LGBTQ+ year in review: 42 examples of good news in 2020

This past year has been tough for everyone, gay and straight, but it had some bright spots too. Below is a list of 42 encouraging developments for LGBTQ+ people in countries with anti-gay laws.

To read more about any topic, follow the link to the original article in Erasing 76 Crimes or, in one case, a link to ILGA’s December 2020 update of its State-Sponsored Homophobia report. Also available: “LGBTQ+ year in review: 47 troubling events of 2020”.

JANUARY

• Trinidad welcomes lesbian couple’s ‘miracle’ baby

• Indonesian human rights agency opposes LGBT raids

• First mainstream gay-themed Bollywood film since India legalized gay sex

• Zambian women march for LGBT rights as well as women’s rights

 

FEBRUARY

• New shelter for victims of anti-gay violence and bias in Cameroon

• New chat and counseling mobile app for LGBTIQ+ Nigerians

 

MARCH

• New Uganda archbishop is less extreme (but still nixes same-sex marriage)

• Alternatives-Cameroon expands to the nation’s capital

MAY

• Kenya: Emergency food, supplies reach LGBTQI refugees

• Qtalk reveals the lives and struggles of gay Nigerians

• Zambia frees gay couple serving 15-year sentence

JUNE

• Justice for Maha: Under pressure, Kuwait frees trans activist

• Prominent citizens unite to combat abuse of LGBTI Cameroonians

• Cameroon: Charges dropped against 53 arrested in Bafoussam

• Queer Squad: Tunisian comic embraces LGBTQ life in quarantine

• In June 2020, the Supreme Court of Mauritius authorized four young activists to challenge the constitutionality of Section 250(1) of the penal code, which provides for up to five years in prison for homosexual activity. (State Sponsored Homophobia, ILGA, December 2020 update)

 

JULY

• Gabon repeals its anti-gay law

• Donations assure early release for 3 LGBT women in Cameroon

• Sudan drops death penalty for homosexuality

• Ugandan LGBT advocate wins HIV/AIDS global award

 

AUGUST

• Donors free trans woman from jail in Cameroon, help her in new career

• Boosting LGBTIQ rights in West Africa, one grant at a time

 

SEPTEMBER

• LGBTI advocates create a security plan for Cameroon

• Uganda: Gay rights activists get Covid-19 protective supplies

• 220 LGBTIQ+ Nigerians get help surviving the pandemic

• LGBTQ+ Ugandans have key role in push toward AIDS-free nation

 

OCTOBER

• Uganda: HRAPF human rights activists reach key milestone

• Cook Islands Pride battles anti-gay law in S. Pacific nation

• Russia’s QueerFest: ‘important as never before’

• Nigeria is getting its first LGBT job fair

• Gay activist Nigerian minister Jide Macaulay ordained a priest

• Kenya: Prosecutor must use trans woman’s chosen name

• In Senegal: Gay activists help 4 men reach safety

• Five homeless shelters welcome LGBTQ Ugandans

• Nigerian prosecution flubs 47-man gay trial; judge dismisses case

 

NOVEMBER

• Nigeria gets its first LGBTQ online streaming platform

• #EndSARS: LGBT Nigerians get extra help to cope with crisis

NOV. 25-27

The online “Intimate Conviction 2” conference focused on what needs to be done, especially by Christian churches, to put an end to dozens of countries’ laws against same-sex intimacy.

• Can the church heal its homophobia, end anti-gay laws? (Conference, Day 1)
• ‘LGBTQ church members are not loved as much as God wants’ (Day 2)
• Why preach love, then imprison gays? (Day 3)

 

DECEMBER

• Poverty is not a crime: African Court rules against vagrancy laws

• Cameroon: 500 learn modern tactics for fighting AIDS and gender violence

• Bhutan moves 1 step away from repealing anti-homosexuality law

• Cameroon: With Israeli aid, drop-in center can now fight AIDS better