Colombia: Changing gender identity card is fast and simple

Members of Colombia’s transgender community now will have an easier time changing their names and sex on identification cards under a new law. Colombians will be able to change their sex on identification forms without having to prove their sexual identity through psychiatric or physical evaluations.

Justice Minister Yesid Reyes told Colombian newspaper El Espectador he approved the rule change Friday to allow people to change their sex on government-issued ID cards by signing a document before a notary, bypassing the “cumbersome” way those changes currently are approved.

Nevertheless, Colombia’s transgender community remains vulnerable to discrimination and violence. Nearly 70 transgender people have been slain in Colombia in the last eight years, according to Todd Howland, the U.N. human rights representative in Colombia.  

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US: My daughter, Caitlyn Jenner, and Laverne Cox

Blogger Marlo Mack, who chronicles raising her transgender daughter, captures the hope that has spread by the positive media surrounding Jenner and Cox. In a recent post, Mack shared what happened when her daughter was able to meet Ms. Cox:

Laverne waved her Hollywood wave at the crowd, thanked us graciously, and then looked down at the little girl blocking her path. “Well, hello,” she said. “I’m M.,” my daughter said. Laverne smiled down at her. “Hello, M.” “And I’m trans,” M. said. I don’t think Ms. Cox saw that coming. Read More

US: Transgender people are more visible than ever, but it's still legal to discriminate against them in most states

Caitlyn Jenner's Vanity Fair cover was met with an outpouring of love and acceptance. Though Jenner's coming out marks a huge moment for trans visibility, daily discrimination and violence is still the norm for thousands of transgender Americans. The rate of violence against trans women, especially trans women of color, is alarming -- according to a 2013 report by the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, 72% of victims of anti-LGBTQ homicide were transgender women, and 89% of victims were people of color. 

It's not surprising there are so many health and safety issues in the trans community -- in many places there aren't laws to protect them from housing or workplace discrimination, and hate crime legislation is nonexistent or doesn't include trans people as a protected group. Read More

A Message from UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé

We are living in a time of rapid social change. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people are now reaching new frontiers and celebrating remarkable achievements. Despite this transformation, acts of discrimination and violence continue against the LGBTI community.

We cannot tolerate picking and choosing rights in a modern society—a society where diversity is celebrated; a society where everyone, no matter where they live or whom they love, is able to live in peace and security; a society where everyone can contribute to the health and well-being of their community. We can make this society a reality, but we will need global solidarity. We did this when we fought against apartheid—and we won!

As we observe the International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, I call on everyone to join the movement for social justice, equality and equity so that all people can live with respect and dignity. This is the future I commit to—this is the future I embrace. Watch his remarks here

Wanted: Allies in the fight against homophobia & transphobia

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged more businesses to become allies in equality for LGBT people: "I believe in leading by example. At the UN, I have implemented a policy change to extend to same-sex spouses of UN staff the same benefits as heterosexual spouses, including health insurance coverage. The new policy means that the UN now honours the marriage of any same-sex couple wed in a country where same-sex marriages are legal."

"To mark the Day, the UN human rights office has released a short video called “Faces” as part of its UN Free & Equal campaign. The video, in which I was proud to take part, celebrates the contributions that LGBTI people make to families and local communities everywhere." Read his full statement

Cuba: Murders of gays raise question of hate crimes

During the events surrounding the annual celebration of IDAHOT in Cuba, it emerged that a young transsexual had recently been killed in the city of Pinar del Río near the western tip of this Caribbean island nation. While efforts to combat discrimination against LGBT are stepped up in Cuba, this segment of the population remains vulnerable to harassment and violence – and even death.

Violent crime is generally surrounded by silence in this island nation of 11.2 million people, and killings of LGBT individuals are no exception. The 1987 penal code does not specifically recognise hate crimes, or sexual orientation and gender identity as aggravating circumstances in murders.

National Centre for Sex Education (CENESEX) said the number of murders of MSM in 2013 and 2014 was high. At that time the issue came to the forefront because of the deaths of two high-profile openly gay cultural figures, who died in strange circumstances, according to activists. Read More

US: Transgender Woman Stabbed To Death In Philadelphia

London Chanel, a 21-year-old transgender woman, was stabbed to death in North Philadelphia. Chanel is the eighth transgender woman of color (the 10th over all) killed in the United States this year — a trend that anti-violence advocates have called an epidemic. And as in many of the cases, Chanel was misgendered in early reports.  Read More

US: Wisconsin Trans Teen Bullied for Femininity Dies by Suicide

Just days after teen Cameron Langrell announced to friends and classmates online that she identified as a transgender girl, switching her Facebook gender identifier to "female," the 15-year-old took her own life.

The artistic freshman had faced incessant bullying at Horlick High School. Now, Cameron's parents are calling on officials to be more proactive about bullying to stave off the kind of harassment their child endured. "There needs to be more within the school, not just some outside resource," Jamie Olender, Cameron's mother. 

Meanwhile, Langrell's death is the tenth reported suicide of a trans youth in the U.S. this year, in an "epidemic" that trans advocates say sees far more casualties than make headlines.  An additional nine trans people have been murdered since January.  Read More

Turkey: Two trans women brutally attacked in Istanbul

Two trans women sex workers were attacked on the same night. Migel was attacked in her own apartment by a group of men. She was brutally injured with deep cuts on several parts of her body. The same night, Işıl was attacked by a group of 5 men. She was assaulted and her jaw was broken. 

Attacks on trans women are increasing. Last week there were 4 attacks on trans women sex workers in 3 different cities (Istanbul, Izmir and Kocaeli). Read More 

Pakistan: Four transgenders killed in week

Three transgenders were shot dead and six other people were injured after two gunmen ambushed them in the bustling Rialto Chowk on Saturday night.

Ahmed alias Tania, who was among the injured, in her statement told the police that she along with some other transgenders were standing at the corner of a street in Chamanzar Colony when two motorcycle riders brandishing guns reached there and opened fire on them. As a result, two of the transgenders died on the spot and five other people, including three transgenders, injured. 

On May 5, the decomposed body of a transgender was found from a greenbelt at Koral. Police said the deceased, Falak Sher alias Bijli, a native of Bahawalpur, was strangled. The motive behind the murder could not be ascertained.  Read More

Gambia: President Yahya Jammeh Threatens To Slit The Throats Of Gay People

Gambia's notorious dictator Yahya Jammeh recently intensified his anti-homosexual rhetoric, threatening to slit the throats of gay men living in the small West African nation while seeming to claim that the West could do nothing to stop him.

"If you do it [in the Gambia] I will slit your throat — if you are a man and want to marry another man in this country and we catch you, no one will ever set eyes on you again, and no white person can do anything about it," he said to a crowd in the town of Farafeni as he spoke about fostering a healthy atmosphere for the country's youth.

The US and the European Union have both slashed aid to the country in the last year, citing general concerns over continued human rights abuses.  Read More