Two AIDS support groups, Colibri and Humanity First Cameroon, have been evicted from their respective headquarters due to homophobia, according to the organizations' leaders. Both centers provided human rights advocacy, health counseling, STI treatment, and HIV/AIDS prevention programs. Read More
Youth in Chile support same-sex marriage and adoption
A poll undertaken by Chile’s National Youth Institute (INJUV) has found that 70% of young people in the traditionally conservative country said that they supported same-sex marriage, and most approved of adoption for same-sex couples too. Read More
First member of Chile’s armed forces comes out to fight homophobia
Member of the Chilean Navy, 24-year-old Mauricio Ruiz has come out as gay and says his superiors support him. He told the press conference that, as a gay man in the armed forces, he had ‘no reason to hide.’ ‘In life there's nothing better than to be yourself, to be authentic, to look at people in the eye and for those people to know who you are.’ Read More
Kenyan filmmakers at the Toronto International Film Festival did something brave
— they told people their names. Jim Chuchu, George Gachara and Njoki Ngumi are just three of the 10 filmmakers in Nairobi’s NEST collective. They produced Stories of Our Lives, LGBT stories about love, sex, and friendship set in Kenya. The film was anonymously released to protect the crew from retaliation. Premiering at TIFF last week, it received a standing ovation and has been described as one of the top 10 films to watch at this year's festival. Read More
Out and Proud Gay Kenyans
As part of an ongoing series looking at gay rights around the world, DailyXtra talks with one of Kenya’s highest profile LGBT activists. Monica Mbura is a Kenyan judge who is one of the few out lesbians in the country. Watch Now
The Outlook for LGBT Rights in Myanmar
Despite a push among conservatives to strictly enforce the imprisonment of same-sex sexual relations, some parliamentarians are slowly accepting the call for LGBT inclusion. Recently elected MP Aung San Suu Kyi rallied for the removal of Section 377 to allow for HIV/AIDS treatment for marginalized groups. Stigma is high for gay men and especially for gay men with HIV/AIDS in the country. Without greater access to resources and without acceptance of their lifestyles, at-risk gay men continue to engage in high-risk unprotected sex. Read More
90% of China young people accept gays
An overwhelming majority of Chinese young people are fine with gay people, according to a recent survey conducted by internet giant Baidu, the Chinese version of Google and Wikipedia, and asked 7,000 internets users born in the 1990s their views on love, friendship, consumption, family and employment. Read More
South Korea’s gay march forward
An estimated 10,000 participants attended the Queer Culture Festival with concerts, drag and dance performances, booths from different LGBT organizations, representatives from the American, German, and French embassies, and Christian protesters.
Protestors shouted slogans and carried signs that read, “Our youth are getting AIDS because of homosexuality,” and “Homosexuality is not genetic. It’s an acquired choice. Treatment is possible” Read More
Buggery Law No Longer on Trial in Jamaica
A man has withdrawn his Supreme Court case against Jamaica's antigay law out of fear for his safety. Javed Jaghai said he's received death threats since bringing his case before the Supreme Court, which would have considered the constitutionality of Jamaica's law against gay sex. Read More
Lebanon: Mobiles and phone apps used to entrap LGBTI
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.
Hong Kong holds its first ever international symposium on LGBTI rights
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
Europe's terrible trans rights record: will Denmark's new law spark change?
Denmark has become the first European country to allow legal change of gender without a medical expert statement. In one leap, Denmark has changed its law on trans rights, taking it from a country where transgender people were forced to undergo sterilisation in order to be legally recognised as a different gender, to one of the most progressive countries on the issue in the world.
Unlike in most of the countries that allow new gender recognition, trans people in Denmark now do not even need a medical expert statement, but can simply self-determine. But there are still 20 European countries where sterilisation is a requirement, including much of Eastern Europe. Read More