On 23rd August, 2017 Lithuanian news portal Delfi.lt announced its project’s “Lithuania’s most influential” list of the most influential public figures in Lithuania. For the first time in the country‘s history it features a prominent defender of LGBT* human rights. Vladimir Simonko, Executive Director of the National LGBT* rights organization LGL, appears on the list,

Chilean President to Introduce Same-sex Marriage Bill on Aug. 28

Chilean President Michelle Bachelet next week will formally introduce a bill that will extend marriage to same-sex couples. The Movement for Homosexual Integration and Liberation, a Chilean LGBT advocacy group, in a press release said Bachelet will introduce the measure on Aug. 28. The group in 2012 filed a lawsuit with the Inter-American Commission on

Drug and Alcohol Addiction in the LGBTQ Community

In most cases, drugs and alcohol are a way for a person to deal with problems in their lives. The fact is – many people within the LGBTQ have to deal with way more problems than the average person. They for one can experience higher levels of stress, social stigmas, and discrimination. Therefore, this leads to

Reflection group in Socialinis Veiksmas organization

On 17th August, 2017 I have been invited to attend and participate in a reflection group about volunteering in Lithuania, organized by the local organization “Socialinis Veiksmas”. We were a group of different people and nationalities, foreign volunteers and interns and some local volunteers too. At the beginning, each one of us introduced themselves to

In May, 2017 coinciding with Rainbow Days 2017 celebrations, the National LGBT* rights organization LGL displayed posters in the public spaces of Vilnius, Kaunas and Klaipėda, seeking to draw attention to the discrimination LGBT* people face and encouraging others to speak up in the face of discrimination. The posters, displayed in bus shelters around Vilnius,

LGBT* Community Centre Full of Opportunities in the European Union

On 10th August, 2017 LGBT* Community Centre of the National LGBT* rights organization LGL hosted an event “Come and Choose Your Future”. Ieva Galkytė, the Spacialist of the European Information Centre, joined us with a workshop-presentation about the European Union opportunities for young people. This community event brought people together not only from Lithuania but

LGBT human rights activists from Belarus, Norway and Lithuania meet in Vilnius

The meeting, together with partners from Lithuanian Center for Human Rights and National LGBT rights organization LGL, was dedicated to strengthen networking and cooperation among civil society representatives from Belarus, Norway and  Lithuanian in the framework of the project „Sharing Expertise and Fostering LGBT Human Rights in Belarus“. Representatives of civil society from Belarus had

On 8th August, 2017 the Central Electoral Commission of the Republic of Lithuania announced that it had finished verifying signatures in support of the European citizens’ initiative “Mum, Dad and Kids – European Citizens’ Initiative to Protect Marriage and Family”. While verifying signatures collected in support of the initiative, the Commission found that 34,324 Lithuanian

Australia’s Ruling Party Blocks Parliament Marriage Vote

Members of Australia’s ruling party on Monday blocked efforts to allow a conscience vote in the country’s parliament on whether to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported only seven members of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s Liberal Party-led coalition voted in favor of allowing lawmakers to vote on the issue. The

“Discrimination is No Alternative”: LGL Participates in Hamburg Pride

On August 1st-6th, 2017 the Policy Coordinator (Human Rights) of the National LGBT* Rights Organization LGL participated in the “Hamburg Pride – Christopher Street Day“ 2017 festival in Hamburg (Germany). The main slogan of the festival, namely – “Discrimination is No Alternative” (in German “Diskriminierung ist keine Alternative“) – is meant to raise awareness by

LGL Employees Strengthened their Competence in Suicide Prevention

On 4th August, 2017 representatives of the National LGBT* Rights Organization LGL Roberta Matusevičiūtė, Project Manager, and Eglė Kuktoraitė Communications Coordinator, participated in SafeTALK training on suicide prevention organized by the Vilnius Public Health Centre. SafeTALK is a four-hour course that helps participants become conscious about the subject of suicide. SafeTALK training is aimed to

Haitian Senate Approves Bill to Ban Same-sex Marriage

The Haitian Senate on Tuesday approved a bill that would ban same-sex marriages and punish those who enter into them. Le Nouvelliste, a Haitian newspaper, reported senators approved the measure that Sen. Carl Murat Cantave introduced by a 14-1 vote margin. La Nouvelliste also reported one senator abstained. Agence France-Presse reported “the parties, co-parties and