Politicians’ anti-gay posturing mars Senegal election
Senegal’s gay community is on edge as the country heads into presidential elections this weekend, with a tradition of candidates flaunting anti-gay views to gain support. Local media reported this week that a gay man was beaten to death in a suburb of the capital, Dakar, which one activist said was linked to the political […]
Richard Grenell says he has support at home to decriminalize homosexuality abroad
U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell says the Trump administration has strong backing at home from Republicans and even religious conservatives for its push to end laws that criminalize homosexuality in foreign countries, telling NBC News that he’s “wildly supported by both parties.” In an exclusive interview in Berlin, Grenell says he has no concerns […]
Gay parenting ‘boot camp’ moves to Asia to meet growing demand from China
The world’s largest “boot camp” to help gay men become parents will stage its first Asia event next month to address growing demand for surrogates from China and the region, organizers said on Thursday. New York-based non-profit Men Having Babies (MHB) stages events across the world to provide advice and support to all LGBT+ people […]
Gay teacher threatened over LGBT lessons named as finalist for world’s top teaching award
A gay teacher who has been threatened over lessons on homosexuality has been named as a top 10 finalist for one of the world’s top teaching awards. Andrew Moffat, assistant head and a personal social health education teacher at Parkfield Community School in Birmingham, has faced protests from parents in recent weeks for teaching primary […]
Ex-child soldier fights for trans rights in Colombia
When Colombia’s FARC guerrillas turned up at the home of Cristian Camilo Gonzalez nearly two decades ago and shoved him into a truck when he was just aged 14, his happy childhood ended abruptly. For Gonzalez, having escaped from the FARC was a chance to come out of the closet without fear of being killed. […]
One in four pre-teen suicides may be LGBT youth
Youth 12 to 14 years old LGBT are much more likely to die by suicide than their heterosexual peers, a disparity that persists but becomes less pronounced by early adulthood, a U.S. study suggests. While 24 percent of the suicide deaths in the 12 to 14 age group were among LGBT youth in 2013-2015, this […]
Georgian far right vows to shut down upcoming LGBT parade
LGBT Pride Week will be held in Tbilisi from 18-23 June and is organized by Tbilisi Pride. Preparations for the event have already begun, and a preliminary programme of events has been released. However, many have reacted to the news with indignation – the ultra-right has promised it will not allow a gay parade to […]
Taiwan unveils Asia’s first draft law on same-sex marriage
Taiwan on Thursday proposed a draft law to allow same-sex marriage in Asia’s first such bill, but the legislation was criticized by rights activists and conservative groups amid a heated debate over marriage equality. Voters opposed marriage equality in a series of referendums late last year, defining marriage as between a man and a woman and […]
Kenya High Court delays ruling on law banning gay sex to May 24
Supporters and opponents of gay rights said on Friday they accepted a decision by Kenya’s High Court to delay for another three months a ruling on whether to strike down a colonial-era law banning gay sex. The ruling, potentially a landmark decision for gay rights in Africa, was due to be issued on Friday, but […]
Kenyan court to rule on decriminalising gay sex
Kenya’s High Court is to rule on Friday whether to decriminalise gay sex. The court’s verdict could make history if it decides to scrap the law that makes homosexuality illegal and dates back to British colonialism. As the countdown draws closer, the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (NGLHRC), which is one of the […]
Iceland’s Intersex Children at Risk As Without New Protection, Activist Says
The future health of Iceland’s intersex children has been put at risk with the removal of protections from a draft law that promotes transgender rights, the country’s leading intersex activist said on Tuesday. An article in the draft Bill on Act on Sexual and Gender Autonomy, expected to come before the Icelandic Parliament this month, […]
Singaporeans Remain Deeply Divided on the Issues of Recognizing Gay Civil Partnerships Here
Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam was right — Singapore remains “deeply split” on the matter of gay rights in the country. According to a new study by market research company YouGov, only 34 percent of Singaporeans are supportive of same-sex civil partnerships. It’s a lower figure than the 43 percent of Singaporeans who oppose its […]
LGBTI People With Disability to Launch Fearless Express at Sydney Mardi Gras
LGBTI people with disability will raise awareness for accessible public transport at the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras pride parade on 2 March. Five Australian disability organizations have organized the Fearless Express float. It will highlight the barriers LGBTI people with disability face in day to day life, according to the Star Observer. Led by poet and artist […]
LGBTQIA Members Walk for Pulwama Martyrs
I’m gay, that’s okay. I’m trans, that’s okay, I’m straight, that’s okay’…these slogans were chanted at the fourth edition of Nagpur Pride organised at Samvidhan Chowk on Saturday by hundreds of LGBTQIA members and their heterosexual supporters in the city. But this year’s Pride was organised without music, dhol or dance as a mark of respect to […]
LGBT+ Africans optimistic as Kenya set to rule on decriminalising gay sex
There is a quiet air of excitement at the offices of the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (NGLHRC), as the countdown draws closer to Friday when a much-awaited ruling by Kenya’s High Court could make history. The charity has fought hundreds of cases of abuse against sexual minorities in Kenya’s courts, but the […]
Gujarat Govt Establishes Transgender Welfare Board; Housing, Education & Other Issues To Be Taken Care Of
A Transgender Welfare Board has been established by the Gujarat government, which has been constituted by the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment. The community’s housing, education, employment and livelihood will be taken care of by the 16-member board. Gay prince Manvendra Singh, who has been fighting for LGBT rights through Lakshya Trust for the […]
Kenyan United Methodists oppose allowing LGBT clergy, pray for church unity worldwide
During a recent prayer service here at the Kayole St. John’s United Methodist Church, more than a hundred worshippers followed Rev. Wilton Odongo, one of the church’s head pastors, as he led congregants in prayer. This prayer was addressing the unity of the church — specifically, the worldwide United Methodist Church. Later this month, a […]
Inside Monica Roberts’ Mission to Identify Transgender Murder Victims
Monica Roberts does in 30 minutes what reporters have been failing to do for years. She identifies murder victims who are transgender. Whenever she discovers through Facebook that there’s been a death in the community, she begins investigating, combing through local news reports of recent killings in the area. Often, within half an hour, Roberts […]
No human rights violation in West Sumatra’s LGBT ban: Human rights commission
The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), says it doesn’t see West Sumatra’s plan to ban LGBT behavior in the province as an infringement on the human rights of the persecuted minority group. Speaking in the West Sumatra capital of Padang yesterday, Komnas HAM officials said human rights violations depends heavily on cultural context […]
Gay Pastoral Ministers in the Netherlands Publish Open Letter to Pope Francis
Gay pastoral ministers in the Netherlands have published an open letter to Pope Francis protesting the Vatican’s ban on gay priests and claiming the Gospel’s credibility is imperiled by the Church’s attitude on homosexuality. The Working Group of Catholic Gay Pastors (WKHP), which represents more than forty gay priests, deacons, and lay ministers in the […]
‘We are equal’: Thai party candidate aims to be first transgender Prime Minister
Pauline Ngarmpring wants to become Thailand’s first transgender prime minister to bring hope to the marginalised and make political life accessible for future LGBT people. As Pinit Ngarmpring, he was a CEO and sports promoter, well known in the world of Thai soccer. Now she prefers to be known as Pauline Ngarmpring. The 52-year-old is one […]
Canada makes $30M pledge supporting global LGBT rights
Canada’s government has pledged $30 million to improve LGBT lives in developing countries over the next five years. The announcement, made February 7, includes annual payments of $10 million after that. Randy Boissonnault, Canada’s special adviser to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on LGBTQ2 issues, and International Development Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau joined LGBT global advocates in […]
Algerian student murdered, ‘he is gay’ written on wall with his blood
Two assailants executed an Algerian medical student in a shocking homophobic killing on Sunday, in which victim’s blood was smeared on a wall reading “He is Gay.” Assil Belalta was murdered in his student residence at the Taleb Abderrahmane campus in Ben Aknoun, a district just outside the city of Algiers. The 21-year-old Belalta was […]
LGBTQ Armenians Face Reign of Terror
On Monday, there was another gay-bashing in Armenia, this time against a member of Right Side NGO, a trans activism organization. Max Yarzhapetyan was walking on the street in Yerevan, the capital and largest city, when three men started to follow him, swear at him, and hurl homophobic slurs. Yarzhapetyan called the police as the […]
German minister calls for ban on conversion therapy
The German health minister, Jens Spahn, has said that he will seek to ban “conversion therapies” that claim to change sexual orientation. “Homosexuality is not an illness, which is why it does not need to be treated,” Spahn, who is gay himself, told the left-leaning Berlin daily Die Tageszeitung. He hoped that a German law […]
Federal judge temporarily blocks military from forcing out HIV-positive airmen
A federal judge on Friday blocked the military from forcing out a pair of HIV-positive airmen, saying she had seen no evidence that the disease should prevent them from serving. “These are the kinds of people that it seems to me the military wants to keep in the service,” Judge Leonie Brinkema of the Eastern […]
Outing the Irish LGBT past, telling the truth to the present at New York Irish Center
For most of the 20th century, LGBT Irish citizens were forced to live in a kind of exile in their own country, with the laws, the church and public opinion all working in concert to make their lives invisible or intolerable. So what happens to a history that is not written down? What happens to […]
Hopes High Before Kenya Ruling on Decriminalizing Gay Sex
Members of Kenya’s LGBT community are looking forward to a High Court ruling that might decriminalize gay sex. The impending ruling is raising hopes among LGBT persons across the region. South of Nairobi, in a remote town, models are in training in a safe house tucked in a quiet neighborhood. These are not just any […]
Don’t forget about us, say LGBT+ students
LGBT+ students and their supporters are urging parliament not to forget about them and protecting their rights to stay in the school they want to attend. A group of young people delivered a petition to federal parliament on Wednesday with more than 55,000 signatures calling for all students and teachers to be protected from discrimination. […]
Gay-friendly cartoons outrage homophobic Indonesians
Indonesia’s Information and Communications Ministry, also known as Kominfo, has demanded that the popular social network Instagram remove gay-friendly cartoons published by a user known only as @Alpantuni. The ministry even suggested that Instagram be blocked in Indonesia. The cartoons riled many Indonesia users of Instagram, who tagged Kominfo in comments about the cartoons to […]