Surprise as police arrest anti-gay blackmailers in Ghana
Gay men are often the victims of extortion in Africa, thanks to their status as a stigmatised sexual minority across much of the continent. With the double whammy of being illegal citizens, in many cases the police are not informed, fail to act or even arrest or further blackmail the victims themselves. In a recent incident […]
An fabulous fashion first: Vogue’s new editor is a black gay man
For the first time in Vogue’s history a black gay man has been appointed the editor in chief of the British edition of the famous fashion publication. On Monday, Condé Nast International chairman and chief executive Jonathan Newhouse announced that fashion stylist Edward Enninful will replace outgoing editor Alexandra Shulman. Enninful, 45, will start his […]
Lesbian mom finally allowed to be open about her sexuality with her kids
The Washington Supreme Court has overturned a shocking lower court ruling that banned a lesbian mom from discussing her sexuality with her children After realising that she was lesbian, Rachelle Black filed for divorce in 2011 from her husband, who is a conservative Christian. Despite being a stay-at-home mother, in 2013, the court gave primary custody of their […]
LGBT ally arrested for calling Ugandan president a “pair of buttocks”
A courageous academic and outspoken critic of Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has been arrested for insulting him on social media. Dr Stella Nyanzi, 42, was detained by “unknown state agents” on the night of 7 April. On Monday she was changed with “cyber harassment” for calling Museveni a “pair of buttocks” in a January Facebook […]
Chechnya: Victims tortured and killed in gay ‘concentration camps’
News about the abuse of LGBT people in Chechnya continues to shock, with reports of camps being opened in the Russian republic to detain gay men. According to the newspaper Novaya Gazeta, facilities or “secret prisons” have been identified where more than 100 gay men were detained and tortured, with at least three killed. To bolster allegations […]
Court ends last US gay adoption ban – compares it to racism
The Nebraska Supreme Court has struck down a decades-old prohibition on gay and lesbian foster and adoptive parents; the last such ban in the US. The 1995 provision, known as Memo 1-95, barred homosexual individuals and same-sex couples in Nebraska from fostering children, which also meant, as a result, that they could not go on […]
Indonesia must release gay couple who face being tortured
Two men who were kidnapped by religious fanatics face receiving 100 lashes for being gay in Indonesia. The men, both in their twenties, were at home in the Aceh province on 28 March when a group of vigilantes forced their way in to detain them for allegedly having sex. Cell phone video footage of the raid, […]
Chechnya: Beaten with a hose and electrocuted
More details are emerging of the violent mass crackdown against LGBT people in the Russian republic of Chechnya. Earlier this week, various sources reported that around 100 gay men were rounded up, arrested and even killed by the authorities in recent weeks. The Russian LGBT Network has now released information about a number of incidents. […]
Lesbian woman raped and stabbed in Potchefstroom
Potchefstroom’s LGBT community has been shaken by another possible hate crime incident after a young lesbian woman was attacked and raped. According to reports from local activists, on the night of 1 April, the 26-year-old was talking to a friend on the phone outside her home in Mohadin, Potchefstroom. As she was chatting, three men […]
Pope meets world’s first gay married head of state and his husband
In a first for the Catholic Church, Pope Francis has received an openly gay head of state and his husband at the Vatican. Last month, the Prime Minister of Luxembourg, Xavier Bettel, attended a celebration to mark the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, which created the European Economic Community. Images have emerged in which […]