Three international human rights advocacy groups have joined forces to launch a new fund that will support Russian organizations combating that country’s ongoing crackdown on LGBT rights. The groups promised that all contributions to the fund would go to support “LGBT and human rights organizations that are working in Russia or on Russian LGBT issues … Continue reading
Monthly Archives: November 2013
How to help shelter Jamaica’s persecuted LGBT youths
Activists and other concerned citizens in Jamaica are working to build support for a shelter for homeless LGBT youths who have sought refuge in the sewers after being driven out of their family homes and out of abandoned buildings. Their project is called “Dwayne’s House” in memory of 16-year-old Dwayne Jones, who was murdered in … Continue reading
Ugandan LGBT leader Sam Ganafa out on bail
Ugandan LGBT rights activist Sam K. Ganafa was released on bail yesterday after two weeks in prison and is scheduled to return to court on Dec. 17, his LGBT rights organizations announced. Ganafa is executive director of Spectrum Uganda Initiatives, which has used his home as its office for the past eight years. He is … Continue reading
Honors for LGBT defender Alice Nkom of Cameroon
The German branch of Amnesty International announced last week that it will award its Human Rights Prize to attorney Alice Nkom of Cameroon, who continues to battle for the rights of LGBT people there. The award will go to her and her organization ADEFHO (Association for the Defense of Homosexuals) in a formal presentation in … Continue reading
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Behind the scenes of the Erasing 76 Crimes blog
In 2013, the Erasing 76 Crimes blog has been busy behind the scenes trying (and, I’ll admit, often failing) to improve the lot of LGBT people in some of the 76+ countries with anti-gay laws. Depending on the country, these activities have included: Helping to build support for victims of unjust laws. (For example, in … Continue reading
Cameroon: 9 years in prison for gay sex; no witnesses
A Cameroon man was sentenced to nine years in prison yesterday (Nov. 20) on homosexuality-related charges. The sentence imposed on Cornelius Fonya, 35, in the coastal city of Limbe was for same-sex relations with a youth between age 16 and 21. In Cameroon, the maximum sentence for same-sex relations between adults is five years, but … Continue reading
Russian LGBT activists call for Sochi protests Feb. 7
A group of Russian LGBT rights organization and their supporters have called for worldwide protests against the country’s ongoing anti-gay crackdown on Feb. 7, the opening day of the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. The group also asks for pressure on the corporate sponsors of the Sochi Olympics to speak out against the homophobic “anti-gay … Continue reading
Caribbean nations are abuzz with LGBT news
The LGBT-focused International Resource Network published a useful compilation of LGBT news from the Caribbean last week, including these items from Guyana, Belize, Jamaica and Trinidad. An editorial in the Kaieteur News of Guyana speaks to “The Plight of the Homosexuals” … Recently, a local group, SASOD [the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination], published the … Continue reading
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UN on anti-gay laws: 2013 hate from 1800s prejudice
A recent appeal from “Free & Equal” campaign of the United Nations Human Rights Office. For more information, see the article “U.N. campaigns against 76 countries’ anti-gay laws.” Related articles Steps toward LGBT equality via D.C., Rome, the Gambia (76crimes.com) Report: Anti-gay laws harm African economies (76crimes.com) UNAIDS has the book. Shouldn’t you? (76crimes.com) UN warning to countries that … Continue reading
Jamaica: ‘Church, TV can dictate how gays are viewed’
Rejected ad: ‘As a Jamaican, I respect you and I love you.’ In rejecting an appeal for a TV ad promoting respect for LGBT people, the justices of the Jamaican Constitutional Court last week “basically upheld the right of anti-gay fundamentalist churches (to which they belong) to dictate to the public how LGBT citizens should … Continue reading
