Ieva Ruzgytė is the first athlete to represent Lithuania in the “Gay Games”, taking place in Paris in 2018. We talked with Ieva about what made her decide to participate in this tournament and in the events of Baltic Pride 2016. You are an accomplished judo master. What motivated you to talk about the importance
News
Romanian campaigners said Monday (23 May) they had collected three million signatures on a petition to block same-sex unions in the EU member state. Several groups linked to the Orthodox Church and united under the umbrella Coalition for Family are seeking a constitutional amendment to narrowly define marriage as the “union between a man and
Bolivian politicians have approved a bill to allow trans people to change their name and gender on official documents. The Chamber of Deputies approved the bill which will forever change the legal standing of trans people in the South American country. The Gender Identity bill still needs to be approved by the Senate before being
In a resolution adopted last week, the European Parliament has called on Gambia to repeal its laws criminalising LGBTI people, and urged the government to guarantee the right to freedom of expression and the right to non-discrimination. The calls were made in a resolution addressing the current human rights crisis in the country. The resolution
Same-sex marriage has been recognized in several Mexican states. But the country’s president seeks to extend the right to all citizens of the world’s most populous Spanish-speaking country. Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto on Tuesday local time signed an initiative to pave the way for same-sex couples to marry in accordance with Mexican law. The
To start their campaign for legalizing homosexual marriages in China, a gay couple has held a marriage ceremony despite a court ruling against it. Many believe the case shows a growing acceptance of LGBT rights in China. “I hope that the world knows that there are homosexual people in China, and that we demand legally
Last week, the parliament spoke out in favour of equal parental leave rights for same-sex couples with children. In its report evaluating the implementation of the EU law (Directive 2010/18/EU) on parental leave, the Parliament emphasised that “adequate, individual, compensated parental leave is crucial for same-sex parenting couples to be able to achieve a work-life
In 2010 the marriage of Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir, the former Prime Minister of Iceland, and Jónína Leósdóttir, a journalist and a writer, generated media attention all around the world. After all, in addition to being the first out gay head of state in the world, Jóhanna was also Iceland’s first female Prime Minister. The couple met
Uganda held its largest ever rally for LGBTI rights on Tuesday (17 May). The event, scheduled to coincide with International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia, saw around 300 Ugandan LGBTI celebrate and enjoy and live in as much freedom as they could. Sponsored by the Rainbow International LGBT Activist Solidarity Fund, it saw a
Activist Riamoni Chisty speaks about the country he fled, where a gay person can be brutally attacked and then called the aggressor. The government treats homosexuality as a crime, and society largely sees it as a sin. Last month, unknown assailants hacked two gay activists to death in an apartment in Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka. One
Two-thirds of adults would be upset if child was gay, and only a quarter would accept a trans child. Two-thirds of adults would be upset if their child told them that they were in love with someone of the same sex according to a new survey. The survey was conducted by the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual,
Each year activists from around the world identify one theme that they feel should get priority attention. While everyone is of course free to work on their own agenda, the annual theme allows one specific aspect to get highlighted. For 2016, activists have selected “Mental Health and Well Being”. Sexual and gender diversities are still characterized