Cuba: Stands out as a tourist paradise for gay community

Amid the "boom" in tourism that Cuba is experiencing with over 2 million foreign tourists, the island is emerging as a destination for the gay community. Cuba's "Mi Cayito Cuba" is the first online travel agency specializing in tours geared towards the LGBT community. 

"The island has great potential as living space. We are open to all, and we believe in a free and tolerant space where respect is valued," says director Alain Castillo. Despite being a society still dominated by a patriarchal and sexist vision, Cuba is already seeing noticeable advances in LGBT rights.

"It's vacation time. It is time to Cuba. The new gay paradise", you can read the brochures promoted on social networks. Read More

GALZ disputes prison claim

Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ) has come out against the statement, with director Chesterfield Samba, urging that "prison culture encourages men to have sex with men" and that it isn't a homosexual issue. Furthermore, he says "Not providing condoms to prisoners has serious implications that when prisoners are released and come back into society to wives and girlfriends they may infect healthy partners and spread HIV." Read More

Zimbabwe: HIV prevalence in prisons alarms Health Minister

Speaking at a prep meeting for the International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections, Health and Childcare Minister David Parirenyatwa said, "The rise of HIV prevalence in prisons shows that it is either these prisoners are infected already before they get into prison and if not then it means homosexuality is rampant in prisons." 

According to the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service, HIV prevalence among prisoners is 28%. Dr. Parirenyatwa said it was important for the government to address the prevalence of HIV and Aids in prisons. He said although Zimbabwe had its own cultural expectations, the country could not run away from the idea that homosexuality "is happening in our prisons". Read More

Rwanda: HIV prevalence among female sex workers, gays rises

HIV/AIDS prevalence is increasing among female commercial sex workers and the gay community, according to a report by the Rwanda Biomedical Centre. Findings reveal one reason behind high HIV among the Rwandan gay community is stigma and resentment, which has made them continue practising their lifestyle discreetly and dangerously. Many of members of the LGBT community who live with HIV do not seek treatment, while others do not get HIV tested because they fear mistreatment from the public and medics.

The survey also indicates that some MSMs are involved in commercial sex. Some 42.5% reported having ever been paid with money, goods, or services for sex. “It is true, commercial sex among LGBT is high,” said Enoc Ndahenyuka, member of Rwanda Rainbow Rights, an association for gay rights. “It’s because most of them are really vulnerable; some have no jobs, others have been rejected by their families & others have kept their orientation secret so that they don’t get thrown out of home."

Authorities at Rwanda Correctional Services recently confirmed the existence of homosexuality in prisons, raising concerns that many of those who are HIV-positive go on to spread it when they are released. However, calls to distribute condoms in prisons have been suppressed by state health authorities. Read More

Thailand, South Africa, US: High risk groups adhere to daily PrEP

A recent study reports that those with a high risk of contracting HIV — including gay and bisexual men and transgender women — will adhere to a daily pre-exposure prophylaxis regimen to prevent HIV, shutting down critics who've said PrEP won't work because of adherence issues.

The study looked at adherence among transgender women and gay and bisexual men in New York and Thailand as well as young, single black women in South Africa. All of these groups successfully adhered to daily dosing.

Some previous placebo-controlled PrEP clinical trials had found challenges with adherence, but in this HIV Prevention Trials Network study, 76% of women prescribed PrEP adhered to the daily regimen. Trans women and men who have sex with men from Harlem and Bangkok showed adherence rates of 65% and 85% respectively. Read More 

South Africa: Sub-Saharan African HIV advocates meet government to strengthen HIV response for MSM

The MSMGF co-hosted a workshop of advocates, government officials, healthcare providers and public health practitioners from twelve African countries. Regional advocates discussed the HIV needs of men who have sex with men with their government officials, armed with guidelines by the WHO. In some instances, this is the first time advocates sat across the table with government officials in their respective countries.

“We have a groundbreaking opportunity to scale-up high quality sexual health services for MSM in Africa”, said Dr. George Ayala, executive director of the MSMGF, “We have sound technical guidance from the WHO, as well as a wealth of program experience from community-led organizations around the world. These have been used in developing a practical guidance for implementing WHO recommended interventions, which we discussed at the meeting.”  Read More 

Analysis of the HRC: Denying the rights of LGBTI persons

via ARC International: The highlight of the 29th Session of the Human Rights Council from the point of view of the rights of LGBTI persons was the release of the report of the High Commissioner on human rights violations based on sexual orientation and gender identity. 

The increasing mainstreaming of the rights of LGBTI persons was reflected in the fact that LGBTI issues found mention in the reports of many Special Rapporteurs including the Special Rapporteurs on the right to health, and the protection of human rights during counter terrorism, as well as in state and civil society responses to the same.

Even as the rights of LGBTI persons are possibly more mainstreamed than ever before, the opposition to granting these rights remains as strident as ever. Apart from openly homophobic statements by states opposed, the opposition is also crafting other strategies. Part of the new strategy is to couch their opposition in more subtle terms. An example in this Council is how the resolution to protect the family became a theatre for shadow boxing wherein the code for supporting the resolution was seen as an opposition to the so-called ‘LGBTI agenda’. 

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Australia: Fact or fiction? A mother and father are better than same-sex parents

Riding the momentum of the Irish referendum and US supreme court ruling legalising same-sex marriage, there are expectations Australian legislators will change the Marriage Act. A cross-party bill to legalise same-sex marriage is expected to be introduced in the Federal Parliament. But passage of the bill is not guaranteed, and many MPs are against the change.

An argument often used against legalising same-sex marriage by groups like the Australian Christian Lobby, and even a group of 40 religious leaders from multiple faiths, is that gay marriage will have a negative impact on children's wellbeing. Opponents of same-sex marriage, including groups like Family Voice Australia claim that studies show a man and a woman are best placed to raise children.

ABC Fact Check took a look at the research on the effects of gender on parenting and found most studies from the US and from Australia saw no difference between families headed by homosexual or heterosexual couples.  Read More

Uganda: Ban gay couples from adopting children in EAC countries

Uganda’s state minister for East African Affairs, Shem Bageine wants foreigners from countries practicing same sex marriage barred from adopting children from East African Community (EAC) group. Bageine was addressing members of the East African legislative Assembly who are sitting in the Ugandan Parliament. 

The East African Community group is comprised of Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi. See more here.

Thailand: Declares itself closed for surrogacy as a gay couple struggles to get their American daughter home

Following contentious cases involving suspected abuse of surrogate mothers and the children they carry, Thailand has enacted a new law that prohibits foreigners from seeking surrogates in the country. 

A child born in Thailand by surrogate last year was left behind after he was born with Down’s syndrome. It’s still unclear whether that was because the couple refused to take him following the diagnosis or if the surrogate mother refused to let him go, but in the fallout the Thai government decided to ban the country’s “womb-for-hire” industry where they saw many risks for Thai surrogate mothers and children.

As the new rules takes effect this week, a couple is in the midst of a battle to bring the daughter they had through a Thai surrogate home. American Bud Lake and his Spanish husband, Manuel Santos, say their daughter has been granted American citizenship but can’t leave Thailand without a passport and permission from the Thai government. Read More 

US: Three more black trans woman slain in US

According to the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP), Kandis Capri, 35, was one of 16 transgender people to be murdered in the US this year. 

Earlier this year, the NCAVP released a report that said LGBT homicides rose by 11% in 2014. In 2015, with the recently reported deaths in Michigan, Texas and North Carolina of Amber Monroe, Shade Schuler and Elisha Walker – whose body was discovered on Friday – murders of transgender women have hit historic levels.
 

This week, a petition was launched asking the White House to open an investigation into the deaths. After the death of Kandis Capri, pressure will only grow. Read More

Serbia: We asked experts what you can do when you're under attack because you're gay

For those who closely follow the media in recent months in Belgrade there has been a growing epidemic of violence towards LGBT people.  We do not know the exact number of these cases of attacks and beatings in Belgrade and in Serbia. People may be embarrassed to report the crimes, they may feel ashamed, and they may be afraid of repercussions from the attackers. The reasons are myriad.

But what can a person who was attacked or suffered some form of violence because of their gender identity or sexuality do in order to protect and resumed a normal life? Lawyer Milena Vasic from the organization Yucom - Lawyers Committee for Human Rights from the Institute for Criminological and Sociological Research answered common questions and concerns people face after suffering assault. 

Questions addressed included: Should I report the attack to the police? Will the police treat me fairly? How to I obtain a lawyer? What if my abuser is a family member? How should I respond if I am verbally attacked in public?  Read More