New York Pledges $5.4 Million Investment in LGBTQ+ Community Initiatives
Governor Kathy Hochul today announced a significant $5.4 million investment aimed at supporting the LGBTQ+ community in New York. This includes a $4.4 million allocation to the Harlem SGL•LGBTQ Center for developing safe and culturally affirming programs, particularly for LGBTQ+ people of color. An additional $1 million will be directed towards workforce development programs for […]
Website tracks legal rights for trans people in Middle East and North Africa
The Cairo 52 Legal Research Institute has unveiled the MENA Trans Archive, a new, free online archive focused on legal and sharia-law information for trans people living in the Middle East and North Africa. The MENA Trans Archive is designed to empower and inform not only activists and researchers but also policymakers and the general public. It […]
Trans teen who protested at NHS England HQ sends powerful message to new PM Keir Starmer
A group of transgender teenagers begun occupying a ledge at Wellington House in central London on 28 June, urging political pundits to stop discriminating against trans youth. Several banners, including ones that read, “We are not pawns for your politics” and “trans kids deserve better” remain stuck to the entrance of the building. Ahead of […]
Argentina once led on LGBTQ rights. After 4 lesbians are set on fire, critics blame rising intolerance on Milei’s government
It was an attack that sent shockwaves through a country long considered a pioneer in LGBTQ rights. In the early hours of May 6, four lesbian women were set on fire in Argentina. Only one of them survived. It happened at a boarding house in the Barracas neighborhood of Buenos Aires, where Pamela Fabiana Cobas, […]
LGBTQ storm in $150bn Samoa deal teacup
In the last two days, my social media feed has been suffused with impassioned expressions of grief and outrage from Nigerians over a putative June 28 agreement that the Nigerian government has signed with the European Union to legalize LGBTQ+ rights in the country in exchange for a $150 economic package. It turned out that […]
Who are the LGBTQ+ allies in Keir Starmer’s new cabinet?
Keir Starmer appointed his cabinet following a landslide Labour victory in Thursday’s (4 July) general election that saw the party sweep back into power of the first time in 14 years. Shortly after speaking to the nation outside Number 10 Downing street in his first address as prime minister Friday (5 July), the Labour leader […]
Tallahassee students keep the spirit of Stonewall alive
On June 30, two days after the 55th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising, students and community members gathered at Tallahassee Students for a Democratic Society’s annual pride talent show, one of the longest-running non-corporate pride events in the city. SDS organized the talent show to celebrate the historic victories that queer people have won through […]
Push toward anti-‘gay propaganda’ laws in two former Soviet republics
Two former Soviet republics are considering Russian-style anti-LGBTQ laws. Neither the nation of Georgia nor that of Kazakhstan is considering criminalizing same-sex intimacy, but both are dealing with proposals for laws against so-called “gay propaganda”, which is a homophobic label for any public comment endorsing or tolerating homosexuality. In Kazakhstan, a petition against “LGBT propaganda” […]
Here’s What the Election of the U.K.’s New PM Means for LGBTQ+ Rights
The United Kingdom’s Labour Party won a landslide victory in Thursday’s general election, propelling party leader Keir Starmer to the office of Prime Minister and establishing a majority Labour government for the first time in 19 years. But despite general support for LGBTQ+ rights, Starmer’s recent comments about transgender issues raise serious questions about what […]
LGBT Rights Under Pressure in Bukele’s El Salvador
Hand in hand, Andrea and Fiorella attend an improvised mass in the garage of a house in San Salvador. There they say they don’t fear being discriminated against by a society that increasingly closes spaces for sexual diversity. Before a crucifix hanging on a column under a row of multicolored flags, about 15 members of […]
Controversy greets Nigeria’s $150 billion Samoa deal with alleged clause to promote LGBTQ
The federal government’s decision to sign a $150 billion Samoa Deal has been met with controversies over claim of LGBTQ clause. According to reports, the agreement reportedly includes clauses that require underdeveloped and developing nations to support LGBTQ rights as a condition for receiving financial and other forms of support from advanced countries. Named after the […]
US judge blocks Biden rule adding gender identity protections to healthcare
A U.S. judge on Wednesday blocked the Biden administration from enforcing a new rule against discrimination on the basis of gender identity in healthcare while he hears a lawsuit challenging it by 15 Republican-led states. The rule was finalized in May, opens new tab by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and was […]
How Ghana’s anti-gay bill impacts the LGBTQ+ community
Mohammed is 27 years old and gay. However, he has yet to come out about his sexuality. Like many other LGBTQ+ Ghanaians, he fears going public. That’s because Ghana’s lawmakers passed a bill in February that gives a jail term of up to 3 years to anyone convicted of identifying as LGBTQ+, among other things. Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo is […]
Bosnian Serb Entity Strikes ‘Gender Identity’ From Draft Criminal Code
The government of the majority-Serb entity that makes up half of Bosnia-Herzegovina has deleted the term “gender identity” in draft amendments to the region’s Criminal Code, indicating a hardening stance on LGBT causes and a further digression from central government authority in the post-Yugoslav state. Officials announced the change following a government session in Banja […]
In just a few years, half of all states passed bans on trans health care for kids
Transgender people under 18 face laws that bar them from accessing gender-affirming health care in 25 states — just a few years ago, not a single state had such a law. The Supreme Court has agreed to consider a case from Tennessee in its next term that challenges that state’s gender-affirming care ban for young people. “Pressure had […]
Latvia recognizes same-sex partnerships
RIGA — Latvia will allow heterosexual and same-sex couples to register their partnerships under a law that took effect Monday, a move welcomed by LGBTQ campaigners. The law grants registered partners equal rights in managing their households, offers tax and social security benefits, and allows for emergency hospital visits. It is the first time same-sex couples […]
Cameroon president’s daughter comes out, reveals relationship with Brazilian model
In the face of Cameroon‘s criminalization of LGBTQ+ relationships, the daughter of the nation’s president has come out. Brenda Biya, daughter of President Paul Biya, revealed in a recent post to her Instagram that she is in a relationship with Brazilian model Layyons Valença. Biya posted a photo of the two kissing, writing in the caption: “PS: I’m crazy […]
Courage amid crisis: Gendered impacts of the coup and the pursuit of gender equality in Myanmar
GENEVA (2 July 2024) – The military coup was a devastating setback for gender equality in Myanmar and has left women, girls, and LGBT people acutely vulnerable to discrimination, violence, and exploitation, according to a new report published today by Tom Andrews, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar. “Courage amid […]
Thousands March for LGBT Rights at Pride 2024 in Costa Rica
Thousands of Costa Ricans marched through the streets of San José for Pride 2024. Participants walked along Paseo Colón in defense of the rights of the LGBT population, through Paseo Colón and Avenida Segunda and arrived at the Plaza de la Democracia, where a concert was held to close the activity. Participants carried gay pride […]
Gay man arrested in Dagestan says police offered him money to entrap other men
A gay man who was briefly arrested in the Russian North Caucasus republic of Dagestan in June has described how he was offered money to help the police to entrap other gay men in the region, SOS Crisis Group, a local LGBTQ+ non-profit, said on Monday. The man, who asked to be referred to by […]
Transgender Olympic Athlete Sparks Controversy
A transgender athlete qualifying for the U.S. Olympic team this week sparked controversy on social media. Earlier this week, Nikki Hiltz, a transgender and nonbinary runner, qualified for the U.S. Olympic team heading to the Paris Olympics later this year. “woke up an Olympian,” Hiltz, who uses they/them pronouns, wrote in a social media post […]
Keir Starmer: Trans women don’t have right to use women’s spaces – even if they have a GRC
Labour leader Keir Starmer has issued another troubling statement on trans rights, this time saying trans women do not have the right to use women-only spaces, even if they have a gender recognition certificate (GRC). Trans rights have been used a “political football to divide people”, with single-sex spaces and the definition of sex in […]
Mexico fans again scream disgusting anti-gay slurs at a match as USA officials do nothing
Mexico has been eliminated from the Copa America with their supporters’ all-too-familiar anti-gay chant ringing in the players’ ears. “El Tri” will jointly host the FIFA World Cup in two years, but their fans’ insistence on chanting a homophobic slur shows no signs of abating, despite THREE separate stadium announcements Sunday. A crowd of 62,565 […]
Trans teens occupy ledge at NHS England headquarters: ‘Lives are at stake’
A group of transgender teenagers are three days into their occupation of a ledge at NHS England’s headquarters in central London, with a simple message that trans kids deserve better. On Friday (28 June), two young trans activists from the Trans Kids Deserve Better network scaled the building on Waterloo Road and held aloft a […]
Malawi court refuses to overturn anti-LGBTQ+ laws
Hopes of a second victory for LGBTQ+ rights activists in southern Africa were dashed Friday when the High Court in Malawi rejected two challenges seeking to overturn the nation’s anti-LGBTQ+ laws as the nearby nation of Namibia did on June 21. The ruling involved two separate cases — that of Dutch national Jan Willem Akster […]
Can Japan’s First Same-Sex Dating Reality Show Change Hearts and Minds?
Japan is the only country among the world’s wealthiest democracies that has not legalized same-sex unions. Few celebrities are openly gay. Conservative groups oppose legislative efforts to protect the L.G.B.T.Q. community. But now, Netflix is introducing the country’s first same-sex dating reality series. Over 10 episodes of “The Boyfriend,” which will be available in 190 countries beginning on July 9, a group […]
How the Lavender Scare forced LGBTQ workers out of the federal government
On this final day of Pride Month, the next installment of our “Hidden Histories” series isn’t about an individual, but a phenomenon: how the anti-communist paranoia that gripped Washington at the dawn of the Cold War led to an often-overlooked chapter in LGBTQ history. John Yang speaks with Marc Stein, a history professor at San […]
Pride in Finland’s oldest city shows how inclusive the country is
In Turku, Finland, the country’s oldest city and its former capital, thousands gathered in August last year for the city’s Pride Parade — officially a “protest march” — through the 13th-century streets and across the Aura River, which the Old City straddles. Photographer Patricia Bertenyi was there to capture multiple images of the day’s events. “All kinds […]
Assam Trans Student Ousted From School Due To Bikini Photos, Sparks Outcry
“My daughter, born in a male body but identifying as a girl, didn’t choose this difficult life where she faces bullying and hatred for being herself. A recent incident at her school in Assam has deeply shaken our trust in institutions meant to support and educate our children. Instead of being a place of learning, […]
‘I had to stand up in court and give gory details’: Why Biden’s gay veterans pardon is so important
A US air force veteran who was discharged for being gay and served time in prison for consensual gay sex has expressed his relief at the recent pardon issued by president Joe Biden. Biden published a presidential proclamation on Wednesday (26 June) which issued a “full, complete, and unconditional pardon” to thousands of LGBTQ+ veterans […]