBT+ community. The country’s strict Islamic laws already penalise any form of anal or oral sex with up to 20 years in prison and mandatory […]
The Guatemalan asylum seeker who created a refuge for gay and transgender migrants on the US border
Kissing his partner goodbye on a normal day before heading to work changed the life of 32-year-old Estuardo Cifuentes forever. It was mid-2019 when he stepped out of his front door in Guatemala City and said goodbye to his boyfriend before getting into a waiting Uber. A police patrol that witnessed the scene approached to […]
Teachers ‘fear for job prospects if they reveal LGBT identity’
There are about 4,000 primary teachers across Ireland who are uncomfortable revealing their LGBT identity to their employers, a conference heard. Many are afraid to come out about their sexual identity or gender orientation in case it will affect their chances of getting a job or gaining promotion. The problem persists despite 2015 legislation making […]
Focus on inclusion, not alienation, in dealing with LGBT, Putrajaya told
Suhakam has urged the government to reconsider its decision to impose heavier punishments for offences associated with the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. Commissioner Hishamudin Yunus said the best approach in dealing with LGBT individuals was to “help integrate them into mainstream society” by respecting their constitutional rights to equality, privacy and a […]
Top Polish judge under fire for tweet about transgender kid
Poland’s leading opposition party is asking prosecutors to investigate a constitutional court judge who it alleges has endangered a 10-year-old transgender child by identifying the child publicly. It is the latest development highlighting the deep divide in Poland over the issue of LGBT rights. The issue has for more than two years been the source […]
Legalising same-sex marriage in Japan
Last month, a Japanese district court for the first time ruled that not allowing same-sex couples to marry is unconstitutional. The verdict by the Sapporo District Court was a result of simultaneous lawsuits against the nation demanding marriage equality as well as compensation for psychological damages. Although the court rejected demands for reparation of 1 […]
Tbilisi audio tour puts Georgian trans people on the map
Georgian event aimed at raising awareness about LGBT+ issues by putting people into the shoes of transgender men and women living in Tbilisi By Umberto Bacchi TBILISI, Nov 22 (Openly) – Standing on the stairway of Tbilisi’s iconic circus, about 20 people listened through headphones on Sunday as a voice explained how a building normally […]
New HIV vaccine ‘based on Moderna’s COVID jab’ shows huge promise after first human trials
A new vaccine has shown huge promise in the fight against HIV with the treatment successfully stimulating the production of antibodies in human trials. The novel vaccine stimulated the production of rare immune cells needed to generate antibodies against HIV in 97 per cent of participants in phase one of human trials. This makes it […]
Venezuela’s Secret: Crimes Against LGBTQ+ Migrants And Sex Workers
“Hello, Papi, I am in Brazil.” A text message I received sitting in my home office after nearly a month of silence signified Victor Arellano’s nine-month battle had just been won. Arellano escaped Venezuela with a bullet in his spine, fleeing across violent and treacherous terrains, to have a chance of survival in a place […]
Civil groups chide minister Zulkifli’s insistence on harsher laws against LGBT
KUALA LUMPUR, April 7 — A coalition of local civil societies has today slammed religious affairs minister Datuk Zulkifli Mohamad’s insistence to table a law amendment that would provide for harsher punishments against Shariah offences to target the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. The Joint Action Group for Gender Equality (JAG) also criticised […]
How a Black, Gay Refugee Created a Community For Queer Asylum Seekers
In 2014, Nigeria passed a law providing penalties of up to 14 years in prison for couples that enter into a same-sex union, and up to 10 years for those who support LGBTQ+ clubs and organizations. In seven northern states, queer people can be stoned to death simply because of their identity. Despite these challenges, […]
Discrimination part of everyday life for Peru’s trans people
The attack on Gahela Cari came following a televised political debate in the form of a searing tweet from her opponent. Attached to it was an image of her Peruvian elections registration with her names and gender given at birth, all of which she no longer identifies with, highlighted in red. Many defended Cari, who […]
Uzbek Interior Ministry statement threatens journalist Agnieszka Pikulicka with prosecution over LGBTQ reporting
On March 28, Pikulicka, a freelance correspondent for Al-Jazeera and The Guardian based in Tashkent, the capital, visited LGBTQ activist Miraziz Bazarov, who was hospitalized after being beaten earlier that day, the journalist told CPJ in a video call. Police investigators who were present at the hospital shouted at her and told her not to […]
Israel activists protest rising influence of anti-gay lawmakers
Hundreds of people demonstrated in Jerusalem on Tuesday against a group of newly elected Israeli lawmakers who oppose gay rights, in a Middle Eastern country seen as progressive in promoting LGBT equality. A coalition of groups marched and held signs outside Israel’s parliament, where 120 lawmakers were being sworn in following elections last month. The […]
Russia’s Top Documentary Fest Pulls Gay Chechen Film After Threats
Russia’s premier documentary film festival has pulled a movie about a gay MMA fighter from Chechnya from its lineup after receiving threats over it. “Silent Voice” tells the story of Khawaj, a promising young MMA fighter who is forced to flee his home region to Belgium after his brother finds out he’s gay and promises […]
Sexual minorities are often invisible’: meet Seoul’s only LGBT mayoral candidate
Oh Tae-yang was spurred to run for mayor by the deaths of high-profile LGBT figures, and has upset some in conservative South Korea Steven Borowiec in Seoul Mon 5 Apr 2021 19.52 EDT 72 One morning in late March, Oh Tae-yang awoke to news that his campaign banners, which feature rainbow flags and pledges to […]
Jail time for transgender women in Cameroon extended after trial delay
April 5 (Reuters) – Two transgender women facing charges of “attempted homosexuality” in a high profile case in Cameroon will spend more than two months behind bars without trial after a judge postponed their hearing again on Monday. Shakiro, a local media celebrity and cosmetician with 100,000 followers on Facebook, was arrested along with Patricia […]
California Stalls Bill Banning Intersex Surgery For Children
First-of-its-kind California legislation to ban some medically unnecessary surgeries on intersex children stalled Monday for the third straight year in the same committee, with the author saying that proposed amendments would have stripped much of its purpose. State Sen. Scott Wiener, a Democrat from San Francisco, wants to bar certain types of surgeries on children […]
Nearly 60% of Japan municipalities say current LGBT system inadequate
Fifty-nine percent of 87 local governments that have introduced, or plan to introduce, a same-sex partnership system feel that Japan’s current system for sexual minorities is inadequate, a Kyodo News survey showed Sunday. The survey, which collected responses from three prefectural governments and 84 municipalities in 29 prefectures from February to March, also found that […]
Austrian Catholics fly rainbow flag after same-sex blessing ban
The Catholic church of the parish of Hard is one of many in Austria which decided to fly the rainbow flag in solidarity with the LGBT community after the Vatican ruled last month that the Church couldn’t bless same-sex partnerships. The powerful Vatican office responsible for defending church doctrine, the Congregation for the Doctrine of […]
Far right puts brakes on a new law that aims to stamp out homophobia in Italy
Daniela Lourdes Falanga has had her fair share of battles. The first was to survive a brutal upbringing as the firstborn son of a mafia boss in Naples. Falanga, 43, had been expected to follow in the footsteps of her father, currently serving a life sentence, into the powerful Camorra organised crime syndicate. Instead, she […]