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
World
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
The government in Poland has used taxpayer funds to pay for anti-LGBT+ articles that compare queer rights to Soviet Russia and communism. The country’s justice ministry paid for two articles in Polish weekly magazine Do Rzeczy titled “In Defence of Christians” and “Catholics Pilloried”, The Irish Times reports. “The Soviets were also marching under the
Protesters gather for a Black Lives Matter demonstration in Paris, France, on June 2. (Pierre Suu/Getty Images) Police officers in France have been caught privately sharing hundreds of racist, sexist and homophobic messages. The messages were shared in a private Facebook group, which is made up of more than 8,000 police officers, gendarmes (paramilitary police)
A gay lecturer from China has revealed that his academic career was left in tatters in his home country after he hosted classes on sexuality. Cui Le was a linguistics lecturer at the Guangdong University of Foreign Studies in the southern Chinese province of Guangzhou when the backlash began, the South China Morning Post reports.
Volunteers carry sacks of rice on March 20, 2020 in Quezon city, Metro Manila, Philippines (Ezra Acayan/Getty) The LGBT+ community in the Philippines has been recruited to distribute coronavirus relief after packages reportedly went missing in the hands of corrupt officials. Mayor Sara Duterte of Davao City in the southern Philippines noticed a “recurring problem”
Screenwriter Apurva Asrani (right) with his partner Siddhant (Twitter/@Apurvasrani) Acclaimed Bollywood filmmaker Apurva Asrani has celebrated buying a house with his partner after being forced to hide their relationship for 15 years. Asrani is an award-winning filmmaker best known for Satya (1998), Shahid (2013), and the human rights biopic Aligarh (2016). His drama-comedy series Made in
Zambian President Edgar Lungu. (DAWOOD SALIM/AFP via Getty Images) President of Zambia Edgar Lungu has pardoned two men who were jailed for having gay sex in November, 2019. Carrying a 15 yearslong sentence, the imprisonment of Japhet Chataba and Steven Samba by high court judge curdled into international outcry from LGBT+ advocates and diplomats towards
Pakistan’s transgender community, already forced to the fringes of society, are being deprived of crucial support during the country’s coronavirus lockdown. (ASIF HASSAN/AFP/Getty Images) Existing inequalities that mean trans people are more likely to have mental and physical health problems are being exacerbated by coronavirus, according to scientists who are urging governments to act. The
Dr Caroline Norma will appear on a panel discussing “the major concerns around the proposed [conversion therapy] ban”. (CarolineNorma76/ Twitter) Students are revolting at an Australian university after a lecturer signed up to be a panellist at a “unscientific and dangerous” gay conversion therapy forum. Dr Caroline Norma is a lecturer in the School of
Minh Khang with his new baby. (Vietnam Insider) Vietnam’s ‘first trans dad’ has given birth to a baby, with his wife at his side. Minh Khang and Minh Anh became parents on May 16, to baby girl Thiên An. Khang, 24, and Anh, 21, are a well-known trans couple in Vietnam, who met in 2017
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro during a press conference amidst the coronavirus pandemic. (Andressa Anholete / Getty) Brazil’s Supreme Court ordered the release of an expletive-filled video of president and “proud homophobe” Jair Bolsonaro as part of a corruption investigation. When Brazil’s former justice minister Sergio Moro resigned last month, he claimed that Bolsonaro had been
The ‘genderbread person’ helps children to understand the differences between gender and anatomy (Genderbread.org) A high school has dropped an LGBT+ educational tool after a transphobic mother complained it was targeting “vulnerable children” like her own transgender son. The school in Australia showed 15-year-old students an image of the ‘genderbread person‘, a well-known teaching resource
Former Iranian aide Shahindokht Molaverdi was condemned for “promoting” homosexuality (YouTube/AP Archive)/ The former aide for women’s and family affairs in Iran has been forced to apologise for sharing an innocent cartoon that was branded as “homosexual propaganda”. On May 15 Shahindokht Molaverdi shared a poster to mark the International Day of Families on her
A court order was issued for the LGBT+ Ugandans’ immediate release (image supplied) 19 LGBT+ Ugandans who were arrested, whipped and interrogated under “bogus” coronavirus charges have been released following sustained pressure from human rights groups. Their release was ordered by a Ugandan court on Monday (May 18) after public prosecutors were forced to withdraw
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau waves to the crowd as he marches in the Pride Parade in Toronto, June 25, 2017. (GEOFF ROBINS/AFP/Getty Images) Canada has just approved a site for a C$8 million (£4.7 million) memorial to thousands of LGBT+ people who were forced out of government and military jobs by a five-decade institutional “purge”.
Peter Elie. (Screen capture via YouTube) A 27-year-old has been arrested by Toronto, Canada, police in connection with the brutal murder of a beloved DJ, found dead in the laundry room of his apartment block. Peter Elie, 52, was found murdered early Thursday morning (May 14) after emergency services responded to a small fire in
The parents of a nine-year-old trans girl have spoken out about their journey to understanding, to try to help other parents of trans kids with theirs. Rina came out as trans to her parents when she was five, and socially transitioned to living as a girl when she was seven. “When I was about five,
Kaila Methven in West Hollywood, California, in 2018. (Paul Archuleta/Getty Images) Kaila Methven, heiress to a fried chicken fortune and a lingerie designer to the stars, has reportedly pledged to help employ LGBT+ people and raise $1million during the coronavirus pandemic. Methven’s company, PLUR, will hire LGBT+ people, as well as people in alcohol recovery
The annual Rainbow Map ranking has named Poland, Russia, Turkey and Azerbaijan as some of the worst countries to be LGBT+ in Europe, while the UK continues to slide down the rankings. Since 2009, LGBT+ organisation ILGA-Europe has compiled an annual Rainbow Map ranking of the 49 countries in Europe based on each country’s commitment
A leading Israeli rabbi has come under fire after he suggested that traumatising conversion therapy can “help people be straight again.” Yigal Levinstein, a co-head of a pre-army Yeshiva, made the claims about the harmful practice in a Zoom class taught through his Bnei David academy. “It’s possible to help people be straight again,” Levinstein
Barry Neufeld attacked the World Health Organisation for its position on transgender rights (YouTube/ CTV News) A controversial school trustee is under scrutiny for spreading disinformation in a Facebook post that linked the World Health Organization with transgender children. Barry Neufeld is an elected trustee for the Chilliwack School District in British Columbia, Canada. He
A police officer asks for documents at a checkpoint on April 21, 2020 in Bogota, Colombia. (Guillermo Legaria/Getty Images) Gender-based lockdown rules in Bogotá, Colombia, will be lifted after they fuelled a wave of violence against transgender people living in the city. Bogotá’s mayor, Claudia Lopez, said in a virtual press conference on Friday (May
Jens Spahn, German minister of health, announced the conversion therapy ban on Thursday, May 7. (Maja Hitij/ Getty) Germany has banned traumatising conversion therapy for people under the age of 18, and introduced penalties for adults, putting the UK and US to shame. On Thursday evening, May 7, the Bundestag passed a law which completely