New EU accession reports: LGBTI rights in the Western Balkans and Turkey

Earlier this month, the European Commission’s published its annual progress reports on accession states’ progress towards EU Membership. The reports include important and extensive information on the situation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people in those 7 countries. The reports show that LGBTI people continue to face discrimination, threats and violence in the Western

Intersex people put gender binary on trial in Karlsruhe

Intersex people want Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court to officially allow them to use their own gender designations rather than relegating them to “male” or “female.” For them, it’s about dignity and recognition. An estimated 80,000 people in Germany identify as intersex, meaning that they don’t display the gender traits of people generally described as “male”

This gay penguin couple are celebrating their 10th anniversary

Two penguins are celebrating their 10th year of partnership, as a gay couple. Dotty and Zee are two Humboldt penguins that reside at Bremerhaven Zoo in Germany. Scientists have found that more than 450 species of animals display gay behaviour. They have been together for over a decade now and are completely inseparable. At first,

IRISH CATHOLIC SCHOOL FLIES THE FLAG FOR GAY STUDENTS

A CORK city school is this week celebrating its first ever LGBT Awareness Week. Deerpark CBS is running the weeklong event to coincide with National Stand-Up Awareness Week, which is organised by Belong To, an Irish support group for LGBT youths. By increasing awareness, friendship and support for LGBT people, this awareness week helps to

Gibraltar approves same-sex marriage

Members of the Gibraltar Parliament on Wednesday unanimously approved a bill that would extend marriage rights to same-sex couples. The Gibraltar Chronicle reported Equality Minister Samantha Sacramento told lawmakers after she introduced the measure that “marriage is a hugely important institution.” She also stressed the proposal contains what she described as “religious safeguards.” “This bill

First ever straight couple to become civil partners in the UK

A straight couple have become the first ever to become civil partners in the UK after a ceremony on the Isle of Man, which lies between England and Ireland. The pair, Adeline Cosson, 24, and Kieran Hodgson, 22, entered their partnership at a small ceremony, with two witnesses, in the island’s capital. Civil partnerships between

Tens of thousands of people marched in Paris to revoke same-sex marriage on Sunday

Thousands of people marched in Paris today to call for the repeal of the Taubira law which legalised same-sex marriage. Marchers also protested against the use of assisted reproduction techniques and surrogate mothers to enable same-sex couples to have children. Police estimated the crowd at 24,000, while organisers gave a figure of 200,000. The demonstration

On 19th – 22st October, 2016 representatives of the National LGBT* rights organization LGL will participate in the in the 20th Annual Conference of the international lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex (LGBTI) association ILGA-Europe, organized in the captical of Cyprus – Nicosia. This year, the theme of the Annual Conference is “Power to the People –

It’s official – France adopts a new legal gender recognition procedure!

The French parliament has voted to introduce a legal gender recognition procedure that is free from sterilisation and medicalisation. The National Assembly met in a plenary session on Wednesday 12 October to debate and vote on the 21st century justice law (La loi sur la justice au XX1eme siècle), which included provisions relating to legal

On 29th September – 2th October, 2016 a representative of the National LGBT* rights organization LGL participated in an annual conference of the international LGBTI youth association IGLYO, organized in Malta. During the conference the representatives of various European LGBTI youth organizations had an opportunity to strengthen cooperation and competence, to share the best practices

Scottish LGBTIs to expect more governmental protection from hate crime

LGBTI people in Scotland may expect more governmental protection from hate crime, according to a report released last Friday by the country’s Independent Advisory Group on Hate Crime, Prejudice and Community Cohesion. The group, which was established by Scottish ministers in 2015 to advise on the current state of these issues in Scotland, and to make practical suggestions for

European Parliament urges Tunisia to decriminalise homosexuality

In a vote on EU – Tunisia relations, the European Parliament has urged Tunisia to decriminalise homosexuality. Currently, Article 230 of the Penal Code foresees three years imprisonment for ‘sodomy’. Over the past year a dozen of people have been arrested under this law. This stands in stark contrast with 2014 Constitution, which has been