Chad government ministers voted to make same-sex relations a crime punishable by up to 20 years in prison and 50,000-500,000 Central African francs.
The decision was condemned by human rights groups as another setback in the struggle for gay rights on the continent. Chad’s penal code is more than half a century old and does not explicitly mention homosexuality. The cabinet claims the measure is intended to “protect the family and to comply with Chadian society”. Read More
Israel’s Health Ministry has formally adopted the recommendations of its country’s Council of Psychologists and the Israeli Psychological Association against so-called reparative therapies aimed at changing a person’s sexual orientation - issuing a public warning against them on Sunday. Read More
THERE was a teenager in Arizona in the 1970s who “could no more imagine longing to touch a woman than longing to touch a toaster”. But he convinced himself that he was not gay. Longing to be “normal”, he blamed his obsession with muscular men on envy of their good looks. It was not until he was 25 that he admitted the truth to himself—let alone other people. In 1996 he wrote a cover leader for The Economist in favour of same-sex marriage. He never thought it would happen during his lifetime. Yet now he is married to the man he loves and living in a Virginia suburb where few think this odd.
The change in attitudes to homosexuality in many countries—not just the West but also Latin America, China and other places—is one of the wonders of the world (see article). This week America’s Supreme Court gave gay marriage another big boost, by rejecting several challenges to it; most Americans already live in states where gays can wed. But five countries still execute gay people: Iran hangs them; Saudi Arabia stones them. Gay sex is illegal in 78 countries, and a few have recently passed laws that make gay life even grimmer. The gay divide is one of the world’s widest (see article). What caused it? And will tolerance eventually spread? Read More
The path is now clear for Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar to “very easily” go back to Parliament and amend the Equal Opportunity Act to protect people from discrimination on the basis of their sexual orientation. So said attorney Douglas Mendes following the launch of the results of a UNAIDS poll that showed a majority of T&T citizens are against discrimination.
He said amending the act would send a clear message to the population, the region and the international community that T&T did not discriminate against people because of their sexual orientation. Read More
The Gay and Lesbian Victory Institute co-organized what it described as the “first-ever gathering of LGBT political leaders” from the region alongside Promsex and Caribe Afirmativo, LGBT advocacy groups from Peru and Colombia respectively. Gay and Lesbian Victory Institute President Chuck Wolfe said:
“The LGBT community is global, and there is a growing need for out people around the world to become engaged as public leaders in their own communities.” Read More
Gambia's National Assembly has passed a bill imposing life imprisonment for some homosexual acts, potentially worsening the climate for sexual minorities in a country with one of Africa's most vocal anti-gay leaders. The charge of "aggravated homosexuality" could be leveled at repeat offenders and people living with HIV/AIDS.
Homosexual acts were already punishable by up to 14 years in prison under a law amended in 2005 to apply to women in addition to men. The bill awaits approval by President Yahya Jammeh, who in 2008 instructed gays and lesbians to leave the country or risk having their heads cut off. In February, Jammeh said, "We will fight these vermins called homosexuals or gays the same way we are fighting malaria-causing mosquitoes, if not more aggressively." Read More
Despite a push among conservatives to strictly enforce the imprisonment of same-sex sexual relations, some parliamentarians are slowly accepting the call for LGBT inclusion. Recently elected MP Aung San Suu Kyi rallied for the removal of Section 377 to allow for HIV/AIDS treatment for marginalized groups. Stigma is high for gay men and especially for gay men with HIV/AIDS in the country. Without greater access to resources and without acceptance of their lifestyles, at-risk gay men continue to engage in high-risk unprotected sex. Read More
Denmark has become the first European country to allow legal change of gender without a medical expert statement. In one leap, Denmark has changed its law on trans rights, taking it from a country where transgender people were forced to undergo sterilisation in order to be legally recognised as a different gender, to one of the most progressive countries on the issue in the world.
Unlike in most of the countries that allow new gender recognition, trans people in Denmark now do not even need a medical expert statement, but can simply self-determine. But there are still 20 European countries where sterilisation is a requirement, including much of Eastern Europe. Read More
Ashish Shelar, the Mumbai chief of India’s ruling party says his party is now against the misuse Indian Penal Code to harass gay people. The chief's comments are significant as the party has previously supported the Supreme Court's ruling making gay sex illegal. Read More