A decision by the Reverend Father Sean Major-Campbell to openly embrace and show love to members of the lesbian, gay and transgender community during a service at the Christ Church in Vineyard Town, Kingston, caught members of the congregation by surprise, with some saying afterwards that they felt betrayed by their spiritual leader. Read More
Egypt reduces sentence for eight men over gay marriage video
An Egyptian appeals court has reduced the jail terms for eight men sentenced last month on charges relating to their appearance in an online video purporting to show the country's first gay marriage ceremony.
The court cut the sentences - on charges of spreading indecent images and inciting debauchery - from three years each to one year, judicial sources said. Read More
UK trans people banned from voting unless they provide previous name
Trans people are furious at the UK government's new electoral registration system, forcing them to provide a previous name in order to be eligible to vote.
The new online voter registration system means that trans individuals cannot register to vote unless they provide false information or they out themselves publicly with no guarantee their data will be protected under the Gender Recognition Act 2004. Read More
Taiwan rejects progressive trans policy
This past week, the Ministry of Interior decided to not adopt the recommendation from the Ministry of Health and Welfare that transgender individuals wishing to change their genders should not have to go through psychiatric evaluations nor be subjected to surgery removing their sex organs. The MOI asserted that there is room for discussion on this issue because of the human rights of the transgender individuals, but it also warned that social order and harmony must be maintained.
Transgender activists, including the Intersex, Transgender and Transsexual People Care Association, are understandably upset that a policy recommendation that would have been one of the most progressive in the world in terms of gender transitioning (most jurisdictions that do not mandate surgery still require psychiatric evaluations) is not being adopted. Read More
EU report reveals alarming reality trans people
The EU Fundamental Rights Agency presented the largest comparative study on the experiences of trans people in all 28 EU Member States. The FRA calls the results “alarming”, but highlights that legal frameworks and good policies have a positive impact on trans people’s lives. The FRA study was launched at an event organised by the Intergroup on LGBTI Rights and Transgender Europe. The study takes a closer look at results of the nearly 7000 trans respondents of the EU LGBT Survey. Read More
US: Michigan House Just Passed a Bill with Truly Devastating Results for Gay People
What if you were evicted because you were gay, but there was nothing you could do about it? Denied service at a restaurant because you're a devout Sikh? Refused Plan B at the only drug store in town because the pharmacist on duty is an evangelical Christian?
The state’s House of Representatives passed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) this week, and if it passes the Senate it would enable those with “deeply-held religious beliefs” to withhold basic services from LGBTI people, inducing life-saving healthcare and medication. Read more
Report: Anti-LGBT Violence Has Increased In Russia Since “Propaganda” Ban
A new report from Human Rights Watch details rising violence against LGBT people in Russia since the country adopted a ban on “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations” among minors in 2013. The research comes on the heels of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s comments that his country has been unfairly labeled as anti-LGBT.
The Human Rights Watch report, based on dozens of interviews with Russian LGBT individuals and activists conducted in 2013 and 2014, paints a starkly different portrait. Read More
Burundi: Discriminatory Laws Hinder Burundi's Response to HIV
Speaking anonymously to protect against criminal charges and discrimination, Burundi health workers and social support workers spoke out against criminalization of same sex relationships and the detrimental effect laws have on providing healthcare to their communities:
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people (LGBTI), as well as sex workers, are among those most at risk of HIV infection. "Laws that criminalise consensual sexual conduct and real or perceived sexual orientation increase the risk of HIV/AIDS among the sexual minorities in Burundi," said Minani*, a member of Burundian Youth Network of HIV Positive (RNJ+).
"It makes sexual minorities afraid of showing themselves and afraid to visit the health clinics. They don't dare to go into government health agencies to request assistance, treatment or prevention services." Read More
Philippines: Closure of gay bars “to end AIDS” looms in Baguio
Health officials asked the city government on Wednesday to close down gay bars to prevent the spread of the dreaded disease AIDS, which showed an upsurge in the past several months. Dra. Celiaflor Brillantes, head of the social hygiene clinic, said 80 percent of the 60 AIDS cases in the city have been traced to men having sex with men and returning overseas workers, who got infected abroad.
“We have to close down the gay bars and strictly regulate the operation of nightspots in order to prevent the further increase of individuals contracting the dreaded disease,” Brillantes said. Read More
Gay teen in hospital after neo-Nazi attack in Madrid
A gay teen was hospitalized after he and his boyfriend were attacked by Neo-Nazis in Madrid. The pair, aged 17 and 23, were attacked by nine men and a woman all dressed in black Neo-Nazi attire including military-style boots.
The gay couple were sitting on a bench in front of the Temple of Debod with a friend, holding hands, when they were approached by the group at around 9pm. They were asked whether they were 'fags' or 'fascists' before they were attacked. Read More
ISIS says it threw 'gay' man off rooftop then stoned him to death
The Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) on Tuesday posted photographs appearing to show extremists throwing a "gay" man off a rooftop and then stoning him to death.
"The Islamic court in Wilayet al-Furat decided that a man who has practised sodomy must be thrown off the highest point in the city, and then stoned to death," read a statement accompanying the images. Read More
Gay Hero of Sydney Hostage Crisis Died a Second Class Citizen
The 16 hour siege of a Lindt coffee shop in Sydney, Australia ended when hostages attempted to flee while hostage Tori Johnson charged the terrorist. Tori Johnson was 34. He managed the Lindt Chocolate Café for two years. Employees and customers all said he was a good man, a kind man. He was also a gay man.
Author James Peron discusses Johnson and other heroes of recent terrorist attacks across the globe who happen to be gay. Read More