International

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Romanian Court Slams Law Banning Discussion of Gender in Education

Romania’s Constitutional Court this week struck down a law parliament adopted in June 2020 that would have, among other things, banned “activities aimed at spreading gender identity theory or opinion” in educational settings. This is a positive development as the law violated Romania’s international human rights obligations, including those undertaken as a party to the Istanbul Convention on violence against women and the European Convention on Human Rights. The law defined “gender identity theory” as a belief that “gender is a concept that is different than the biological sex and the two are not always the same.” The fact that gender is distinct from sex […]

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High-profile Ugandan LGBT+ Rights Lawyer ‘Violently Arrested’

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High-profile Ugandan LGBT+ rights lawyer Nicholas Opiyo was “violently arrested” on money laundering charges in what activists have said was “an attack on human rights defenders”. Opiyo is well-known for representing LGBT+ people in the harshly anti-LGBT+ African country. He was arrested in a restaurant in Kampala on Tuesday (22 December), according to Chapter Four Uganda, a human rights organisation of which he is executive director. Four other lawyers were also arrested: Anthony Odur, Herbert Dakasi, Simon Peter Esomu and Tenywa Hamid. The organisation said it was deeply concerned about the “abduction and incommunicado detention” of Opiyo. He was reportedly arrested by […]

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Canadian Lawmakers Vote for Non-binary Gender Option on Citizenship Cards

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A council in Canada has unanimously agreed to introduce a non-binary gender option on citizenship cards for its residents – at no extra cost. Announcing the news on 18 December, Manitoba Metis Federation president David Chartrand said: “We want our citizens to be themselves and not have to hide or be denied their identity.” “We want this resolution to remind all our LGBTQ2+ citizens that you are embraced in our community and your Métis government, and we are proud of who you are,” Chartrand added. The Manitoba Metis Federation cabinet, which governs the region of Manitoba in Canada, passed a unanimous […]

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Argentina to Add More Transgender People to Labor Force

The 23-year-old joined the human resources department of Banco Nación, Argentina’s leading state bank, this year. In September, President Alberto Fernández signed a decree establishing a 1 percent employment quota for transgender people in the public sector. Only neighboring Uruguay has a comparable quota law promoting the labor inclusion of transgender people, who face discrimination in the region. According to Argentina’s LGBTQ community, 95 percent of transgender people do not have formal employment, with many forced to work in the sex industry where they face violence. “If all the institutions implemented the trans quota, it would change a lot for […]

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Switzerland ‘Marriage for All’ Bill Passes in Historic Vote

Lawmakers in Switzerland on Friday gave final approval to a marriage equality bill first introduced seven years ago. The “Marriage for All” legislation passed in the National Council, which is the Federal Assembly’s lower house, by a 136-48 vote margin, even with the conservative Swiss People’s Party holding a 53-seat majority. The Council of States, the Federal Assembly’s upper house, approved the bill by a 24-11 vote margin. “Yes!” the Swiss Rainbow Families Association tweeted following Friday’s vote, which also grants the country’s lesbian couples access to sperm donation, a sticking point for the bill’s conservative opponents.  Maria von Känel, […]

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Conversion Therapy Survivor Opens up about Undergoing ‘Exorcisms’

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A Scottish man has said he “hated everything” about himself after enduring six years of conversion therapy and “exorcisms” to make him straight. Justin Beck, 36, told STV that he grew up in a religious family but moved church aged 17 because he wanted to make himself straight. In his new church, he was put through traumatising conversion therapy that lasted six years, before he finally realised that it was not working when he was 23. “I would put myself forward for healing every Sunday, then that would ramp up to things like exorcisms to have demons cast out of me and being […]

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Hungary Amends Constitution to RTedefine Family, Banning Gay Adoption

Hungary amended the definition of family in its constitution Tuesday to allow an effective ban on adoption by same-sex couples, another win for the ruling conservatives but decried by one pro-LGBTQ group as “a dark day for human rights.” The nationalist Fidesz party of Prime Minister Viktor Orban has worked to recast Hungary in a more conservative mold since winning a third successive landslide in 2018, and anti-gay verbal attacks and legislation have become common. In recent years Orban, facing a unified opposition for the first time, has doubled down on propagating his increasingly conservative ideology, deploying strong language against […]

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U.K. to Allow Sexually Active Gay Men to Donate Blood

In a landmark change to existing policy, the United Kingdom will allow sexually active gay and bisexual men to donate blood, with the new criteria focusing on individual behaviors and lifting the outright ban on blood from men who have sex with men. “This is such a fundamental change and victory,” Ethan Spibey, a blood donation advocate, said. “It’s a groundbreaking, pioneering new policy for gay and bi men in the U.K.” Under the new guidelines, donors who have had only one sexual partner for more than three months will be eligible to give blood. A health check questionnaire completed […]

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Switzerland Looks Set to be the Next to Legalize Same-sex Marriage

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Switzerland has taken a major step on the path to equality after its parliament voted overwhelmingly in favour of a law to pass same-sex marriage. The council of states – the upper house of Switzerland’s legislature – voted by by 22 votes to 15 to approve landmark legislation to make same-sex marriage a reality. Just seven politicians abstained from the vote. It’s a huge moment for a country that has lagged behind most of Europe when it comes to LGBT+ rights, and is the culmination of a seven-year campaign. “We have been waiting for this for seven years,” Olga Baranova of the […]

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Netherlands Apologizes for Transgender Sterilizations

The Dutch government has apologized to transgender people for previously mandating surgeries, including sterilization, as a prerequisite for legal gender recognition. During a Cabinet meeting this week, government officials also announced plans to compensate people who underwent the operations. This outcome is good news following years of activism demanding the government acknowledge the harm the country’s sterilization law caused trans people in The Netherlands. In 2013, the Council of Europe called for an end to mandatory sterilization for trans people in member states. A 2014 revision to the Dutch law rolled back the sterilization requirement that had been in place since 1985. This provision […]

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