Only days after pictures emerged of hugging then executing two men, Islamic State fighters have reportedly thrown another man, accused of being gay, off a building and stoned him to death after he survived the fall. The campaigning group Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently, a Syrian based campaign against ISIS and the Assad regime, have reported that a man accused of being gay was thrown from a building in Iraq and stoned on the ground after surviving the fall. Warning graphic images
Syria: The ISIS hug of death for gays
Shocking photos of two gay men being hugged by their executioner before being stoned to death have surfaced online. For Islamic State sympathizers and members tweeting their responses, the hugs of death are meant as an expression of compassion, a gesture of forgiveness—before the gruesome reality of their murder.
The photographs are the latest propaganda images purportedly showing gay men being murdered by the jihadists, who have also stoned women for adultery, beheaded suspected dissenters and filmed on two occasions young boys shooting men the Islamic State has claimed were spies. A video on Sunday appears to show fighters from its branches in Libya executing dozens of Ethiopian Christians, some by beheading and others by shooting. Read More
Brazil: Outrage after transgender prisoner ‘stripped, beaten’ and head shaved by police in Brazil
LGBT groups have expressed their outrage after a transgender prisoner in Brazil was allegedly beaten by police and prison guards. Graphic images have emerged showing Veronica Bolina stripped naked, her head shaved and swollen, lying partially naked on the ground in front of a group of officers and other prisoners in Sao Paulo.
It was reported that Bolina was set upon by officers on three different occasions after being taken into custody. However, officials have denied that she is being victimised. It has been claimed that her injuries were the result of a struggle after she bit an officer on the ear.
LGBT groups have condemned the attack. One campaigner Susane Montalvo Sarabia, said: "It is just sickening that in this day and age such things as this still happen. They have pulverised that poor woman's face and are now trying to cover it up. Whether she is innocent, guilty, transgender or straight doesn't matter. The police should not be allowed to do this to anyone." Read More
UK: Jim Wells resigns as Northern Ireland health minister over 'anti-gay' remarks
Jim Wells stepped down after the police received a complaint about comments he is said to have made to a gay couple while out canvassing in the general election. Wells was already under fire for appearing to link gay relationships to child abuse during an election debate. His resignation highlights one of the major problems that Ed Miliband or David Cameron face if they chose to form a minority government backed by Democratic Unionist Party.
It also exposes the deep strain of evangelical Christian hostility towards gay people from within the DUP, drawing accusations from the likes of the Liberal Democrats that it is not fit to determine the shape of the next government. Nick Clegg said Wells’ comments showed that the DUP “mask had slipped”.
Wells last week caused a furore when he said: “You don’t bring a child up in a homosexual relationship. That a child is far more likely to be abused and neglected,” before he was shouted down by members of the audience. Read More
Canada: Sexual assaults in Ottawa linked to hookup apps
Capital Pride and the GLBT Ottawa police liaison committee are teaming up to respond to a series of sexual assaults involving men who met on hookup apps.
Mauricio Olivares, Capital Pride’s newly-hired festival producer, attended a committee meeting on April 20 to discuss recent sexual assaults targeting male victims. “I know of at least five cases in the last two months,” he said. “From what we’ve discussed with other people and other community members, we realize the number is actually much higher than that.”
By collaborating with the liaison committee and local agencies, it’s important to rally the community so that survivors know they’re not alone and they can access local resources whether they report the assault or not, Olivares said. As hookup apps and dating websites have become more popular, perpetrators are using the cloak of anonymity to victimize others, Olivares said. Read More
Pakistan: Enabling dissent, defying silence – In memory of Sabeen Mahmud: Yaminay Chaudhri and Mariam Sabri
Unidentified gunmen have killed Pakistani women's activist Sabeen Mahmud in a targeted shooting that also left her mother in intensive care. Two friends in Pakistan respond to the tragic assassination of Sabeen Mahmud, director of ‘The Second Floor’ (T2F) – a space that hosted many wonderful conversations and brave events for marginalized communities, including women and LGBTI groups.
Sabeen was shot 4 times as she was going home after an event dedicated to a public discussion of disappearances and human rights violation in Balochistan. Read More
Australia: Unexpected challenges for LGBs in outer metropolitan areas
Lesbian, gay and bisexual Australians living on the outskirts of major cities experience similar levels of discrimination and social isolation to those living in rural and remote areas. This surprise-finding is from the first nationwide survey comparing the experiences of LGB communities in a range of metropolitan and rural locations.
The survey found those in rural-remote and outer metropolitan areas experienced similar levels of 'minority stress' such as internalised homophobia, concealment of sexuality from friends and concern regarding disclosure of their sexuality. Compounding this disadvantage, LGBs in rural areas and outer city areas also reported reduced social support relative to their urban peers, including less involvement in an LGB community.
The findings reinforce those of past research, indicating that LGBs living in rural and remote Australia experience a greater likelihood of risk factors linked to adverse mental health outcomes including substance abuse and suicide.Those in outer metropolitan areas also reported increased social isolation, something not seen among the rural sample. Read More
Russia: Clashes and flash mobs on the Day of Silence in St. Petersburg
LGBT activists and their allies held two Day of Silence rallies aimed at eliminating discrimination, hatred and violence against sexual minorities. One march included call outs to banned LGBT teens support project “Children-404″. Another rally from Vosstaniya Square to the Kazansky Cathedral involved participants with their mouths covered with red tape.
There were several unsuccessful attempts to disrupt the events, but thanks to nearby police officers, the rallies continued and peace was kept. Read More
South Africa: Bisexual woman gang raped because of her “lifestyle”
In another horrific LGBTI hate crime, a 30-something bisexual mother of three in Limpopo has reportedly been raped by a group of men who said they wanted to show her that her “lifestyle is wrong.”
Activist Cindy Molefe, from the group Limpopo LGBTI Proudly Out, told Mambaonline that the woman, Abby*, who has often worked with the organisation canvassing for LGBTI rights, was brutally attacked on Saturday night. Read More
Cameroon: Outing ends in homelessness
The story of Aris, 26, will resonate in the minds of all those who have suffered violent setbacks after their homosexuality was suddenly revealed to their family.
Makékéné, is a village on the line dividing the Central region of Cameroon, and the Western region. It is there, in March 2015 that Aris, launched an SOS to his friends back in Yaoundé, the country’s political capital, to tell them the drama that transformed his life a few weeks earlier.
Aris, unwittingly, was outed by his younger brother, with whom he lived. And for this student, smoothly promoted to a bright future, everything in his life collapsed for one reason … he is gay. Read More
Russia: Court authorizes closure of LGBT teen support group's website
A court in St. Petersburg has authorized the government to block the social-network page of an online support group for LGBT teenagers in Russia.
A lawyer for Deti-404 (Children-404), Maria Kozlovskaya said that the group had been preparing for a court hearing on the issue on April 6.
But when the activists arrived in court on April 6, she said, they were told that a decision had already been made on March 25 to include the group's page on the social network VKontakte on a list of banned websites. Read More
Turkey: University student attacked while bystanders watch
Kafkas University student and LGBTI activist Birkan Perincek has been the victim of a homophobic attack by a group of 4-5 people.
Perincek said that he did not report the assault to the police because of past experiences with discrimination by the police based on his sexual orientation. He recounted that, in the past year, when his computer was stolen, instead of finding the offender, the police had directed him questions such as “Who have you slept with from the organization?” Read More