“AIDS: Living in the Shadows.”

The program examines the impact of stigma in several communities around the world. It’s hosted by Elton John, whose AIDS foundation supports programs on four continents. Elton John: The AIDS epidemic can be beaten,“but only by eradicating its most deadly symptom: stigma.” The documentary premiered at the international AIDS 2014 conference in Melbourne, Australia. Watch the short film now.

Being LGBT in Asia: “Cure the problem not the people”

Landmark report on LGBT rights in Cambodia presents facts, experiences, and recommendations. According to the report’s author, Vicente Salas, “Cambodia is a neutral country for LGBT persons: neither punitive nor positively affirming”. While LGBT behaviour is not criminalized in Cambodia, as it is elsewhere, Cambodian laws and policies are also silent about LGBT persons and rights  Read More

Horrors suffered by Jamaican LGBT youth captured in new documentary

Fans of Rihanna and looking for work, these Jamaican youth might sound like your typical teens. Except they’re LGBTI, and they’re living in a Kingston, Jamaica sewer under constant threat of deadly attacks. VICE News has released a new documentary titled Young and Gay: Jamaica’s Gully Queens, in which camera crews 'explore the reality of being gay in a country known for LGBT intolerance'. Read More

Confronting Sexuality and Identity in China

Expecting to ring in the New Year at a Beijing bar, Tomoko Kikuchi met Meimei, a drag queen who invited her to a performance at a lesbian bar. An argument broke out between two women in the crowd, and Meimei performed amid flying beers and blood.

Their encounter led to an exploration of drag queen culture in China, which, despite its history of theatrical cross-dressing, is not particularly known for open views on sexuality. Nearly a decade later, Ms. Kikuchi says that her project, “I and I,” is more than the story of people confronting their sexuality. It’s about people confronting themselves . Read More

Does the Anglo Caribbean need Bahamas Pride?

The group Society Against HIV & STDs (SASH) Bahamas, the largest NGO working on LGBTI and HIV issues, has decided to host the first public Pride event in Bahamian history. There are some obvious questions about this Pride, such as, is it really necessary? Also, what good will it serve, especially in the absence of any overt political objective? And, more troubling, will this stir up a backlash from fundamentalists who have, for the most part, ignored the Bahamian LGBTI community?

This last question is not trivial, as we have witnessed an upsurge in homophobic rhetoric and attacks across the Caribbean, and there have been massive anti-gay protests in Jamaica and Belize. Traditionally more tolerant societies, like Grenada, Trinidad, and St. Lucia, have also seen a spike in gay baiting and animus. Despite these concerns, I still believe that Bahamas Pride is a necessary development, and a very positive political initiative. Read More

Married Gay Couple to Shack Up With Homophobic Minister in Australian TV Show

In September, SBS will air a new documentary that will test Australian values, with same-sex marriage the first in line to be examined. Living with the Enemy will see couples united with those who hold opposite viewpoints, to see if each can gain understanding and acceptance of others’ views – or even change some long-held stances.

The first episode in the series will look at marriage equality and will see Melbourne husbands Michael Barnett and Gregory Storer moving in with David, an Anglican minister who does not agree with same-sex marriage. Read More

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Gay man sentenced for Twitter debauchery in Saudi Arabia

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A court in Saudi Arabia has sentenced an homosexual man to three years in prison and 450 lashes for using his Twitter account to promote homosexual contacts. The Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, the religious police, was alerted about the tweets and was able to apprehend the young man after it set him up using an undercover agent. Read More

Fifth St. Petersburg LGBT pride event held without major incidents

During the rally, which was attended by at least 150 people and took place in the hot sun, activists talked about the need to respect civil rights and thanked the police for protection of the event, talking about “how important it is to be free in a not so free country,” activist Valery Sozaev also spoke about HIV and AIDS. There were not only representatives of the LGBT community, but representatives of the feminist movement came to the event. One of the members of the LGBT movement Kirill Kalugin brought a torn rainbow flag, which was used in the rally last year, not as peaceful as today. Read More

Truvada: It's Time To Take the Fucking Pill

This month, Tim Murphy wrote in New York magazine, "This summer—on social media, on Fire Island, at the Christopher Street pier, and in certain cohorts around the ­country—what many gay men are talking about among themselves is Truvada [the once-a-day pill to help keep people from contracting H.I.V.]." Rich Juzwiak reconsiders the drug. Read More 

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With Nigeria’s anti-gay law, HIV care drops 10%-70%

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The extent of the devastation that Nigeria’s anti-gay law is wreaking on Nigerian anti-AIDS efforts is coming into view.

Among Nigerian men who have sex with men, the number of people reached for HIV prevention has dropped drastically since the signing of the anti-gay “Same-Sex Marriage Prohibition Bill” in January. According to a survey of five anti-AIDS organizations in five Nigerian states,  HIV prevention contacts (using UNAIDS’s Comprehensive Minimum Prevention Package Intervention) are:

Down 40 percent in Lagos state
Down 30 percent in Rivers state.
Down 10 percent in Cross River state.
Down 30 percent in Abuja (Federal Capital Territory).
Down 70 percent in Kano state.

 Read More