Tag Archives: Transgender

Sexual + Gender Minorities

El Salvador News | LGBT

El Salvador toughens punishments for hate crimes against LGBT individuals
  • The country’s lower chamber approved changes that will see those convicted of identity-based homicide against LGBT individuals facing up to 50 years in prison.
  • The changes increase the maximum penalty for hate crimes–which also include racially, ethnically, and religiously based targeting–by 20 years.
  • Gender continues to lag behind other protected classes, however, with those convicted of homicides against women facing 20 to 30 years of imprisonment.

“We have made a lot of progress in the democracy (of the country). This is a significant step toward the recognition of rights in the LGBT community.”

Read the full story at teleSUR.

(Image Credit: EFE, via teleSUR)

Sexual + Gender Minorities

Italy News | LGBT

Venice mayor says no Pride parades for city during his tenure
  • Recently elected mayor Luigi Brugnaro was elected on a center-right ticket and has made his opposition to LGBT rights clear previously.
  • Rights group Arcigay, which hosts numerous Pride events throughout Italy, condemned the statement, having last hosted a parade in Venice just last year.
  • Brugnaro’s statement is the latest in anti-LGBT moves to come from his office, including a blanket ban on books featuring same-sex couples from Venice schools.

“There will never be a gay pride in my city. … Let them go and do it in Milan, or in front of their own homes.”

Read the full story at the Guardian.

Sexual + Gender Minorities

U.K. News & Research | LGBT

1 Comment
Report: 80% of largest U.K. companies lack trans-inclusive non-discrimination policies
  • LGBT network OUTstanding found that despite general statements of commitment to diversity, most FTSE 100 companies lack explicit policies on the books to protect trans employees from employment discrimination.
  • The report also found that just under half of the U.K.’s top companies lack specifically inclusive non-discrimination policies for LGB employees.
  • However, OUTstanding also reported that LGBT issues were the second-most discussed diversity topic, following gender inequality.

“From my own experience, I know that there are many enlightened CEOs who value diversity. In fact, 62% of our members say LGBT issues have been publicly discussed by their CEO. It’s vital that more businesses – including all those in the FTSE 100 – consider their attitude to LGBT inclusion as an asset worth reporting.”

Read the full story at HITC.

Sexual + Gender Minorities

Nepal News | Transgender

Nepal issues its first trans-friendly passport
  • Monica Shahi, a trans LGBT activist, was awarded the passport, which includes a third category for gender minorities.
  • The issuance follows the amendment of Nepal’s passport regulations earlier in the year.
  • Nepal joins Australia and New Zealand in designating a third gender option on passports.

“Today is an important day in my life and I hope the younger generation is encouraged by the move.”

Read the full story at Firstpost.

Other, Sexual + Gender Minorities

U.S. News | Transgender

California grants first gender reassignment surgery to trans inmate
  • Following extensive medical review and testimony, the state agreed to pay for the surgery for trans woman Shiloh Quine, who will be transferred after surgery to a women’s prison.
  • However, the decision did not resolve the question of whether such surgeries are constitutionally guaranteed for prisoners, including the 400 in California alone who are receiving hormonal treatments.
  • In April, another prisoner, Michelle Norsworthy, won a court order to undergo reassignment surgery but was paroled before the procedure was carried out.

“Sex reassignment surgery is medically necessary to prevent Ms. Quine from suffering significant illness or disability, and to alleviate severe pain caused by her gender dysphoria.”

Read the full story at the Los Angeles Times.

Sexual + Gender Minorities

Jamaica News | LGBT

1 Comment
Jamaica holds its first LGBT Pride celebration
  • Held in Kingston, the week-long celebration includes a flashmob, art exhibit and performances, and a dance party in the Jamaican capital.
  • The festival received the support of Kingston’s mayor and Jamaica’s minister of justice despite the continued presence of anti-sodomy laws on the books.
  • Jamaica Pride is a major step forward for a country widely known for its pervasive homophobia, including violence against gays and lesbians and abject homelessness among out gay youth.

“I think we will look back on this and see it as a turning point because many persons thought that it would never actually happen.”

Read the full AP story at the Star Tribune.

Sexual + Gender Minorities

Uganda News | LGBT

Uganda holds fourth-annual Pride festival amidst pervasive anti-LGBT sentiment
  • The invitation-only event includes film screenings, a cocktail party, and a low-profile parade, all held in secret locations disseminated through private networks.
  • Last year’s pride coincided with the overturning of the law condemning gays discovered by law enforcement to life imprisonment.
  • Despite the law’s overturning, Uganda continues to experience rampant anti-LGBT persecution, including media outings and violence at levels sufficient to warrant asylum in other countries.

Read the full story at the Guardian.

“The law is only part of it. … It doesn’t mean anything if you don’t have the people on your side. The biggest challenge is to get that neighbour, that shop keeper, that person working in the salon to support you.”

(Image Credit: Iain Statham/SIPA/REX Shutterstock, via The Guardian)

Sexual + Gender Minorities

Israel News | LGBT

Assailant stabs six at Jerusalem Pride
  • Yishai Schlissel, an ultra-Orthodox Jew, had been released from prison three weeks earlier for good behavior after having been imprisoned for stabbing three at 2005’s Jerusalem Pride.
  • Schlissel had released a threatening letter and railed against the celebration in an interview prior to the event, which is attended by thousands.
  • While politicians denounced the attack, attendees sharply criticized the police for the lack of security precautions given Schlissel’s release.

“We won’t allow a single excuse for violence of any kind. Jerusalem is a place for all, and we will continue to fight together with the Israel Police against all who attempt violence to harm another. … We will continue to support all groups and communities in Jerusalem and won’t be deterred by those who try perverse ways to prevent this.”

Read the full story at The Times of Israel.

(Image Credit: Screen capture/Channel 2, via The Times of Israel)

Sexual + Gender Minorities

U.S. News | Transgender Jews

Ritual baths pose difficult obstacle for trans individuals converting to Judaism in the U.S.
  • The last step in the conversion process, the mikvah requires submersion in water in the nude, which can be a source of anxiety for transgender converts.
  • Transgender and ally rabbis have been working together to compile a running list of transgender Jews willing to serve as witnesses for those undergoing mikvah.
  • The number of gender minorities seeking to convert has surprised some community members, but theologians note that Judaism has recognized individuals falling outside of the gender binary since its earliest times.

“The body is an area of particular vulnerability for transgender people, because so much of our identities is inextricably intertwined with the nuances of our physical appearance.”

Read the full Religious News Service story at The Huffington Post.

(Image Credit: Mayyim Hayyim, via The Huffington Post)

Sexual + Gender Minorities

Sweden News | Gender Identity

1 Comment
Sweden’s new gender-neutral pronoun makes its way to Facebook
  • “Hen,” the relatively new alternative to “hon” (she) and “han” (he) in Swedish, has been gaining steady momentum in the last decade as an alternative to explicit gender identification in speech and writing.
  • The Facebook inclusion comes as a part of Facebook’s push to include more identification options for those with non-binary gender identities.
  • The word appeared in the Swedish dictionary for the first time earlier in the year as evidence of common usage and official acceptance.

“Facebook is a hub for other social media which use your Facebook profile. The hope is that they will realize that they have to adapt. Facebook is such a central online space and we hope this will have a ripple effect.”

Read the full story at The Local.se.

Sexual + Gender Minorities

India News | LGBTQ

Inaugural flashmob draws crowds and attention to LGBTQ issues in New Delhi
  • Led by the queer collective Harmless Hugs, around two dozen youth created a flashmob performance in a major New Delhi commercial district in support of sexual and gender minorities.
  • Spending hours over weekends learning choreography, the group focused on using dance and other messaging to communicate acceptance and support of same-sex love and queer identities.
  • The event followed up on similar annual flashmobs organized in Mumbai.

“Through this dance, I hope the message reaches the government that if loving someone is a crime, then the whole world is a criminal.”

Read the full story at the Hindustan Times.

(Image Credit: Arun Sharma/Hindustan Times)

Sexual + Gender Minorities

U.S. News | LGBT

Texas Supreme Court rules Houston must repeal LGBT anti-discrimination ordinance or submit to popular referendum
  • The court overruled a state district judge who ruled that opponents of the ordinance’s passage failed to submit enough valid signatures to the city for a repeal referendum.
  • Houston’s mayor and city attorney overrode the city secretary’s sign-off on the petition, declaring many signatures invalid due to improper paperwork.
  • The city is expected to choose to submit the addition of sexual orientation and gender identity as locally protected classes to ballot, which observers expect to draw national attention and money to Houston’s local elections in November.

“You’re going to have money pouring in from all across the country on this issue because it’s extremely important. … We’re going to be looking at mayoral candidates, city council candidates that stand with us on this important issue. The eyes of the country are going to be looking at Houston.”

Read the full story at the Houston Chronicle.

(Image Credit: Cody Duty/Houston Chronicle)

Race + Color + Ethnicity, Sexual + Gender Minorities

U.S. News | Black Trans Women

Trans woman of color in killed in Florida, tenth in 2015’s increase in violence against trans individuals
  • India Clarke was found murdered in Tampa by blunt force trauma to the upper body.
  • India is the ninth trans woman of color and tenth trans person killed so far in 2015, which is consistent with a trend of year-over-year increases in violence rates experienced by the trans community.
  • Local police and media have persistently misgendered Clarke in reports and stated gender identity is not considered a factor in her death, instead focusing on Clarke’s history of sex work and drug activity.

“India Clarke’s death is a tragedy that is made worse by egregious misgendering by local police and media.”

Read the full story at BuzzFeed.

Sexual + Gender Minorities

U.S. News | LGB

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission rules existing civil rights law covers sexual orientation
  • The EEOC found that discrimination claims lodged by lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals against employers fall under sex discrimination, which is covered by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
  • The decision applies directly to federal employees but impacts nationwide employment security more broadly because the EEOC investigates discrimination claims from the private sector as well.
  • The development follows the commission’s 2014 ruling that gender identity was protected under Title VII, which the Justice Department joined later in the year.

“'[T]he question is not whether sexual orientation is explicitly listed in Title VII as a prohibited basis for employment actions. It is not,’ the commission found. Instead, the commission stated that the question is the same as in any other Title VII sex discrimination case: ‘whether the agency has “relied on sex-based considerations” or “take[n] gender into account” when taking the challenged employment action.’”

Read the full story at BuzzFeed.

(Image Credit: via BuzzFeed)

Sexual + Gender Minorities

Paraguay News | LGBT

Paraguayan LGBT activist becomes first to attend meeting with Pope Francis
  • Simón Cazal, executive director of advocacy organization Somosgay, was invited to attend the event that saw representatives of 1,600 organizations to see the Pope in Asunción.
  • He became the first professional advocate to meet publicly with the Pope, who has previously visited LGBT prisoners and had private meetings.
  • Cazal reported that the Pope spoke of dignity for all, in line with similar pronouncements he has made with regard to diversity in the Church.

“The local church insisted on talking about the family and other conservative issues. … He distanced himself from this discourse and highlighted diversity in its place. … The pope’s speech was very productive.”

Read the full story at the Washington Blade.

(Image Credit: Jeon Han, courtesy Wikimedia Commons; via the Washington Blade)