Kuwait: 41 men arrested in 'gay raid' of massage parlor

41 allegedly ‘gay men and trans women’ have been arrested for prostituting themselves in a massage parlor in Kuwait.

Police sent an undercover officer to the parlor in the capital of Kuwait City to pay for a ‘massage’, a cost of 10 dinars ($33, €30) and then negotiated for the sexual services.

Homosexuality is effectively illegal in Kuwait. Breaking the law of ‘debauchery’, which is most often used to target the LGBTI community, is punished by prison time of up to six years. In 2015, police launched a crackdown on what they branded as ‘cross-dressers’. Prostitution is also illegal, but is very common.   Read more via Gay Star News 

UK: 'Super-gonorrhoea' is spreading and will become untreatable, doctors fear

An outbreak of highly drug-resistant "super-gonorrhoea" is sweeping across Britain and could become untreatable, medics fear. A national alert was triggered by Public Health England last September after the rare strain of the sexually transmitted superbug was detected in 15 people. However, Public Health England (PHE) is understood to have acknowledged that efforts to contain the spread have been of "limited success". 

The alert comes after Chancellor George Osborne warned resistance to antibiotics will become "an even greater threat to mankind than cancer" without global action. PHE said an increase in cases of super-gonorrhoea was a "further sign of the very real threat of antibiotic resistance to our ability to treat infections".

The British Association for Sexual Health and HIV issued an alert to clinicians urging them to follow up cases of high level drug resistant gonorrhoea and trace their sexual partners. Its president, Dr Elizabeth Carlin, said: "The spread of high level azithromycin-resistant gonorrhoea is a huge concern and it is essential that every effort is made to contain further spread. 

South Africa: Tourism Minister Derek Hanekom gives keynote at the annual International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association global convention

The 33rd Annual Global Convention of the International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA) is the first business conference of its kind to be held on the African continent. Excerpt from the keynote:

...Perhaps we are now better described as a “Kaleidoscope Nation” – where things are constantly changing and shifting, and sometimes even colliding. But the beauty is all still there. The different colours are still wondrous. The shape and form of our nation shifts continuously, but it is up to us to define the dream, and to shape it.

I have no doubt that our shared dream is of a world where you can love who you choose to love, without fear or embarrassment; where the colour of your skin does not matter; where you can worship in your way, or not worship, if that is your choice. A world where our sameness is more important than our differentness – where you can be you and I can be me and we care for each other.

We became the first country in the world to include a sexual orientation protection clause in our Constitution to ensure the rights of all people. Consequently, LGBT people took pride of place as full and equal members of our society. It filled many of us with immense pride, but it was a hard battle and there was considerable opposition to it from some quarters.  Read more via eTN Global Travel Industry News

Why LGBT and sex worker rights go hand-in-handsex worker rights go hand-in-hand

The fact that many LGBT people end up in sex work is an issue often overlooked rather conveniently by many activists and charities. Sex work is still talked about in moralizing terms, and the LGBT community has sought to paint the picture of LGBT identities as being respectable as a way to win rights such as marriage.

The image of the LGBT world in recent campaigns has been that of white cisgender gay people in long term relationships, often with children. It’s a one dimensional idea that aims to show queer people as heteronormative and matching the moral virtues of conservative bigots. That kind of tactic does little to recognize the humanity of LGBT identities and it also leaves a lot of people behind.  Read more via Huffington Post

China: Gay people pledge not to enter into sham marriages

A social media campaign has taken off among China's LGBT community which sees members pledging not to enter into sham marriages with straight people. Since last week, a number of users on popular microblogging network Sina Weibo have been posting selfies of themselves with the hashtag #I'm gay and won't marry a straight person#.

Several parents of LGBT people have also posted pictures of themselves with signs declaring they would not pressure their children into marriage.

The campaign was started by LGBT rights group Pflag China. Spokesman Zhou Ying told the BBC they had come up with the idea after noticing greater discussion in the media and online on gay rights and the issue of marriages in recent weeks.  Read more via BBC

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Philippines: Why call centers might be the most radical workplaces

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You may not realize it, but the person on the other side of your customer service phone call might be transgender. On calls, Filipino workers can safely adopt women’s voices, names, and clothing, all while earning a decent wage. But their success at work doesn’t protect them from the discrimination they face outside of it.

In the Philippines, call centers have become havens for gender-nonconforming people, a place where they can experiment with their gender presentation and identity. Since most of the labor takes place over the phone, employees assigned male at birth may adopt traditionally feminine names, take on a “female voice,” or wear women’s clothing while talking to customers, a freedom that would be impossible in most other industries in the country.

For decades, beauty parlors were a rare refuge where gender-variant Filipinas could openly work, at the expense of low wages. But today “call centers are the new beauty parlor,” said Naomi Fontanos, the head of a major Philippine transgender organization and herself a former call center worker.  Read more via Buzzfeed

Kenya: Case to decriminalize gay sex filed in Kenya's High Court

A gay rights campaigner filed a case in Kenya's High Court calling for the decriminalization of gay sex, which is punishable by 14 years in jail in the conservative east African nation.

Eric Gitari, who heads the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, asked the court to strike out sections of the Penal Code criminalizing gay sex because, he says, they violate constitutional rights to equality, dignity and privacy.

The law makes "carnal knowledge... against the order of nature" a crime attracting a 14 year sentence while "gross indecency with another male" is punishable by five years in jail.  

Parliament calls on Turkey, Bosnia-Herzegovina & Albania to respect LGBTI

In the last of its annual progress reports on accession countries, the European Parliament evaluated the situation in Turkey, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Albania, including the situation of LGBTI people.

In its report on Turkey, parliament highlights its concerns with the backsliding on democratic norms, like the freedom of expression and the media. Furthermore, the Parliament regrets the failure to include protection for LGBT people in the Hate Crimes Bill. Hate Crimes against LGBTI people are a big problem in Turkey, which too often remains unpunished, or sentences are reduced on account of the victim’s alleged ‘unjust provocation’.

In its report on Albania, the European Parliament highlights the successful Tirana Pride, which was held without major incidents in June 2015. It calls the effective legislative and policy measures to reinforce the protection of human rights, minority rights and anti-discrimination policies a key priority.

Regarding Bosnia and Herzegovina, the European Parliament calls for a country-wide anti-discrimination strategy and for the inclusion of a clear definition of gender identity, sexual orientation in the country’s anti-discrimination law. The parliament expresses its concerns over hate violence, hate speech targeting LGBTI persons, and accordingly calls on the government to undertake awareness-raising actions on the rights of LGBTI people among the judiciary, law enforcement agencies and the general public. Read more via Intergroup on LGBTI Rights

31st Session of the Human Rights Council: LGBTI Rights and Intersectionality

The 31st Session of the Human Rights Council provided us an opportunity to think of the issue of discrimination and violence faced by LGBTI people from an intersectional lens. SOGI issues in this session became a part of many important conversations during the Council.

What the Report on torture throws up sharply was the self evident truth that SOGI rights are linked to other human rights issues as some LGBTI people are human rights defenders, others are women, others have their right to expression violated and yet others become victims of targeted violence.

Other dimensions of LGBTI existence be it homelessness, attacks on human rights defenders, violation of the right to freedom of association, the right to freedom of religion and the violation of cultural rights were explored in key reports by Special Rapporteurs in the 31st session. Read more via ARC International