A Message from UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé

We are living in a time of rapid social change. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people are now reaching new frontiers and celebrating remarkable achievements. Despite this transformation, acts of discrimination and violence continue against the LGBTI community.

We cannot tolerate picking and choosing rights in a modern society—a society where diversity is celebrated; a society where everyone, no matter where they live or whom they love, is able to live in peace and security; a society where everyone can contribute to the health and well-being of their community. We can make this society a reality, but we will need global solidarity. We did this when we fought against apartheid—and we won!

As we observe the International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, I call on everyone to join the movement for social justice, equality and equity so that all people can live with respect and dignity. This is the future I commit to—this is the future I embrace. Watch his remarks here

Uganda: Hundreds gather for peaceful IDAHOT pride

Ugandan LGBT and sex worker communities gathered on Saturday (May 16) for their second annual peaceful Pride celebration, sponsored by the grassroots anti-HIV, pro-LGBT Youth on Rock Foundation.

The event was  scheduled to coincide with the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHOT). It brought together 240 Ugandan LGBT and sex workers from a variety of organizations for food, fun, games and entertainment on the shores of Lake Victoria.

“It was a huge sign of solidarity and togetherness. Let’s continue getting together as one community. With time, we will gain more visibility. And the more the visibility of the movement, the faster it will gain recognition, respect and dignity,” said event coordinator Frank Kamya. “Let’s not give up till our sexual and health rights are recognized, just like other rights.” Read More

South Korea: Support across sectors

The biggest IDAHOT festivity in South Korean history was held by 103 LGBTI, women’s, people with disabilities’, labor, human rights, and civil society organizations and 159 supporters. With the title “STOP HATRED and OPEN the SQUARE”, over 1000 people from all over the country celebrated IDAHOT at the Seoul Station Square. 

The organizers issued “Demands of the Joint Action for the 2015 International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia (IDAHOBiT)” and “Resolution of the Joint Action for the 2015 International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia (IDAHOBiT)”. Read More

Russia: Moscow police break-up rally, detain activists

Moscow policemen disrupted the Rainbow Flashmob dedicated to IDAHO, as reported by participants of the rally in their blogs on social networks. The event of launching colored balloons to the sky was to be held in the Yekaterininskiy Park, but police stopped the rally.

Activist Nikolai Kavkazskiy said “The police brought me to the bus and said that they were not detaining me, but forwarding me somewhere.” According to him, a total of 14 police officers detained LGBT activists, who planned to take part in the celebration. The detainees were taken to the police station, then policemen seized their documents and demanded to undergo fingerprinting.  Read More 

Russia: St. Petersburg’s IDAHO became a celebration of solidarity and pride

As over 350 people celebrated IDAHO in the center of St. Petersburg, the event became the largest LGBT rally as of today in Russia. Representatives of “Coming Out”, the Russian LGBT Network, Side by Side LGBT festival, the Youth Human Rights Group, and the Center for Development of Democracy and Human Rights spoke of the importance of solidarity within civil society, support of vulnerable groups, and the growing strength of the LGBT movement in the struggle for peace and human rights in Russia. Read More

Albania: Activists ask the Prime Minister to keep his promises

Hundreds of activists participated in the 4th Pride event riding bicycles in the capital city Tirana. They protested the domestic violence which LGBTI people face every day and they demanded that Prime Minister Edi Rama keep his promises to the community.

“We were only 12 people who challenged the discrimination and fear in 2012 and now we are hundreds”, said Kristi Pinderi, activist. He added: “We know we are thousand and we protest today also on behalf of those who cannot be here.  Missing is our Prime Minister Edi Rama and the leader of the opposition Lulzim Basha who know very well they give promises but they always fail to keep them”. Read More 

Turkey: On IDAHOT, LGBTI individuals face countless problems

In Turkey, as in many other regions of the world, prejudice and discrimination not only cause LGBTIs to be excluded from health programs and limit their access to health services but also deprive them of the most basic human rights. Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity show themselves in the forms of violence and hate murders. While numerous LGBTIs are massacred in hate murders, many others are forced into making their voices heard through suicide. In the meantime, the government, which refuses to recognize the very reality of LGBTIs, fails to take any legal precautions to protect LGBTIs whom it deprives of basic human rights.

Social Policies, Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation Studies Association (SPoD) has began its journey with the goal of drawing attention to the discrimination against LGBTIs and of producing stronger solutions to their problems. SPoD has compiled 24 problems commonly experienced by LGBTIs. Read More

Cuba: Havana Celebrates Gay Pride

LGBT Cubans marched alongside friends, family members and supporters down the streets of Havana, in the eighth Annual March against Homophobia and Transphobia.

Although over 1,000 participants may not sound as much in comparison to Pride parades celebrated in other parts of the world, the figure is quite large in a country where these kinds of public displays were out of the question until recently.

The National Center for Sex Education (CENESEX), directed by the daughter of President Raul Castro, Mariela Castro, has played a major role in this change. Mariela sponsored a religious blessing ceremony for gay couples in a dramatic sign of the changing face of a communist island that had a long history of persecuting homosexuals under her family’s rule. Read More

UK: Mother of bisexual asylum seeker will sue Britain if they send her son home to die

A Jamaican bisexual asylum seeker could be deported at any moment after being detained by the UK government. Orashia Edwards, 32, was ruled to be lying about his sexuality in the final judgment of his asylum case earlier this month.

This is in despite of a man in the UK saying he has been in a relationship with Edwards for the past two years and his entire family being British citizens. Two specialists living in Jamaica have also written on Edwards' behalf to the UK, saying it is not safe for him to return.

His mother warns that if her son is sent home, she will sue the UK government for deporting him to a place where he could very easily be killed.  Read More

Egypt: Deport me!

After the court ruled it is legal to deport LGBT people from Egypt, the story went viral abroad. It’s strange because LGBT Egypt has not been in the international news much for months. When you deal with the media, you get used to its collective movements, puzzling as tidal motions when it’s too cloudy to see the moon, or the startled shuddering of gazelles racing in unison through tall grass.

But other terrible things happened here recently. A man acquitted on charges of homosexuality tried to burn himself to death in despair. Police arrested an accused “shemale,” splaying her photos on the Internet. Egypt’s government threatened to close a small HIV/AIDS NGO because it gave safer-sex info to gay men. None of these got such press. The contrast is striking.

I learn three things from all this. First: our attention span isn’t what it used to be. The attention span of news consumers, and activists among them, shrivels; and that’s a problem. Read More 

Russia: Clashes and flash mobs on the Day of Silence in St. Petersburg

LGBT activists and their allies held two Day of Silence rallies aimed at eliminating discrimination, hatred and violence against sexual minorities. One march included call outs to banned LGBT teens support project “Children-404″. Another rally from Vosstaniya Square to the Kazansky Cathedral involved participants with their mouths covered with red tape.

There were several unsuccessful attempts to disrupt the events, but thanks to nearby police officers, the rallies continued and peace was kept. Read More

More and more actions announced for IDAHOT 2015

Created in 2004 to draw the attention of policymakers, opinion leaders, social movements, the public and the media to the violence and discrimination experienced by LGBTI people internationally. In under a decade, May 17 has established itself the single most important date for LGBTI communities to mobilise on a worldwide scale.

The Day represents an annual landmark to draw the attention of decision makers, the media, the public, opinion leaders and local authorities to the alarming situation faced by lesbian, gay, bisexuals, transgender and intersex people and all those who do not conform to majority sexual and gender norms.

May 17 is now celebrated in more than 130 countries, including 37 where same-sex acts are illegal, with 1600 events reported from 1280 organizations in 2014. These mobilisations unite millions of people in support of the recognition of human rights for all, irrespective of sexual orientation or gender identity or expression. Read More