India Might Introduce Job and Education Quotas for Trans People

In order to help trans people in India a special committee has recommended education and employment quotas be introduced. The Indian government might consider creating quotas for trans people in the public service. A recommendation from a parliamentary panel reviewing a Transgender Bill was that the federal government should create the quotas. A reason the panel

LGL Invites to Eurovision Party FEAT. LaDiva Live & Okeanide

Mark 13th May, 2017 on your calendar in red: we will have a double celebration! Organized by LGL, the Eurovision party will start on 13th May, 2017 at 09:00 P.M. in the jazz bar Paviljonas and will definitely be a shining jewel of the “Rainbow Days” 2017. It is going to be better than Christmas,

Teacher in Lithuanian School Claims That Gays Are Cannibals

On April 26th, 2017 a student of Žemaitė Gymnasium in Telšiai (Lithuania) published photos from religion class on “Facebook“ that caused an uproar on the social media. The photos display slides shown for tenth grad students as a part of religious education class. The slides contain information indicating that homosexual persons are “murderers and cannibals,

Four More Prisons for Gay Men Have Been Found in Chechnya

Journalists investigating the abuse of gay men in Chechnya have made a gruesome discovery. Respected newspaper Novaya Gazeta originally reported that gay men were being held in two concentration camp style prisons in the region. Reports initially centred on two jails in the villages of Argun and Tsotsi-Yurt. However journalists from the area now say

Under the initiative by the members of the Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has condemned the persecution of homosexual persons by the Chechen authorities (Russian Federation) and called for ‘a special investigation’. The resolution was submitted to the Council of Europe by Emanuelis Zingeris and

Lithuanian Minister of Health Discusses Gender Reassignment Legislation with LGL

On April 26th, 2017 Aurelijus Veryga, the Minister of Health of the Republic of Lithuania, met with the representatives of the National LGBT* rights organization LGL, including the members of the local trans* community, and the Human Rights Monitoring Institute (HRMI) to discuss gender reassignment legislation in Lithuania and other important healthcare issues relevant to

Last weekend, Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta published an article reporting that over 100 people have been detained on suspicion for being gay in Chechnya, and suffered torture and humiliation. At least three men were killed. At his opening statement today, the President of the European Parliament Antonio Tajani MEP condemned the attacks: “I will confirm once

On March 23rd, 2017 the Government of the Republic of Lithuania placed two Lithuanian ministries, i.e. the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Justice, under obligation to prepare legal acts that would enable gender reassignment procedure in Lithuania. However, developments regarding gender reassignment procedure in Lithuania are slow. Aurelijus Veryga, the Minister of Health

EU Report on LGBTI Asylum Seekers

On 24 March 2017, the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) issued a report entirely dedicated to the situation of LGBTI asylum seekers. ILGA-Europe welcome this report, which clearly shows that Member States need to step up their efforts to make sure that EU standards are respected and applied correctly with regard to LGBTI asylum

Alabama Guv to Sign Anti-LGBT Adoption ‘Religious Freedom’ Bill

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey is set to sign legislation that would enable taxpayer-funded adoption agencies to deny placement to LGBT families out of religious objections. The legislation, known as House Bill 24, is titled the “Child Placing Agency Inclusion Act,” but instead of encouraging child placement would permit agencies to deny placement of children into

Vietnam’s Trans Community Relies on the Black Market for Hormones

Many trans people in Vietnam buy their hormones illegally from Thailand and self-medicate, but they’re hoping the government will change its laws soon. Many of Vietnam’s trans community are turning to the black market to buy hormone medication. Hormone replacement therapy and gender reassignment surgery are not legal in Vietnam. Many trans people have resorted to

The Finnish Ministry of Justice has launched a project called Rainbow Rights Promoting LGBTI Equality in Europe, which aims to support the implementation of the legislation on non-discrimination. The project seeks to promote non-discrimination at local level both in Finland and in other EU Member States. In addition to the general aim of promoting non-discrimination,