When American politicians, television presenters, and even clergy come out of the closet these days, it barely makes the headlines. But the corporate world is different: until Apple’s boss, Tim Cook, said on October 30th that he is gay, there had never been an openly homosexual CEO of a Fortune 500 company.
The crossing of this symbolic threshold demonstrates both how much conditions have improved for gay executives and how far boardrooms lag the rest of society. Read More
A project analysing tweets alongside take-up of HIV services in Brazil show social media can inform public health. Advertisers have seen the potential of social media for informing their work for years, but public health is only just looking into the potential for improving the impact of campaigns. Read More
In an effort to combat increases in HIV infections, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation has teamed up with FLEX Spas, a national chain of bathhouses, to install vending machines in their Los Angeles location that will dispense Ora-Quick In-Home HIV Tests.
“The new HIV self-test kit vending machines available at sex clubs in Los Angeles are a true breakthrough in access to HIV testing,” said Dr. Jeffrey D. Klausner, of UCLA, stating that the vending machines represent the successful partnership among researchers, community organizations and businesses. Read More
While I have never denied my sexuality, I haven’t publicly acknowledged it either, until now. So let me be clear: I’m proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me. [...] I don’t consider myself an activist, but I realize how much I’ve benefited from the sacrifice of others. So if hearing that the CEO of Apple is gay can help someone struggling to come to terms with who he or she is, or bring comfort to anyone who feels alone, or inspire people to insist on their equality, then it’s worth the trade-off with my own privacy. Read More
Bare-chested male models strutted through the glitzy ballroom in Bangkok to the beat of house music while dozens of young gay men waited anxiously, working up the nerve to have a blood test. Once touted as an HIV success story, Thailand is now faced with infection rates in its gay population comparable to those in Africa's AIDS hotspots. Read More
After weeks of negotiation with drag queens and transgender people whose accounts were targeted as using "fake" names, the site now claims it will honor chosen names stating: "The spirit of our policy is that everyone on Facebook uses the authentic name they use in real life." Despite the announcement no changes have been made. Read More
Iranian authorities confirmed the arrest of a suspected gay men for setting up romantic dates on Facebook. President of Azerbaijan UF police arrest people with their mobile phone number on Facebook to prevent immoral relations. Read more
We invite you to participate in the demonstration that will take place on 18 October 2014 in front of every Egyptian embassy around the world (If accessible) to protest against human rights violations committed by the Egyptian government, relying on unlawful and unethical media tools, towards those of differing sexual orientations and gender identities. Read more
Egyptians’ online communications are now being monitored by the sister company of an American cybersecurity firm, giving the Egyptian government an unprecedented ability to comb through data from Skype, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, among others.
See Egypt, the sister company of the U.S.-based Blue Coat, won the contract over the summer, beating out the British Gamma System, and the Israeli-founded Narus System. See Egypt has begun monitoring Egyptians’ online communications, according to several Egyptian government officials who spoke to BuzzFeed News.
“See Egypt has already worked with the government and has strong ties to the State Security Services,” said one official. He asked to remain anonymous, to protect his position within the government. “They were a natural choice and their system is already winning praise.” Read More
Grindr has warned users to hide their identities on social media following the arrests of scores of gay men and fears Egyptian police are using the social network to seek out members of the country’s LGBT community.
“Egypt is arresting LGBT people and police may be posing as LGBT on social media to entrap you,” Grindr warned users in an on screen message. Read more
In Lebanon police have intensified their campaign against LGBTI people by using arrestees’ mobile phones to try to entrap other allegedly gay men, according to Helem, Lebanon’s LGBTQI advocacy organisation. Meanwhile sources claim Egyptian cops have used popular dating app Grindr to arrest gay and lesbian community members. A reported security flaw compromises users' security by revealing their GPS location.
York Chow, chairperson of Hong Kong Equal Opportunities Commission, said "In mapping out our approaches to promote LGBTI rights, we should look at what has been done in other jurisdictions. This symposium is an important opportunity for mutual learning, with the goal to achieve equal opportunities for sexual and transgender minorities." Read More