International

/ /

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 […]

/ /

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

,

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 […]

/ /

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 […]

/ /

UK Trans Kids Will Not be Referred for Puberty Blockers Following High Court Ruling

The only NHS gender clinic for under-18s has stopped referring transgender youth for puberty blockers following a High Court ruling. The Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust, which runs youth gender clinic GIDS, has confirmed that no new referrals will be made to endocrinology services until there is more “clarity” on the situation following the judgment on Tuesday (December 1). A spokesperson confirmed that no current GIDS patients who take puberty blockers have been contacted yet, due to the a stay on implementation for the time being. “The court has ruled that there will be a stay on implementation of its judgment […]

/ /

Cuba’s LGBTQ Community Reacts to the San Isidro Movement Oolitical Crisis

LGBTQ rights groups have weighed in on the political crisis in Cuba sparked by the hunger strike of the San Isidro Movement, a group of dissident activists, and the protest in front of the Culture Ministry on Nov. 27 where hundreds of people demanded the government respect the rights of artists and citizens. La Plataforma 11M, an independent LGBTI+ collective, in a short statement it published this Saturday backed “the initiative of the group of young intellectuals and artists” to go protest at the Culture Ministry, “under the conviction that dialogue is the way forward to guarantee freedom of speech […]

/ /

‘Gay Panic’ Defence Abolished in Australia

South Australia has finally abolished the ‘gay panic’ defence for violent crimes, becoming the last state in Australia to do so. It is officially called the provocation defence or the ‘homosexual advance defence’. The accused can use it downgrade charges of murder to manslaughter when they claim to have become violent upon finding out a victim’s sexuality or gender identity. The ‘gay panic’ defence is set to be banned in South Australia (Envato Elements) South Australia has finally abolished the ‘gay panic’ defence for violent crimes, becoming the last state in Australia to do so. It is officially called the […]

/ /

Anti-LGBTQ lawmaker Quits after Being Arrested at Gay ‘Gang Bang’

,

A far right anti-LGBTQ “pro-family” lawmaker responsible for drafting Hungary’s pro-Christian constitution that bans same-sex marriage was arrested fleeing an all-gay sex party in Belgium that violated Brussels’ coronavirus lockdown. Hungarian politician József Szájer, 59, resigned as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Sunday, after his arrest Friday, The Daily Beast reports. According to reports he was carrying a backpack with narcotics – ecstasy – which he denies. Officers burst into the ground floor of a bar on Rue des Pierres in the Belgian capital on Friday night to discover alcohol, drugs and what has been described as “a party […]

/ /

Soldiers Dismissed for their Sexuality win Compensation from German Government

Germany’s government has approved legislation that will offer €3,000 in compensation for gay military personnel who have experienced discrimination. Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, Germany’s defence minister, said: “I know that we can’t make up for the personal injustice they suffered but, with the lifting of verdicts and the payment of lump-sum compensation, we want to send a signal of redress.” The new legislation aims to “restore the dignity of these people who wanted nothing other than to serve Germany”, according to Kramp-Karrenbauer. The legislation still requires paliamentary approval, but Kramp-Karrenbauer is optimistic about getting the support of lawmakers. She hopes to “rehabilitate and compensate those […]

/ /

Hungary Ramps Up Anti-LGBTQ Legislation

A constitutional amendment before the Hungarian Parliament would effectively ban LGBTQ people from adopting, drawing the ire of human rights activists. Draft language submitted to parliament this month by Justice Minister Judit Varga states that children must be raised “in accordance with the values based on our homeland’s constitutional identity and Christian culture.” “The basis for family relations is marriage,” it reads in part. “The mother is a woman, the father is a man.” Under the amendment, only opposite-sex married couples would be eligible to adopt children, with exceptions made on a case-by-case basis by Minister of Family Affairs Katalin […]

/ /

Trans People at Risk in Honduras

,

William Alejandro Martínez, a trans man from Honduras, stood up for his rights when military police officers stopped him in Comayagüela in May 2019 and asked to see his identity card. They questioned him about his gender identity, physically assaulted him, and threatened to arrest him. “Don’t touch me, I’m a human rights defender,” Martínez insisted. That’s when an officer pointed a rifle at him, saying “I don’t give a damn what you are.” “My life passed before my eyes,” Martínez remembered. By some counts, Honduras has one of the world’s highest rates of homicides of transgender people. Ten years before Martínez […]

«‹ 87 88 89 90›»