Op-ed: The role of private sector in getting legal and social equity to LGBT Kenyans

Kuria Foundation For Social Enterprise: Now the human rights community and sexual minority groups in particular have done a great job “claiming” rights through numerous ways. These include, writing policy briefs, holding community engagement and education forums, and many other policy advocacy engagements. Others have gone to court seeking legal redress and constitutional interpretations on equality and non-discrimination. These initiatives are great and should continue.

But we may have forgotten the role of private sector in getting legal and social equity. In seeking to address the state, we may have failed to interrogate enough, whether the private sector can provide the ‘goods’ we seek. Can the profit motive ensure that we get to equality and non-discrimination? Read More

Europe: Mixed Prospects for LGBT Rights in Central and Eastern Europe

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) groups in Central and Eastern Europe, which still faced mixed prospects as they fight for rights and acceptance, are now taking some heart from the “failure” of a referendum in Slovakia, a member of the European Union. The reasons behind the relative societal intolerance towards LGBT groups in Central and Eastern Europe vary from entrenched conservative attitudes rooted in countries’ isolation under communism, to local political aims and the influence of the Catholic Church.  Read More

Online activists spur change in Middle East, China, world

Online LGBT activism and community-building are the focus of Quorum's eighth discussion of international LGBTI issues. Moderated by Andre Banks (All Out), media activists Xiaogang Wei of China and Suzan of Egypt reflect on their experiences in working to connect LGBTQ folks through each of their online platforms.  

Xiaogang Wei explained the progress of the Chinese LGBT movement: “Things are changing,” he said. “We are building this language. We are building this identify. People know how to use the right language to fight back.”

Suzan focused on how LGBT Westerners can support and understand their Middle Eastern counterparts, instead of acting as though they have the wisdom and the right to tell queer activists in the Middle East how to think and act. Read More or watch the discussion here 

Most American Mainline Protestants Embrace Gay Marriage

With the largest Presbyterian denomination’s official endorsement, American mainline Protestants have solidified their support for gay marriage, leaving the largest mainline denomination — the United Methodist Church — outside the same-sex marriage fold.

Methodists, with more than 7 million members, rejected same-sex marriage at their last nat'l conference. They are likely to revisit the question in 2016, but a growing membership in Africa, where there is little acceptance of homosexuality, makes it unlikely the denomination will accept gay marriage.

Another denomination generally considered mainline, the American Baptist Churches USA, does not allow same-sex marriage, nor do a handful of smaller mainline denominations. But the Episcopal Church, the United Church of Christ and now the Presbyterian Church (USA) sanctify the marriage of two men or two women. The 3.8 million-member Evangelical Lutheran Church in America gives congregations the autonomy to decide for themselves.  Read More

Kenya: Intersex Get Recognition Under Kenyan Law

The Persons Deprived of Liberty Act 2014 is a first in Kenya to define who an intersex person is. Section 2 of the Act defines an intersex as a person certified by a competent medical practitioner to have both male and female reproductive organs. Although this is an extremely shallow definition, we must commend the legislators for this bold step towards embracing this unique member of the family.

In the spirit of equality and non discrimination as guaranteed by Article 27 of the Constitution, the Act makes no distinction between a child, the disabled, young, Muslim and an adult intersex person. They are to be looked at from a human beings perspective. Read More

Arctic Pride - with joy and pride on behalf of equality

Organized for the third time Arctic Pride parade on Saturday attracted hundreds of participants. The organizers according to preliminary estimates of participants was about five hundred, the police parade, the population was estimated at about half smaller. 

Arctic Pride event is of great importance not only to sexual and gender minorities Lappish, but also the image of a matter of the entire region. Read More

Australia: 15 issues that matter to LGBT Australians beyond marriage equality

We asked attendees at Sydney’s annual Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Fair Day what LGBT issues meant the most to them, with one catch: they couldn’t answer marriage equality. These are the topics people wished got more attention. Read More 

Navajo Nation: Tlingit and Haida tribal council adopts statute allowing same-sex marriage

In a unanimous vote Friday, the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska’s Executive Council adopted a new statute that allows same-sex couples to marry under tribal law.

“We are pleased to expand our Tribal Court to meet the needs of our tribal citizens,” said Tribal Court Chief Justice Debra O’Gara in a prepared statement. ”Our court can now be utilized by tribal citizens for the happy occasion of marriage without discrimination and regardless of gender.” Read More

Sex redefined: The idea of two sexes is simplistic.

Biologists now think there is a wider spectrum than that. As a clinical geneticist, Paul James is accustomed to discussing some of the most delicate issues with his patients. But in early 2010, he found himself having a particularly awkward conversation about sex.

Sex can be much more complicated than it at first seems. According to the simple scenario, the presence or absence of a Y chromosome is what counts: with it, you are male, and without it, you are female. But doctors have long known that some people straddle the boundary — their sex chromosomes say one thing, but their gonads (ovaries or testes) or sexual anatomy say another. Parents of children with these kinds of conditions — known as intersex conditions, or differences or disorders of sex development (DSDs) — often face difficult decisions about whether to bring up their child as a boy or a girl. Some researchers now say that as many as 1 person in 100 has some form of DSD.  Read More

US: Everything you need to know about the gay discrimination wars in 2015

The fight over gay rights continues in conservative corners of the country, where legislators are advancing laws that would, intentionally or not, ensure that gay people can be refused service, fired or evicted simply for being gay.

There are no national laws protecting against these forms of discrimination, so the matter has been left up to individual communities. A growing list of cities, for instance, are passing gay anti-discrimination ordinances, which has raised the ire of their more conservative state houses.

In this year’s legislative session, similar bills in several states are striking back against gay rights.  Read More

South Africa: Gay MP holds hands with partner at State of the Nation Address

Openly gay MP Ian Ollis has responded to the social media buzz sparked by him holding his boyfriend’s hand at the State of the Nation Address (SONA). Ollis was photographed arriving outside Parliament hand in hand with partner Adriaan Roets. The proud display of same-sex affection at a high profile official state function has been praised by the LGBT community.

Ollis, a DA MP, said that he was surprised by the fuss. “I didn’t realise that holding hands was such a ‘thing’,” he said. 

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