In some Member States, doctors still view homosexuality as a disease and transsexuality as a mental disorder, according to findings from a new report by the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA). Such negative views of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) people in society, among professional groups and policy makers hampers efforts to counter
News / Human Rights
Faroe Islands, a self-governing archipelago part of Denmark, has rejected same-sex marriage. Comprising of 18 rocky, volcanic islands between Iceland and Norway in the North Atlantic Ocean, it remains the only Nordic country to not have adopted same-sex unions in any form. A majority of 26 out of total 33 members in the Faroe Islands
Botswana’s highest court has said the organization Lesbians, Gays and Bisexuals of Botswana (LEGABIBO) can be allowed to register. A five-judge bench at the Court of Appeals said the refusal had been unconstitutional. Activists launched their legal battle after the Home Affairs Ministry rejected an application to register the gay rights lobby group. But judges
Indonesian lawmakers are considering a bill that would block websites promoting so-called LGBT propaganda. The Jakarta Post reported that a commission in the Indonesian House of Representatives on March 3 urged the country’s Ministry of Communications and Information to consider the measure. Spokesperson Ismail Cowidu told the Jakarta Post that his ministry has created a
In February, the Russian Ministry of Health published a new draft order that proposes amendments to the “Procedure for the provision of medical care in cases of mental and behavioral disorders.” Practically, it proposes establishment of offices of sexologists and outlines their activities, equipment, and staff. The changes are presented by the Ministry as aimed at improving health
Ministers from 27 EU Member States have issued a clear call to the European Commission to step up its work on LGBTI equality measures. That message emanated clearly from this afternoon’s (Monday, 7 March 2016) Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council meeting. The adoption of conclusions on gender equality and LGBTI equality was
On March 3d, 2016 Vilnius County Court rejected the appeal, filed by the Lithuanian author Neringa Dangvydė, regarding the decision of the District Court of Vilnius City that the publisher of the fairytale book “Gintarinė širdis” (“Amber heart”), the Lithuanian University of Educational Sciences, had the right to suspend the distribution of the publication, and
Between the 15th and 24th of February, 2016 the representatives of the National LGBT* rights organization LGL participated in the youth exchange program “Active Rainbow”, organized in the city of Ommen, the Netherlands. Activists from Italy, Spain, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Latvia, Lithuania and the Netherlands gathered in order to discuss and plan actions which would
Politicians in Rome have approved a bill recognizing civil unions for same sex and heterosexual couples. However, Prime Minister Matteo Renzi had to water down the legislation a great deal for the Upper House’s approval. Prime Minister Renzi would have had to resign had he lost Thursday’s vote, but 173 members voted for the bill
Yesterday, the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled that refusing same-sex couples residence permits with the purpose of family reunification on the basis of their sexual orientation is discriminatory. The case was brought to the European Court after Ms Pajić, a woman from Bosnia-Herzegovina, was refused a Croatian residence permit that she requested
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have evaluated the HIV risk to gay African-American men for the first time. The CDC, which has tracked data related to HIV transmission for many years, released a study which breaks down the ‘lifetime risk’ of HIV infection among groups including men who have sex with men.
The persecution of Jews under National Socialism is widely known. But one seldom learns about the persecution of other groups: politicals, criminals, anti-socials, Jehovah’s Witnesses, emigrants, Romanies, and homosexuals. On International Holocaust Remembrance Day LGL initiated a workshop about the Persecution of Homosexuals under National Socialism to talk about paragraph 175, lesbians, and the “special