Indonesia's Defence Minister threatens 'warfare' against gay community

Indonesia's gay community has come under attack, with the country's Defence Minister labelling the community a "threat" and likening fighting it to "a kind of modern warfare". Ministers and religious leaders have denounced homosexuality, blocked lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) websites and emboldened hardliners launching anti-gay raids.

When a minister criticised counselling services for gay students at a university last month, it triggered a heated media debate and was the start of what activists say has been a sustained assault on gay rights.   Read more via ABC
 

Australia: Man bashed in Waterloo 'for being queer', one of two suspected gay bashings in Sydney

Detectives are investigating two suspected gay bashings in inner Sydney, prompting a warning from police less than a fortnight before the annual Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardis Gras Parade. The NSW Police spokesman on Sexuality and Gender Diversity, Superintendent Tony Crandell, said the occurrence of two "bias-related assaults" over one weekend was uncommon, and was of concern to police.

One of the victims, Dylan Souster, 22, said he was punched in the face by a man who called him "a queer" outside his apartment block in Waterloo in the early hours of Sunday morning. That man had initially been trying to help him, after he was earlier knocked unconscious by a group of young people and woke up in Waterloo Oval. Read more via Sydney Morning Herald  

Indonesia: LGBT Movement More Dangerous than Nuclear Warfare

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta -  Indonesia's Defense Minister, Ryamizard Ryacudu, has labelled the emergence of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) movement in Indonesia as a form of a proxy war to subtly undermine the sovereignty of a state - without the need to deploy a military force.

"I wrote about the subject 15 years ago - this is a kind of a modern warfare," said Ryacudu at the Ministry of Defense's Building on Tuesday, February 23, 2016. "It's the cheapest kind of war there is."

According to Ryacudu, the LGBT agenda is a latent threat to Indonesia's sovereignty, as it forces Indonesia to deal with states who support the LGBT agenda under the guise of human rights observance. Ryacudu continued that the state needs to be more cautious in reacting to the demands of LGBT communities for equality before the law.

"It's dangerous as we can't see who our foes are, but out of the blue everyone is brainwashed - now the (LGBT) community is demanding more freedom, it really is a threat," said the former Chief-of-Staff for the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI-AD). Read more via tempo

US: Broken criminal justice system disproportionately targets and harms LGBT people

There is a rare and growing consensus across the political spectrum that, with the highest incarceration rate in the world, the United States’ criminal justice system is in need of reform. However, the LGBT population has been largely absent from the discussion.

A major report released today offers the most comprehensive analysis to date of how LGBT people—and particularly LGBT people of color—face higher rates of incarceration and unfair treatment and abuse in the criminal justice system. “Unjust: How the Broken Criminal Justice System Fails LGBT People” documents how pervasive stigma and discrimination, biased enforcement of laws, and discriminatory policing strategies mean that LGBT people are disproportionately likely to interact with law enforcement and to have their lives criminalized.

LGBT people are also treated unfairly once they enter the system; the report shows how they are not only more disproportionately incarcerated but also face abuse while incarcerated. Read more via American Progress

US: 2016 is the most dangerous year for transgender Americans

Transgender people are under attack like never before with more than three dozen proposed new laws across 16 states, according to a new report by the Human Rights Campaign. 

“This deeply disturbing trend is a stark reminder of just how vicious and deplorable  opponents of equality are in their relentless attacks against our community,” said HRC President Chad Griffin in a statement.

In all, HRC counts 44 bills targeting transgender people are in the works in 16 states. That’s more than twice as many as were introduced in all of 2015, and nearly two dozen of the measures focus on trans students. HRC called the anti-trans legislation “unprecedented,” “harmful” and “alarming.” According to a release accompanying the report, some bills seek to make it harder for trans people to access gender-affirming health care, others deny trans people access to bathrooms, locker rooms, and athletic teams that align with their gender identity. 

And they are just a portion of what HRC called “a stunning surge of more than 175 anti-LGBT bills in 32 states this year.”  Read more via the Advocate
 

Brazil: Making sense out of the murders of trans men

What — if anything — can the murders of four men over a few weeks tell us about fatal violence against trans men? What can we observe from these most recent murders? And what can we speculate about the responses to these cases?

Very little is currently known about violence against trans men as a whole; murder, as a subset of this topic, is even more shrouded in mystery. How often are trans men murdered worldwide? Are any of these cases hate crimes? What are the risk factors? Are there more murders we aren’t hearing about? How can we prevent more deaths?

While it’s impossible to draw conclusions from these four cases — which are almost certainly only a fraction of the total murders committed — that should not stop anti-violence advocates from considering the issue. The safest place to start is by simply making open-ended observations about what we do know and indicating paths for further inquiry. From that space, we can hopefully initiate a conversation that others will carry forward, informed by their own experiences and expertise.  Read more via the Advocate 

Hungary: Gay Brazilian students assaulted in hate crime

Two young men were convicted for the crime of violence against a member of a community for attacking and spitting at two gay Brazilian students studying in Budapest on April 21, 2014.

Levi and Lucas were studying in Hungary for a year on a Brazilian state scholarship. On April 21, 2014 they were heading home with a friend after a movie night, when two men stopped them and started questioning them on their sexual orientation and whether they had slept with women before. The victims tried to get out of the situation, but their attackers stood in the way, kicked one of them, spat at the other, while calling them “faggot” several times.

“The case calls attention to how false the popular misconception is that homophobic and transphobic hate crimes happen only at the Pride March in Hungary” - says Tamás Dombos of the Legal Aid Service of Háttér. “For many LGBTQI people such attacks are part of their everyday life, and yet they do not report it, because they have no trust in the police or are afraid of them. It is very import to report all such incidents, that is why we launched our Report homophobia! website and smartphone app.”  Read more via Hatter Society 

Peru: Police use water cannons against LGBT activists

Peruvian police used water cannons against a group of activists who staged an LGBT rights protest. More than two dozen people gathered in Lima’s Plaza de Armas to take part in the protest that was described as “kisses against homophobia.” Sin Etiquetas, a Lima-based LGBT website, posted pictures to its website that show same-sex couples kissing and holding hands in the street with armored police trucks in the background. Other pictures show officers confronting the protesters. 

George Liendo of Promsex, a Peruvian LGBT rights group, said that that authorities have banned protests of “any kind” in the square. Although religious processions, cultural events and other demonstrations routinely take place without incident. “They (the police) are obligated to protect the LGBTI community, as it is a population that is particularly susceptible to violence,” said Liendo. Read more via Washington Blade

Saudi Arabia: This hashtag is filled with suggestions of how to kill gay people

Burning and castration are just two modes of executions that have been suggested after a video was posted online that allegedly showed a same-sex wedding in Saudi Arabia.

Over the last few weeks, a new hashtag has begun spreading across Arabic-language social media: “#اقترح_طريقة_لقتل_الشواذ” which translates to “#suggest_a_way_to_kill_the_faggots.” The hashtag appeared to have been born after this video was posted online on January 25 with the hashtag “زواج_للشواذ_في_جدة#” which means “faggots’_wedding_ in_ Jeddah.” Read more via Buzzfeed 

Saudi Arabia: YouTube stars call for gays to be executed

Popular Saudi Arabian YouTubers posted a shockingly homophobic video to YouTube. Uploaded by Fe2aFala – popular Arabic vloggers who have more than 500,000 subscribers, racking up over 45 million views 

In a shocking video uploaded to the video site, the young men rant about “Deviant marriage in Riyadh”, apparently after a local raid of a ceremonial gay wedding. They added: “We would like to thank the police for beating their asses.”

The men continue to insist that gays are “disgusting and nasty”, asking Allah to send his “godly wrath” upon them. The men then discuss whether gays are “mentally ill” and needing a “cure” – or whether they are “animals” who need to be “executed in the most horrific ways”. After outcry, YouTube took action to pull the video, with a message now explaining though it has been re-uploaded. Read more via Pink News