Japan: Goldman executive to speak on Japan LGBT issues at LDP panel

Japan’s ruling party will interview employees at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and other companies to see how they are promoting inclusive workplaces for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees.

The Liberal Democratic Party of Japan’s committee on LGBT issues will speak on Friday with a Tokyo-based Goldman vice president who recently came out as a gay man, Hiroko Matsumoto, a Goldman spokeswoman said by phone. Employees at IBM Japan Ltd. and Panasonic Corp. will also be interviewed, according to the LDP’s website.

In recent years, Japanese companies have started rolling out LGBT-friendly policies such as diversity training and benefits to same-sex partners, even as many in society remain closeted. About 7.6 percent of people in Japan identified as LGBT in 2015, according to an online survey by Dentsu Inc. The same report estimated that the consumer market for this community may amount to 5.9 trillion yen ($53 billion).

“We need to first properly understand LGBT people, and foster an environment that eliminates discrimination at the workplace, at school and in society," committee chairman Keiji Furuya wrote. Read more via Bloomberg 

Germany: This politician thinks teaching kids about gay rights will turn the country back to the 1940s and 50s

Katrin Ebner-Steiner, a member of the euro-sceptic right-wing Alternative für Deutschland (Alternative for Germany, AfD) in Bavaria, criticized the decision to make LGBTI issues a compulsory part of sexual education, claiming that including LGBTI issues in state-wide education would create an educational system like in East Germany.

In a video released on the party’s official Youtube Channel, the politician accused the government to introduce ‘ideological indoctrination’ into schools.

‘Our little ones won’t just have to sit through enforced lessons about all variations of sexual life together,’ she said. ‘They will also hear details about homo-, bi- and trans sexuality.’ Read more via Gay Star News

UK: Teachers call for more help to support transgender kids

A motion passed at the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) annual conference said transgender children were not getting the support they needed in schools, as the structures and expertise required simply did not exist.

According to the charity Metro Youth Chances, 83% of transgender young people have been bullied, 35% have suffered physical attacks, and 27% have attempted suicide.
In addition, 94% of LGBTQ young people said they had learned nothing about transgender issues in school.

“We are not addressing the issues effectively in many schools and colleges,” said Julia Neal, the deputy director of a sixth form in Devon who proposed the motion before the union’s conference. “I want to emphasize the need for specialist training for senior managers and governors. Leaders need to be prepared to guide staff and support young people.”  Read more via Buzzfeed

Despite gains for LGBT Jews, frum families still feeling alienated

A pioneering survey of Orthodox parents of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender children released last week found that many families remain closeted in their communities because of disapproval from rabbis or other community leaders.

Of the over 100 parents surveyed from across the country, nearly a third of respondents (27 percent) said they viewed their rabbi or community as homophobic, and over 73 percent of parents said there have been no public forums or classes on the topic of LGBT Jews in their community. According to the study, Orthodox day schools do not make public policy statements about the treatment or admission of LGBT students or staff or about teacher training on the subject. 

Among the survey’s other key findings was that synagogue rabbis are among the last resources parents seek out for help when their child comes out, despite an increased focus on counseling across rabbinic school curricula. Read more via the Jewish Week

Dominican Republic: Gay Pride and Prejudice

Shortly after taking up his post as American ambassador to the Dominican Republic in November 2013, Wally Brewster got a bit of unsolicited advice from the Vatican’s envoy to the Caribbean nation.

“If you keep your private life behind the walls of your embassy, you’ll be O.K. here,” Nuncio Jude Thaddeus Okolo told Mr. Brewster. He meant that Mr. Brewster, to be an effective diplomat, would be wise to keep his husband, Bob Satawake, out of sight in a country where prejudice against gay people remains widespread.

The advice went unheeded. Mr. Brewster and Mr. Satawake, who have been together for nearly 28 years, have been out and proud in Santo Domingo, sparking a spirited debate that has galvanized the nation’s fledgling gay rights movement and outraged local leaders of the Catholic Church.

The attacks against Mr. Brewster, a Chicago businessman who raised money for President Obama’s re-election campaign, began just days after the White House nominated him for the post. Read more via New York Times

France: Surrenders to the Vatican over plans for gay ambassador

France has finally backed down following a stand-off with the Vatican over the nomination of a gay ambassador. More than a year ago, in January 2015, the French government selected openly gay diplomat Laurent Stefanini to head to the home of the Catholic Church.

It usually takes just weeks for a nomination to be approved – but it became clear in April 2015 that the Vatican was ‘freezing out’ the country’s selection of ambassador, refusing to respond to the nomination at all.

French President François Hollande had initially stood firm in the dispute rather than be seen to discriminate against his own diplomat. However, after over a year-long stretch of silence from the Vatican, France surrendered today. Read more via Pink News

Norway: Bishops to allow gay church weddings

The Bishops’ Conference (Kirkemøtet) of the Church of Norway (Den Norske Kirke) approved new marriage ceremony rules that will allow homosexuals to be married within the church. 

As part of the church officials' historic decision, bishops and other church officials were granted the right to refuse to officiate homosexual marriages. However, gay couples are ensured the right of being married in their local church even if the officials decline to carry out the service. Read more via the Local

Botswana: Gaborone City Council rallies behind LGBTI community

Members of the Lesbians, Gays, and Bisexuals of Botswana (LEGABIBO) were yesterday in a jubilant mood after the Gaborone City Council (GCC) passed a motion calling on government to decriminalise same sex activities in order to support HIV/ AIDS programmes and policies.

The motion, which was tabled by councillor Sergeant Kgosietsile of Marulamantsi ward, wants government to extend HIV/AIDS services, information and materials specifically to gay groups, who have previously been discriminated against or stigmatised.

In support of the motion, Difetlhamolelo (Block 9) councillor Sesupo Jacobs said that one of their pillars as Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) stating that ‘no one is left out’ speaks of a system in which all citizens are entitled to protection under the Constitution and are brought to the social and economic mainstream of the society by accessing appropriate services that are beneficial and well managed. 

Read more via Mmegi

US: The long, winding road to marriage equality

Excerpted with permission from "Engines of Liberty: The Power of Citizen Activists to Make Constitutional Law,"
The path to marriage equality did not begin, of course, with Evan Wolfson’s Harvard Law School paper. The very fact that Wolfson could conceive of such a paper was itself testament to the efforts of countless gay and lesbian advocates before him, operating in far more difficult circumstances.

A good place to start in assessing the prehistory of the marriage equality movement is the Mattachine Society, one of the first gay organizations in the United States. Founded in Los Angeles in 1950, the Mattachine Society ultimately included chapters around the country, and in the 1950s and 1960s was the nation’s leading gay organization. It took its name from masked critics of ruling monarchs in medieval France. At its inception, the very idea of a gay organization was so radical that the group met only in secret.

The invisibility of the “closet” made mobilizing for lesbian and gay rights all but impossible. Thus, the first strategic step toward achieving equality was, as gay rights scholar and advocate Bill Eskridge  has called it, a “politics of protection.” The aim was to create space for gays and lesbians to come together without fear of official harassment. Read more via Salon

Scotland: Nicola Sturgeon reveals new LGBT policies

Nicola Sturgeon has revealed she plans to attack LGBTI discrimination in Scotland with a five pledge plan to tackle the scourge, should her party, as expected, be voted back in to government on 5 May.

The very fact that we are still having debates like this at election time just underlines that there is still much that we need to do. Gender recognition laws will be reformed to bring Scotland’s policy in line with international best practice and all police officers will receive appropriate training on the investigation of hate crime.

Speaking ahead of a hustings co-hosted by LGBT rights groups last night, Sturgeon said:  “In particular I want to see a renewed focus on areas such as education – both for young people themselves, and those responsible for their emotional and educational wellbeing.

“Tolerance, respect, inclusion – these are attitudes and principles we want to encourage and foster in modern, fairer Scotland. Read more via Third Force News