Austria: Families fight Austria's gay marriage ban

The latest case to challenge the same-sex marriage ban in Austria on the grounds that it makes children in the family illegitimate was heard in court this week. Following a change in the law in January 2015, same-sex couples are now allowed to adopt the children of their partners in Austria, although they are still not allowed to marry.

According to gay rights organisation Rechtskomitee Lambda, Austria is the only country in the world which has granted full adoption rights for same-sex couples but not allowed the parents of these children to marry. The lawyer representing a lesbian couple and their four-year-old child argued at the hearing that the ban infringes on the rights of the child because they are forced to grow up illegitimately to unmarried parents.

During the hearing, the judge told the couple’s lawyer Dr Helmut Graupner that he shared his point of view but suggested that it might be necessary to apply to the constitutional court for a change in law.

"Austria made the second, third, fourth and fifth step before the first", he said earlier this year. "The marriage ban must fall, for the sake of the children". Read more via the Local

Putting human rights at the centre of the AIDS response

The Human Rights Council held a special session to discuss progress in and challenges of addressing human rights issues in the context of the AIDS response. In his keynote speech, UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director, Luiz Loures, stressed that the AIDS response continues to be an instrument for challenging social injustice. He urged countries and all stakeholders in the AIDS response to place human rights and the voice of those most affected by HIV at the centre of the AIDS response.

Participants said that evidence clearly shows that a lack of respect for health-related human rights leads to poorer health outcomes and the transmission of HIV. Discrimination, stigma, violence and other human rights violations continue to undermine efforts to end the AIDS epidemic. The panel called for rights-based responses to AIDS, universal health coverage to ensure equitable access, availability of medicines for all, an end to discrimination in health-care settings and increased investment in human rights programmes.  

There were also calls to eliminate punitive and discriminatory laws that lead to violations of human rights and poorer health outcomes by driving key populations away from HIV services. The panellists stressed that without addressing deeply entrenched inequalities, including gender inequality, and ensuring full enjoyment of sexual and reproductive health and rights, the world will not end the AIDS epidemic. Read more via UNAIDS

Russian crackdown on ‘Gay Propaganda’ extends to Calvin Klein Ad

Here are some things that Russian authorities have labeled gay propaganda: holding & signs that say “Gay is OK”; rainbow balloons; a friendship between a captive goat and tiger; and reporting on gay rights. Now, a Calvin Klein ad is being investigated as a potential offender after complaints were filed in the northern town of Arkhangelsk by locals who watched it on YouTube.

The advertisement, which features two men riding on a motorcycle together and two women running behind a fence and flashing freeway drivers, is the subject of a three-week investigation into whether it violates a 2013 law that legally prohibited promoting “non-traditional sexual relationships” to children. The ad also shows two opposite-sex couples kissing.

The 2013 law has had a chilling effect on LGBT rights activists and LGBT people in Russia, who have reported increased levels of harassment and hate crimes. Last month, a proposal to jail LGBT individuals who are open about their identity found support in Russia’s legislature, though the proposal was ultimately rejected. Read more via Foreign Policy

Ireland: Rates of LGBT self harm, suicide are horrific, says McAleese

Former president of Ireland Mary McAleese has described the findings of a new report which reveals high rates of suicide and self-harm among gay teens as “horrific”. While Ireland revealed itself to be a country committed to equal rights in last year’s same-sex marriage referendum, she said it was clear that the “long-standing architecture of homophobia” will take years to dismantle.

The largest study to date of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community in Ireland shows gay teens experience elevated levels of suicidal behaviour and depression.

Speaking at the launch of the of the report, she said: “This scholarly report is as essential and revealing as it is horrifying. The ongoing damage is undeniable. That it involves so many young people is tragic. That it is solvable is the good news,” she said. Read more via Irish Times

UK: PrEP policy in disarray after NHS U-turn

Activists, individuals at risk of HIV, and clinicians have reacted with anger to an official U-turn on provision of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). NHS England officials have refused to allow a draft policy on PrEP to go forward for further consideration.

“By denying full availability of PrEP we are failing those who are at risk of HIV,” commented Ian Green of Terrence Higgins Trust. “PrEP has already been approved in the US, Kenya, South Africa, Israel, Canada and France. And yet, our own government refuses to take responsibility for PrEP.”

Although the stated reason for blocking PrEP was that NHS England should not be paying for it, officials did not present a clear path for a way forward. “Today’s statement makes it no clearer who is responsible – is it the Department of Health, local authorities, the NHS or Public Health England?” said Ian Green. “We need answers, we need access, and we demand both.”  Read more via AIDSmap

Cook Islands: Drag pageant returns

The Cook Islands have revived its popular transgender pageant the Mizz Jewel competition after a 10 year break as part of a campaign to decriminalise homosexuality.

Organiser Valentino Wichman, who has been awarded a 2016 Commonwealth Queens Young Leaders Award for service to gay rights activism in the Cook Islands, says it's about celebrating diversity and embracing differences.

"I would say socially we are generally accepted but there is still that legal aspect hanging over our heads," he says.

"For us it's about trying to educate them (the public) that we are part of society and we come from normal families."

Hundreds of people packed the national auditorium for the show which featured a dazzling array of talent, evening wear and a creative section. 

Read more

The vatican’s ban on romantic gay drama ‘Weekend’ appears to have backfired

A Vatican ban on romantic gay drama film Weekend appears to have backfired after the film posted the highest per-screen-average takings as it opened in Italy this weekend.

The independent British film, directed by Looking’s Andrew Haigh and released in the UK back in 2011, was restricted to just ten cinemas in the country after the Italian Bishop’s Conference Film Evaluation Commission branded the story about a burgeoning gay romance “indecent” and “unusable”.

Weekend was consequently shunned by the more than 1,100 Catholic Church-owned cinemas, which make up the bulk of Italy’s network of independent movie theatres – but the ban appears to have backfired after the film pulled in more than $6,221 per screen on its opening weekend, well ahead of the The Divergent Series: Allegiant’s second-highest per-screen average of $4,217. Read more via Attitude

Saudis seek virtual freedoms denied in real life

When it comes to freedoms, human rights organisations will tell you Saudi Arabia doesn't have the best track record. And perhaps because compared to elsewhere there is limited personal freedom, defiance across the region has gone digital.

In this part of the BBC's special series "Saudis on social" we tell the stories of three anonymous accounts on Twitter which all tell of searching for virtual freedom in Saudi Arabia. But what impact does this secret life have on those who live this way?
Read via BBC & Watch the videos

Australia: Bullied kids sacrificed to conservative right

On the National Day of Action Against Bullying on Friday, the Coalition government scaled back the anti-bullying Safe Schools program it launched just two years ago. Following a month of campaigning from The Australian and 18 months of campaigning from the fringe group the Australian Christian Lobby, the government has announced plans to change the Safe Schools Coalition program.

In the face of complaints from backbenchers including Cory Bernardi and George Christensen, Education Minister Simon Birmingham last month appointed respected University of WA Professor Bill Louden to review the program, which was launched by then-education minister Christopher Pyne in 2014. The Safe Schools Coalition program is now implemented at 526 schools across Australia and comprises resources created for schools to reduce bullying of LGBTI students.

The review, released on Friday, broadly found the content in the program to be “suitable, educationally sound and age-appropriate” for schools but recommended changes to some of the lessons in the “All of Us” resource for teachers.

Conservative MPs called on Birmingham to suspend funding of Safe Schools while a full parliamentary inquiry was conducted. Christensen didn’t get his review, but he told reporters on Friday the government’s decision was “better than an inquiry” and would strip the “queer theory” and “sexual liberation” ideals from classrooms:

“Effectively, gutting the program of all of the concerning content is what I wanted at the end of the day or the program shut down. It’s fundamentally changed now to is going to be an anti-bullying program that doesn’t have all of the extra stuff in it that I found of concern and parents and grandparents found of concern so I’m comfortable.” Read more via Crikey

This Photographer Is Asking People To Pose Nude In The Name Of Body Love

Anastasia Kuba/Hanna Quevedo / Via nothingbutlight.io

This is artist Anastasia Kuba. A former topless dancer, Kuba had a revelation in her mid-twenties about how society ties the idea of worth to physical appearance, and began using photography to make a change. This spawned Nothing but Light, a project in which Kuba photographs volunteers in the nude to help them reconcile their relationships with their bodies. 

Kuba’s subjects are a mix of folks she knows, and ones she’s found through social media — which, to her delight, have turned out to be an amazing array of people. Read more via Buzzfeed (nsfw)

Malaysia: Religious police clamping down on LGBTI Muslims sparks off online debate

A documentary on Malaysia’s religious police to clamp down on LGBTI Muslims in the country has sparked off an online debate on the treatment these individuals receive.
 
The documentary ‘Unreported World – 2016’, produced by London-headquartered Channel 4, is slated to air on Friday night – but the channel has already released a snippet online on its Facebook page.  Watch the video here
 

The snippet has sparked off a fury of online debate. As of press time, the post has received over 2900 reactions and has been shared nearly 7000 times. While some netizens are in support of what the religious police does, some are in vehement disagreement with the act.  Read more via Gay Star News