The research department of the Iranian Parliament has found that four out of five young adults in the Islamic republic are sexually active and 17% with people of the same sex despite the country imposing the death penalty for homosexual acts. Read More
Iran’s Judiciary Chief Sadeq Amoli Larijani categorically dismissed the allegations by some western advocates of Human Rights that Iran executes people for being homosexuals. Meanwhile several human rights groups are reporting: Four prisoners were hanged in public this August. According to the official website of the Iranian judiciary two of the men had been accused of sodomy and "illegal sex between people of the same sex practices." Read More (french) Read More (english)
Gay Palestinians In Israel: The 'Invisible Men'
On the run from Palestinian families, living illegally in Israel—treated by both sides as the enemy—gays from Palestinian territories can’t go home again. In January 2010, Rawashda was picked up by the secret police in the middle of the night on suspect of being gay. Next thing he knew, he was in an interrogation room being accused of collaborating with Israel. “I’d never even been to Israel before. But anyone who’s gay is immediately accused of spying for the enemy.” Read More
Op-ed: What Not To Say to a Trans Person on OkCupid
Despite the human hazards, transgender people, like anyone, can still find love (or at least some halfway decent drunk texting) on dating site OkCupid. If you’re not an asshole and you think of yourself as the kind of person who’d be open to meeting a transgender person on OkCupid, here are some things to avoid saying during conversations with your transgender romantic prospect.
Grindr promotes PrEP & new app helps HIV+ connect to clinics
Massively popular dating app Grindr is working with PrEP groups to utilize it's social network to best and most effectively get the word out about HIV prevention. Yet the 'Truvada Whore' Stigma Endures Among Doctors and LGBTs. Working with AIDS.org, US-based app Hornet shows users the 10 closest HIV clinics.
Meanwhile gay UK pop sensation Sam Smith urges gay and straight singles to stop using 'hook-up apps' like Tinder and Grindr: ‘No offence to people who go on Tinder but I just feel like it’s ruining romance, I really do,’ he said. ‘We’re losing the art of conversation and being able to go and speak to people and you’re swiping people.’
'Being LGBTI in Asia'
New report was launched by UNDP and USAID together with grassroots Asian LGBT organizations and community activists to understand the challenges faced by LGBTs in eight Asian countries. It provides a comprehensive overview of the condition of Chinese LGBT people and organizations in terms of laws, policies, cultural and social attitudes, regional variations within China, and government engagement.It also documents the challenges faced by LGBT people in education, employment, health, family affairs, media and technology, and community development. Read More
Asian LGBT youth subjected to high levels of family violence, says study
Asians who identify as LGBT often find themselves victims of violence from family members, according to a recent report by the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission. The report interviewed people from Malaysia, Japan, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and the Philippines. Read More
Return of the AIDS Quilt
The AIDS Memorial Quilt, a blanket made up of thousands of panels that have been added since the 1980s, was put on display on Governors Island, marking the first time the quilt has been back in New York City in more than a decade, according to organizers. Read More
Ecuador Grants New Status to Same-Sex Couples
After negotiations with LGBTI activists, President Rafael Correa has approved the official recognition of same-sex unions. Although he supports these unions, he doesn't support gay marriage. The Ecuadoran Constitution grants equal rights to "cohabitation partnerships" regardless if they are civil or Catholic marriages, so the LGBT community gains more legal recognition with this legislation. Read More
Nepal to legalize homosexuality and same-sex marriages, says law minister
This assurance comes amid fears that the government would confirm a 2011 proposal to recriminalize same-sex relationships.
Narahari Acharya, the country's minister for law, justice, parliamentary affairs and constituent assembly, said "[The bill] shall be our effort to grant equal status to homosexual and heterosexual relationships. The Muluki Ain is 160 years old and the last serious amendment to it was [made] 50 years ago. Efforts are under way to revise it and give it a new progressive face." Read More
Lost in the chaos - LGBTI people in emergencies
Unaddressed protection needs, rigid systems, and research gaps imperil lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people in humanitarian emergencies. Experiences of sexual and gender minorities during disasters and conflicts are drawing increased attention from some responders, but experts are urging a rethink of policies and protocols that could fuel exclusion and harm. Read More
Being gay in Kenya: ‘I’m a refugee in my country’
Mary Muthui’s scars tell a story of the harsh persecution that gay Kenyans face. Three years ago she and a friend were approached by 9 men who had noticed her T-shirt with the slogan 'Proudly Lesbian': “I crossed the road and kept running. They caught up and shouted that I should come back and find my friend, who they had grabbed. They raped us for three hours.” Her son was conceived in a similar attack with six men, during which her head was slashed by a machete. It was during that attack that she contracted HIV. Read More
Wake Up Call: Kenya’s ‘Stone The Gays’ Bill Stopped, for now
A draft bill went to Kenya's National Assembly that proposed foreigners who commit homosexual acts be stoned in public, while Kenyan nationals found guilty will be jailed for life. According to unconfirmed reports, parliament’s legal affairs committee rejected the Anti-Homosexuality Bill as it to came into conflict with international interests.
Kenyan gay rights activist Denis Nzioka, who has seen parliament reports, says it should be a wake-up call for LGBTIs: ‘We have seen a lot of anti-gay sentiment being brought out by people, politicians, religious leaders. People want to go the Ugandan way, Nigerian way. ‘I thought Kenya was a safe country, the best in the continent apart from South Africa for gay rights. But things have got out of our hands. It just shows how in an instant – things can change dramatically.' Read More