Shannon Power

Major businesses have pulled their advertising with media website Daily Mail after it published a story that incorrectly identified a double child murderer as trans. Hotel chain, Travelodge, and online survey portal, Survey Monkey both stopped advertising with Daily Mail after the story. The Daily Star originally reported – and then retracted – that Ian Huntley convicted of murdering two children in 2003 was trans. The Star corrected the story that Hunter wanted to transition genders so he could move to a female prison. The Daily Mail also published the story but did not change the incorrect the claims that Hunter now identifies as […]

The European Parliament made history today (14 February) as it passed its first resolution dedicated to the ‘urgent need’ to protect the human rights of intersex people. ‘Intersex people are exposed to multiple instances of violence and discrimination in the European Union and these human rights violations remain widely unknown to the general public and policy makers,’ said the European Parliament resolution. The resolution also pointed out the ‘urgent need to address violations of human rights of intersex people’. It called on the Commission and Member States to propose legislation to address these issues. Claude Moraes MEP is the rapporteur […]

A gay historian has revealed that in major western countries, gay men were more likely to vote for right-wing parties. Samuel Huneke of Stanford University looked at voting data from 14 elections in five western countries US, UK, France, Germany and Brazil. He found that in the US, LGBTI people overwhelmingly supported the Democratic Party. But gay men were more likely than the general electorate to support conservative or far-right party in other western countries. ‘LGBT voters in other [non-U.S.] countries were less likely to support the conservative (or in some cases far-right) party by an average of only seven percent,’ […]

Brazil’s new president, Jair Bolsonaro, has stayed true to his word and signed executive orders targeting the LGBTI community. The ‘proud homophobe’ used his first day in office to sign the orders. They will affect the LGBTI community, indigenous groups and descendants of slaves. Just hours after his inauguration Bolsonaro removed LGBTI issues from consideration at the new human rights ministry, according to the Associated Press. He did not name another agency tasked to handle LGBTI issues. The new human rights minister and former evangelical pastor, Damares Alves, has previously said ‘the Brazilian family is being threatened’ by inclusive policies. […]

Cutting off aid to Tanzania may have helped change the country’s tough stance on homosexuality. In October the governor of the economic capital, Dar el Salaam, ordered the rounding up of all suspected gay people. Paul Makonda ordered people to report others they suspected of being gay, and within days police received hundreds of reports. ‘If you know of a homosexual, you must report them to a police officer. No one can escape,’ Makonda told media. Even though African LGBTI advocates protested the move, the World Bank and Denmark cut aid to Tanzania because of its homophobic policies. Advocacy group […]

The lower house of  parliament (National Assembly) in South Africa has voted for a historic change to civil union laws. South Africa has recognized civil unions since 2006 but today’s changes will mean that officials will not be able to refuse to marry same-sex couples on the basis of their ‘conscience, religion [or] belief’. Cope (Congress Of The People party) MP Deidre Carter introduced the Civil Union Amendment Bill in January with the parliament’s Portfolio Committee passing it in November. During the debate, Deidre Carter, said LGBTI people suffered greatly during South Africa’s apartheid era. She told the parliament they […]