Research suggests a link between internalized homophobia and HIV testing

Source: GayPress.eu The Eurasian Coalition On Male Health (ECOM) has conducted a survey, which revealed that internalized homophobia may increase the risk of undetected HIV infection within the MSM population. The survey focused on determining the internalized homophobia and its impact on health and lives of gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with

LGL’s Executive Director re-elected to ILGA-Europe Board for the Second Term

On November 1-4, 2017 during the 21st Annual ILGA-Europe Conference, organized in Warsaw, LGL’s Executive Director Vladimir Simonko was re-elected to the organization’s Board for the period of 2018-2019. “I’m pleased that for the 2018-2019 term, Lithuania will remain visible with a representative on the Board of the international LGBTI organization,” commented the Executive Director

Activists are calling on foreign nations to oppose the bill before it’s too late. Egypt is set to enact one of the world’s most sweeping and extreme pieces of anti-LGBTQ legislation following a harsh crackdown on the local queer community. On Wednesday, member of parliament Ryad Abdel Sattar introduced a bill that would criminalize homosexuality

Intersex Awareness Day: Commemorating the Intersex Version of Stonewall

Intersex Awareness Day commemorates what I call ‘intersex Stonewall.’ On 26 October 1996, two intersex activists were removed from the American Academy of Pediatrics Conference in Boston. They tried to address the conference to challenge the treatment of intersex children, which still includes surgeries and other unnecessary and irreversible intervention to ‘normalize’ their genitals. That

Tajikistan has created a list of homosexual people in a move which it called “Operation Purge”. Officials have drawn up a register of 367 gay and lesbian people, who they have intimated will be forced to undergo testing to avoid “the spread of sexually-transmitted diseases”. The list includes 319 gay men, 48 lesbians and no

California Becomes First State to Recognize Nonbinary Gender on Legal Documents

Governor Jerry Brown also signed three more bills aiding LGBTI Californians. On October 15, California Governor Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 179, or the Gender Recognition Act. This bill adds nonbinary as a gender option on all state-issued IDs. The state legislature passed the bill last month. California isn’t the first state to offer a

LGBT activists in Kosovo are celebrating their first ever pride parade. Hundreds of people attended the first ever official pride, held in the country’s capital of Pristina. There had been unofficial marches in the country previously, in an effort to tackle homophobia and transphobia in the state. Even the country’s president, Hashim Thaçi, who led

Pakistan University Will Give Free Education to Trans People

The university wants to help trans people overcome stigma and become involved in society. A university in Pakistan announced it will give free education to trans people. Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) based in the capital Islamabad was Asia’s first distance learning university. It’s motto ‘education for all’ helped frame its decision to provide free

Trump Administration Says it’s Legal to Discriminate Against Transgender Workers

The Trump administration is continuing its attack on civil rights laws by rolling back a policy protecting transgender employees from discrimination. The move, from Trump’s Attorney General Jeff Sessions, is just the latest in a string of attacks on trans equality in the past few months. As well as banning transgender people from serving in the

Israeli Government Will Update Same-sex Adoption Laws

The Israeli government has announced changes to the country’s adoption laws. A case at the Supreme Court means discrimination against same-sex couples wishing to adopt will now be banned. It comes following a petition regarding same-sex adoption that was filed by the Association of Israeli Gay Fathers. The new legislation will be introduced by June

Two Thirds of LGBT Youth in Northern Ireland Don’t Feel Welcome at School

Students said the lack of LGBT visibility in school contributed to the high levels of homophobia and transphobia. Newly published research reveals 67% of LGBT youth in Northern Ireland feel unwelcome at school. The study shows further evidence that schools are having a negative impact on the emotional well-being of Irish LGBT youth. Northern Ireland

The Biggest Rally for LGBTI Rights in Australian History

Tens of thousands of people in cities around Australia hit the pavement to support marriage equality. More than 30,000 people took to the streets of Sydney to march for marriage equality in what became Australia’s largest LGBTI rally in history on September 10. Thousands of people also hit the streets in Brisbane and Hobart to