Touching video challenges Halloween gender stereotypes (Watch)
Every Halloween, children across the US, and increasingly in other countries, dress up as their favourite heroes and villains. So what happens when a child’s choice of costume doesn’t match their assumed gender? That’s the subject that the heart-warming My Heroes, a two-minute digital PSA, explores. Written by Alexander Day and Brian Carufe, directed by […]
Tanzania 13 finally released on bail but still not free to leave
The 13 activists and human rights lawyers detained in Tanzania for “promoting homosexuality” have finally been granted bail, more than a week after their arrest. The Initiative for Strategic Litigation in Africa (ISLA) has confirmed that the group, including two of its South African lawyers, are no longer in custody. ISLA’s Matilda Lasseko said that […]
Is Johannesburg Pride #BraveEnough to Get Tested?
The challenge is on! At Johannesburg Pride on 28 October, WeTheBrave – a large-scale, national sexual health campaign that specifically addresses gay, bi and other men who have sex with men (MSM) – will be trying to beat the number of MSM tested for HIV at Cape Town Pride held earlier this year. “Research has […]
Tanzania arrests | Mom demands daughter’s freedom
The mother of one of the 13 people arrested in Tanzania for “promoting homosexuality” joined dozens of protestors calling for the detainees’ release. On Tuesday, activists demonstrated outside the Tanzanian High Commission in Pretoria, outraged at the refusal of the country’s police to release the group. The 13 were arrested last Tuesday in a raid […]
“Racy internet pleasure?” Webafrica accused of transphobic ad campaign
A new campaign for South African internet service provider Webafrica, featuring men wearing women’s clothing, has been slammed for being transphobic. The ads promoting the company’s LTE products are prominently featured on its website and social media platforms. Seemingly intended to be humorous, the campaign is based around images of stubble-faced men in make up and […]
Dubai’s ruler frees Scotsman arrested for accidentally touching another man
Faced with international outrage and a public relations nightmare, the ruler of Dubai has freed Jamie Harron, who was sentenced to three months in jail for “public indecency.” In a statement, the group Detained in Dubai (DID), revealed that Harron was called by the police on Monday and told that his case had been dismissed, […]
Silence from South Africa as Tanzania 13 continue to be denied bail
The 13 individuals arrested for “promoting homosexuality” in Tanzania are still being denied bail after having now spent almost a week in custody. The activists and lawyers were arrested last Tuesday in a police raid on a hotel in Dar es Salaam. The group was meeting to discuss a legal challenge to the Tanzanian government’s […]
Was this pop singer tortured to death in Chechnya’s gay purge?
It’s been claimed that missing pop singer Zelimkhan Bakaev was tortured and killed during Chechnya’s anti-gay crackdown. The Chechen-born Bakaev, 26, had been living and working in Moscow. He was last seen on 8 August in Grozny, the Chechen capital, when he returned home to attend his sister’s wedding. According to the Russian media, a few days […]
Dubai | Madness as Brit is jailed for 3 months for accidentally touching man’s hip
Update: The ruler of Dubai has now freed Jamie Harron. Read more here. Jamie Harron, an electrician from Scotland, has been sentenced to three months in jail for accidentally brushing past another man in a Dubai nightclub. Harron, 27, was arrested in July after he walked through the crowded Rock Bottom bar and briefly touched the […]
Alarm as Tajikistan starts “registering” LGBTQ people
Questions have been asked as to why the Central Asian country of Tajikistan is creating a registry of LGBTQ people. According to Radio Free Europe (RFE), prosecutors have included 319 gay men and 48 lesbians in the registry, asserting that their “affiliation with sexual minorities has been proven.” The individuals were apparently identified by the […]