A gay senator in Ireland has put his social media accounts on private after he was subjected to “blatantly homophobic” abuse from a right-wing political party. Socially conservative political party Aontú, which was formed in 2019 and has just one elected representative, shared a photograph of gay Sinn Féin senator Fintan Warfield, which was taken
World
Cleo and Jules kiss on Canadian teen drama The Next Step, aired by CBBC – and complained about by hundreds of viewers. (YouTube/The Next Step) The BBC has been swamped with complaints for an episode of The Next Step that showed two teenage girls kissing. The same-sex kiss – the first kiss of two teenage
Queer men are more likely to be living with HIV in African countries that criminalise gay sex than those that do not, researchers have said. Johns Hopkins University researchers found that men who have sex with men (MSM) in sub-Saharan African nations where gay sex with is severely criminalised are at up to five times
Around 23 LGBT+ people in Uganda were whipped by officials before being chained and walked to the police station, disturbing footage shows. (Screen capture via YouTube) The 20 LGBT+ people in Uganda arrested under dubious coronavirus charges – where a municipal mayor canned them before officers chained and marched them to a police station –
Bridgetown, Barbados could soon be filled with remote workers. (Getty) Barbados’ prime minister has said same-sex couples are welcome on the island as it works to free itself from its colonial-era stance on LGBT+ rights. Barbados, one of the smallest but most-visited Caribbean islands, recently announced it would allow foreigners to live and work remotely
Antonella Lerca launched her campaign to run as an independent candidate in District 2 of Bucharest on July 20. (Supplied) An out transgender woman is making a historic bid for public office in Romania. Antonella Lerca, a Roma woman and sex worker, is campaigning to run as an independent candidate for District 2 in the
Reem Sharif, the first trans police officer in Pakistan, is fighting to change the prejudices that previously held her back (Twitter/@zofeen28) After enduring death threats, slurs and sexual harassment, Pakistan’s first transgender police officer is using her experience to help others as a trans victim support officer. Reem Sharif has gone from victim to protector
The couple were accused of entering into a same-sex marriage, which is a crime in Pakistan (Envato Elements) A court in Pakistan has ordered the formation of a medical board to do a ‘gender test’ on a trans man who is accused of changing his gender to marry a woman. The couple have now been
Police clash with protesters in Moscow after the contentious referendum result (Twitter/@mjluxmoore) More than 140 Russians have been arrested for protesting a series of constitutional changes that will allow Vladimir Putin to remain in power for another 16 years. The open democracy monitor OVD-Info reported that at least 142 people were detained in police vans
Shadow human services minister Nat Cook is drafting legislation to ban traumatising conversion therapy in South Australia. (NatCookMP/ Twitter) New legislation is to be introduced South Australia to ban the traumatising practice of conversion therapy “as soon as possible”. The legislation, proposed by the opposition Labor Party, would mean that medical professionals and religious groups
Sweeping changes made to Tasmania’s gender recognition laws last year have made trans lives easier without creating any unintended consequences for cisgender people, according to the country’s Law Reform Institute. Last year, the Tasmanian government passed new laws which made gender optional on birth certificates and allowed trans people to legally identify as their correct
Trans performers rally for LGBT+ rights in Bankok. (Getty/Lillian Suwanrumpha) Thailand is set to become the first southeast Again country to legalise same-sex unions and allow queer couples to adopt – but will not introduce full marriage equality. Same-sex couples could have their love recognised under a new bill approved by the Thai government Wednesday
Turkish president Recep Erdoğan gestures. (Mustafa Kamaci/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) Turkey’s president Recep Erdoğan offered a thinly-veiled defence of a homophobic tweet from the head of the country’s largest humanitarian agency. Erdoğan, the ruling Justice and Development Party founder, accused LGBT+ people of “sneaking up on our national and spiritual values again” and claimed
Poland’s staunchly anti-LGBT+ President Andrzej Duda has vowed to ban same-sex couples from adopting children. Duda, who has expressed his opposition to LGBT+ rights on numerous occasions in recent weeks, made the comments at a campaign rally in southern Poland today (July 4). Speaking at the campaign event, Duda said he will put forward an
Indian sprinter Dutee Chand. (NOAH SEELAM/AFP via Getty Images) The fastest woman in India, Dutee Chand, has sought to inspire fellow sprinters and sporting enthusiasts alike to come out as queer and emphatically told same-sex couples: “Please, do not be afraid.” The 24-year-old told American diplomats, New Indian Express reported, that coming out as queer
Dr Mohamed Al Dabbas openly practices conversion therapy. (Vezeeta) A psychiatrist in the Middle Eastern country of Jordan has unashamedly described how he “treats” gay people with traumatising conversion therapy. Although Jordan decriminalised homosexuality in 1951, it was only in 2013 that honour killings stopped being legal justification for murder. LGBT+ people face discrimination and
LGBT+ South Africans wave Pride flags at Durban Pride Festival. (RAJESH JANTILAL/AFP/Getty Images) Lawmakers in the upper house of South Africa’s parliament passed a bill Wednesday (July 1) that bars marriage officers from objecting to marrying same-sex couples. South Africa remains an outlier in the patchwork of policies and laws in Africa wired to erase
Ali Bongo Ondimba, President of Gabon. (John Berry/WireImage) In a momentous landslide victory for LGBT+ activists, the upper house of the Gabon parliament, the Senate, voted to decriminalize homosexuality. It comes after lawmakers in the lower house of the west coast central African country voted to reverse a law criminalising same-sex relations that was only
A Jewish extremist group said to be planning to infiltrate a Pride event has reportedly instructed its members on how to blend in – and ‘ridiculous hats’ are strongly encouraged. The far-right group Lehava allegedly directed its supporters to attend an LGBT+ rally at the Jerusalem Open House on Sunday (June 27), mingle with the
Subramanian Swamy, the leader of India’s ruling party BJP, has declared that homosexuality is “a genetic flaw like having six fingers”. Swamy first made the comments in 2016 but retweeted them on Friday (June 26) as the country celebrated the historic repeal of Section 377, a regressive colonial-era law that criminalised homosexual sex. The senior
A woman holds a sign that says: “The traditional family is in danger, come together to defend it!” during a protest against homosexuality in Bucharest, May 20, 2017. The senate in Romania has passed a bill that, if signed by the president, will make it illegal to discuss gender identity in every school and university
Members and supporters of the LGBT community take part in a May Day rally in St Petersburg on May 1, 2015. (OLGA MALTSEVA/AFP/Getty Images) A trans woman who was fired in 2017 after she changed her legal gender has won her case against her employer in a Russian court. Known only as Anna, this win
Sarah Hegazy was jailed and tortured for holding an LGBT+ flag. She died by suicide in June 2020. (Twitter) Two Egyptian lawyers are suing Noor Hesham Selim, the transgender son of film star Hesham Selim, for an Instagram post that supported Egyptian LGBT+ activist Sara Hegazy, who died by suicide earlier this month. The lawyers
The US embassy in Moscow sends a clear message ahead of an anti-LGBT+ vote in Russia (Instagram/@usembru) The US embassy in Moscow, Russia has raised a Pride flag in clear defiance of an upcoming vote that will effectively stop same-sex marriage ever being legalised. Millions of Russians are expected to head to the polls on
Polish model Michał Demski took his own life after struggling with a lifetime of homophobia (Twitter/@harrysenigma) “I ask myself: what is this country in which one must die to be happy?” This heartbreaking question has been playing in Katarzyna Koch’s mind ever since her son, Michał, took his own life – and it’s one he
A gay doctor from Australia has hit out at the “old prejudice” that still prevents gay and bisexual men from donating blood. In Australia – as is the case in many countries – gay and bisexual men must remain celibate for a three month period before they can give blood. This week, 70 medical professionals
Sara Hegazy took her own life after enduring torture in Egypt (Twitter/@karimshot) A candlelight vigil is being held in honour of Sara Hegazy, an Egyptian LGBT+ activist who died of suicide after being tortured for raising a Pride flag at a concert. Hegazy took her own life on Sunday, leaving behind a handwritten note in
A gay man who was beaten to within an inch of his life in a 1980s hate crime has claimed that a police report from the time said he “deserved” to be attacked. Martin Parker told The Australian that he was beaten so badly by a man who pretended to be gay outside a public
Hungarian trans couple Tamara Csillag and Elvira Angyal. (Tamara Csillag/ Facebook) A Hungarian trans couple have described their life in limbo, after the country’s government passed a cruel and devastating law to legally erase them. Evaluations of Hungarian trans people’s applications to have their gender or name changed have been withheld since 2018, a ban
People attend a Sunday mass in the Sanctuary of Montenero while social distancing on May 10, 2020 in Livorno, Italy. (Laura Lezza/Getty) A group of Italian Catholic bishops has attacked proposed legislation against homophobia and transphobia, claiming it would make “expression of a legitimate opinion” a crime. Employment discrimination based on sexual orientation was made