Catherine McGregor, the world’s highest ranked military officer, gave a moving speech to the National Press Club. McGregor, current Director of Research and Analysis in the Office of the Chief of the Royal Australian Air Force, spoke about the pain of gender dysphoria, dealing with transphobia, and the support she received after coming out in 2012. Read More
Japan: Gay wedding ceremonies seen gaining wider acceptance
Wedding facilities openly embracing gay couples are increasing, according to Nijiiro Diversity, a nonprofit organization in Osaka that advises companies about how to deal with sexual minority issues.
Among such facilities are Aoyama Geihinkan in Tokyo and Kafuu Resort Fuchaku Condo Hotel in Okinawa. The latter, which started wedding services for same-sex couples last September, has a website dedicated to the service.
Meanwhile, Shibuya Ward in Tokyo made headlines by approving a draft ordinance recognizing same-sex partnerships. It is aiming to reduce the discrimination often faced by homosexual couples, and is the first municipality in the country to take such a move.
“I hope weddings of same-sex couples will raise awareness that sexual minorities are not people who exist only on TV or in foreign countries but people who may be around you,” said Maki Muraki, who heads Nijiiro Diversity. Read More
India: Panjab University to introduce 'third gender' category
Panjab University (PU) will soon introduce a column for transgenders (TG) under 'gender' category in all its application forms, academic testimonials and other relevant documents that are processed or issued by the university.
According to a notification issued by the PU registrar, the PU vice-chancellor has approved certain measures to remove discrimination against the transgender community, to be implemented with immediate effect. In addition, PU will also create transgender-friendly infrastructure like washrooms, restrooms, etc, in its campuses. PU will hold sanitization programmes and awareness workshops for students, teachers and non-teaching staff to bring members of the TG community in the mainstream of life. Read More
Sweden: Official dictionary adds gender-neutral pronoun
“Hen” will be added to “han” (he) and “hon” (she) as one of 13,000 new words in the latest edition of the Swedish Academy’s SAOL. The pronoun is used to refer to a person without revealing their gender – either because it is unknown, because the person is transgender, or the speaker or writer deems the gender to be superfluous information.
The word “hen” was coined in the 1960s when the ubiquitous use of “han” (he) became politically incorrect, and was aimed at simplifying the language and avoiding the clumsy “han/hon” (s/he) construction. It resurfaced around 2000, when the country’s small transgender community latched on to it, and its use has taken off in the past few years.
It can now be found in official texts, court rulings, media texts and books, and has begun to lose some of its feminist-activist connotation. Read More
Malta: Surgery and Sterilization Scrapped in Progressive Gender Identity Law
Thailand: New roadmap to progress LGBTI rights in Asia Pacific
A major regional workshop involving representatives from national human rights institutions (NHRIs) and civil society groups has concluded with a call for greater efforts to advance the rights of LGBTI people in the Asia Pacific.
The Programme of Action and Support on the role of NHRIs in promoting and protecting human rights in relation to sexual orientation and gender identity, including health rights, in Asia and the Pacific sets out a wide range of practical steps for NHRIs to bolster their work.
“In recent years, NHRIs in the Asia Pacific region have emerged as key advocates for the human rights of LGBTI people and their equality,” said Chris Sidoti. Representatives from the NHRIs of Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Korea, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Samoa, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Timor Leste were among more than 40 participants involved in the two-day gathering. Read More
Chile: President signs civil unions bill
Chilean President Michelle Bachelet on Monday signed a bill into law that will allow gays and lesbians in the South American country to enter into civil unions.
“Today is a historic day for sexual diversity,” said Rolando Jiménez, director of the Movement for Homosexual Integration and Liberation, in a press release. “The state for the first time recognizes that there is not just one way to make a family. From today the state protects family diversity and takes responsibility for historic injustices based upon prejudices and taboos that never should have existed.” Read More
Ireland: Senators Approve Same-Sex Adoption Bill
After nearly a week discussing the Children and Family Relationship Bill – which was subject to over 120 amendments, the Seanad in the Republic of Ireland approved the bill. The bill – which passed the lower house earlier last month – follows up on a promise to extend adoption rights to same-sex partners and co-habiting couples, ahead of the country’s referendum on same-sex marriage on May 22.
The bill received a standing ovation when it passed – and given the controversy surrounding the country’s same-sex marriage referendum, cleared the Seanad remarkably without incident. Read More
Bahamas: ‘We Must Co-Exist With Global Views On Homosexuality’
Prime Minister Perry Christie said leaders of conservative countries must consider how their nations could “co-exist in a world” where global attitudes towards social issues like homosexuality are shifting.
Mr Christie said that while governments must not seek to change the conservative ideas of its people, they must consider how to react to changing global social realities.
"How do we coexist in a world where the vice-president of the United States has said culture of countries do not trump human rights? Human rights are then elevated to the highest levels. And therefore you see the traditional norms of the world being changed and the levels of what was phobia are being rejected and are now becoming norms. Countries like the Bahamas have to look very carefully at it, not to change it, but how do you go about accepting it?” Read More
US: Another Step Toward Equality for LGBT Workers
Bob Witeck, Walmart's LGBT consultant, gets corporations on the workers' side
When Walmart sided with gay rights by saying that Arkansas’s religious freedom reformation act sends the “wrong message”, it surprised many. The nation’s largest employer is more commonly associated with low wages and red-state religious values than with LGBT rights.
But in working with Bob Witeck, the DC-based head of the gay and lesbian-focused communications group Witeck Communications, Walmart addressed charges by critics that it ought to put its money where its mouth is, and lobby to avert dangerous anti-gay legislation in its own backyard.
Like most consultants, Witeck doesn’t like to say too much about what he and his clients talk about. But in an interview with the Guardian, he offered some insight into how corporations have evolved in this regard. Read More
New Zealand sets new standard for LGBTI inclusion in the workplace
Standards New Zealand, the operating arm of the country’s Standards Council, has published a new guide on diversity. The latest guides – produced in consultation with agencies including Rainbow Wellington, Affinity Services, gQ Network, New Zealand Council of Trade Unions, and others – is Rainbow-inclusive workplaces: A standard for gender and sexual diversity in employment.
In a statement SNZ said, ‘International research shows that people from the lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, takatāpui, queer, and intersex (LGBTTQI) communities still face discrimination and exclusion in the workforce; in recruitment, retention, training, and advancement opportunities.' -- Takatāpui is the Māori (indigenous New Zealand people's) word meaning a devoted partner of the same sex.
‘There is also research that indicates that workplaces that support and encourage staff to be authentic and bring the whole of themselves to work perform better than those where people feel they must hide a central aspect of themselves.’ Read More