Liberal Queensland senator Matt Canavan reportedly told the newspaper: “I support senator Chandler’s bill.”
He added: “I think [the bill] represents millions of Australians, especially Australian women who don’t want to see their daughters work hard, try hard, get up early to become the elite at their [sport] and then someone with a clear biological advantage can just beat them.”
South Australian Liberal senator Alex Antic referenced the bill in an email to supporters, alleging that the Labor Party “are already pushing for this ideological agenda to be taught in schools, they want men to be able to play in women’s sports, enter women’s private spaces and erode the sex-based rights and protections of Australian women and girls”.
Morrison also seemed to support the bill, stating that he “shares” the views of Chandler and Deves with regards to the proposed legislation, however he has since said that there are no plans to expand the bill in parliament.
He explained that the proposal >was only a private member’s bill and that “the government doesn’t have any plans for that to be a government bill.”
A spokesperson for trans youth charity Mermaids said: “Trans women do not have an unfair advantage in sports and their participation does not harm trans women.
“To even be considered eligible to compete at an elite level, female trans athletes must undergo hormone therapy and rigorous testing for at least a year prior to training and competing.
“As we’ve seen with athletes such as Lia Thomas and Laurel Hubbard, who’ve both been beaten by cis-female athletes in their respective sports, being trans does not guarantee a win.”
When I was a student at Dartmouth, Laura Ingraham was my classmate. She used her platform at her notorious off-campus newspaper to call me and others like me “sodomites” and members of the “Dartmouth Bestiality Society.”
She disavowed her grotesque behavior of the early ‘80s, in a 1997 Washington Post article, in which she claimed she had changed her views on “homosexuality” after witnessing “the dignity, fidelity, and courage” with which her gay brother, Curtis and his partner coped, with the latter being diagnosed with AIDS and dying from it.
Many had these kinds of mea culpa in the ’90s after AIDS. Her catharsis would be a moving one if not for the decades of ridiculous behavior that followed; it led her brother Curtis to call her a “monster” in 2018.
Recently, she regularly platforms people who say LGBTQ students, school librarians, and staff where I teach in Virginia are “groomers,” “pedophiles,” and “child abusers.” Her frequent guests even attack local LGBTQ allies.
Leaders promoted by Ingraham have expressed a firm belief in some kind of racketeering theory, wherein numerous local adults are colluding to groom and sexually victimize children. For Ingraham and the voices she amplifies, LGBTQ people have gone from mere sinners in the ’80s to the most detestable of criminals, deserving of the worst fate, in her current iteration.
She frequently interviews and platforms people in the northern Virginia area who “out” and publicly berate transgender students and residents and individuals who support forcing teachers to out LGBTQ students to their parents.
A friend from my class recently said, “as a woman who went to Dartmouth when the student body was still about two-thirds men, I am always upset that Laura Ingraham is the public figure most people know as ‘woman who went to Dartmouth.’ I wish Kirstin Gillibrand or our classmate Laura Daughtry could fill that role.”
Many of us share this view. Ingraham’s first impact on my own life was devastating in ways that have affected me for years.
I was a closeted, queer student, and she was the editor of the Dartmouth Review, which was a new but well-connected off-campus student newspaper that fosters anti-Black, anti-Jewish, anti-LGBTQ, anti-Women, ableist and anti-Indigenous sentiment at Dartmouth College.
Unsurprisingly, Ingraham said when she arrived on campus “I came to Dartmouth to work at the Review.”
“Phew! This gift from Bill Buckley is Muckley! It’s Uckley! Bill, give it to Yale. O, please do!
In April of 1984, as editor of the paper, Ingraham sent a reporter into an LGBTQ student support group meeting. That reporter pretended to be “questioning her sexuality” but secretly recorded personal and private discussions in the group. She later stated she knew staying in the meeting was a positive affirmation that other people’s words would not be repeated.
Even though her reporter agreed to adhere to a privacy oath read at the beginning of each meeting, Ingraham published a partial transcript of the meeting, outing some students by name and others by implication, weaponizing the paper to shame everyone. She claimed that this act of journalistic terror was just an “investigation” into the use of college funds.
LGBTQ students and faculty, including me, were wounded in lasting ways. Dartmouth at that time already was not the easiest place to be queer.
Ingraham graduated and began her path to fame, wealth and influence as a syndicated shock jock on the radio, eventually landing on her prime time Fox News show, where her hateful reporting has had a lasting influence on me and people I care about for decades.
Ingraham’s show has recently featured a stream of harmful speakers attacking my Virginia school district and others nearby; persistently maligning students and families.
Her interviews spread the false idea that transgender girls lurk in bathrooms in order to rape because of affirming policies. It’s a deliberate twist on an actual terrible act in neighboring Loudoun County. Despite Ingraham’s misdirection, the case didn’t involve any transgender people and occurred before there was any consideration of a policy there.
Stop for a moment and think how this impacts the tens of thousands of queer students, staff, and families in the school district, not to mention BIPOC students and their parents.
One Fox News interviewee speculated that “members of the LGBTQ community” in Fairfax were following her in her car with her children on board.
This is inflammatory! It makes people fear LGBTQ people, and people in fear react poorly, often dangerously. I fear for all LGBTQ people in our county and well beyond, especially students. As her sphere of influence has expanded, so too has the wake of her destruction on young lives.
An educator who felt they needed to remain anonymous, said about Ingraham’s impact across the country now, “One of the trickiest things about working with queer youth is to let them know they’re safe without pushing them to come out before they’re ready. I’d love to be able to say, ‘just come out, then you won’t have to worry about who knows what, and you won’t have to live a lie.’ But thanks to people like Laura Ingraham, I can’t say that, because I might be advising a student to put themself in danger.”
From a young person in the district, “As a student in Fairfax County who can’t share my sexual identity with my parents because it would endanger my safety, it’s disappointing that Ms. Ingraham continues to amplify the voices who hurt so many LGBTQIA+ students. My LGBTQIA+ peers and I are simply trying to be students like everyone else, not political punching bags.”
Ingraham was able to terrorize me and my schoolmates when I was 20. She is no longer able to terrorize me, but her impact on LGBTQ students in our district is even worse than it was in 1984. Her platform has increased, so her ability to cause fear, pain, and danger has multiplied.
We see it vividly in Fairfax.
Robert N Rigby, Jr., is a public school teacher in Fairfax County, Virginia. He has advocated for LGBTQIA+ students, staff, and families in Virginia for twenty-five years, and is founder and co-president of FCPS Pride. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1985 with a bachelor’s degree in Classical Languages and a Masters in Education from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1988.
One in three LGBT+ people in Britain have been abused by their relatives, a study by Galop has found.
The LGBT+ anti-abuse charity found that of the 5,000 people surveyed, nearly one third (29 per cent) had experienced abuse by a relative, most often their own parents.
Galop reported that the abuse ranged from verbal harassment to threats of homelessness and physical violence.
Five per cent of respondents had been subjected to conversion therapy “through a family member attempting to change, ‘cure’ or suppress their sexual orientation or gender identity”.
Sixty per cent of respondents who had experienced abuse from their family felt their LGBT+ identity was either the main reason or part of the reason.
The survey also found that a “significant number of victims” who experienced abuse from their families think support would have been helpful, but were not able to access it, or did not access it.
Leni Morris, CEO of Galop, said: “Our findings reveal that a sizeable number of respondents were younger than 11 years old when the abuse began, with this maltreatment most commonly coming from parents.
“We believe these findings evidence the need explore the institutional barriers keeping these victims unseen by support services, emphasise the need for specialist LGBT+ advocacy, therapeutic services, and advice to be available to victims of familial abuse across the country, and for a prompt, complete ban of so-called ‘conversion therapy’ with no loopholes.”
Morris said: “When someone suffers abuse which targets them for who they fundamentally are, especially at such a formative age and at the hands of such an influential person, the repercussions are often lifelong.
“This report echoes the severity and complexity of cases we are supporting at Galop, often within which victims have never told anyone about their experience.”
Boris Johnson received fierce backlash after ITV news reported a leaked document that indicated he would ditch his plan to ban conversion therapy.
Downing Street then announced that the practice would be banned after all, but not for trans people.
The government’s own National LGBT survey, published in 2018, found that trans people were almost twice as likely to have experienced conversion therapy than cis people. Thirteen per cent of respondents had undergone or been offered it, compared to seven per cent of cis people.
Conservative MP Alicia Kearns had told ITV that “people will lose lives” if a ban is not put in place.
“As a politician, I stood for election to ban conversion therapy because it is harming people up and down this country, it is people profiteering from telling people there is something wrong with them, that they are broken, they have some kind of pathogen. It is wrong,” she said.
“As MPs we have a duty to provide be a voice for those that others seek to silence and to save lives. This legislation does just that.
“If we do not bring in this legislation people will lose lives.”
Two polar research ship crew members are set to become the first ever same-sex couple to get married in British Antarctic Territory.
Eric Bourne and Stephen Carpenter have been together for 20 years, having first met on the RFA Sir Percivale before being deployed in the Gulf war.
Since then, they have travelled the world’s oceans, and currently work together on the polar research ship RRS Sir David Attenborough, which is on its maiden voyage in Antarctica.
The couple plan to tie the knot either on Sunday (24 April) or Monday (25 April) depending on the weather, with temperatures predicted to be between -3 and 0 degrees Celsius.
They will be joined by 30 of the ship’s crew members, with the ceremony performed by ship captain Will Whatley at the British Antarctic Survey’s (BAS) Rothera Research Station.
Carpenter said: “Antarctica is such an incredible place. We have been together for 20 years but now we’ve both been to Antarctica together, it felt like the perfect place for us to finally tie the knot!”
He said that they had both had the coordinates of the research station where they will be married engraved on their wedding rings before setting off to Antarctica.
Bourne added: “We’re both very proud to be the first same-sex marriage to happen in British Antarctic Territory. BAS is such a welcoming and accepting employer, and we feel very lucky to be able to live and work in such an incredible community and place together.”
Whatley, the ship’s captain who will perform the wedding, said: “It is such honour to be officiating Eric and Steve’s wedding. The RRS Sir David Attenborough is not only our place of work but also our home, and it is a privilege to help two integral members of our crew celebrate their special day.
“I’m very proud of the inclusive culture within the British Antarctic Survey and across the Polar Regions. I am thrilled for them both and wish them all the very best.”
The couple plan to have a celebration with family and friends in Spain when they return from their voyage.
The International LGBTQ+ Travel Association and the IGLTA Foundation celebrate transgender and gender-expansive people, in all their diversity, for their empowering contributions to societies across the planet. We strive to eradicate the discrimination that still prevents many gender-diverse individuals from living openly and fully as their authentic selves.
“We are very aware of underrepresentation in travel, whether it’s overall marketing that fails to include transgender and gender-diverse travelers or lack of visibility in our business network,” said IGLTA President/CEO John Tanzella. “We need to develop more inclusive resources to help tourism professionals better understand the needs of transgender and gender-expansive clients.”
“There are so many safety issues and concerns specific to transgender and gender-diverse travelers that need to receive more attention globally, and we want to ensure that the tool kit we develop is informed by those we wish to serve,” said IGLTA Foundation Board Chair Theresa Belpulsi.
Please join us in elevating trans and gender-expansive people today, Transgender Day of Visibility, and every day. If you’re interested in joining this group or would like to refer a new member, please email info@igltafoundation.org.
The International LGBTQ+ Travel Association is the global leader in advancing LGBTQ+ travel and a proud Affiliate Member of the United Nations World Tourism Organization. IGLTA’s mission is to provide information and resources for LGBTQ+ travelers and expand LGBTQ+ tourism globally by demonstrating its significant social and economic impact. The association’s professional network includes 10,000+ LGBTQ+ welcoming accommodations, destinations, service providers, travel agents, tour operators, events and travel media, and its members can be found in nearly 80 countries. The philanthropic IGLTA Foundation empowers LGBTQ+ welcoming travel businesses globally through leadership, research, and education. For more information: iglta.org, igltaconvention.org or iglta.org/foundation and follow us on Facebook @IGLTA, @IGLTABusiness or @IGLTAFoundation, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram @iglta
An increasing number of child welfare workers in Texas are quitting because of a directive from Gov. Greg Abbott that requires them to investigate child abuse claims against parents suspected of providing gender-affirming care to their transgender children.
Morgan Davis, a transgender man, put in his two-week notice with the Child Protective Services office in Travis County this month because he “couldn’t morally continue” his job after investigating the family of a trans teen, he told KXAN-TV, an NBC affiliate in Austin.
Davis is reportedly not alone. More than a half dozen Child Protective Services employees in the state told The Texas Tribunethis month that they have either resigned or were looking for new jobs as a result of Abbott’s directive.
Last year, the Texas Legislature failed to pass a bill that would’ve changed the state’s definition of child abuse to include providing gender-affirming medical care, such as puberty blockers and hormones, to minors.
As a result, Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a legal opinion in February that said providing gender-affirming medical care to minors, including puberty blockers and hormones, constitutes child abuse under state law. Abbott issued his directive to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, the state agency that investigates child abuse reports, shortly after.
One of the first cases under Abbott’s order landed on Davis’ desk. He said he could have recused himself, but he wanted the family being investigated to see a friendly face.
“In my case, it was an exemplary family. Exemplary. The kind of family you wish and pray that every case we had would have,” Davis said.
He didn’t find any abuse or neglect, but said the agency didn’t drop the case.
“All we do is protect children. That’s all we’re supposed to do,” he told KXAN. “And then we’re genuinely in a path to hurt and, or terrify families. To tell them anything else other than to walk into that home and applaud them is unthinkable.”
Davis told The Texas Tribune that he decided to resign after speaking with the lawyer of the family he had investigated.
“She said, ‘I know your intentions are good. But by walking in that door, as a representative for the state, you are saying in a sense that you condone this, that you agree with it,’” Davis told the paper.
The lawyer’s comment “hit me like a thunderbolt,” he said. “It’s true. By me being there, for even a split second, a child could think they’ve done something wrong.”
The Department of Family and Protective Services declined to comment on the resignations. In regards to the investigations, Marissa Gonzales, the agency’s director of media relations, said “DFPS has and continues to comply with Texas law.”
Davis told KXAN that turnover at the agency is already high, adding that caseworkers, who usually manage about 15 cases at one time, have recently been overseeing about 35 to 45.
“You have caseworkers calling in sick just because they need a break,” he explained.
In May 2021, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) officially announced the worst year for anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in recent history. At the time, state lawmakers introduced over 250 bills – from anti-Trans sports legislation to religious refusal measures – in statehouses across the country, 17 of which were enacted into law.
Now, LGBTQ+ rights in states seem to be taking even more of a hit. According to HRC, over 300 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have surfaced in 36 Legislatures. As the legislation increases – 41 such measures were introduced in 2018 – so does the number of bills passed and enshrined into state law, though LGBTQ+ advocates often challenge the laws in court.
The legislation overwhelmingly targets Trans youth, according to the organization, from blocking participation in sports to baring access to gender-affirming care. Lawmakers have also attempted, and in some cases passed, legislation limiting how LGBTQ+ issues can be taught in schools and keeping Trans kids from using restrooms that correspond with their gender identity.
“2022 is on track to surpass last year’s record number of anti-transgender bills,” Cathryn Oakley, state legislative director and senior counsel at the HRC, told the Blade, calling the “legislative attacks” on Trans youth “craven, baseless, and an effort to create more division, fearmonger, and rile up radical right-wing voters at the expense of innocent kids.”
Proponents of the bills say they are to “protect” parental rights, children and religious freedom. However, LGBTQ+ advocates and people continue to denounce the legislation as discriminatory and harmful.
This year, one of the most talked-about anti-LGBTQ+ measures was Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law last month. The legislation will ban classroom instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity in grades K-3 if it survives legal challenges.
Days after DeSantis signed the bill, the first lawsuit against the measure emerged, arguing the statute “would deny to an entire generation that LGBTQ people exist and have equal dignity.”
“This effort to control young minds through state censorship —and to demean LGBTQ lives by denying their reality — is a grave abuse of power,” the lawsuit says.
Since Republican sponsors successfully pushed the bill through, other states have followed in Florida’s footsteps. Ohio, for example, introduced its version of the legislation roughly a week after DeSantis’ signature.
Like Florida, LGBTQ+ advocates were quick to announce legal challenges to the legislation. Some of the most prominent LGBTQ+ and civil rights organizations – including the HRC, GLAD and Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) – announced a legal challenge in federal court against Alabama’s gender-affirming care ban.
In terms of legislation introduced, Tennessee has far outpaced other states, according to LGBTQ+ rights organization Freedom for All Americans. The group’s legislative tracker found over 30 bills limiting LGBTQ+ rights in the state – including a “Don’t Say Gay” bill and a ban on LGBTQ-themed literature in schools. But, unlike other Republican-controlled states, none have made it out of the statehouse.
Arizona has also been a hotspot for anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, with at least 17 bills, according to Freedom for All Americans. In March, Republican Gov. Doug Ducey signed two billslimiting the rights of Trans people in the state – one banning some types of medical care for Trans youth, and the other preventing Trans students from participating in school sports consistent with their gender identity.
“Across the country, moderate Republicans are struggling—and too often failing—to stop the takeover of their party by dangerous extremists,” Shannon Minter, legal director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), told the Blade at the time, adding: “We are in danger of watching large segments of our nation give way to authoritarian extremism.”
In other states, anti-LGBTQ+ legislation became law without support from its governor – Democratic or Republican. In fact, two Republican governors vetoed anti-Trans sports bills in late March.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox and Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb, both Republicans, vetoed legislation that barred Trans youth from participating in sports. Cox said the bill had “several fundamental flaws and should be reconsidered,” while Holcomb said the measure was in search of a problem.
“This [Utah] bill focuses on a problem of ‘fairness’ in school sports that simply does not exist — but its negative impacts on the mental health and well-being of trans and nonbinary youth are very real,” said Sam Ames, director of advocacy and government affairs at The Trevor Project. “These youth already face disproportionate rates of bullying, depression, and suicide risk, and bills like this one will only make matters worse.”
In recent weeks, two Democratic governors vetoed anti-LGBTQ+ legislation from their Republican-controlled legislatures.
“Shame on the Kentucky General Assembly for attacking trans kids today,” said Chris Hartman, executive director for the Fairness Campaign. Shame on our commonwealth’s lawmakers for passing the first explicitly anti-LGBTQ law in Kentucky in almost a decade.”
Kansas Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed last weekend two anti-LGBTQ+ measures, the “Parents’ Bill of Rights” and the “Fairness in Women’s Sports” Acts.
GOP lawmakers in Idaho decided last month to effectively kill a bill criminalizing gender-affirming care, one of the most extreme proposals in the country. It would have made it a felony — punishable by up to life in prison — to provide minors with hormones, puberty blockers or gender-affirming surgery.
In a statement, Idaho Senate Republicans said they “stongly” oppose “any and all gender reassignment and surgical manipulation of the natural sex” on minors. But they also wrote that the controversial legislation “undermines” a parent’s right to make medical decisions for their children.
“We believe in parents’ rights and that the best decisions regarding medical treatment options for children are made by parents, with the benefit of their physician’s advice and expertise,” the senators wrote.
Texas is one of the 14 states with no anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, as the state only holds legislative sessions in odd years. However, the Lone Star State has made headlines for anti-Trans orders from Republican Gov. Greg Abbott.
But even as Republican politicians continue to push for limits to LGBTQ+ rights, many LGBTQ+ advocates, people and allies promise to continue fighting against the discriminatory efforts – whether in court or on the streets.
“The Human Rights Campaign strongly condemns these harmful, potentially life-threatening bills and will continue to use every tool at our disposal to fight for the rights of transgender youth and all LGBTQ+ people,” Oakley said.
In a January 2022 poll by The Trevor Project, an organization that provides crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to LGBTQ youth under 25, and Morning Consult, over two-thirds of LGBTQ youth said recent debates over state laws that target transgender people have negatively impacted their mental health.
“These results underscore how recent politics and ongoing crises facing the globe can have a real, negative impact on LGBTQ young people, a group consistently found to be at significantly increased risk for depression, anxiety and attempting suicide because of how they are mistreated and stigmatized in society,” Amit Paley, CEO of The Trevor Project, said in a statement.
An LGBT+ charity in Russia that has provided support to the community for more than a decade has been formally dissolved by the courts.
Charitable Foundation Sphere was formally dissolved by Kuibyshev District Court judge Tatiana Kuzovkina on Thursday (21 April) after the Russian ministry for justice argued that they were carrying out “political activities”.
The ministry claimed one of CF Sphere’s goals is to change Russian legislation, which is not a permissible charitable goal under federal law.
A representative for the ministry claimed that Sphere “carried out political activities using foreign property, which does not correspond to the statutory goals”.
The ministry argued in court that liquidating Sphere was the only way to successfully curb the organisation’s “illegal activities”.
Vitaly Isakov, the lawyer representing Sphere, argued against the move, telling the court that liquidating the charity would have a severe impact on LGBT+ people in Russia, who would find themselves left without any protection.
Judge Kuzovkina granted the ministry of justice’s request to liquidate Sphere, according to a press release from the charity.
Decision to liquidate LGBT+ charity in Russia is ‘politically and ideologically motivated’
“The decision to liquidate the foundation, especially on these grounds, is absolutely unreasonable and inconsistent with the norms of the law,” a Sphere spokesperson said.
“We consider it politically and ideologically motivated, separately noting the state’s desire to destroy the majority of civil and human rights organisations in the country.
“At the moment, our services continue to provide legal, psychological and emergency assistance to the LGBT+ community, and we will do everything possible to ensure this work continues without interruption, regardless of the legal status of our team.”
They continued: “We cannot leave the community without protection and support at such a difficult time. Our team has always seen it as a duty to help the community and unite it based on the principles of human rights and humanitarianism.”
Sphere has been providing legal and psychological assistance to LGBT+ people in Russia since it was founded in 2011.
In late 2021, Russia’s ministry of justice launched an “unscheduled audit” of the charity. As part of that audit, Sphere handed over more than 5,000 pages of documentation.
The ministry found that “all the actual activities of the organisation are aimed at supporting the LGBT+ movement in Russia”.
The state agency said that the country’s constitution upholds “traditional family values”. It said Sphere was trying to change the “legislation and moral foundations in the Russian Federation” through its work.
The ministry formally asked the courts to dissolve Sphere in February.
Russia wants to ‘negate the entire human rights movement’
In a press release, Sphere said this is not the first time human rights groups have been forced to stop operating because of state interference. The International Memorial and the Memorial Human Rights Center were shut at the end of 2021.
“In many ways, a similar attempt to liquidate Sphere is the contribution of the ruling structures to negating the entire human rights movement, including the LGBT movement,” a Sphere spokesperson said.
Since it was set up 11 years ago, Sphere has opposed Russia’s much-criticised ban on “LGBT propaganda”. It has also supported LGBT+ people who have survived abduction and torture.
Russia has become an increasingly hostile place for LGBT+ people over the last decade.
In 2013, the country faced international backlash when it enacted its infamous “gay propaganda” law, which prohibits the promotion of homosexuality.
In a grisly attack that has appalled Kenya, a non-binary lesbian reportedly was raped and murdered by six men in their home.
Sheila Lumumba, a 25-year-old hospitality worker, was found dead in their home in Karatina, a town in Nyeri County, earlier this week, LGBT+ groups and activists and BBC Africa reported.
K24TV said that it is understood that the gang also broke Lumumba’s leg during the incident, according to an autopsy report.
They were discovered four days after the attack by colleagues from FK Resort and Spa. Karatina police have not yet determined a motive behind the killing.
Their alleged killing has touched off intense outrage and despair online among national rights groups.x
Under the hashtag #JusticeForSheila, activists expressed a disturbing sense of familiarity over Lumumba’s death. To campaigners, Lumumba has become the latest example in a long legacy of violence against LGBT+ people in Kenya, where same-sex activity is illegal.
LGBT+ people in Kenya face fierce and relentless discrimination, the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights reported, from arbitrary arrests to mob justice.
“It bears mentioning that unfortunately these are not isolated incidences [sic] and are part of a pattern of attacks and violence against LGBTIQ+ persons in the country,” Kenya’s National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission tweeted.
“No one deserves such cruel treatment. Sheila didn’t have to experience all this pain,” Amnesty Kenya tweeted.
More than 86,520 Kenyan shillings (£580) have been raised to cover Lumumba’s funeral costs on M-Changa, Africa’s largest online fundraising platform.
“Sheila and I are both 25 and lesbians. I can’t rest because I am one statistic away from being this,” tweeted Afrika, director of the queer-led women’s group the Kisumu Feminists’ Society.
“I can’t rest because I know my silence will mean Sheila’s death goes unpunished. I can’t rest because Sheila and I experience violence both as ‘female-presenting bodies’ and lesbians.
GLAAD, the world’s largest LGBTQ media advocacy organization, and Sony Music announced a partnership in March to amplify LGBTQ voices and representation in the music industry.
According to Variety, the partnership includes several initiatives to advance advocacy and inclusion at Sony and within the broader industry. The initiatives include the following:
GLAAD Media Institute will implement consultation and education for Sony Music Group, including LGBTQ-focused education sessions for Sony employees and leadership in an effort to help build greater awareness and competency around LGBTQ issues and people.
GLAAD will consult Sony on its campaigns and programs that seek to highlight contemporary LGBTQ people and/or issues.
Sony will be an official sponsor for the 33rd Annual GLAAD Media Awards in Los Angeles on April 2, and New York City on May 6.
Sony’s artists and songwriters nominated for the Outstand Music Artist award include: Brockhampton, Roadrunner: New Light, New Machine (RCA Records/Question Everything), Kaytranada, Intimated (RCA Records), Lil Nas X, Montero (Columbia Records, Sony Music Publishing) and Arlo Parks, Collapsed in Sunbeams (Sony Music Publishing).
GLAAD and Sony will launch “Icons,” a three-part interview series that will bring together LGBTQ musicians, songwriters and producers across generations for discussion about LGBTQ inclusion in music, history of and the future of the industry.
“Over the past several years, many LGBTQ artists have made major strides within the music industry, but there is still significant room to improve LGBTQ inclusion, representation, and awareness at all levels,” said Sarah Kate Ellis, GLAAD president and CEO. “Sony Music Group continues to be an incredible leader for diversity, equity, and inclusion in music, and we’re grateful to partner with them to both amplify diverse LGBTQ voices and establish greater pathways to grow LGBTQ inclusion within the industry at large.”
