South Africa: Champions come together to announce strengthened efforts for an AIDS-free generation in Africa

The Champions for an AIDS-Free Generation, a distinguished group of former presidents and influential African leaders, gathered together to announce new efforts to ensure that all children in Africa are born free from HIV and that children living with HIV have access to lifesaving treatment. Since young people continue to be deeply affected by the epidemic, the Champions also announced that they will add adolescents and HIV to their portfolio of work. 

As the Champions reaffirmed their commitment to an AIDS-free generation, they were joined by partners that include UNAIDS, PEPFAR, and private sector representatives.

“The Champions have been steadfast in calling for improved HIV prevention and treatment options, and there has been progress,” said UNAIDS Executive Director, Michel Sidibé. “Now, with their ranks strengthened, the Champions will be even stronger advocates to fast-track the AIDS response in Africa to ensure that every baby is born free from HIV and that their mothers stay healthy.”  Read More

At UN, tennis legend says human rights and sports ‘a perfect fit’

Tennis legend and equality activist Billie Jean King has had a stellar career in sports, identifying the boundaries that divide people and tearing them down. She was the first woman athlete to win over $100k in prize money & the first professional athlete to be “outed” as gay. She remains a steadfast supporter of issues at the heart of the UN – fair play, tolerance and building “a world where we are all united; no borders.”

Despite the hurdles that she encountered on and off the court, the idea of social inclusion has always formed the core of Ms. King’s personal and professional philosophy – a philosophy that brings sports and human rights issues together in an effort to harmonize understanding. The more we get to know each other, she says, the better chance the world has for peace.

In an interview ahead of the commemoration of the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace, Ms. King, a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights icon, told the UN News Centre that human rights and sports are, in fact, “a perfect fit” for each other.  Read More

Jamaica Op-ed: Confront Anti-Gay Bigots

When Barack Obama referenced Angeline Jackson  in his remarks to young leaders during his visit to Jamaica, it was more than a statement about the bravery of an individual and the right of people, whatever their sexual orientation, to enjoy their fundamental human rights in a free and democratic society.

It was a declaration, too, of the nature of leadership: that, at its best, it is conditioned by neither opportunism nor narrow expedience.

We hope that Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller heard and was inspired to lead her administration in a frontal legislative defence of this country's gay and lesbian community to love who they wish, without fear of discrimination, official, or otherwise. In other words, it is not enough for the prime minister to designate a member of the Cabinet - as the Americans may have been advised she has done - to trove for complaints about government agencies that discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation and then use moral suasion in an effort to reverse such bigotry. Nor should such an initiative be secret, as it appears to be.  Read More 

Op-ed: How do you change the deeply held beliefs of a nation? Here’s one strategy.

The transformation over the last 20 years in how Americans view gay people is the result of one of the most successful social justice movements of modern time.
How did we build this broad social consensus that it is wrong to discriminate against gay people and unfair to exclude same-sex couples from the freedom to marry? The chief engine of this extraordinary change has been the wider discussion, greater visibility and increased awareness of shared values, understanding and empathy generated by the freedom to marry movement.

After some losses and blows to our efforts, we decided to overhaul the messaging in 2010. Working with partner organizations and movement supporters, we combined polling data research with the lessons learned through experience to figure out what messages and messengers could help build the majority we were seeking.

Research showed us that we had to shift our emphasis from abstract talk of rights and benefits to more personal connections tied to values. We had to touch the heart as well as the mind. Rather than focusing on, for example, how exclusion from marriage can mean denial of health coverage, Social Security or other critical legal protection, we talked more about the love and commitment that are at the heart of the desire to marry for gay and non-gay couples alike. We needed to highlight our connectedness. Read More 

Latin America: Study finds many against gay marriage

A study called "Religion in Latin America" etermined that most of the religious population does not approve of same-sex marriage. The work was conducted by the polling Pew Research. The research aims clarify the positions of Latin American religiosity and Hispanics in the United States.

The survey captured the differences in perception between Catholic and Protestants on the continent as well as the breakdown by country.

Hispanics are less conservative than Latin Americans in terms of attitude and sexual and social behavior, with 46% support for equal marriage and only 34% opposed. Read More 

Ecuador: Lawmakers approve civil unions bill

Ecuadorian lawmakers overwhelmingly approved a bill that seeks to amend the country’s civil code and would allow for the legal recognition of civil unions in the South American country. 

El Comercio, an Ecuadorian newspaper, reported the measure would allow LGBT couples to receive “the same rights and obligations of a marriage” in terms of pensions, purchasing a home together and other benefits. It would also eliminate the requirement that couples must wait two years before entering into a civil union and demonstrate that they had lived together during this period. The proposal would also apply to unmarried straight couples.

“It is a major achievement,” Diane Rodríguez, president of Silueta X Association, an Ecuadorian LGBT advocacy group, said after the vote. Read More

Japan: Lesbian couple 'wed' amid calls for same-sex marriage

A lesbian couple held a symbolic wedding ceremony in Tokyo on Sunday, as calls grow for Japan to legalise same-sex marriage. While their marriage will not be recognised under law, actresses Ayaka Ichinose, 34, and Akane Sugimori, 28 - both dressed in white - tied the knot in front of some 80 relatives and friends.

"We held the wedding ceremony so that it might become easier for others to do the same in the future," Sugimori told press afterwards. Last month, a Tokyo council voted to issue "partnership" certificates to gay couples, the first such recognition of same-sex unions in Japan. Other municipalities are now considering doing the same.

While Japan is largely tolerant of homosexuality, there is no specific legal protection for gay people, who complain that they may be prevented from visiting sick loved ones in hospitals because their relationship is not recognised. Read More

France: Top anti-gay hate group becomes a political party

Manif Pour Tous, a group that came to fame protesting same-sex marriage in France, is becoming a political party. But the group says it doesn’t want to win elections. Instead, they admit that their new status will mean they benefit from tax breaks and donors will be able to make tax-deductible gifts. Manif Pour Tous willcontinue to lobby in the political sphere and will make voting recommendations.

The National Assembly of France passed marriage equality rights in 2013. Read More

US: Protecting students from homophobic bullying

Students who are bullied because of sexual orientation have willing defenders in their classmates -- motivated by leadership, courage, their beliefs in justice, altruism and having lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender friends, according to a Boston College professor and co-author of a new report on bullying at school.

With as many as eight out of every 10 LGBT students enduring bullying at school, the findings can help shape new programs to make schools safer, said Lynch School of Education Associate Professor Paul Poteat, who presents the study today at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association.

"Homophobic behavior often goes unchallenged, and there has been little attention to the large segment of students who witness homophobic behavior," said Poteat. "It is important to distinguish those who actually intercede or support students when homophobic behavior occurs."

An eight-year Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study found between 12 to 28 percent of LGBT students reported they had been threatened or injured at school the prior year. The 2011 Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network national survey found 82 percent of LGBT. Read More

UK: Phrase 'that's gay' acceptable to nearly half of young people

The last 15 years have seen some big changes to the laws on sexuality, from equal age of consent to same sex marriage. But over that time the words we use to talk about the subject have changed and social media allows people to make mistakes more easily. It also allows people to react to possible offence more quickly & easily.

Of the words about sexuality which put to the audience, "faggot" was the one that people found most offensive. Many agreed the context in which a word is used is as relevant as the person who is using it. Some young people were also confused about which words people would find offensive when talking about sexuality. Around 15% didn't know if "queen" was an inappropriate term while almost 10% believed using the word homosexual was not acceptable in any circumstance.  Read More 

Guam: Half of university students support gay marriage, according to poll

A poll of students at the University of Guam found 55% of students support same-sex marriage while 29% oppose it. About 16% had no opinion.

"Almost everybody you talk to on Guam has an uncle or an aunt or a cousin or a sister ror brother who is gay, and so this is a readily understandable sort of issue. So one of the things, when we focus group people on this particular topic, having gay people in stable relationships is preferable to having them in unstable relationships, so this may be an extension of that kind of view," said the researcher. Read More 

South Koreans becoming more open-minded about LGBT rights

A recent South Korean poll showed young South Korean respondents are increasingly open-minded about the rights of sexual minorities and their favorable attitudes toward the LGBT community have doubled from 2010 to 2014. The trend, according to South Korea's Asan Institute, showed South Korea is moving toward consolidating its democratic and liberal values.

LGBT rights became a headline issue in South Korea when Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon told the San Francisco Examiner in 2014 that he hoped South Korea becomes the first Asian nation to legalize same-sex marriage. Read More