Australia: Man bashed in Waterloo 'for being queer', one of two suspected gay bashings in Sydney

Detectives are investigating two suspected gay bashings in inner Sydney, prompting a warning from police less than a fortnight before the annual Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardis Gras Parade. The NSW Police spokesman on Sexuality and Gender Diversity, Superintendent Tony Crandell, said the occurrence of two "bias-related assaults" over one weekend was uncommon, and was of concern to police.

One of the victims, Dylan Souster, 22, said he was punched in the face by a man who called him "a queer" outside his apartment block in Waterloo in the early hours of Sunday morning. That man had initially been trying to help him, after he was earlier knocked unconscious by a group of young people and woke up in Waterloo Oval. Read more via Sydney Morning Herald  

US: Top North Carolina officials threaten to negate Charlotte LGBT rights law

The Charlotte City Council passed an LGBT nondiscrimination bill in a 7 to 4 vote — leading top NC Republicans to threaten state legislation that would negate the city ordinance. Gov. Pat McCrory had told city officials in an email one day before the vote that state lawmakers may take “immediate” action to block Charlotte’s new policy.

The state’s Speaker of the House, Tim Moore, followed up Tuesday morning to announce he would work with fellow Republicans to explore a “legislative intervention to correct [Charlotte’s] radical course.” Both leading Republicans argued the bill would present safety risks by allowing transgender people into restrooms that correspond with their gender identity.  Read more via Buzzfeed

Your rights in jeopardy, global assault on freedoms, warns Amnesty International

International protection of human rights is in danger of unravelling as short-term national self-interest and draconian security crackdowns have led to a wholesale assault on basic freedoms and rights, warned Amnesty International as it launched its annual assessment of human rights around the world.

“Your rights are in jeopardy: they are being treated with utter contempt by many governments around the world,” said Salil Shetty, Secretary General of Amnesty International. “Millions of people are suffering enormously at the hands of states and armed groups, while governments are shamelessly painting the protection of human rights as a threat to security, law and order or national ‘values.'"

Amnesty International is warning of an insidious and creeping trend undermining human rights which has come from governments deliberately attacking, underfunding or neglecting institutions that have been set up to help protect our rights. The report breaks down analysis by country and covers rights of all people, including focus on LGBTI, indigenous peoples, women and girls, and refugees.   Read more from Amnesty International

Indonesia: LGBT Movement More Dangerous than Nuclear Warfare

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta -  Indonesia's Defense Minister, Ryamizard Ryacudu, has labelled the emergence of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) movement in Indonesia as a form of a proxy war to subtly undermine the sovereignty of a state - without the need to deploy a military force.

"I wrote about the subject 15 years ago - this is a kind of a modern warfare," said Ryacudu at the Ministry of Defense's Building on Tuesday, February 23, 2016. "It's the cheapest kind of war there is."

According to Ryacudu, the LGBT agenda is a latent threat to Indonesia's sovereignty, as it forces Indonesia to deal with states who support the LGBT agenda under the guise of human rights observance. Ryacudu continued that the state needs to be more cautious in reacting to the demands of LGBT communities for equality before the law.

"It's dangerous as we can't see who our foes are, but out of the blue everyone is brainwashed - now the (LGBT) community is demanding more freedom, it really is a threat," said the former Chief-of-Staff for the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI-AD). Read more via tempo

US: Broken criminal justice system disproportionately targets and harms LGBT people

There is a rare and growing consensus across the political spectrum that, with the highest incarceration rate in the world, the United States’ criminal justice system is in need of reform. However, the LGBT population has been largely absent from the discussion.

A major report released today offers the most comprehensive analysis to date of how LGBT people—and particularly LGBT people of color—face higher rates of incarceration and unfair treatment and abuse in the criminal justice system. “Unjust: How the Broken Criminal Justice System Fails LGBT People” documents how pervasive stigma and discrimination, biased enforcement of laws, and discriminatory policing strategies mean that LGBT people are disproportionately likely to interact with law enforcement and to have their lives criminalized.

LGBT people are also treated unfairly once they enter the system; the report shows how they are not only more disproportionately incarcerated but also face abuse while incarcerated. Read more via American Progress

US: 2016 is the most dangerous year for transgender Americans

Transgender people are under attack like never before with more than three dozen proposed new laws across 16 states, according to a new report by the Human Rights Campaign. 

“This deeply disturbing trend is a stark reminder of just how vicious and deplorable  opponents of equality are in their relentless attacks against our community,” said HRC President Chad Griffin in a statement.

In all, HRC counts 44 bills targeting transgender people are in the works in 16 states. That’s more than twice as many as were introduced in all of 2015, and nearly two dozen of the measures focus on trans students. HRC called the anti-trans legislation “unprecedented,” “harmful” and “alarming.” According to a release accompanying the report, some bills seek to make it harder for trans people to access gender-affirming health care, others deny trans people access to bathrooms, locker rooms, and athletic teams that align with their gender identity. 

And they are just a portion of what HRC called “a stunning surge of more than 175 anti-LGBT bills in 32 states this year.”  Read more via the Advocate
 

UK: What makes a museum object queer?

Museums are trying to make themselves a little less straight and a little more gay.

LGBT History Month is here. Gay geeks may once again be heading to their local museum or library to see which queer object they’ve got out from the archives this year. The LGBT History Month national programme of events features plenty of things to see and do, and it’s pleasing to see that more and more gets programmed each year.

Museums are the first to acknowledge that they face a few challenges when it comes to taking on gay history. Many of our nation’s great object and art collections were built by posh, white, straight men. In recent years museums have done good work looking again at their collections from different perspectives in an attempt to make their offer to the public a bit less posh, a bit less white, a bit less male dominated and, yes a bit less straight.

It’s been an eye-opening process for some, finding out that well-to-do Victorian collectors didn’t necessarily fully understand all the objects they collected. Or did they? There’s homoerotic art all over the place. Just take a look at the Warren Cup in the British Museum – no Victorian collector could mistake the imagery on this object. And the British Museum has done strong work in recent years to set this object in context, rather than displaying it as a source of dirty giggles. Read more via EQ

Asia: Social media app Hornet invests in gay men's health

Hornet is committed to HIV health innovation and is investing in its Health Innovation Group with a new officer for SE Asia. Data shows that HIV prevalence among men who have sex with men in this region continues to increase while prevalence among the general population has been in decline. Very few gay men are knowledgeable about PrEP or the benefits of effective HIV treatment for improved health or prevention. Additionally, gay men continue to encounter significant barriers when accessing treatment or prevention. 

"I want to see more gay men getting tested and accessing appropriate treatment or prevention services following their test," said Lieu Anh Vu, Hornet's new Health and Innovation Strategist for Southeast Asia.  Vu joins Hornet from United Nations Development Programme UNDP where he worked as an LGBT social justice and health advocacy.

Hornet recognizes the unique opportunity that social networking apps present in ongoing efforts to improve the health and wellness of gay men around the globe. The endeavors in Southeast Asia is part of an ongoing investment in the lives of gay men and fostering of stronger community relationships.  Read more via PR Newswire 

US: Why the LGBT community needs to support Apple's battle against the Feds

Last week, the U.S. government revealed that Apple refused a request by the FBI to unlock the iPhone carried by one of the San Bernardino shooters. Following this revelation, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that requiring the company to create a bypass to the phone would set a dangerous precedent and would undermine the security of all such mobile devices.

During my time working for the Army, I lived a "double life" under the military's don't ask, don't tell ban as a closeted trans woman in a relationship with a man. Living under the ban, I regularly used encryption to shield my personal information on my laptop and mobile devices from colleagues living in close quarters. However, things could have been even more high stakes for me. If I were a closeted trans woman, while living and working in less open countries—such as Russia, Uganda, and Nigeria—I could face imprisonment, torture, and even death, if exposed. This is why queer and trans people living in such countries now use encrypted devices, such as Apple's iPhone 5C, to build and maintain its communities while avoiding the dangerous scrutiny of others.

Now, as the U.S. government seeks a novel judicial bac door to one phone, all of our encrypted data on most of our mobile devices and personal computers could be compromised by adversaries of queer and trans people who seek to cause us harm.  Read more via Advocate

Australia: Malcolm Turnbull requests investigation into program helping LGBTI students

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has requested an investigation into a taxpayer-funded program aimed at helping lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and/or intersex (LGBTI) school students.

Key points:

Safe Schools program criticised for raising 'inappropriate' sexual issues with children
Review of program's material expected to be completed by March
Cory Bernardi says "radical" program is "indoctrinating" children
Penny Wong says program addressing discrimination against LGBTI community
The Safe Schools education program is set to be reviewed following fierce criticism from some Coalition backbenchers.

According to its website, the Safe Schools Coalition offers resources and support to equip staff and students with "skills, practical ideas and greater confidence" to create a safe and inclusive environment for same-sex attracted, intersex and gender diverse students, staff and families.

But some Coalition MPs have been agitating against the program, saying it raises sexual issues which are inappropriate for teenagers and young children. Read more via ABC

South Africa: Anglican bishops declare gay‚ lesbian couples 'full members' of the church

Anglican Archbishop Thabo Makgoba said new guidelines from bishops which oppose gay congregants being stigmatised and which facilitate the baptisms of children from same-sex unions‚ are “an important first step” towards acceptance of the lesbian‚ gay and transsexual community in Southern Africa.

This comes as Anglican bishops from across southern Africa have resolved that gay and lesbian partners who enter same-sex civil unions under South African law should be welcomed into congregations as full members of the church. Archbishop Makgoba acknowledged that southern Africa’s bishops were divided over whether to marry same-sex couples in church‚ or to allow clergy to enter same-sex civil unions. As a consequence they would continue to be bound by the broad consensus in the Anglican Communion‚ which is that the church can neither bless same-sex unions nor permit its clergy to enter them.

He said the differences among the bishops were both over the theology of marriage and a result of realities on the ground in different dioceses. “For example‚ most of our dioceses across Southern Africa are predominantly rural‚ and for many the urgent priorities of food security‚ shelter‚ health care and education crowd out debate on the issue of human sexuality. In some rural dioceses‚ responding to challenges to the Church’s restrictions on polygamous marriages is a much higher pastoral priority.” Read more via Sowetan live