Many signs of progress, but also many instances of ongoing persecution of LGBTI people, are contained in the following round-up of the world’s recent LGBTI-related news, most of which was excerpted with slight modifications from the UNAIDS publication Equal Eyes: Human rights Activists in Odessa, Ukraine, convinced authorities to reconsider a last-minute ban that would … Continue reading
Tag Archives: Lesotho
Is the world now a better place for LGBTI people?
Q. A journalist asked, “In the years that Erasing 76 Crimes has covered criminalization of queerness around the world, has the situation improved, stayed stagnant or gotten worse?” Here’s a quick, non-definitive answer: A. During my time publishing Erasing 76 Crimes, from 2012 to the present, the situation has been fluid — possibly improving, with … Continue reading
Lesotho: Celebrating LGBT pride in a homophobic nation
HOLAAfrica, the PanAfricanist queer womanist collective, reports on the success of the south African country of Lesotho’s IDAHOT celebration on May 21. Same-sex intimacy was a crime in Lesotho until 2012, when the country updated its Penal Code: Lesotho IDAHOT 2016: Faces & Voices Reporting by Leila Hall, photos by Meri Hyöky On Saturday May … Continue reading
92 nations formerly had anti-LGBT laws; now it’s 75 (or 79)
The number of countries with laws against same-sex sexual activity has dropped from 92 a decade ago to 75 today, according to tallies kept by ILGA, the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association. ILGA’s 2016 edition of its State-Sponsored Homophobia report, by Aengus Carroll, is being published today. The latest countries to repeal … Continue reading
Toolkit for progress toward LGBT rights in 53 countries
The Commonwealth of 53 nations, formerly the British Commonwealth, can play a positive role in improving the lives of LGBT citizens even though dozens of those countries still have anti-LGBT laws inherited from their former colonial overlords. So say the LGBT rights advocates at London-based Kaleidoscope Trust, which this week published a “toolkit” of recommendations … Continue reading
Southern African Anglicans to LGBT people: Welcome
In sharp contrast to the Anglican churches of Nigeria, Uganda and Kenya, the Anglican Church of Southern Africa is moving to welcome LGBT people as full members of the church. The Anglican Church of Southern Africa represents about 3 to 4 million people in South Africa and nearby countries. Most of those countries — South … Continue reading
Recount: 75 (or 79) nations where homosexuality is illegal
The number of countries with anti-homosexuality laws is currently 75, according to the latest tally from ILGA, the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association. That’s down one from earlier this month, when the African nation of Chad was incorrectly included in the list. This blog now lists a total of 79, including four … Continue reading
New hope in AIDS fight: Gay, MSM Africans find their voices
Gay men and other men who have sex with men (MSM) in several countries in sub-Saharan Africa have gained a potentially influential voice in decisions about how funding for HIV treatment and prevention is targeted in their local LGBTI communities. The change from excluding gay and MSM people to involving them in decision-making was demanded … Continue reading
10 years later, tally of 92 anti-LGBT nations drops to 76
The arc of history is trending toward justice for LGBTI people worldwide, judging by the latest tallies from ILGA, the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association. In an encouraging change from 2006, when the ILGA report listed 92 countries with laws prohibiting sexual acts between consenting same-sex adults, ILGA in its 10th annual … Continue reading
Comment: Africa isn’t anti-gay, ‘just hopelessly confused’
An insightful commentary in the pan-African publication Mail & Guardian Africa notes not only that African countries are far from united in their attitudes toward homosexuality, but also that many individual countries have self-contradictory laws. An excerpt from the article “Forgive it. Africa is not anti-gay; the continent is just hopelessly confused”: In Cote d’Ivoire, … Continue reading
