International

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Lesbian Artist Faces 8 Years in Russian Prison For Criticizing Putin, Military

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Russian prosecutors have requested a sentence of eight years in a penal colony for a lesbian artist who criticized the country’s military actions in Ukraine in a supermarket protest last year, according to the Russian language Mediazona. Alexandra Skochilenko, 33, has been charged with spreading knowingly false information about the use of the armed forces and the government’s use of its authority, a crime punishable by up to 10 years in a penal colony. On March 31, 2022, Skochilenko, also known as Sasha, switched out the price tags at a Perekrestok supermarket with stickers that looked like price tags but contained a series […]

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Mexican government sends conflicting messages over death of nonbinary magistrate

Mexican authorities on Tuesday sent conflicting messages about the violent death of a leading LGBTQ figure after thousands marched Monday night demanding justice. Jesús Ociel Baena was found dead next to their partner in their home in the central Mexican city of Aguascalientes on Monday, according to state prosecutors. Baena, the first openly nonbinary person to assume a judicial post in Mexico, was one of the most visible LGBTQ figures in a country where the community is often violently targeted. Baena and their partner had already received death threats and hateful messages and had protection from state security, prompting many across […]

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This activist built himself a website to track global LGBTQ+ laws

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In 2008, Dan Leveille, 35, was studying computer science at the Rochester Institute of Technology when California voters passed Proposition 8, eliminating the right of same-sex couples to marry in the state. It was a sucker punch to the queer community, including Leveille, who found himself wanting to bring order to how he thought about LGBTQ+ rights in the US. His solution was Equaldex, a passion project that visualizes the state of queer rights not only at home but around the world. The site has become a trusted resource for governments, the media, and LGBTQ+ travelers everywhere. Related: LGBTQ Nation spoke with […]

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77-Year-Old Man Receives 22 Years for Cold Case Gay-Bashing Murder

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The now-older Australian man convicted of the 1987 gay-bashing murder of a man he thought was gay received what amounted to a life sentence in a Sydney courtroom late last month. NSW Supreme Court Justice Dina Yehia sentenced on October 20, Stanley Bruce Early, 77, to a maximum of 22 years in prison for the murder of Raymond Keam, 43, in a public park in the early morning hours of January 13, 1987. According to the Sydney Morning Herald,the sentence includes a mandatory 15 years and six months behind bars, meaning Early won’t be eligible for parole until the age of […]

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Hungary has fired its national museum director over LGBTQ content in World Press Photo exhibition

Hungary’s cultural minister on Monday fired the director of the Hungarian National Museum in Budapest, accusing him of failing to comply with a contentious law that bans the display of LGBTQ content to minors. The dismissal of Laszlo L. Simon, who became director of the museum for a five-year term in 2021, came after Hungary’s government determined in late October that five photos on display at the prestigious World Press Photo exhibition violated the law restricting children’s access to content that depicts homosexuality or gender change. The museum subsequently put a notice on its website and at the entrance to the World […]

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Brazil’s Congress Holds Public Hearing on Teacher Harassment

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This week, Brazil’s Congress held an important public hearing on harassment against teachers for topics they address in the classroom. Sponsored by lawmakers Talíria Petrone, Erika Hilton, and Luciene Cavalcante, it was the first such hearing held by the Education and Human Rights committees of the Chamber of Deputies. For about a decade, federal, state, and municipal officials in Brazil have used pernicious legal and political tactics to undermine educational content on gender and sexuality, claiming such information constitutes “indoctrination” or “gender ideology.” These tactics have weaponized education for political gain among a conservative segment of the population and increased harassment of […]

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Canadians protest policy forcing the outing of trans kids: ‘This legislation is harmful’

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Canadians came out in force to rally behind trans youth and protest a policy which would see youngsters forcefully outed to their parents.  Hundreds of people, including trans kids and their supportive families, gathered in the Saskatchewan cities of Saskatoon, Regina and Lloydminster in opposition to Bill 137, also known as the Parent’s Bill of Rights.  The legislation, which became law last week, was introduced by Saskatchewan Party education minister Jeremy Cockrill last week and outlines a number of rights parents have regarding their children’s education, including access to the pupil’s school file and being able to see what sexual-health […]

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Queer Afghans cry for help under Taliban rule, citing private prisons, torture & death

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An LGBTQ+ rights group in Afghanistan is calling the international community’s acceptance of Taliban rule a “betrayal of humanity” and is demanding justice for queer people from the United Nations, human rights organizations, and countries that “claim to support human rights.” Rainbow Afghanistan details a litany of abuses against the queer community by the Taliban, which returned to power two years ago as American forces withdrew from the country 20 years after the 9/11/2001 attacks. “For homosexuals,” a Taliban judge said at the time, “there can only be two punishments: either stoning, or he must stand behind a wall that will fall […]

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Japan Court Rules Against Mandatory Transgender Sterilization

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A Japanese family court has ruled that the country’s requirement that transgender people be surgically sterilized to change their legal gender is unconstitutional. The ruling is the first of its kind in Japan, and comes as the Supreme Court considers a separate case about the same issue. In 2021, Gen Suzuki, a transgender man, filed a court request to have his legal gender recognized as male without undergoing sterilization surgery as prescribed by national law. This week the Shizuoka Family Court ruled in his favor, with the judge writing: “Surgery to remove the gonads has the serious and irreversible result of loss of reproductive function. […]

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India’s Top Court Rejects Marriage Equality in Landmark LGBTQ+ Ruling

 India’s top court has declined to legally recognize same-sex unions in a landmark ruling that also emphasized the rights of the LGBTQcommunity to be free of prejudice and discrimination. Campaigners had sought to obtain the right to marry under Indian law, giving them access to the same privileges extended to heterosexual couples, but while that was denied they welcomed the court’s recognition of their relationships. A five-judge constitution bench led by India’s chief justice delivered the much-anticipated verdict on Tuesday, streamed live across the nation and to crowds outside the court who gathered to watch on their cellphones. During the two-hour ruling, […]

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