Czech Republic rules against same-sex couples adopting as wave of homophobia continues sweeping across Europe

The Czech Republic has ruled against adoptions from same-sex couples registered abroad as anti-LGBT+ rhetoric continues spreading across eastern Europe. On Monday (11 January) the Czech Constitutional Court rejected a regional court’s proposal to amend a law that prevents same-sex couples registered abroad from adopting Czech children. Same-sex couples are currently unable to adopt as […]

South Korean firm suspends LGBT-hating chatbot over hate speech

A popular AI-driven chatbot in South Korea with the persona of a 20-year-old female student was taken down this week after it was accused of bigotry towards sexual minorities, the #MeToo movement and the disabled. Lee Luda, developed by Seoul-based start-up Scatter Lab to operate within Facebook Messenger, became an instant sensation for her spontaneous […]

Hong Kong workplaces lag behind rest of Asia in LGBT acceptance, study finds

Attention to workplace diversity and inclusion (D&I) has been on the rise in recent years. Among key areas of D&I, many are calling for advancing lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) inclusion. But despite an increasing focus on LGBT equality in the workplace in Hong Kong, more multinational firms in Hong Kong had enacted LGBT-friendly workplace […]

Poland plans to make censoring of social media accounts illegal

Polish government officials have denounced the deactivation of Donald Trump’s social media accounts, and said a draft law being readied in Poland will make it illegal for tech companies to take similar actions there. “Algorithms or the owners of corporate giants should not decide which views are right and which are not,” wrote the prime […]

INTERVIEW-Greece’s first gay minister hopes appointment helps erode homophobia

LONDON, Jan 11 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Greece’s first openly gay minister said encountering homophobia in public life was “a given”, but hoped his appointment to the conservative government would make it easier for LGBT+ people to tackle discrimination. Nicholas Yatromanolakis was named deputy minister for contemporary culture after being promoted last week in a […]

WOMAN WHO THREATENED TO BOMB SCHOOL PLEADS GUILTY TO HATE CRIMES

After threating to kill students and teachers by bombing the Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School in Washington DC in May 2019, a woman has plead guilty to hate crimes. Enraged by the school’s announcement that they would begin publishing same-sex wedding announcements in its alumni magazine, 36-year-old Sonia Tabizada of San Jacinto, California made multiple, threatening […]

Popular rabbi warns followers COVID vaccine ‘could make you gay’

A popular rabbi urged his followers not to be vaccinated against the coronavirus, warning them that doing so, it might “turn them” into homosexuals. Rabbi Daniel Asor’s assertion goes against decrees issued by leading rabbis in Israel and around the world, who have called on ultra-Orthodox society to take every precaution against the global pandemic, […]

Polish activists face jail for sticking up Virgin Mary posters with rainbow halo

The trial of three Polish activists accused of “offending religious beliefs” will start on Wednesday, according to LGBT+ rights organisation ILGA-Europe, and could result in each one being jailed for up to two years. Elżbieta, Anna and Joanna – whose last names have not been released – were arrested in 2019 and charged the next […]

Dept. of Ed Says Title IX Does Not Apply to LGBTQ Discrimination

The United States Department of Education’s Office of the General Counsel published a memorandum on Friday that states that LGBTQ students are not expressly included in protections under Title IX, the law that prohibits sex discrimination at federally funded institutions. Questions about how Title IX applies to LGBTQ students surfaced after the U.S. Supreme Court’s […]

Move to make state gender identity more inclusive in SA

Move to make state gender identity more inclusive in SA Article by Roberto Igual | January 12, 2021 | In HEADLINES The South African government wants to update the country’s gender identity policies and laws to be more inclusive of transgender and intersex citizens. Published last month for public comment by the Department of Home […]

Senegal: Victims of homophobia find respect inside prison walls

African prisons often are hotbeds of homophobic violence, but that hasn’t been the experience of seven Senegalese men convicted in November on homosexuality charges. Treated respectfully by at least two prison officials, last month they also met with LGBTQ rights advocates who visited them in prison. The Free Collective, which shelters abused victims of Senegal’s […]

Remote Work Eases Coming Out for Transgender Employees

For those who decide to come out as transgender, the workplace can be a big hurdle—using the bathrooms, keeping up a new appearance and dealing with reactions from co-workers. But with many offices going remote, more transgender employees are concluding they can come out while letting their work—not their gender identity—speak for them. River Bailey, […]

Tolerant Uruguay a place for some trans citizens to ‘glow’

On a recent Sunday in the Salaverry household in Montevideo, various members of Uruguayan transgender teenager Sebastian’s family gathered for a traditional “asado,” or barbecue. The family sat around the large kitchen table, looking at photos of a young Sebastian and his older brother Ignacio. Sebastian, who at 18 sports the shadow of a beard, […]

The ex-cop behind China’s largest gay dating app

Browsing the internet as a young policeman in China, Ma Baoli recalls the sheer volume of web pages telling him he was a pervert, diseased and in need of treatment — simply because he was gay. “I felt extremely lonely after I became aware of my sexual orientation,” says Ma, at the time a newly […]

In Four Years, Trump Has Ushered In Federal Judicial Climate Unprecedented In Its Hostility

In just four years, President Trump has ushered in a judicial landscape that is significantly more hostile toward LGBTQ+ people, with nearly 40% of Trump’s confirmed federal appellate judges having demonstrated anti-LGBTQ+ bias according to a new report released today by Lambda Legal. The new report — the culmination of a painstaking, four-year effort by […]

Anti-gay rhetoric ramps up fear among LGBT+ Ugandans ahead of polls

Homophobic comments by Uganda’s president and other politicians are making some LGBT+ Ugandans too scared to vote in elections scheduled for Jan. 14, gay rights campaigners said on Tuesday. LGBT+ people face widespread persecution in the east African nation, where gay sex is punishable by life imprisonment, and gay activists fear politicians exploiting homophobic sentiment […]

Our rules don’t permit it — NCC chief on enrolment of transgenders in the corps

Observing that the current rules did not permit enrollment of transgenders, National Cadet Corps (NCC) head Lt Gen Tarun Kumar Aich on Friday said NCC would need “numbers” of the third gender and other “dynamics” to have them in the uniformed youth organisation. Interestingly, while the DG NCC was addressing the annual press conference, the […]

First-ever Jamaica transgender strategy looks beyond health

Imagine using a health-care system that has no concept of you as a person, or of your unique needs. Nurses might not ask important questions. Doctors might overlook the solutions you really require. You might feel unwelcome. That has always been the reality for transgender people in Jamaica. A new strategy seeks to change this. […]

There’s no shame in being intersex – and that’s beautiful’

For years, parents of intersex babies – babies born with a combination of female and male biological characteristics – were encouraged to get “gender normalising” surgery. But intersex advocates are increasingly speaking out against what they say can be a damaging – and irreversible – practice. Ori Turner, who uses the pronouns they/them, is intersex. […]

No Safe Haven for LGBT People in El Salvador

Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele agreed on December 15 to implement an Asylum Cooperative Agreement with the US government. It allows US immigration authorities to transfer non-Salvadoran asylum seekers to El Salvador, instead of allowing them to seek asylum in the US. US President-elect Joe Biden has pledged to terminate the deeply flawed agreement, a deeply […]

Gay Indonesian policeman loses legal bid for reinstatement – lawyers

JAKARTA (Reuters) – A gay Indonesian policeman dismissed from the force because of his sexual orientation has lost his legal fight to be reinstated, after a Central Java court rejected his lawsuit, his lawyers said on Thursday. Tri Teguh Pujianto, a 31-year-old former police brigadier, was fired in 2018 after 10 years in the job, […]

‘LGBT for Trump’ Wave Flags as Domestic Terrorists Invade Capitol

Millions across the globe are still in shock from yesterday’s events in Washington D.C., which saw a mob of Trump supporters storming the Capitol and interrupting Congress as legislators were confirming the Electoral College votes from the 2020 presidential election. The scene quickly turned violent, leaving four dead and injuring many others. However, their attempts […]

LGBT Persecution in Senegal

In Senegal, a young man was arrested for his suspected sexual orientation, the African Human Rights Media Network reported. Though persecution in the West African country is unfortunately common, the young man represents the 37th arrest since just September. The arrest occurred on Dec. 28, the AHRMN reported. A spokesperson for the Free Collective, an […]

LGBT Groups Back Trump Removal From Office, Condemn Capitol Riot

LGBT groups have condemned Wednesday’s siege of the Capitol by Trump supporters. President Donald Trump for weeks has been calling on supporters to descend on the city on January 6, the day a joint session of Congress was scheduled to certify President-elect Joe Biden’s November win. Trump appeared at a “Save America Rally” near the […]

Anti-gay rhetoric ramps up fear among LGBT+ Ugandans ahead of polls

NAIROBI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Homophobic comments by Uganda’s president and other politicians are making some LGBT+ Ugandans too scared to vote in elections scheduled for Jan. 14, gay rights campaigners said on Tuesday. LGBT+ people face widespread persecution in the east African nation, where gay sex is punishable by life imprisonment, and gay activists […]

Poland: Church cancels lease of liberal Catholic magazine

WARSAW, Poland — A liberal Roman Catholic magazine in Poland that recently criticized some high-ranking church officials says local church authorities in Krakow have terminated the publication’s office lease after almost 76 years. The Tygodnik Powszechny (General Weekly) said on Facebook and on its website that a letter from the Krakow Curia delivered Monday gave […]