Same-sex marriage now legal in Northern Ireland
From Monday, same-sex couples will be able to register to marry, meaning the first ceremonies will take place in February. For couples who are already married, their marriage will now be legally recognised in Northern Ireland. However, those who are already in a civil partnership will not be able to convert it to a marriage […]
Being gay in Guatemala is ‘a political issue’
Guatemala’s Aldo Davila has been interested in politics since he was a teenager. He has always empathized with those struggling in Guatemala’s unequal and at times violent society. Davila, who was born in 1977, has dedicated years to helping HIV-positive people and members of the LGBTQI community. Now Davila, who himself is openly gay, has […]
Twitter apologises for letting ads target neo-Nazis and bigots
Twitter has apologised for allowing adverts to be micro-targeted at certain users such as neo-Nazis, homophobes and other hate groups. The BBC discovered the issue and that prompted the tech firm to act. Our investigation found it possible to target users who had shown an interest in keywords including “transphobic”, “white supremacists” and “anti-gay”. Twitter […]
The gayest Davos in history still isn’t gay enough
The World Economic Forum, which kicks off this week in Davos, prides itself on tackling some of the knottiest issues facing humanity. But on at least one front – the rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people – the assemblage is uncharacteristically shy. The WEF is addressing the issue in some important ways, to […]
Tokyo ward to let sexual minorities pick their school, work uniforms
Tokyo’s Minato Ward plans to adopt the first ordinance in Japan that gives sexual minorities the freedom to choose school uniforms and work attire based on their own gender identity. The ward office intends to propose an ordinance amendment to grant “freedom of gender expression” for people identified as LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) […]
Human Rights in the South Caucasus: 2019 victories and losses
The Human Rights Watch report states that Azerbaijani authorities continue to exact tight control over the political system and persecute critics. There was at least one known police operation where they detained 14 people of non-traditional sexual and gender orientations. Five were subsequently released, the fate of the remaining nine has not been reported. The […]
Reaching out to gay congregants
AUSTRALIA’S Orthodox rabbis will soon have a set of guidelines on engaging with gay congregants under an initiative being developed by the Rabbinical Council of Australia and New Zealand (RCANZ). RCANZ president Rabbi Yaakov Glasman, senior rabbi of St Kilda Shule, reflected that making Orthodox shules optimally accessible to non-heterosexual people “is especially confronting for […]
Hong Kong’s lesbian bars are vanishing, but for LGBT people it’s actually a good sign in the traditionally conservative city
Tse Tong, the owner of Hong Kong’s first lesbian bar, does not mind that the lesbian bar scene in the city is declining as it reflects the traditionally conservative society’s increasing tolerance for LGBT people. Where once lesbians felt excluded and marginalised in most places in the city, and went to lesbian-only bars to find […]
UK Reports Massive Decline In HIV Rates
The British government has reported a massive decline in the number of people diagnosed with HIV since 2012. According to figures released by Public Health England, new infections among gay and bisexual men have fallen by 71 percent. The decline has been attributed to a rise in the use of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), more commonly […]
LGBT activists say new bills target transgender youth
At the urging of conservative advocacy groups, Republican legislators in more than a dozen states are promoting bills that focus on transgender young people. One batch of bills would bar doctors from providing them certain gender-related medical treatment; another batch would bar trans students from participating on school sports teams of the gender they identify […]
Scotland: Catholic Church opposes ‘troubling’ reforms to gender recognition lawsin
The Catholic Church has called on its congregation to oppose proposed reforms to gender recognition laws in Scotland, which it called “troubling”. It also said that trans people must accept the gender they were assigned at birth for the sake of marriage and family life. Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon published draft plans to reform […]
Sponsor of controversial Tennessee adoption bill has 2nd bill aimed at LGBT community
A Tennessee lawmaker who earlier this week passed a controversial measure that lets faith-based agencies reject LGBT couples wishing to adopt or provide foster care to children has yet a second bill roiling advocacy groups. They charge Republican Sen. Paul Rose’s “Business Protection Act” would create a government-created “license to discriminate” against the LGBT community. […]
Rent rises force revered LGBT bookshop out of Paris’s gay district
Les Mots à La Bouche, a 40-year-old Paris institution, is the top LGBT bookshop in France and considered one of the best in the world – a focal point of Paris’s historic gay neighbourhood in the Marais district. But as property speculation in central Paris reaches dizzying heights – it is estimated that at certain […]
Malaysia, where gay sex is illegal, used to be home to a community of gender non-conforming shamans
Homosexuality is doubly illegal in Malaysia as it is banned by the country’s secular, colonial-era legal code, as well as its special Islamic courts. LGBT+ people have no legal protections against discrimination in the predominantly Islamic country, and the government currently runs a gay ‘rehabilitation programme’ and last year claimed it had ‘cured’ 1,450 people […]
‘Anti-sexual deviance propaganda’ bill mysteriously on priority list
The massive 2019-2024 National Legislation Program (Prolegnas) set by the House of Representatives lists 248 bills, including four proposed omnibus laws, an ambitious undertaking considering that the previous House only managed to pass 91 out of the 189 bills in the 2014-2019 Prolegnas. One of the more curious entries on the list, which was approved […]
Swedish crown princess makes history with first-ever visit to an LGBT organisation
Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and her husband Prince Daniel have made a historic royal visit to an LGBT+ organisation, sending a clear message of support in the face of growing nationalist politics. The royals were given a tour of RFSL and RFSL Ungdom’s national office in Stockholm to gain an insight into the challenges […]
Iranian militia declares Iraq not for ‘filthy homosexuals, collaborators’
An official for the Iranian-sponsored Popular Mobilization Units declared in a video that Iraq is not a country for homosexuals or collaborators, and that his organization will obliterate government protestors. The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) posted a video on Thursday that revealed PMU Official Ali Al-Husseini’s anti-gay diatribe. “Iraq is not a country […]
The Empty Consumerism of China’s ‘Queer Eye’ Clone
The core concept of Mango TV’s “You Are So Beautiful,” which premiered on the popular streaming network late last year, is simple. Each week, five fabulous experts band together to give glam makeovers to a revolving door of sartorially challenged sad sacks. They update their clients’ wardrobes and hairstyles, offer them hip lifestyle tips, and […]
South Korea to decide on first transgender soldier amid debate
South Korea’s military said on Thursday it will hold a meeting to discuss whether it will discharge the first soldier to have undergone gender reassignment surgery, which has sparked national debate about the treatment of LGBT troops. The soldier, who holds the rank of staff sergeant and is stationed in Gyeonggi Province, north of Seoul, […]
Israeli minister’s homophobic comments spark huge protest
More than 3,000 students gathered in Tel Aviv on Wednesday, waving signs reading: “I don’t want to be normal”, in response to last week’s homophobic comments by the Israeli education minister. Last Friday, Rafi Peretz was asked in an interview: “What would you do if one of your children had a different sexual orientation?” Dismissing […]
Trans Activist Runs for Congress in Peru
Gahela Tseneg Cari Contreras is running for Congress in Peru, but the name she has gone by her entire adult life will apparently not be on the ballot. Instead, voters will have to cast a ballot for “Guillermo Junior” Cari Contreras. Exhibit A on why this 27-year-old indigenous trans activist wants to have her voice […]
Queer K-pop: chorus grows for gay rights in Asia
Wearing bright bow ties and dark dress, a group of South Korean women belt out song after song about the joy and stigma of being gay – part of a growing clamor for LGBT+ rights in Asia. “Unnie Choir” sang about their struggles at a sold-out concert in the socially conservative nation, where homosexuality remains […]
Tennessee governor says he will sign anti-gay adoption bill
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee announced Tuesday that he’ll sign into law a measure that would assure continued taxpayer funding of faith-based foster care and adoption agencies even if they exclude LGBT families and others based on religious beliefs. The GOP-controlled Senate gave the bill final passage on the first day of the 2020 legislative session […]
Chastity campaigner banned from schools over LGBT comments
A number of talks due to be given in Ireland this week by Jason Evert, the American Catholic campaigner who promotes conservative Catholic teaching around sex and marriage, have been cancelled following a backlash over the speaker’s views on homosexuality and contraception. Evert is the founder of the Chastity Project, a US initiative which promotes […]
Malaysia: Human Rights Reforms Stall
Malaysia’s promised human rights reforms stalled in 2019 as the government either backed away from or delayed action on its campaign commitments, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2020. “Malaysia’s reform process is failing because the ruling coalition’s leaders have lacked the political will to stand up for principles in the face […]
Indonesia rights body condemns LGBT raids ordered by mayor after UK rape case
Indonesia’s human rights commission on Tuesday condemned plans by a mayor to launch raids targeting the LGBT community in his city after a local man was convicted in Britain of sexually assaulting 48 men. Described by a prosecutor as “the most prolific rapist in British legal history”, Indonesian student Reynhard Sinaga last month was convicted […]
Russia: Race to the Bottom on Rights
Repression escalated in Russia during 2019 as the government answered rising civic and political activism with bans, repressive laws, and showcase prosecutions, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2020. The human rights situation in the North Caucasus remained grim, with drug-related charges used to retaliate against a journalist and a prominent human […]
House Democrats to ask ICE to release all transgender immigrants in custody
House Democrats are preparing to ask the Department of Homeland Security to release all transgender immigrants being held at long-term federal immigration facilities. Democratic Rep. Mike Quigley of Illinois is leading the effort to ensure those who identify as transgender are not held weeks or months in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention while they […]
Grief over death of Young Liberal Wilson Gavin after drag queen protest
Friends and opponents alike have expressed their grief after the death of Wilson Gavin, the leader of a rightwing student club at the University of Queensland, who died one day after leading a protest at a drag queen storytime event in a Brisbane library. Gavin, the president of the university’s Liberal National Club, is believed […]
Activists across Africa pay tribute to Aunty Ivy, a pioneer of the African LGBT movement
The curtain has come down on one of the pioneers of the African LGBTQI+ movement. Emmanuel Kamau or Aunty Ivy as they were popularly known to the community both in Kenya and across Africa, was one of the founder members of the oldest gay group in Kenya ISHTAR MSM, which was founded in 1999. Aunty […]