A new study has found that 6.5% of Australians in their 20s identify as gay, more than any other age group surveyed. The survey asked 18,000 Australians aged 14 and over to agree or disagree with the statement: “I consider myself a homosexual.”
The general trend shows a steady increase in people identifying as gay across all age groups. The figure increased from just over 4%t in 2006 to 2008.
Roy Morgan Research chief executive Michael Levine said that the overall rising numbers reveal a cultural shift. “Finding out the ‘real’ number, therefore, is less about getting a head-count and more a gauge of just how open we are." Read More
Japan: 7.6% of Japanese people identify as LGBTI
Japan has an LGBTI population of 7.6%, according to a recent survey. This is equivalent to one in every 13 persons or 9.67 million people.
Advertising company Denstu polled 69,989 adults aged 20 to 59. A similar survey in 2012 found that only 5.2%, or one in 19, Japanese people identified as LGBTI. Dentsu said their methods had changed so it would be difficult to directly compare the 2012 and 2015 results, but it noted that more LGBTI people were daring to come out as society changed. Read More
Japan: Gay Rights Movement Gains Steam
To get a local council here to grant symbolic recognition to same-sex couples, the main pitch wasn’t about civil rights but about sharpening the ward’s cutting-edge image at home and abroad: “We need to be on par with London, New York and San Francisco as a cultural center,” said Ken Hasebe, who pushed the issue for 3 years as an assembly member in Tokyo’s Shibuya district.
His success this spring in passing the ordinance—the first of its kind in Japan—illustrates how changes under way in the West are having ripple effects elsewhere, even in deeply conservative countries like Japan. Many activists see the ordinance as a monumental step, however, because it has helped ignite a public discussion about long-ignored issues such as antigay discrimination.
Mr. Hasebe said he avoided painting same-sex partnerships as a human-rights issue to appeal to a wider audience and avoid arguments with conservative assembly members.
“I told them, only we, Shibuya, could be so bold and diverse,” the 43-year-old said in an interview. The ward, with about 200,000 residents, is known for its street fashion and youth culture, but isn’t considered a particularly gay area. Not only did the strategy work in the assembly, but Mr. Hasebe also pulled off a surprise win in April’s elections for ward mayor, beating a candidate from an established party who wanted to roll back the same-sex recognition. Read More
Singapore: In the line of duty
Introducing Project X, a Singapore-based sex workers' rights advocacy group that recognizes the intersectionalities of LGBT and mainstream issues. Its head, Vanessa Ho, laments that much remains to be done to help better the lives of those in the sex industry – the LGBT community, for one, “needs to be more embracing of other minorities” – but she also believes that those in the industry can take steps to help alleviate their situation. “Don’t stay silent. Speak out,” she says. Read More
Chinese Sexologist Opens Up About the Future for China's LGBT Community
Li Yinhe, born in Beijing in 1952, is a sociologist, sexologist, and LGBT activist and has studied sexuality in China for over four decades. She is also considered a pioneer of gender studies and advocate of sexual openness in China. She shared with us the huge changes she has seen in China, throughout the entire country as well as within the LGBT community.
“I believe the changes [in attitudes towards sex] have been huge. In the past, sex was only a way to produce children and expand your family. Since the implementation of family planning, this was bound to change since families were only allowed to have one child, or two in the countryside. Now people have sex for their own enjoyment rather than just as a means to procreate,” Li says.
“I remember about 20 years ago, in the People’s Daily, homosexuality, prostitution, and drugs were all supposedly linked to social evils. This was the media’s attitude towards the LGBT community before, and a main reason for discrimination against the LGBT community.”
Li emphasizes the increasing visibility of the LGBT community, and how much more frequently they are now mentioned in state media. This wasn’t the same even 10 years ago, when everybody was convinced that no one was gay, and so they had never met someone who purported to be homosexual. The LGBT community back then was completely invisible. Read More
Colombia: Changing gender identity card is fast and simple
Members of Colombia’s transgender community now will have an easier time changing their names and sex on identification cards under a new law. Colombians will be able to change their sex on identification forms without having to prove their sexual identity through psychiatric or physical evaluations.
Justice Minister Yesid Reyes told Colombian newspaper El Espectador he approved the rule change Friday to allow people to change their sex on government-issued ID cards by signing a document before a notary, bypassing the “cumbersome” way those changes currently are approved.
Nevertheless, Colombia’s transgender community remains vulnerable to discrimination and violence. Nearly 70 transgender people have been slain in Colombia in the last eight years, according to Todd Howland, the U.N. human rights representative in Colombia.
US: My daughter, Caitlyn Jenner, and Laverne Cox
Blogger Marlo Mack, who chronicles raising her transgender daughter, captures the hope that has spread by the positive media surrounding Jenner and Cox. In a recent post, Mack shared what happened when her daughter was able to meet Ms. Cox:
Laverne waved her Hollywood wave at the crowd, thanked us graciously, and then looked down at the little girl blocking her path. “Well, hello,” she said. “I’m M.,” my daughter said. Laverne smiled down at her. “Hello, M.” “And I’m trans,” M. said. I don’t think Ms. Cox saw that coming. Read More
US: Transgender people are more visible than ever, but it's still legal to discriminate against them in most states
Caitlyn Jenner's Vanity Fair cover was met with an outpouring of love and acceptance. Though Jenner's coming out marks a huge moment for trans visibility, daily discrimination and violence is still the norm for thousands of transgender Americans. The rate of violence against trans women, especially trans women of color, is alarming -- according to a 2013 report by the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, 72% of victims of anti-LGBTQ homicide were transgender women, and 89% of victims were people of color.
It's not surprising there are so many health and safety issues in the trans community -- in many places there aren't laws to protect them from housing or workplace discrimination, and hate crime legislation is nonexistent or doesn't include trans people as a protected group. Read More
UK: MPs given gender neutral option when entering House of Commons
A Message from UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé
We are living in a time of rapid social change. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people are now reaching new frontiers and celebrating remarkable achievements. Despite this transformation, acts of discrimination and violence continue against the LGBTI community.
We cannot tolerate picking and choosing rights in a modern society—a society where diversity is celebrated; a society where everyone, no matter where they live or whom they love, is able to live in peace and security; a society where everyone can contribute to the health and well-being of their community. We can make this society a reality, but we will need global solidarity. We did this when we fought against apartheid—and we won!
As we observe the International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, I call on everyone to join the movement for social justice, equality and equity so that all people can live with respect and dignity. This is the future I commit to—this is the future I embrace. Watch his remarks here
Wanted: Allies in the fight against homophobia & transphobia
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged more businesses to become allies in equality for LGBT people: "I believe in leading by example. At the UN, I have implemented a policy change to extend to same-sex spouses of UN staff the same benefits as heterosexual spouses, including health insurance coverage. The new policy means that the UN now honours the marriage of any same-sex couple wed in a country where same-sex marriages are legal."
"To mark the Day, the UN human rights office has released a short video called “Faces” as part of its UN Free & Equal campaign. The video, in which I was proud to take part, celebrates the contributions that LGBTI people make to families and local communities everywhere." Read his full statement
Cuba: Murders of gays raise question of hate crimes
During the events surrounding the annual celebration of IDAHOT in Cuba, it emerged that a young transsexual had recently been killed in the city of Pinar del Río near the western tip of this Caribbean island nation. While efforts to combat discrimination against LGBT are stepped up in Cuba, this segment of the population remains vulnerable to harassment and violence – and even death.
Violent crime is generally surrounded by silence in this island nation of 11.2 million people, and killings of LGBT individuals are no exception. The 1987 penal code does not specifically recognise hate crimes, or sexual orientation and gender identity as aggravating circumstances in murders.
National Centre for Sex Education (CENESEX) said the number of murders of MSM in 2013 and 2014 was high. At that time the issue came to the forefront because of the deaths of two high-profile openly gay cultural figures, who died in strange circumstances, according to activists. Read More