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Out in the World: LGBTQ news

Victory for trans women in Australian federal court

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AUSTRALIA

SYDNEY, Australia ā€“ A federal court in Australia handed down a historic victory for trans women on August 23, in a discrimination case that establishes for the first time that existing protections against sex discrimination extend to transgender women.

The case was filed by Roxanne Tickle, a trans woman who claimed she was discriminated against when she was barred from using an app for women. 

In 2021, Tickle had downloaded the app ā€œGiggle for Girls,ā€ an online forum that billed itself as a safe space where women could share their experiences and men were not allowed. In order to gain access to the app, Tickle had to upload a photo of herself to confirm her gender. 

Nevertheless, seven months after joining the platform, she was removed.

Tickle claimed she was discriminated against due to her gender identity, and sued the platform and its CEO for 200,000 Australian dollars (approximately $135,000), citing anxiety she suffered due to the misgendering, and the hateful comments she received due to Giggle CEO Sall Groverā€™s public comments about the case.

Grover is a self-declared trans-exclusionary radical feminist and refused to refer to Tickle as a woman or use female pronouns and titles for her throughout the case. 

Giggle claimed that the app was entitled to discriminate against Tickle based on her biological sex, in order to create a space for women only. But the federal court rejected that argument, finding that case law has consistently found sex is ā€œchangeable and not necessarily binary.ā€ 

The court also rejected Giggleā€™s argument that the federal government did not have the constitutional authority to ban discrimination.

It found that that Giggle indirectly discriminated against Tickle.   

Giggle was ordered to pay Tickle 10,000 Australian dollars (approximately $6800) plus legal costs. Grover has vowed to appeal the decision to the High Court of Australia, the countryā€™s top court.

This case was the first time the federal court in Australia has ruled on gender identity discrimination. 

The federal sex discrimination commissioner, Dr. Anna Cody, intervened in the case on Tickleā€™s behalf, and released a statement supporting the courtā€™s ruling.

ā€œThe 2013 changes to the Sex Discrimination Act make it clear it is unlawful under federal law to discriminate against a person on the basis of gender identity,ā€ Cody says in the statement. ā€œWe are pleased this case has recognised that every individual, regardless of their gender identity, deserves equal and fair treatment under the law.ā€ 

Anna Brown, CEO of the LGBTIQ+ advocacy group Equality Australia, applauded the courtā€™s decision.

ā€œJustice Bromwich has correctly and sensibly interpreted the law to ensure it does not exclude marginalised people who are in need of protection,ā€ Brown says in a statement. ā€œThis judgment confirms that discrimination laws exist to protect all of us, particularly groups such as trans women who have experienced historical exclusion and disadvantage. The judgment also confirms that gender identity as a protected ground of discrimination is constitutionally valid.ā€

BULGARIA

SOFIA, Bulgaria ā€“ Amid ongoing fallout after parliament rushed through a bill to ban ā€œLGBT propagandaā€ in schools earlier this month, some lawmakers have announced plans to attempt to amend the legislation to remove anti-LGBT language.

The centrist and pro-European ā€œWe Continue the Changeā€ party has vowed to introduce a bill to amend the law this week, to either alter or remove the lawā€™s definition of ā€œnon-traditional sexual orientation,ā€ which is banned from promotion or discussion in classrooms and colleges under the law.

Currently, the law defines non-traditional sexual orientation as that which differs from the widely accepted and entrenched ideas of emotional, romantic, sexual, or sensual attraction between individuals of opposite sexes.

The law has sparked unrest across Bulgaria, with teachersā€™ unions, feminist groups, human rights groups, and LGBTQ advocacy organizations staging protests against it for weeks in the capital. 

In turn, the European Commission ā€“ the executive arm of the European Union ā€“ has demanded an explanation of the law from the Bulgarian government, in what may be the first step before taking legal or punitive action against the country.

Meanwhile, the far-right, Kremlin-associated Revival Party, which introduced the propaganda law in parliament, circulated a threatening letter on social media last week, naming more than two dozen teachers in Varna, Bulgariaā€™s third-largest city, who had signed a petition opposing the law. The post directed Revivalā€™s followers to contact the teachersā€™ employers in an obvious bid to harass and intimidate them. 

The post has since been deleted, but a criminal complaint has been filed against Revival in reaction to the post, and Revival has in turn filed a criminal complaint against the named teachers, accusing them of planning to violate the ā€œpropagandaā€ law.

Amidst these developments, the Ministry of Education and Science issued a statement asserting that discrimination and repression would not be tolerated in Bulgarian schools.

Revival has also stepped up its attacks on LGBTQ groups, alleging that a network of ā€œforeign agentsā€ is engaging in ā€œhybrid warfareā€ by promoting non-traditional values among Bulgarian youth. Theyā€™ve requested the prosecutorā€™s office to take action against these groups. 

Like ā€œLGBT propagandaā€ laws, ā€œforeign agentsā€ laws have recently been passed in Russia and Georgia as a means of discrediting and defunding opposition and nongovernmental groups. These laws have drawn harsh criticism from European and Western governments. Revival  may be laying the groundwork for introducing a Bulgarian ā€œforeign agentā€ law.

NEPAL

KATHMANDU, Nepal — The first Pride festival since same-sex marriage was legalized by the Supreme Court last November was a huge success, with hundreds of participants, including a government minister, rallying in the capital city, Kathmandu.

Nepalā€™s Blue Diamond Society, which advocates for LGBTQ rights, has organized the annual rally every year since 2003 as part of the cityā€™s Gai Jatra Festival. Gai Jatra is a local tradition that honors family members that have passed away during the year. 

The festival has long welcomed the queer community, and the queer celebrations continue the tradition of honoring community members who have passed. Often, LGBTQ Nepalis are rejected by their families, leaving no one else to perform funeral rites or honor them in the festival.

ā€œEven though times have changed, many LGBTQIA+ members still face abandonment from their families,ā€ says Blue Diamond Society president Pinky Gurung. ā€œMany still donā€™t have their families at their funerals. Only a few cases come to us, but there must be many others. This parade represents the commemoration of our deceased community members, so their souls can rest in peace.ā€

This year, the Blue Diamond Society was honoring three community members whose families gave no support for their funeral rites. 

ā€œIt breaks my heart to think that if I were to die, my family might not even come to see me one last time,ā€ one participant told The Kathmandu Post. ā€œBut events like these reassure me that at least someone will be there for usā€¦ If death is supposed to end all enmities, why does discrimination against our community persist even after weā€™re gone?ā€

The queer parade has thus sometimes been described as something quite different from Western Pride festivals, but still raises awareness of and helps to build up the queer community.

LGBT people in Nepal have seen their rights rapidly expand over the past two decades. The 2015 constitution includes an article barring discrimination based on sexual orientation, and trans and non-binary people are allowed to choses a ā€œthird genderā€ option on their government documents.

In November 2023, a Supreme Court order required the government to begin registering same-sex marriages. Though the court decision is not yet final, and these marriages do not yet have the full constellation of rights associated with heterosexual marriages, several same-sex couples have already taken advantage of the order to register their marriages.

JAPAN

TOKYO, Japan ā€“ Political turmoil in the governing Liberal Democratic Party could lead to an expansion of LGBT rights, if the right candidate is selected as the partyā€™s new leader and prime minister at a party presidential election September 27.

Current Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced he would not run for reelection on August 13, amid slumping poll numbers and approval ratings. Thatā€™s opened up the possibility of a new generation of leadership taking over after the 67-year-old Kishida leaves office.

LGBT rights have proven controversial among LDP leadership for a long time. Last year, Kishida unsuccessfully attempted to pass a comprehensive anti-discrimination bill in the run up to Japan hosting the G7 summit. In the end, the National Diet passed a watered-down bill to promote understanding of LGBT people that contained no new legal protections.

The LDP has also ignored calls to legalize same-sex marriage or civil unions at the federal level, even as 29 of Japanā€™s 47 prefectures and more than 400 municipalities have created same-sex partnership registries that do not offer the same legal rights as marriage.

There are already ten declared candidates to succeed Kishida, with more possibly entering the race. 

Among the declared candidates, only two have publicly supported same-sex marriage, according to a survey conducted by The Asahi Shimbun and the University of Tokyoā€™s Graduate School of Law and Politics: Taro Kono, current Minister for Digital Transformation; and Seiko Noda, current Minister-in-charge of Measures against Declining Birthrate.

The winner of the leadership race will be chosen in a two-round ballot system, in which LDP members of the Diet and dues-paying members of the LDP will both be able to vote, with only the top two contenders advancing to the second round. 

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Out in the World: LGBTQ+ news from Asia, Europe, and Canada

Japanese prime minister backs marriage equality without legislative commitment

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(Los Angeles Blade graphic)

JAPAN

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba told parliament that he believed legalizing same-sex marriage would make the country happier, although he has no plan to bring forward legislation to make that happen. 

The remarks, which were echoed days later by Justice Minister Keisuke Suzuki, have buoyed the spirits of equal marriage campaigners in the country, despite the governmentā€™s lack of commitment to progress on the issue.

ā€œCompared to other prime ministers, there is a big difference in Ishibaā€™s tone, his direction and his outlook and we are clearly getting to the stage for Japan to take the next step in the right direction,ā€ marriage equality activist Alexander Dmitrenko told This Week in Asia.

Equal marriage advocates have been waging a long battle through both the courts and the political process to win same-sex marriage rights.

Earlier this month, a third appellate court ruled that the ban on same-sex marriage violates the Japanese constitution, finding for the first time that the ban violates the constitutional right to the pursuit of happiness. Five out of six lower courts that have heard cases seeking equal marriage have also ruled for equality. 

Elections in October yielded a parliament that has a majority in favor of equal marriage, but is still dominated by the largely conservative Liberal Democratic Party, which has formed a minority government. 

While Ishiba says he will not bring forward same-sex marriage legislation and is instead following the progress of cases through the courts for now, it is possible that other parties may try to force the issue by introducing their own bills. 

ā€œThe Fukuoka court has clearly said that the Diet must legally permit same-sex marriages in the same way that marriages between people of opposite sexes are recognized,ā€ Takeharu Kato, one of the lawyers in the equal marriage case that was heard in Sapporo.Ā 

ā€œWe intend to continue to put strong pressure on the government to realize these changes because we are confident that we are nearly there.ā€

PHILIPPINES

Government workers in the Philippines now have the right to dress according to their gender identity, under a new official dress code issued by the Civil Service Commission issued this month.

The Philippinesā€™ civil service is known for its strict dress code for government workers. Workers are required to wear specific locally inspired outfits on Mondays and have been required to wear gender-conforming smart casual office attire on other workdays.

Under the revised dress code, workers are freer to dress according to their gender identity, and female workers are freer to wear either skirts or pants. The new code also relaxes standards relating to tattoos, facial piercings, and hairstyles, as long as they donā€™t interfere with the employeeā€™s work or with safety standards.

Gender-inclusive dress codes have become a much-debated topic in the Philippines in recent years, particularly in schools and universities, where uniforms and dress codes are often strongly enforced. A growing number of institutions have adopted gender-neutral dress codes and uniforms, while the national government says it is studying creating a standard for gender-inclusive dress codes to promote equality.

In another positive development for LGBTQ+ Filipinos, Globe Telecom, one of the countryā€™s largest mobile providers, has announced it will provide spousal benefits to same-sex partners of its employees.Ā 

Same-sex couples have no legal recognition in the Philippines. A civil union bill has been proposed several times in Congress, but has never advanced.

LITHUANIA

Lithuaniaā€™s constitutional court struck down an ā€œLGBT Propagandaā€ law this week, in a ruling that ought to bring relief to queer activists, publishers, and media outlets.

The ā€œLaw on the Protection of Minors,ā€ which was passed in 2009, banned the promotion of sexual relations or non-traditional conceptions of marriage or family, and drew sharp criticism from queer and civil liberties groups across Europe. It has been used in attempts to ban Vilnius Pride and led broadcasters to restrict advertisements for queer events and causes. 

In one landmark case, government censors used the law to restrict distribution of books of childrenā€™s stories due to its depiction of two same-sex couples. That decision was eventually appealed to the European Court of Human Rights, which found last year that the law violated the European Conventionā€™s guarantee of free expression.

Following the ruling, the previous government tried to repeal the law, but after its bill was voted down by parliament, the government filed this legal challenge to the constitutional court.

“Finally, we are normalizing the portrayal and life of our community, and I believe that LGBT youth will live a freer life,” Vladimiras Simonko, head of the Lithuanian Gay League, told LRT.

The court ruled that the lawā€™s anti-LGBTQ+ sections were unconstitutional restrictions on free expression, and were also too vague, as they did not define what kinds of information disparage family values.Ā Ā Ā 

The court also found that the implications of the law also unfairly narrow the definition of family found in the constitution.

Same-sex couples are not legally recognized in Lithuania. A bill to recognize civil unions was introduced by the previous government but awaits a final vote before it can be brought into law. The current government has not made passing the bill a priority.

CANADA

The province of New Brunswick has finally repealed regulations that required schools to notify parents and receive their consent if a student wishes to use a different name or pronoun in class, following a change in government in October.

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association, which had brought a legal challenge against the original policy, hailed the changes.

“We will discuss with our legal counsel and affected community groups, but expect that these changes will resolve legal issues in our constitutional challenge,” CCLA Director of Equality Programs Harini Sivalingam told CBC

The controversial regulation, known as Policy 713, was brought forward by the provinceā€™s previous Progressive Conservative Party government under former Premier Blaine Higgs. The regulation, which was introduced with limited consultation, led several of Higgsā€™ Cabinet ministers to resign in protest, and led the charge for provincial conservatives to campaign on anti-trans policies across Canada.

That strategy tended not to work for conservatives. In October, Higgsā€™s government was voted out in favor of the New Brunswick Liberals under Susan Holt, who had pledged to rescind the policy and ensure schools are welcoming for all LGBTQ+ students.

Similarly, Manitobaā€™s PC government was voted out in May after pledging to introduce a similar policy, and the British Columbia Conservatives lost their bid to replace the provinceā€™s NDP government in elections in October.

Still, Saskatchewanā€™s conservative government won reelection in October after introducing a similar policy earlier in the year, and Albertaā€™s conservative government just passed some of the most sweeping anti-transgender legislation Canada has seen in quite some time, including bans on classroom discussion of LGBTQ+ issues and participation in gender-appropriate sports.

Albertaā€™s anti-trans laws have already been challenged in court, but Saskatchewanā€™s government used a constitutional provision to prevent any legal challenges to its anti-trans laws for five years after an initial loss in court. 

But conservative governments in Ontario and Quebec, which had initially announced plans to introduce parent notification and consent rules for trans students, have yet to bring forward such policies or regulations.

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India

Harish Iyer continues his fight for LGBTQ+ rights in India

Long-time activist challenged sodomy law, continues marriage equality fight

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Harish Iyer (Photo courtesy of Harish Iyer)

The Indian LGBTQ+ community has long grappled with systemic neglect and societal prejudices, but significant victories like the striking down of Section 377 in 2018 and progressive Supreme Court verdicts have sparked hope. The fight for equality nevertheless remains arduous.

Amid this struggle, Harish Iyer has stood out as a beacon of courage, leading the movement with unwavering commitment and inspiring others to unapologetically embrace their identities.

Iyer, with a slight smile, noted to the Washington Blade during a recent interview that he was born into privilege. As the first male child in a patriarchal society, he explained this status came with inherent advantages.

Despite being born into privilege, Iyerā€™s early life was marked by profound challenges.

At just 7-years-old, he endured and survived a traumatic experience of rape, an event that deeply impacted his childhood. Iyer said he was gang raped at 11, four years after a relative sexually assaulted him. Iyer told the Blade these assaults impacted his confidence.

ā€œChildren go through sexual assault but they do not understand what is happening with them,” said Iyer. “Because they are children, they do not know its language. We do not call a penis a penis, we do not call a vagina, a vagina. I am 45 years of age, and I am talking about 1987 or 1988. People had very little understanding. When you do not have language to say what it is, you don’t say about it.”

Iyer said it is easier for girls to talk about sexual assault compared to boys, and as a result it was harder for him to speak out. He also struggled living in two worlds: One of morals and fairy tales, and another filled with hardships that he tried to mask.

“I opened up about my abuse at 18, after 11 years of continuous trauma,” said Iyer. “That was a different battle altogether. It was 1998-1999, a time with little awareness about child sexual abuse. When I told my parents, my mother understood that a child could be abused. My father, however, was not supportive and didnā€™t understand what was happening.”

Iyer shared how these events shaped his thoughts, values, and empathy for others facing similar challenges.

At 22, he began to understand his sexuality and came out to his parents as gay. At 40, he realized his gender could be fluid and has identified as gender-fluid since then.

Iyer shared his struggles in finding a job as an openly gay man in Indiaā€™s conservative society. He now works at Axis Bank, one of Indiaā€™s largest private banks. Iyer said joining the bank was a unique journey ā€” he did not have any other job opportunities at the time.

“I applied for every job on LinkedIn,” said Iyer. “Axis Bank responded. I thought Iā€™d be unhappy there, but I needed the money, so I applied. The process took a long time, but after several interviews, I was selected. During the interviews, I realized I could be myself. People saw me for who I truly am, and that worked wonders.”

“A week after joining, I started pushing boundaries,ā€ he added. ā€œThe chief human resources officer called me to her office. After our conversation, she held me close and said, ā€˜You should not have to fit in ā€” be who you are.ā€™ Within six months, we created a charter with policies for the LGBTQ community. It’s called ‘Come As You Are.'”

Iyer told the Blade that Chief Human Resources Officer Rajkamal Vempati was upset with him.

She felt he was free to express himself at the company, but wasnā€™t doing so. Iyer said Axis Bank has a dress code policy for employees ā€” one for men, one for women, and one for LGBTQ+ employees that allows them to choose the gender in which they want to present themselves.

He said he never expected to see such inclusion in a private sector bank in India before joining Axis Bank.

Iyer challenged sodomy law, continues to fight for marriage equality

On the third anniversary of the Supreme Courtā€™s 2018 ruling that struck down Section 377, the provision of the countryā€™s penal code that criminalized consensual same-sex sexual relations, Axis Bank in 2021 introduced policies and a charter for the LGBTQ+ community. Iyer, a long-time LGBTQ+ activist, continues to fight for equal rights.

He said Axis Bank became the first private bank in India to specifically welcome customers from the LGBTQ+ community.

“I was invited by the Social Justice Ministry for a consultation on LGBTQ+ rights,” noted Iyer. “During the discussion, it was proposed that all banks in India should open their doors to the LGBTQ+ community.”

Iyer was one of those who challenging Section 377.

The Supreme Court struck down the colonial-era law on Sept. 6, 2018. Iyer was also a plaintiff in Supriyo v. Union of India, which sought legal recognition of same-sex marriages in India. The Supreme court heard this case in 2023.

“Culture is an evolving phenomenon,” said Iyer. ā€œIt is not static. As culture evolves, we as people need to evolve. I would like to believe that my organization is always evolving and we will get better.”

Iyer told the Blade he doesnā€™t have a specific game plan for the future. As one of Axis Bankā€™s prominent figures, however, he feels LGBTQ+ people are equal citizens in India.

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Nepal

Two transgender women make history in Nepal

Honey Maharjan and Mouni Maharjan ran in local elections last month

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From left: Honey Maharjan and Mouni Maharjan (Photo courtesy of Honey Maharjan)

November 22 was a milestone for Nepal’s LGBTQ+ community.

Two transgender candidates, Honey Maharjan and Mouni Maharjan, members of the Peopleā€™s Socialist Party-Nepal, ran in local elections. It marked the first time that trans people ran for office in the country.

Honey Maharjan ran for mayor in Kirtipur, a municipality outside Kathmandu, the Nepalese capital. Mouni Maharjan ran to become a ward chair in the same municipality. Although both candidates lost the election; experts, and activists consider their participation a significant milestone for LGBTQ+ representation in Nepalese politics.

Honey Maharjan, 44, is a former tour guide who faced discrimination because she is a trans woman. Maharjan nevertheless became a vocal advocate for LGBTQ+ rights.

Mouni Maharjan, 29, advocates for local infrastructure and LGBTQ+-inclusive education. Her campaign focused on introducing an LGBTQ+-inclusive curriculum in schools and creating employment opportunities for marginalized groups.

The Supreme Court in 2007 ruled the government must legally recognize a third gender. Six years later, in 2013, Nepal hosted its first-ever Pride parade, signaling growing visibility and acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community. The countryā€™s new constitution, which ensures equal rights for LGBTQ+ people and all other Nepalese citizens, took effect in 2015.

The Supreme Court in 2018 issued a ruling that expanded protections for LGBTQ+ people in marriage, inheritance, social recognition, and other areas.

Sunil Babu Pant, founder of the Blue Diamond Society, a Nepalese LGBTQ+ rights group, in 2017 became the first openly gay person elected to parliament. Nepal since 2020 has allowed trans people to legally change their gender in official documents without surgery.

A study that UN Women and the Blue Diamond Society published in June 2023 found 81 percent of LGBTQ+ people in Nepal have faced physical violence, discrimination, and verbal abuse. Traditional societal norms and a lack of awareness make this situation worse.

Nepal is seen as a leader in LGBTQ+ rights in South Asia in terms of legal protections and a debate over marriage rights for same-sex couples. A large gap remains between policies and their implementation.

Political representation of LGBTQ+ people remains low.

Pant left office in 2023. There are currently no openly LGBTQ+ people in parliament or in the countryā€™s policy-making policies.

During their campaign in Kirtipur, Honey Maharjan and Mouni Maharjan outlined key promises. They pledged to promote LGBTQ+ inclusion, especially in politics, and vowed to fight discrimination in education, healthcare, and employment.

Their campaigns also focused on ensuring equal rights and opportunities for marginalized groups. Honey Maharjan and Mouni Maharjan promised to raise awareness about LGBTQ+ issues to reduce stigma and discrimination in society.

Honey Maharjan told the Washington Blade said she was happy about running for office, and noted her family and friends supported her.

“Since Kirtipur has a large LGBTQ community still they did not come out to support me,” she said. “Nepal has other political parties like Congress, Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Center) and many others, we did not had budget like theirs, so it was also our struggle. It is also challenging for us as people are not supporting us for what we are trying to do. They are supporting only prominent political parties in Nepal. So, these are our challenges as a transgender political candidate in Nepal.”

Honey Maharjan told the Blade she would have worked to provide education, health care, and better roads if she were elected.

“I did not win, so I am a little sad this time,” she said. “But I am happy that the media has covered my campaign, so I am grateful to all journalists.”

“Every community member needs to be inspired because we are not alone and we need to think that we have a large number of community members,ā€ added Honey Maharjan. ā€œIf we do not come out, there will be difficulty, it’s our right.ā€

She also dismissed the idea that many trans people are sex workers.

ā€œMany people are working in different sectors. I would request everyone to come out and support the transgender candidate in the next election,ā€ said Honey Maharjan. ā€œElections are important because it creates awareness about the candidate otherwise everyone would think that transgender community is engaged in sex work only that is not true.”

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Ghana

Ghanaian Supreme Court dismisses challenges to anti-LGBTQ+ bill

Measure would further criminalize homosexuality, penalize allyship

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Ghanaian flag (Public domain photo by Jorono from Pixabay)

The Ghanaian Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed challenges to a bill that would further criminalize LGBTQ+ people and penalize allyship.

Lawmakers on Feb. 28 approved the Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill. Two lawyers, Amanda Odoi and Richard Sky, challenged it.

Outgoing President Nana Akufo-Addo had previously said he would not sign the bill into law until the Supreme Court issued its ruling. His successor, President-elect John Dramani Mahama, will take office on Jan. 7.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Dec. 10 honored Ebenezer Peegah, executive director of Rightify Ghana, a Ghanaian LGBTQ+ advocacy group, and six other human rights activists from around the world during a ceremony at the State Department.

Blinken noted the pending Supreme Court ruling ā€” and discrimination and violence that LGBTQ+ Ghanaians continue to face ā€” before he presented Peegah with the Secretary of Stateā€™s Human Rights Defender Award.

“In Ghana, vigilante groups use social media platforms to organize mobs to attack LGBTQI+ people, as well as to entrap, to blackmail, to harass them,ā€ said Blinken. ā€œAs these attacks increase, Ghanaā€™s Supreme Court is considering legislation that would criminalize people for identifying as LGBTQI+, as well as threaten Ghanaiansā€™ constitutionally protected freedoms of speech, press, and assembly.”  

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Kenya

Man convicted of killing Kenyan activist, sentenced to 50 years in prison

Edwin Chilobaā€™s partner murdered him in Eldoret on New Yearā€™s Day in 2023

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Edwin Chiloba (Photos courtesy of Edwin Chiloba's Instagram page)

Kenyan queer rights organizations have welcomed the sentencing of a freelance photographer to 50 years in prison for murdering prominent LGBTQ+ activist and fashion designer Edwin Chiloba nearly two years ago

Justice Reuben Nyakundi on Monday sentenced Jacktone Odhiambo, 25, Chilobaā€™s partner, after the Eldoret High Court in western Kenya two weeks ago found him guilty of murder.

The 2-year trial, which comprised evidence from 23 witnesses and DNA tests the prosecution presented that placed him at the scene of the crime on New Yearā€™s Day in 2023. Chiloba had disappeared and his body was found stuffed in a metal box that had been dumped along the side of a road. 

The court was told that Chiloba and Odhiambo were last seen together at Tamasha Club in Eldoret on the night of Dec. 31, 2022, only for the deceasedā€™s decomposing body to be discovered three days later. His brutal murder sent shockwaves through the LGBTQ+ community in Kenya and attracted both local and international condemnation and calls for the conviction of perpetrators.

Nyakundi in his sentencing ruling noted the prosecution provided evidence beyond a reasonable doubt and described the brutal murder of Chiloba, 25, as ā€œpremeditated, malicious, and aggravated homicide.ā€

ā€œThe footprints of the murder are all traceable to the accused (Odhiambo),ā€ Nyakundi said.

The judge noted Odhiambo showed no respect for the sanctity of life and Chilobaā€™s brutal killing left a void that cannot be filled.

Odhiambo became the prime suspect after three other accused people were freed due to a lack of evidence linking them to the murder.    

Johansen Oduor, the government pathologist who conducted Chiloba’s autopsy, told the court during the trial that the victim had been smothered to death using six pairs of socks stuffed into his mouth and his face was wrapped with a piece of denim.    

Despite overwhelming evidence linking Odhiambo to the murder, the court noted the accused did not show any remorse for his actions during the trial and described him as a ā€œvengeful person.ā€ This lack of remorse influenced the severity of his 50-year sentence, even though he fell and wailed after the judge sentenced him.

ā€œThe accused deserves the death penalty, which is not implemented in Kenya,ā€ Nyakundi ruled.

Kenyaā€™s Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions acknowledged the judgeā€™s verdict, noting the death sentence ā€œwould have been unnecessaryā€ because the country has not executed anyone on death row since 1987. The death penalty, however, has not been abolished from Kenyan criminal laws for offenses like murder, robbery with violence, treason, mutiny, and other crimes. 

There have been calls by human rights groups, such as the International Commission for Jurists-Kenya, for Kenya to abolish the death penalty. A bill in parliament would repeal the death penalty.

Additionally, Nyakundi could not sentence Odhiambo to life in prison, which the ODPP also noted as ā€œundesirableā€ because of the uncertainty surrounding offences that constitute a death sentence.  

The National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission in response to Odhiambo’s sentencing said it marks a significant step toward justice for Chiloba, his family, and all LGBTQ+ people in Kenya, Africa, and around the world.

ā€œThis verdict marks a long-awaited moment of accountability, offering a glimmer of justice for Edwin and a reminder that no act of violence against any LGBTQ+ resident of Kenya will go unchallenged or unchecked,ā€ NGLHRC stated.

NGLHRC also remembered Chiloba as a fondly celebrated, vibrant young queer activist, and budding fashion model whose promising future was robbed from him. NGLHRC added his murder also sent a chilling message of fear and injustice to marginalized queer Kenyans.  

ā€œWe continue to call on the Kenyan government, law enforcement agencies, and the judiciary to strengthen their commitment to addressing violence against LGBTQ+ residents of Kenya as espoused and guided by Resolution 275 of the African Charter on Human and People Rights,ā€ NGLHRC stated.

The Initiative for Equality and Non-Discrimination, a local queer rights group, acknowledged the courtā€™s 50-year sentence for Odhiambo ā€œdeemed appropriate for the gravity of the offense.ā€ INEND also applauded NGLHRC and other queer organizations for ā€œpursuing justice for our sibling Chilobaā€ in the corridors of justice without relenting.

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The Vatican

LGBTQ+ pilgrimage to take place during Catholic Churchā€™s 2025 Jubilee

Event not ā€˜sponsored or organized byā€™ the Vatican

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Pope Francis. A group of LGBTQ Christians in Italy has said the Vatican has approved its request to make a pilgrimage during the Catholic Churchā€™s 2025 Jubilee. (Photo by palinchak via Bigstock)

A group of LGBTQ+ Christians in Italy has said the Vatican has approved its request to make a pilgrimage during the Catholic Churchā€™s 2025 Jubilee.

The National Catholic Register on Dec. 11 reported La Tenda di Gionata (Jonathanā€™s Tent) ā€” an Italian Christian group that helps ā€œLGBT people and their families feel welcome in their churchā€ ā€” asked members to ā€œsave the dateā€ of Sept. 6, 2025, and invited ā€œall associations and groups dedicated to supporting LGBT+ individuals and their families to join us as we officially cross the Holy Door of the Jubilee at St. Peterā€™s Basilicaā€ at 3 p.m.

The National Catholic Register notes the pilgrims have also been invited to a Mass at the Jesuit Church of the GesĆ¹ that Msgr. Francesco Savino, vice president of the Italian Episcopal Conference, will celebrate.

Church Jubilees take place every 25 years.

Jubilee 2025 officially begins on Christmas Eve.

Jubilee spokesperson Agnese Palmucci confirmed to the National Catholic Register that La Tenda di Gionataā€™s proposed pilgrimage has been ā€œincluded in the general calendar as a pilgrimage, along with all the other pilgrimages that other dioceses will make,ā€ but noted it is ā€œnot a Jubilee event sponsored or organized by us.ā€ 

ā€œIt is a pilgrimage organized by this association which, like the other dioceses, bodies and associations, will make the pilgrimage as they wish,ā€ said Palmucci.

Francis DeBernardo, executive director of New Ways Ministry, a Maryland-based LGBTQ+ Catholic organization, on Dec. 10 noted he traveled to Rome in 2000, the last Jubilee year, and spoke at the first WorldPride that took place that summer.

ā€œOne of the things I remember most about that time was the anger expressed by the Vatican and the pope himself that World Pride was taking place in Rome during the Jubilee year,ā€ wrote DeBernardo on New Ways Ministryā€™s website. ā€œPerhaps particularly galling to John Paul II was that the pride event was taking place in the first week of July, which was the same week that pilgrims from the popeā€™s native Poland were scheduled to flood the city. And indeed, everywhere you looked you saw people with bright red neckerchiefs, a symbol of Polish heritage.ā€

DeBenardo noted the ā€œmood inā€ Rome ā€œwas incredibly tense.ā€

ā€œVatican anti-gay rhetoric had fueled anti-gay sentiment beyond the Catholic Church, and many right-wing Italian political groups were denouncing World Pride, which was to culminate in a march from the Porta San Paolo to the Colosseum,ā€ he wrote. ā€œAnti-gay messages were plastered all over the city buildings. One message in particular remains strong in my memory: ā€˜Gay al Colosseo? SƬ, con i leoni.ā€™ (Translation: ā€˜Gays at the Colosseum? Yes, with lions.ā€™)ā€

DeBenardo wrote the inclusion of an LGBTQ+ pilgrimage during the 2025 Jubilee ā€œtouched my heart.ā€

ā€œWhile 2025ā€™s event may seem like a small step, when compared with how the Vatican reacted to the presence of gay people in Rome during 2000, we can see what a sea change has taken place in terms of responding to LGBTQ+ people,ā€ he said.

The Vaticanā€™s tone towards LGBTQ+ and intersex issues has softened since Pope Francis assumed the papacy in 2013.

Francis publicly backs civil unions for same-sex couples, and has described laws that criminalize homosexuality as ā€œunjust.ā€ 

He met with two African LGBTQ activists ā€” Clare Byarugaba of Chapter Four Uganda and Rightify Ghana Director Ebenezer Peegah ā€” at the Vatican on Aug. 14. Sister Jeannine Gramick, one of the co-founders of New Ways Ministry, organized a meeting between Francis and a group of transgender and intersex Catholics and LGBTQ+ allies that took place at the pontiffā€™s official residence on Oct. 12.

Francis during a 2023 interview with an Argentine newspaper described gender ideology as ā€œone of the most dangerous ideological colonizationsā€ in the world because ā€œit blurs differences and the value of men and women.ā€ A declaration the Vaticanā€™s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith released in March with Francisā€™s approval condemned gender-affirming surgeries and ā€œgender theory.ā€

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World

Out in the World: LGBTQ+ news from Canada, Asia, and Europe

Another Japanese court has ruled the countryā€™s same-sex marriage ban is unconstitutional

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(Los Angeles Blade graphic)

CANADA

The mayor of Emo, Ontario, had his bank account garnished after he announced he would refuse to pay court-ordered damages of $5,000 to a local Pride organization. 

The drama started in 2020 when the small town of 5,000 people about 1,000 miles northwest of Toronto on the border with Minnesota refused a request by Borderlands Pride to issue a proclamation declaring June Pride Month in the town and fly a rainbow flag for a week. 

The town council voted down the request in an acrimonious debate in which now 76-year-old Mayor Harold McQuaker argued that flying the Pride flag was unfair because thereā€™s no flag for ā€œthe other side.ā€ Borderlands Pride then presented a petition asking the council to reconsider their request, but the council was unmoved. 

Four years later, the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal finally issued a ruling in the case, ordering the town to pay Borderlands Pride C$10,000 (approximately $7,000) and McQuaker to pay C$5,000 (approximately $3,500) and take the provinceā€™s ā€œHuman Rights 101ā€ one-day course. 

McQuaker later told reporters that he would refuse to pay the judgement against him. That gave Borderlands Pride the ability to get a court order for garnishment of his bank account for the fine. 

ā€œSure, sex is great, but have you ever garnished your mayorā€™s bank account after he publicly refused to comply with a Tribunalā€™s order to pay damages?ā€ Borderlands Pride posted on their Facebook account.

Emo Town Council has not yet announced if it will pay its portion of the judgment. 

The case has drawn attention from right-wing and far-right news outlets around the world, many of which are working overtime to paint McQuaker as a mild-mannered great-grandfather who is not at all homophobic.

But Borderlands Pride pushed back against that narrative with receipts. In another post on Facebook, the group shared letters McQuaker had published in newspapers going back nearly 20 years, when same-sex marriage was legalized in Canada. 

ā€œIsnā€™t it funny we have all kinds of money to spend on same-sex crap and gun control, both of which will hurt our great nation,ā€ McQuaker wrote in one letter.

ā€œIf a free vote had been allowed instead of party leaders forcing their MPs to their way, Mr. Harper would have defeated homosexual marriage legislation,ā€ he wrote in another.

Five separate fundraisers on GiveSendGo and GoFundMe have raised around $28,000 for McQuaker and Emoā€™s legal defense, although none of these fundraisers appear to be directly linked to either.

JAPAN

The Fukuoka High Court ruled that Japanā€™s ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, in the latest court victory for couples seeking equal marriage rights in the country.

The ruling on Dec. 13 was the third appellate-level ruling to find the ban unconstitutional, following rulings earlier this year from the Tokyo and Sapporo High Courts. It was also the first ruling to find the ban violates the constitutionā€™s protection of the ā€œpursuit of happiness.ā€

ā€œ[The judge] understood our suffering, and I felt very reassured,ā€ one of the plaintiffs, Masahiro, told reporters.

Six lower courts have ruled on same-sex marriage since 2021, with all but one finding the ban to be unconstitutional. Many of these cases are still being heard at the appellate level, and the issue is likely to be taken up by the Japanese Supreme Court.

While the rulings do not have immediate effect in changing the law, they add pressure on legislators to address the issue. 

A report from Mainichi Shinbum suggests that there is now a majority in Parliament in favor same-sex marriage, following elections in October. Still, the Liberal Democratic Party, which leads the government, is largely opposed to equal marriage. 

POLAND

QueerMuzeum, the first museum dedicated to the history of Polandā€™s LGBTQ+ community, opened in Warsaw this month, the first such museum in a post-communist country in Europe.

The new museum is operated by the Lambda Warsaw Association, the oldest operating Polish LGBTQ+ organization, and it has more than 150 artefacts on display, including items dating back to the 16th century.

ā€œWe are on Marszałkowska Street, in the heart of Warsaw,ā€ said Miłosz PrzepiĆ³rkowski, Lambda’s president. ā€œThis sends a message to politicians: ā€˜Look, we are opening the fifth queer museum in the world in a country with the worst legal situation for queer people in the EU.ā€™ā€ā 

QueerMuzeum is also a way to bring Lambdaā€™s aid and advocacy work into the public eye, PrzepiĆ³rkowski says. 

The organization has more than 100,000 artifacts in its collection, including letters, photographs, and early activist materials. Preserving these materials has been challenging, as much of the records of Poland’s LGBTQ+ community have been private or discarded.Ā 

Key figures from Polandā€™s queer activist circles during the communist era in the 1980s were on hand for the opening ceremony, and had donated important personal materials to the museum. 

Ryszard Kisiel donated a decades-old safe-sex pamphlet, while Andrzej Selerowicz donated a photograph of himself with his partner that is 45 years old. 

LGBTQ+ rights remain a polarizing topic in Poland more than a year after a center-left coalition was elected to replace a far-right government. The new government has struggled to pass a long-promised civil union bill and update hate speech laws to protect LGBTQ+ people, amid conflicts among more conservative coalition partners.

UNITED KINGDOM

The UK government has announced that it is indefinitely prohibiting the prescription of puberty blockers for use with transgender children, Health Secretary Wes Streeting announced on Dec 11.

The ban applies across the UK and was put in place following consultations with the devolved governments of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

It comes following the much-disputed Cass Review on gender treatment in the UK, which had recommended new restrictions on puberty blockers. Earlier this year, the previous Conservative government brought in emergency legislation to ban puberty blockers. Streetingā€™s announcement makes that ban indefinite, with the government saying it will review the legislation in 2027.

The ban applies to new patients only; patients already receiving puberty blockers as a form of care can continue to receive it.

Streeting says there is a plan to begin a clinical trial on puberty blockers next year, which would help ā€œestablish a clear evidence base for the use of this medicine.ā€

But trans activists rejected the governmentā€™s framing of the ban, as they have much of the findings of the Cass Review.

ā€œThe government is entirely disregarding the voices of trans youth, who made clear their deep opposition to the restriction of private prescriptions for puberty blockers during consultation,ā€ Laura Stoner, the chief executive of the trans rights group Mermaids, told the Guardian.

Trans rights have become a notably polarizing issue in the UK over the last several years, as ā€œHarry Potterā€ author JK Rowling has become one of the worldā€™s most vocal critics of trans people, and successive UK governments have sought to weaken protections for trans people and restrict access to gender care or to womenā€™s spaces, often in the name of womenā€™s rights.

Other British stars like Daniel Radcliffe and David Tennant have been notable allies for trans people.

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Ghana

Activists: Ghanaian presidential election results will not improve LGBTQ+ rights

Supreme Court on Dec. 18 to rule on anti-LGBTQ+ law

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Ghanaian President-elect John Dramani Mahama (Photo via John Dramani Mahama Official Instagram)

Former Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama from the opposition National Democratic Congress has won Saturday’s general elections, defeating current Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia of the New Patriotic Party.

The NDC before the election had pledged its support for the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, which would further criminalize LGBTQ+ people and those who support them.

The bill, which MPs approved in February, has yet to be signed by outgoing President Nana Akufo-Addo because of a ruling the Supreme Court is expected to issue on Dec. 18. Richard Dela Sky, a journalist and private lawyer, challenged the law in March.

The NDC, NPP and other parties used recognition of LGBTQ+ rights to persuade Ghanaians to vote for them. Mahama during a BBC interview last week said LGBTQ+ rights are against African culture and religious doctrine.

Berinyuy Hans Burinyuy, LGBT+ Rights Ghana’s director for communications, said homophobic attacks and public demonstrations increased during the campaign.

“The passage of the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill into law will institutionalize State-sanctioned discrimination and violence against LGBTQ+ individuals, leaving little to no legal recourse for those affected,ā€ said Burinyuy. ā€œThe climate of fear and uncertainty that has gripped Ghanaā€™s LGBTQ+ community cannot be overstated.”

ā€œWhile the political atmosphere remains hostile, there is still hope that the Supreme Court will rule in favor of human rights and constitutional protections,ā€ added Burinyuy. ā€œShould the court strike down the bill, it will be a significant victory for LGBTQ+ rights and a blow to the growing wave of homophobia that has swept the country.”

Awo Dufie, an intersex person and cross-dresser, said the LGBTQ+ community is going to be at increased risk under the NDC-led government because it supports anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric.

“Mahama supported the anti-LGBT bill as well as the arrest and prosecution of human rights defenders,ā€ noted Dufie. ā€œPoliticizing queer rights as a distraction actually started under Atta Mills (the-late president of Ghana) and the NDC government in 2011, and it was an NDC MP (Sam George) who furthered this in 2021 vocalizing support for the anti-LGBT bill.”

Dufie added Ghanaians ā€œvoted out a worse corrupt government who had no respect for human rights, and brought in a former corrupt president who has also promised to not respect human rights.”

Activism Ghana, another LGBTQ+ rights group, said the attacks against LGBTQ+ Ghanaians are a series of political ploys designed to win votes as opposed to accelerating development.

“Hate the gays, win the votes, and when they win and fail to deliver development and prosperity, they scapegoat the gays to take away attention from real problems,” said Activism Ghana.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday congratulated Mahamaā€™s election, and noted Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang will become the countryā€™s first female vice president.

ā€œThe United States commends the Electoral Commission, its hundreds of thousands of poll workers, civil society, and the countryā€™s security forces, who helped ensure a peaceful and transparent process,ā€ said Blinken in a statement. ā€œWe also applaud Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia for his gracious acceptance of the results.ā€

Mahamaā€™s inauguration will take place on Jan. 7.

Advocacy groups continue to urge Akufo-Addo to veto the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill or amend sections that further criminalize LGBTQ+ people and allies.

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Colombia

Claudia LĆ³pez mum on whether she will run for president of Colombia

LGBTQ+ Victory Institute honored former BogotĆ” mayor in D.C.

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Former BogotĆ” Mayor Claudia LĆ³pez, left, with Minneapolis City Councilwoman Andrea Jenkins at the LGBTQ+ Victory Institute's International LGBTQ Leaders Conference in D.C. on Dec. 8, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

Former BogotĆ” Mayor Claudia LĆ³pez did not specifically discuss the growing speculation over whether she will run for president of Colombia in 2026 when she spoke at Saturday’s LGBTQ+ Victory Institute’s Annual International LGBTQ Leaders Conference in D.C., or with the Washington Blade.

ā€œIn a week I am going to return to Colombia and Iā€™m coming back with a very, very punctual task,ā€ she said in a speech she gave after the Victory Institute inducted her into its LGBTQ+ Political Hall of Fame at the JW Marriott. ā€œDemocracy in the world in general needs emotional reconnection.ā€

LĆ³pez, 54, was a student protest movement leader, journalist, and political scientist before she entered politics.

She returned to Colombia in 2013 after she earned her Ph.D in political science at Columbia University.

In her speech, LĆ³pez said Juan Francisco ā€œKikoā€ Gomez, a former governor of La GuajĆ­ra Department in northern Colombia, threatened to assassinate her because she wrote about his ties to criminal gangs. A BogotĆ” judge in 2017 convicted GĆ³mez of ordering members of a paramilitary group to kill former Barrancas Mayor Yandra Brito, her husband and bodyguard, sentencing him to 55 years in prison.

LĆ³pez in 2014 returned to Colombia and ran for the countryā€™s Senate as a member of the center-left Green Alliance party after she recovered from breast cancer. LĆ³pez won after a 10-week campaign that cost $80,000.

ā€œI was the only woman, the only LGBTQ member of my caucus,ā€ she said in her speech. ā€œOf course I had the honor, but also the responsibility to represent them particularly well, [and] of course all the citizens who trust me and all the citizens of Colombia.”

“Once you are elected, you are elected to represent equally and faithfully all of the people, not only your own people,ā€ added LĆ³pez.

In 2018, LĆ³pez was her partyā€™s candidate to succeed then-President Juan Manuel Santos when he left office. LĆ³pez in 2019 became the first woman and first lesbian elected mayor of BogotĆ”, the Colombian capital and the countryā€™s largest city.

ā€œThis of course speaks incredibly well of my city,ā€ she said in her speech.

LĆ³pez took office on Jan. 1, 2020, less than a month after she married her wife, Colombian Sen. AngĆ©lica Lozano. (LĆ³pez was not out when she was elected to the Senate.) Lozano was with LĆ³pez at the Victory Institute conference.

LĆ³pezā€™s term ended on Dec. 31, 2023. She will return to Colombia once her Advanced Leadership Fellowship at Harvard University ends this month.

ā€œI ended my mayorship,ā€ LĆ³pez told the Blade. ā€œIt has been, of course, the honor of my life to be the first female mayor of my city. It was an absolutely beautiful job, but very challenging.ā€

ā€œI needed a year of rest, of relaxation, and I was fortunate to receive a Harvard scholarship this year,ā€ she added.

LĆ³pez during the interview called for an end to polarization and reiterated her support for democracy.

ā€œWe need to listen to each other again, we need to have a coffee with each other again, we need to touch each otherā€™s skin,ā€ she said.

LĆ³pez said parties, candidates, and their political coalitions in Colombia and around the world need to ā€œlisten, reconnect, and organize with peopleā€ at the grassroots level. LĆ³pez also told the Blade there is a ā€œglobal crisis of democracy.ā€

ā€œEach country has its own contexts and challenges, but it seems to me that there is a common element there,ā€ she said.

ā€œSo, I return to Colombia rested, grateful after a year of reflection, with proposals in mind, but determined to dedicate time to what I consider the most important work for democracy at this time, which is to reconnect from the grassroots,” added LĆ³pez.

‘I know what love and education can do for any person’

LĆ³pez took office less than three months before the COVID-19 pandemic began.

ā€œWe were full of hope, ready to go to offer a new social and environmental contract for BogotĆ” society for the 21st century,ā€ she said. ā€œBut a couple of (months) after being sworn into office, the pandemic of COVID-19 came.ā€

Unemployment and poverty rates soared in BogotĆ” during the pandemic, and the cityā€™s residents had less access to health care and other basic services.

LĆ³pez noted her administration in response to the pandemic offered scholarships to young people, supported businesses, and increased funding of the cityā€™s social services. LĆ³pez also said her administration implemented Latin Americaā€™s first city-based care system for female care givers, and build three more LGBTQ+ community centers in poor and working-class neighborhoods.

ā€œI know what love and education can do for any person,ā€ she said.

Members of Caribe Afirmativo, a Colombian LGBTQ+ rights group, participate in a Pride march in BogotĆ”, Colombia, in 2022. (Photo courtesy of Caribe Afirmativo)

The U.N. Refugee Agency says upwards of three million Venezuelans are now in Colombia.

Then-Colombian President IvĆ”n Duque in February 2021 announced Venezuelan migrants who register with the countryā€™s government will be legally recognized.

Former BogotĆ” Mayor Gustavo Petro, a former senator who was once a member of the M-19 guerrilla movement that disbanded in the 1990s, succeeded Duque as president on Aug. 7, 2022. Colombia and Venezuela restored diplomatic ties less than a month later.

Venezuelaā€™s National Electoral Council on July 28 declared President NicolĆ”s Maduro the winner of the countryā€™s disputed presidential election. Tamara AdriĆ”n, the countryā€™s first transgender congresswoman who ran in the presidential primary earlier this year, are among those who denounced voting irregularities.

WPLG, a South Florida television station on March 16, 2021, reported LĆ³pez sparked controversy after she told reporters there have been ā€œsome very violent acts from Venezuelans.ā€

ā€œFirst they murder, and then they steal,ā€ she said. ā€œWe need guarantees for Colombians.ā€

LĆ³pez made the comments after a Venezuelan migrant murdered a Colombian police officer in BogotĆ”.

ā€œThe problem is not migration from Venezuela,ā€ LĆ³pez told the Blade in response to a question about Venezuela. ā€œThe problem is authoritarianism in Venezuela and you have to keep the focus on it.ā€

ā€œThe problem is what it is: It is not the migrants, it is in Maduro, it is in the dictatorship, it is in authoritarianism.ā€

(washington blade video by michael k. lavers)

More than 200,000 people died in the war between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia that began in 1962.

Santos and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia Commander Rodrigo ā€œTimochenkoā€ LondoƱo on Sept 26, 2016, signed an LGBTQ-inclusive peace agreement. Colombian voters a few days later narrowly rejected it a referendum that took place against the backdrop of anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric from religious and conservative groups.

Santos and LondoƱo less than two months later signed a second peace agreement, which also contains LGBTQ+-specific references.

LĆ³pez described herself as ā€œa person totally committed to the peace process.ā€ She added, however, she has ā€œa bit of a bad taste in my mouth now that I look back.ā€

ā€œThe peace process with the FARC, which was to demobilize the FARC, period, certainly tried to have and had a gender focus, of course a diversity focus, a focus on human rights for all victims, and certainly (the) many LGBT victims who had been victims of FARC recruitment, abuse, stigmatization, etc.,ā€ LĆ³pez told the Blade. ā€œSo, in some sense, or in many senses, having that gender and diversity perspective was a way of recognizing the victims of our community.”

She noted opponents lied about the LGBTQ+-specific provisions “to deceive and delegitimize the peace agreement.”

ā€œIt is not about making anything invisible, or even downplaying anything, but rather about being much more strategic in understanding that we do not want our flags and causes to be exposed in a way that ends up being a boomerang for our own community,ā€ LĆ³pez added. ā€œSo, I say that is why it is a disappointment, because I think it is a lesson. At least for me, it made me think and it makes me think, and I have said it openly since then, that we have to be much more careful and much more, above all, strategic, in how we raise our flags so that they really do not only have symbolic, but real advances and so that in no case do they become a boomerang against ourselves.ā€

‘I know how you feel’

LĆ³pez during the interview praised the recent elections of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, Uruguayan Vice President Beatriz ArgimĆ³n, and other women in Latin America. She also expressed sympathy with LGBTQ+ Americans who are concerned about the incoming Trump-Vance administration.

ā€œI know how you feel,ā€ said LĆ³pez in her speech. ā€œIā€™ve been there when we lost the peace referendum in 2016. Iā€™ve been there when three candidates who represented independent, new alternatives in Colombia, and policies were killed by mafia groups in 1990. Iā€™ve been there when a mafia cartel was able to fund and elect a president for all of us. Iā€™ve been there when paramilitary groups were able to support and elect another president in Colombia.ā€

ā€œI know how obscure and difficult and challenging and painful democratic times are, but we cannot (back) democracy only when we win,ā€ she added. ā€œItā€™s precisely when things are challenging, when we suffer defeats that are painful, that we need to attach to our democratic and humanistic values and principles.ā€

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Out in the World: LGBTQ+ news from Canada, Europe, and Asia

Lawmaker urges Hong Kong to ignore relationship recognition court ruling

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(Los Angeles Blade graphic)

CANADA

Transgender activists in the province of Alberta have filed the first of an expected series of lawsuits against a trio of anti-LGBTQ+ bills passed by the provincial legislature last week

The provinceā€™s United Conservative Party government passed the long-promised legislation which bars trans youth under 16 from accessing gender care, bans trans women and girls from womenā€™s sports, requires parental notification and consent if a student under 16 wishes to use a different name or pronoun, and requires parental notification and consent ahead of any discussion of sexual orientation, gender identity or sexuality in classrooms.

On Friday, Canadaā€™s largest LGBTQ+ advocacy group Egale filed a joint legal challenge with the Calgary-based trans support center Skipping Stone and five families against the medical care ban, as that bill came into effect immediately upon passage.

ā€œThe actions of the government of Alberta are unprecedented. Never before in Canada has a government prohibited access to gender affirming health care,ā€ says Kara Smyth, co-counsel in the case, in a press statement.

Egale says that the law violates the rights of trans people under Canadaā€™s Charter of Rights and Freedoms, including the right to security of the person, freedom from cruel and unusual treatment, and equality. 

It also says the law violates Albertaā€™s recently amended Bill of Rights, including the right to not be subjected to, or coerced into receiving, medical care, medical treatment, or a medical procedure without consent. This was recently added into provincial law as a sop to far-right conspiracy theorists around vaccines in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

ā€œThis government has acted directly counter to expert guidance and evidence, as well as the voices of Albertan families, and introduced policies that use fear and disinformation to target a small and vulnerable part of the community: 2SLGBTQI young people. All Albertan families and youth deserve the ability to access health care and participate fully in their communities,ā€ says Amelia Newbert, co-founder and managing director of Skipping Stone.

Even if the plaintiffs succeed in court, they may still lose, because Canadaā€™s Charter of Rights includes a clause that allows provincial governments to override fundamental rights. Thatā€™s what happened when a court in neighboring Saskatchewan ruled against a law requiring schools to out trans students to their parents.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has so far refused to say whether sheā€™ll invoke the ā€œnotwithstandingā€ clause to override a court decision if the province loses.

And the temperature for LGBTQ+ rights in Alberta keeps getting worse. Also last week, the town of Barrhaven passed a citizen-initiated referendum that bans Pride flags ā€” and all flags other than the Canadian, Albertan, or town flag ā€” from being raised or painted on municipal property. Thatā€™s going to require that the city remove a recently installed rainbow crosswalk.

Itā€™s the second town in Alberta to ban the Pride flags this year, after Westlock held a similar referendum in February.

ROMANIA

A scheduled second-round presidential election was cancelled by the Constitutional Court amid allegations that Russia was interfering to aid far-right nationalist Călin Georgescu against progressive reformer Elena Lasconi.

The unprecedented move was condemned by both candidates, who accused Romaniaā€™s establishment parties of trying to usurp the democratic process. 

Declassified intelligence reports released by the government assert that Georgescuā€™s campaign was supported by a Russian influence operation, which was largely played out through a massive TikTok campaign that raised his profile from obscurity to winning the first-round election on Nov. 24. 

Fresh elections will be called by the new parliament that was elected separately on Dec 1. In those elections, establishment parties lost ground ā€” and their parliamentary majority ā€” as three far-right ultranationalist parties made major gains.

Georgescu and the three parties supporting him have long been hostile to LGBTQ+ rights. Lasconiā€™s record on LGBTQ+ rights is mixed. Sheā€™s previously expressed opposition to same-sex marriage, but during the campaign said she would support civil union legislation and eventually would be open to equal marriage.Ā 

Regardless of who wins the election, it is unlikely Romaniaā€™s parliament will bring forward much pro-LGBTQ+ rights legislation.

LITHUANIA

A court in Lithuania has for the first time recognized a same-sex partner as a childā€™s parent, in a groundbreaking ruling in a country where same-sex couples and families have few legal rights.

The Vilnius District Court ruling came into effect on Friday, recognizing both women as the childā€™s parent, LRT English reports.

The couple at the center of the case are Equal Opportunities Ombudsperson Birutė Sabatauskaitė and her partner JÅ«ratė JuÅ”kaitė, director of the Lithuanian Center for Human Rights. JuÅ”kaitė will now be able to have her name listed as a parent on all of her daughterā€™s documents, giving her all the rights of a mother.

ā€œFrom today, our family feels safer. The Vilnius District Courtā€™s ruling that recognises me as the mother of our little girl has come into effect,ā€ JuÅ”kaitė posted on Facebook.

While the case does not set a legal precedent, it shows that the Lithuanian courts are open to same-sex couples in the interest of protecting family rights and childrenā€™s rights. 

ā€œFamily cases are very individual, but yes, it could certainly inspire and give hope to families who donā€™t fit into the traditional definition of a family,ā€ says Donatas Murauskas, who represented JuÅ”kaitė in court.

Same-sex couples are not generally afforded legal recognition or any of the rights that married heterosexual couples have in Lithuania. A bill to recognize civil partnerships awaits a final vote in the Lithuanian parliament, but the newly elected government, a coalition of Social Democrats and nationalists, has not agreed to put the bill in their program. 

CHINA

A Hong Kong lawmaker is calling on the city to ignore last yearā€™s Court of Final Appeal ruling ordering the government to recognize same-sex unions, and is urging the city to instead appeal to mainland China to overrule the court.

Under the ā€œOne Country, Two Systemsā€ form of government that Hong Kong has had since the end of the British colonial period in 1997, the city enjoys limited autonomy from Beijing. But China has the power to intervene on matters with ā€œpermanent, serious consequences.ā€

Lawmaker Junius Ho says that a series of Court of Final Appeal rulings that require the city to recognize same-sex couples and grant them equal access to public housing and inheritance rights are serious enough to warrant intervention from Beijing.

He made the comments at a forum hosted by a group he founded to fight the rulings, International Probono Legal Services Association Limited.

ā€œThe Court of Final Appeal [made these rulings] on so-called same-sex marriages under just one notion, equal rights. What equal rights? Diversity, inclusiveness and equality,ā€ Ho said. ā€œ[These] universal values cannot override the constitution.ā€

Last year, the Court of Final Appeal gave the city two years to establish a legal mechanism to recognize same-sex couples, but LGBTQ+ activists have been frustrated by the lack of legislative progress on the issue.

Even as same-sex couples have continued to win victories in court, queer people have noticed that space for free expression has shrunk as the government has cut funding for LGBTQ+ service organizations and it has become more risky to accept funding from foreign sources amid a broader crackdown from the mainland on Hong Kongā€™s democratic institutions.

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