Britain will seek to ban conversion therapy targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, cracking down on so-called treatments that claim to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
Culture minister Michelle Donelan said on Tuesday the government would publish draft legislation soon, setting out proposals to ban conversion practices in England and Wales.
“The Bill will protect everyone, including those targeted on the basis of their sexuality, or being transgender,” Donelan said in a statement.
Conversion practices, which may include extreme or harmful methods, are aimed at suppressing or preventing a person from being gay or existing as a gender different from the sex recorded at birth. A 2017 national LGBTQ survey people found that 5% of respondents had been offered conversion therapy and 2% had undergone it, with over half of it done by religious groups.
The British government said in 2021 it would introduce a ban on conversion therapy for LGBTQ people to prevent “abhorrent practices which can cause mental and physical harm,” but later decided the ban would only cover lesbian, gay or bisexual people.
Donelan said on Tuesday the draft legislation will aim to cover transgender people as well, and that the government will ask for pre-legislative scrutiny of the bill by a joint committee.
Many advocates have long called for a ban on conversion therapy, but others have argued that any ban should not outlaw conversations with clinicians or therapists helping people with gender issues.
“The legislation must not, through a lack of clarity, harm the growing number of children and young adults experiencing gender related distress, through inadvertently criminalizing or chilling legitimate conversations parents or clinicians may have with their children,” Donelan said.
Over two dozen health and counseling groups signed an updated memorandum of understanding last year, agreeing that “conversion therapy, whether in relation to sexual orientation or gender identity, is unethical and potentially harmful.”
Separately, Britain said on Monday it would block a bill passed by Scotland’s devolved parliament that makes it easier for people to change their legal gender.
The Egyptian government failed to ease the ongoing repression campaign against critics in 2022 or repeal laws curtailing basic freedoms, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2023. Meanwhile, the government carried out a concerted whitewashing effort to improve the country’s image without enacting critical reforms, including issuing a presidentially sponsored national dialogue and hosting the COP27 UN climate conference in November.
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi declared 2022 the “year of civil society,” but key members of civil society faced arbitrary travel bans, asset freezes, and criminal investigations in retaliation for their peaceful activism or criticism. Despite hosting COP27, the government has imposed arbitrary funding, research, and registration obstacles that have debilitated local environmental groups, forcing some activists into exile and others to drop important work.
“In 2022, apart from cosmetic changes, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s government has shown no real political will to end systematic rights abuses against wide segments of society,” said Adam Coogle, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “Egyptian authorities should understand that no PR campaign will be enough to overshadow the country’s human rights crisis, only an end to repression and genuine reforms will suffice.”
In the 712-page World Report 2023, its 33rd edition, Human Rights Watch reviews human rights practices in close to 100 countries. In her introductory essay, acting Executive Director Tirana Hassansays that in a world in which power has shifted, it is no longer possible to rely on a small group of mostly Global North governments to defend human rights. The world’s mobilization around Russia’s war in Ukraine reminds us of the extraordinary potential when governments realize their human rights obligations on a global scale. The responsibility is on individual countries, big and small, to apply a human rights framework to their policies, and then work together to protect and promote human rights.
Thanks to concerted efforts by Egyptian and international activists, COP27 turned from a PR opportunity for the government to a rare moment of reckoning. Egypt’s abysmal human rights record featured in global headlines before and during the conference. During the conference, the government faced real pressure despite its attempts to curtail local participation.
Between April and November, the authorities claimed they released about 1,000 unjustly detained activists and journalists but human rights groups have documented the arrests of many others including rearrests of some of those released. Prisons are still sprawling with thousands of people detained for their political backgrounds, and the government keeps their numbers secret. The Interior Ministry police and National Security agents continued to forcibly disappear opponents. Egyptian prison authorities and security forces ill-treated and tortured detainees, including with systematic sexual violence to degrade them with near-complete impunity.
In North Sinai, Human Rights Watch published evidence that the Egyptian army and its affiliated militias carried out three extrajudicial executions of shackled or wounded men in custody.
Throughout 2022, Human Rights Watch documented cases in which security forces used digital targeting, based on “debauchery” provisions and the Cybercrime Law, to entrap lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people (LGBT), arbitrarily arrested and detained them based on digital evidence found on their personal devices, and ill-treat them in police custody.
In September 2022, prosecutors summoned three Mada Masr journalists, as well as the chief editor, and charged them with “spreading false news” over a news article. The chief editor was also charged with operating an unlicensed news site. Authorities continued to block access to hundreds of news and human rights websites without judicial orders.
In March 2022, the authorities violated the international legal prohibition on refoulement by deporting 31 Eritreans, including 8 children, after detaining them in poor conditions and denying them access to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to lodge asylum claims, according to the Refugees Platform in Egypt.
Officials in Algeria, where homosexuality is illegal, are attempting to stop any use of the Pride flag, according to footage shared online.
Video shared on both Twitter and Reddit depicts the police and other officials handing out information pamphlets to the public about LGBTQ+ flags and symbols.
A large crowd can be seen gathered around two uniformed officers who are addressing the group about the multi-coloured images.
The papers appear to contain information about the difference between a rainbow – which has seven colours – and a traditional rainbow Pride flag, which has six.
As well as this, the handout showcases images of other flags and symbols related to LGBTQ+ identities, such as the transgender flag, asexual flag and Progress Pride flag.
The anti-rainbow campaign by Algerian authorities has seen officials ask consumers in the country to boycott items which carry rainbow colours or flags, as they are believed to be against the values of Algeria and Islam, Al Bawaba reports.
Homosexuality is currently illegal in the African nation, with people who are found guilty of same-sex acts facing up to three years in prison and a fine of up to 10,000 Algerian dinars (approximately £60 or $75).
LGBTQ+ Algerians also face extreme prejudice and social stigma within their community and from family and friends.
A 13-year-old boy in France named Lucas died by suicide last Saturday, January 7 after facing anti-LGBTQ+ bullying at school. People close to his family say that the school did little to stop the bullying.
The student at the Louis Armand de Golbey middle school in the Vosges department was out as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, the French magazine Têtu reports.
“He was constantly harassed for the way he dressed, his mannerisms, his presence,” said Stéphanie, a family friend. “He didn’t hide himself and that bothered some people.”
She said Lucas was “always pleasant, caring, spontaneous, full of dreams and a life.”
Psychological help has been made available for students and teachers at the middle school who need it.
“There’s really a lot of emotion from adults who didn’t see anything, didn’t see that Lucas wasn’t doing well recently,” said Valérie Dautresme in a radio interview. She’s the academic services director for the National Education system in the Vosges department.
Dautresme said that Lucas and his mother reported homophobic insults since the start of the school year in September at a parent-teacher meeting.
“For us at this point, the situation had been resolved,” she claimed. “Lucas said that things were working themselves out and that he was no longer being insulted at school.”
Stéphanie contradicted Dautresme’s claim that the matter had been “resolved” and said that Lucas complained “again and again and again. His mother asked for help several times. The school, where he spent three-quarters of his time, didn’t react.”
She said that the family is going to file a formal complaint. The family’s lawyer, Catherine Faivre, said, “There is a whole chain of people with responsibilities who can be investigated and spoken with if, in effect, the elements of an infraction can be constituted.”
Louis Armand de Golbey middle school has been taking part in a national program to fight bullying in schools under the direction of National Education and Youth of France Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer. Staff members were to be trained in how to spot bullying and in a protocol on what to do if someone faces bullying.
A fundraiser was opened online to help the family that raised 7554 € ($8200). Lucas’s funeral is planned for Saturday, January 14. A vigil is being planned but the date has not yet been announced.
Editor’s note: This article mentions suicide. If you need to talk to someone now, call the Trans Lifeline at 1-877-565-8860. It’s staffed by trans people, for trans people. The Trevor Project provides a safe, judgement-free place to talk for LGBTQ youth at 1-866-488-7386. You can also call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.
Thousands of members of India’s LGBTQ+ community and allies have taken to New Delhi streets in protest of same-sex marriage rights.
On Sunday (8 January) more than 2,000 people came together to join the Delhi Queer Pride March after a three-year suspension due to the Covid pandemic.
Hundreds of LGBTQ community members and their supporters took to the streets of Delhi on Sunday to call for equal marriage rights among other issues. (Sanjeev Verma/Hindustan Times/ Getty Images)
In their press for equal marriage rights, participants danced to drumbeats as they walked more than an hour to Jantar Mantar area near India’s parliament.
Dancing to drum beats, the participants carried rainbow flags, balloons, and placards as they walked for more than an hour to the Jantar Mantar area near Parliament. (Sanjeev Verma/Hindustan Times/ Getty Images)
Vishal Rai, a 23-year-old who took part in the protest, told Associated Press: “It’s good, it’s fabulous. Because we are here to celebrate ourselves, and after three years.”
Noor Enayat, a volunteer at the parade, is hopeful for positive change in the near future.
Participants and supporters of LGBTQ community dance during the annual Delhi Queer Pride March on January 8, 2023. (Mayank Makhija/NurPhoto/Getty Images)
Enayat, who came out in 2003 has said two decades later things have improved.
“Give it another 20 years. It will be a very different world. So, I’m not going to be hopeless about it or say it’s not happening. It’s happening,” she said.
It follows the Indian Supreme Court hearing arguments in favour of equal marriage, as part of a set of petitions issued by two same-sex couples.
A participant dressed in rainbow colors takes part in the annual Delhi Queer Pride March. (Mayank Makhija/NurPhoto/Getty Images)
The lead petition, filed by gay couple Supriyo Chakraborty and Abhay Dange, has argued that denying LGBTQ+ citizens the right to marry is an affront to their right to equality.
Currently, India does not officially recognise same-sex marriage, but allows couples to engage in an “unregistered cohabitation”.
A crowd of participants is seen during the Delhi Queer Pride 2022-23 parade in New Delhi. (Pradeep Gaur/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images)
As the law currently stands same-sex couples in Indian aren’t legally permitted to inherit assets or adopt.
During a 2021 hearing, prime minister Narendra Modi’s government declared that same-sex couples in India “cannot claim a fundamental right for same-sex marriage”.
A participant dressed in rainbow colors takes part in the annual Delhi Queer Pride March on January 8, 2023. (Mayank Makhija/NurPhoto/ Getty Images)
While the government’s position is unlikely to change, a shift in public perception toward LGBTQ+ couples could see a victory for petitioners in a similar fashion to the decriminalisation of same-sex relationships in 2018.
A man has been found guilty of kidnapping and the rape of a young gay woman after claiming to be a taxi driver.
28-year-old Yuseab Woldeab was unanimously found guilty of the double rape after just two hours of deliberation by jury members.
The ruling was met with audible cheers from activists in the public gallery who had paid attention to the trial.
Plymouth Crown Court heard that Woldeab lured the 20-year-old victim, who was heavily intoxicated, into his car after “prowling the streets looking for a victim”.
He then took her back to his address where committed rape “within minutes” according to testimony from detectives.
Investigating officer Chris Kinski said: “This was a truly horrendous and disturbing crime. Woldeab could see that the victim was vulnerable as she was heavily intoxicated.
“He used this entirely to his advantage when approaching her that night,” he continued. “I wish to thank the victim for her incredible bravery in coming forward.”
The victim – who repeatedly told investigating officers that she was in a committed same-sex relationship – recalled that she had been on a night out with two of her friends in a local nightclub prior to the incident taking place.
CCTV footage revealed Woldeab was at the same club as the victim during the night out, though they did not interact.
He had claimed that she told Woldeab that he was her “type” before getting in the car, although cross-examination quickly proved this to be false.
During a police interview, the victim, who routinely broke down sobbing, told officers that she believed one of her drinks had been “spiked” prior to the rape and she could scarcely remember much of the night beyond that point.
The victim recalled Yusaeb Woldeab calling ‘taxi’ to her
When asked whether she had consented, the victim replied: “It definitely was not done with my consent. I would not have consented to have sex with a man.
“I’ve not had sex with a man before. I’m in a happy gay relationship. I would not have consented to have sex with a man. Ever.”
She remembered frantically leaving the property after the rape crime had taken place and running down the street.
After reaching Plymouth’s City College, CCTV footage showed that she attempted to hail a nearby car, which didn’t stop.
The rape victim eventually contacted a friend over Snapchat and a formal police report was later filed.
Plymouth Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) found traces of Woldeab’s DNA in both orifices of the victim.
“I have no doubt what happened that night will stay with the victim forever,” Kinski said. “I hope this sentencing can provide her with some sense of closure so that she can move on with the same courage and determination that she has shown throughout this process.
“We would urge anyone suffering in silence to come forward.”
Judge Peter Johnson told the court that a pre-sentence report for Yuseab Woldeab was necessary before sentencing could occur.
He suggested that a sentencing hearing could occur in the next three weeks, but certainly before the end of the month.
Kenyan police have discovered the body of a prominent LGBTQ rights campaigner stuffed inside a metal box in the west of the country, local media reported on Friday.
Motorbike taxi riders alerted police after they saw the box dumped by the roadside from a vehicle with a concealed number plate, The Standard and The Daily Nation newspapers reported, quoting police sources.
Activist Edwin Chiloba’s remains were found on Tuesday near Eldoret town in Uasin Gishu county, where he ran his fashion business, independent rights group the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) said.
“He was brutally killed & dumped in the area by unknown assailants,” KHRC said on Twitter. “It is truly worrisome that we continue to witness escalation in violence targeting LGBTQ+ Kenyans.”
Research suggests acceptance of homosexuality is gradually increasing in Kenya, but it remains a taboo subject for many. The country’s film board has banned two films for their portrayals of gay lives in recent years.
Kenya National Police Service spokesperson Resila Onyango said she would comment at a later time. Uasin Gishu County Commander Ayub Gitonga Ali declined to comment.
“Words cannot even explain how we as a community are feeling right now. Edwin Chiloba was a fighter, fighting relentlessly to change the hearts and minds of society when it came to LGBTQ+ lives,” GALCK, a Kenyan gay rights group, said on Twitter.
The Indian Supreme Court is expected to hear arguments in favour of same-sex marriage this week.
As part of a set of petitions issued by two same-sex couples, the New Delhi court will hear arguments for the recognition of same-sex marriage on Friday (6 January).
The lead petition, filed by gay couple Supriyo Chakraborty and Abhay Dange, has argued that denying LGBTQ+ citizens the right to marry is an affront to their right to equality.
Abhay Dange and Supriyo Chakraborty celebrate their wedding ceremony. (Twitter/@jsuryareddy)
Currently, India does not officially recognise same-sex marriage, but allows couples to engage in an “unregistered cohabitation.”
This effectively means that same-sex couples aren’t legally permitted to inherit assets or adopt. It can also complicate hospital visits if one-half of the couple is under strict visitation rules when hospitalised.
The petitioners have argued that, since inter-faith heterosexual couples are protected via Supreme Court rulings, then LGBTQ+ couples would naturally follow.
The second petition, filed by Parth Phiroze Mehrotra and Uday Raj, argues that barring LGBTQ+ couples from marriage equality violates several articles of the constitution.
“If the petitioners, as a same-sex couple, enjoyed access to the civil institution of marriage, they would not face untold practical difficulties, both vis-a-vis each other and their children,” the petition read.
“The denial of the fundamental right of marriage to persons like the petitioners is a complete violation of constitutional law.”
As part of the 6 January hearing, the Indian government is expected to voice its opinion on both petitions, as well as its current position on same-sex marriage.
Indian government unlikely to support same-sex marriage
Prime minister Modi’s government previously declared that same-sex couples in India “cannot claim a fundamental right for same-sex marriage” during a similar hearing in 2021.
It clarified its stance to the Delhi High Court, where it said that LGBTQ+ couples do not deserve the same rights as “traditional” heterosexual couples.
“Living together as partners and having a sexual relationship by same-sex individuals is not comparable with the Indian family unit concept of a husband, wife and children,” the government told the High Court.
While the government’s position is unlikely to change, a shift in public perception toward LGBTQ+ couples could see a victory for petitioners in a similar fashion to the decriminalisation of same-sex relationships in 2018.
It’s almost four years since Paul fled Uganda and travelled to Kenya to claim asylum.
Life at home wasn’t easy for Paul. He had known he was gay for some time, but he kept his sexuality a closely guarded secret – especially from his parents.
It wasn’t just that he feared not being accepted, he was afraid he would be subjected to violence if they knew he was gay.
When they eventually discovered the truth, Paul’s home life took a dramatic turn for the worse. He knew he had to get out.
“My parents wanted to kill me,” Paul tells PinkNews.
He would ultimately like to make his way to the UK or Canada so he can live his life openly as a gay man, but advocacy groups have told him there’s a serious backlog of cases due to the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan and the war in Ukraine.
LGBTQ+ refugees have been assaulted in the camp
Life in the camp is tedious and even dangerous. “Homophobia and transphobia rates are very high. I’ve been assaulted several times. For instance, some refugees pushed me into a ditch and my leg was dislocated. I was cut in the neck by a refugee because of being a homosexual.”
In the camp, Paul has struck up a friendship with other LGBTQ+ people who are seeking asylum. They do their best to band together and keep each other safe, but it’s not always possible. Many have been assaulted and some have experienced sexual assault, Paul says.
“Everything is really very horrible for us… The food we are given is very little.”
He also says there are issues with access to medication and adequate shelter – he knows of people who have contracted malaria or pneumonia after sleeping outside so they can get away from others who hold homophobic or transphobic views.
What sustains Paul is his friendship with other LGBTQ+ refugees. They look out for each other, they’ve even launched a fundraiser of their own so they can pay for vital supplies.
They are now calling on the international LGBTQ+ community to offer their support for queer refugees and people seeking asylum.
“Please help us find a solution for all the suffering of LGBTQI refugees in Kakuma,” he says.
“We are also calling on the European Union to please continue with the work they’re doing. They’ve been doing some advocacy for LGBTQI people in Kenya. Please continue with that advocacy so we can get assistance as queer people in Kenya at large.”
LGBTQ+ refugees are often disbelieved
The Kakuma refugee camp was first set up in 1992 following the arrival of the “Lost Boys of Sudan”, according to the UNHCR. The camp, and a separate integrated settlement, had a population of 196,666 people at the end of July 2020.
PinkNews understands that there are around 800 refugees in the camp who are LGBTQ+.
Staff in Kakuma have been given sensitivity training, but queer refugees can still face discrimination from other refugees and asylum seekers in the camp. Public attitudes towards LGBTQ+ people in Kenya are not kind, and punitive laws make life harder for the queer community.
For refugees like Paul, getting to countries like the UK or Canada is the ultimate goal so they can live openly in a culture that accepts homosexuality.
Ugandan LGBT refugees pose in a protected section of Kakuma refugee camp in northwest Kenya. (SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty/Sally Hayden)
But that’s not always an easy feat. Daniel Sohege is the director of Stand For All, an asylum advocacy group based in the UK. He says LGBTQ+ people are often not believed by government officials when they apply for asylum on sexuality or gender identity grounds.
“One of the common ones is that they’re asked why they can’t just pretend not to be LGBTQ+,” Sohege tells PinkNews.
“It’s a prevalent attitude within certain elements of government and it has been for decades – it’s not just the Conservatives.
“There’s a culture of disbelief within the Home Office – they want people to prove that they are LGBTQ. We’ve seen cases of them saying, ‘well you’re not in a relationship so you’re not LGBTQ.’
“How do you prove to somebody that you are LGBTQ in a way they will believe?”
That’s one of the reasons PinkNews launched the LGBTQ Refugees Welcome campaign. The initiative is raising funds for Micro Rainbow, a charity that provides safe housing for LGBTQ+ people seeking asylum, and for OutRight Action International’s LGBTIQ Ukraine Emergency Fund, which distributes money to activists on the ground in Ukraine.
The series started last week with the story of Irene and Hanna, a lesbian couple who fled Ukraine after Russia launched its full-scale invasion.
Over the course of six weeks, PinkNews will report on the personal stories of people seeking asylum and refugees to illustrate the painful realities they often face that force them to flee their homes, from familial violence to anti-LGBTQ+ laws.
But that’s not all – the series will also show how a person’s life can change radically when they’re granted asylum. When they can get to safety, LGBTQ+ people have the chance to thrive.
Please give what you can to the PinkNews LGBTQ Refugees Welcome campaign on GoFundMe. Through GiveOut, we will be directly donating to OutRight Action International’s LGBTIQ Ukraine Emergency Fund, helping the activists and organisations on the ground in Ukraine and surrounding countries to support the needs of LGBTQ+ people turning to them for life-saving help.
You can also donate directly to Paul and other LGBTQ+ refugees in the Kakuma Camp here.
Growing up, Nyasha knew she was different from her peers.
By the time she was just eight or nine years old, she knew with certainty that she was a lesbian. The problem was that she was living in Zimbabwe, where homosexuality is not accepted.
Once her family found out about her sexuality, she started suffering the consequences. Throughout her childhood and teenage years, Nyasha was subjected to the abusive practice known as “corrective rape” by her uncle.
Corrective rape is essentially a form of conversion therapy – the idea is that a person’s sexuality can be changed through sexual assault.
She got away from her family when she married a man in her early 20s, but the marriage failed when he found out she was a lesbian too. She was sent back to live with her family once more, and an already bad situation immediately became even worse.
“At the age of 23, I had my daughter on my hand back home, and my uncle – who was used to raping me – tried to do it again.
“I hit him back so thoroughly, then I got hit by my cousins that were staying at home. That’s when my mother came, she didn’t take any action or do anything.
“I decided it was high time for me to leave.”
Nyasha’s story is just one that PinkNews is sharing this holiday season as part of the LGBTQ+ Refugees Welcome campaign. The series will put a spotlight on the painful realities LGBTQ+ people across the world face that force them to leave their homes, from familial violence to anti-LGBTQ+ laws.
Lesbian refugee had to leave her daughter in Zimbabwe
Leaving Zimbabwe was a painful and terrifying decision for Nyasha, but she knew she had no other choice. By the time she fled, she had endured years of sexual violence. Even worse, her entire family knew of the abuse she was being subjected to – and nobody stopped it.
“My mom knew, my family knew, and they were OK with it because it was perceived to try to make me straight,” she says.
What made the decision to flee even more painful for Nyasha was that she couldn’t take her three-year-old daughter with her. She left her child in Zimbabwe and made the journey to South Africa. There, she got a job working for a fast food company, and her bosses helped her with her asylum papers.
A member of the South African LGBTQ+ community gestures during the annual Gay Pride Parade, as part of the Durban Pride Festival. (AFP via Getty/RAJESH JANTILAL)
She had dreams of bringing her daughter to South Africa so they could live their lives together, but her hopes were dashed when she found out that doing so could result in her asylum application being terminated. She was told that officials wouldn’t believe she was a lesbian if they found out she had a daughter.
For years, Nyasha lived out her life in South Africa. She was safe, but the distance from her daughter – and the impact that had on their relationship – was a constant thorn in her side.
Finally, a year ago, Nyasha wrote a letter to her daughter in which she laid out the truth for her in crystal clear detail. She explained why she was no longer able to be at home, and she told her daughter why she had no choice but to flee.
Before long, Nyasha’s daughter – now grown up – made the journey to South Africa so they could be together. They’re now living together in Cape Town, and they’re building the relationship that was robbed from them so many years before.
“It’s been a rollercoaster, I won’t lie,” Nyasha says. “I’m now getting to make up for 15 years. It’s a long time. I’m getting to know her, what she likes, what she doesn’t like.”
Nyasha is more than her trauma
In the background, Nyasha has become involved with an organisation called the Dream Academy, an initiative that offers classes to those who need them.
“I was broken – very, very broken,” Nyasha says as she reflects on her life before she came into contact with the Dream Academy.
A lot of things have been taken away from me.
“I had never been loved before, but when I came into the family of the Dream Academy, I felt embraced. It made me want to do more. It gives you the passion to say, ‘Who’s the next person who needs me to carry them, to listen to them and tell them everything’s going to be OK?’”
“A lot of things have been taken away from me. Love, material things, my whole being was taken away from me. But when I was able to be in the Dream Academy, reclaim myself and be myself, I now know that no one can really take anything away from me and I can be the person that I want.
“Now I wake up every morning and tell myself, you’re beautiful. I tell myself, today you’re going to reach your highest peak. Before, I never loved myself that much – I just saw my scars. I thought when people looked at me all they saw was the rape, what I’ve been through.
“But now I’m stronger, and I’m ready to give love to the world.”
It’s because of people like Nyasha that PinkNews launched the LGBTQ+ Refugees Welcome campaign. The initiative is raising funds for Micro Rainbow, a charity that provides safe housing for LGBTQ+ people seeking asylum, and for OutRight Action International’s LGBTIQ Ukraine Emergency Fund, which distributes money to activists on the ground in Ukraine.
But that’s not all – the series will also show how a person’s life can change radically when they’re granted asylum. When they can get to safety, LGBTQ+ people have the chance to thrive.
PinkNews wants to show how living without the threat of violence or persecution can help queer people build beautiful, kaleidoscopic lives – but they can only do so if they’re given the proper support.
