Zambia is one of the least tolerant African countries when it comes to LGBTQ+ rights, according to a survey by Afrobarometer. Just 4% of Zambians express tolerance of non-heteronormative sexual and gender identities. Zambian LGBTQ+ people have low levels of safety in family spaces and in public, where insults and threats are part of everyday life for some. There is also strong political opposition from the authorities, with a number of arrests recently having been made for people promoting homosexuality. Some clinics have become more LGBTQ+ friendly, but the discourse around LGBTQ+ people has intensified.
UFC maintains links with Russian fighters and fighters connected to sanctioned Chechen warlord despite Ukraine invasion
CNN
23-05-17 07:33
Critics have raised questions about the Ultimate Fighting Championship's (UFC) decision to allow Russian fighters to compete following the country's invasion of Ukraine. The sport has a global fan base of over 700m, and UFC fighters in Russia have helped bring in approximately $50m in TV and sponsorship deals, according to John S Nash, an MMA and boxing financial analyst. Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov's recent posting of a video featuring UFC fighters Kamaru Usman, Justin Gaethje and Henry Cejudo has also prompted concern. Kadyrov has been sanctioned over allegations of human rights violations, and has expressed his support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Higgs called 'deplorable' as education council members condemn review of LGBTQ policy
CBC
23-05-17 10:00
A council overseeing the Anglophone East district in New Brunswick, Canada, has criticised Premier Blaine Higgs's comments on the province's policy on LGBTQ students in schools. During a meeting on the topic, council member Dominic Vautour spoke out against Higgs's recent comments, calling them "deplorable." Vautour suggested that the policy, which allows children to choose their own name and pronoun, among other things, should be preserved and not subject to parental approval. The criticism comes in the context of a broader debate over LGBTQ rights in the Canadian school system and the province's approach to school governance.
Penguin Random House is suing Florida's Escambia County School Board, claiming the removal of books on LGBTQ+ themes and race was illegal, in a further battle against US political conservatives’ “anti-woke” actions. Penguin joined forces with a group of authors and PEN America after Escambia withdrew a series of books, including works by Toni Morrison, Kurt Vonnegut and Khaled Hosseini. The district, in the west of the state and bordering Alabama, is among those in Florida that have imposed measures limiting teaching in schools, colleges and other workplaces aimed at supporting diversity.
The organisers of the 2024 Paris Olympics intend to use the games to promote LGBT rights beyond France. They have given rainbow colors to the official logo of prestigious Sport events on Wednesday to mark the international day against homophobia, transphobia, and biphobia. The organisers plan to seize the Olympic spotlight to push a broader message that demands for the progression of LGBTQ rights outside France. The French capital will have a Pride House that will celebrate the community during the Olympics and Paralympics. The Olympians and campaigners will have plenty of opportunities to express the LGBTQ right during the event.
DeSantis signs bills targeting drag shows, pronouns, bathroom use and transgender children
The Toronto Star
23-05-17 15:10
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has signed bills that ban gender affirming care for minors, restrict pronoun use in schools, and require people to use the bathroom corresponding with their sex in some cases. This is part of the governor's efforts to legislate against LGBTQ+ issues as he is building his presidential campaign as a Republican candidate. DeSantis signed the bills in front of a Christian school in Tampa, with a banner reading "Let Kids Be Kids" behind him, while lawmakers said that this legislation protects children from "sexually explicit" content while invoking their religious beliefs to defend the state's actions. Democrats opposed the bills, however, Republicans have a supermajority in both chambers, and the bills passed easily.
Florida has passed a bill that bans the provision of puberty blockers and hormone therapies for transgender children, and makes accessing these treatments more difficult for adults. At least 14 other American states have introduced similar laws, challenging the prevailing medical consensus that gender-affirming care for transgender individuals promotes better health. Proponents have deemed the therapy “dangerous and experimental”, with some describing it as “chemical castration or child abuse”. Opponents meanwhile assert that the Florida law and others like it impede the doctor-patient relationship while skewing healthcare access based on politics.
Publisher Penguin Random House and PEN America have brought a lawsuit against a school district in Florida, alleging that the school board removed 10 books from library shelves about race and LGBTQ+ identities, violating the First Amendment. The case does not name Florida Governor, Ron DeSantis, as a defendant, although he has championed policies that allow for the censorship and challenging of books based on whether they are appropriate for children in schools. This action is seen as part of an approach to win support from conservative voters for his planned presidential run.
PEN America and Penguin Random House are suing Florida’s Escambia County School District after it removed 10 books covering subjects such as race and LGBTQ identities from libraries. Alleging that the school board breached the First Amendment of the US Constitution by removing the books, the suit is the latest challenge to conservative laws in the state led by Governor Ron DeSantis. Among other measures, DeSantis has banned gender-affirming care for transgender youth, restricted gender-neutral pronouns in schools and forced trans young people to use bathrooms based on birth-assigned sex.
Florida's governor Ron DeSantis has signed a number of bills that target transgender people, which LGBTQ+ advocates have described as the most impactful anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in Florida's history. The bills include restrictions on gender-affirming care for minors, threats to drag shows, forbidding people from using bathrooms that match their gender identity, and preventing people from using their chosen pronouns at schools. The bills have been criticised by LGBTQ+ advocates, including state representative Anna Eskamani, who argues that the governor is fuelling discrimination and harassment against marginalised people in Florida.
PEN America, authors and parents have sued Florida's Escambia County School District over book bans, alleging the removal of titles dealing with race and LGBTQ issues violates the First Amendment rights of free speech. Book bans have surged in the US, with 874 titles targeted for removal in the first half of 2022-23, most notably in Florida, Utah, Missouri, Texas and South Carolina. The lawsuit seeks to restore titles to school libraries and cover court costs, and singles out Northview High School teacher Vickie Baggett for her "activism" in removing a number of titles, though she is not named as a defendant.
Alex Greenwich, an influential independent MP in New South Wales, has confirmed that he is suing state MP Mark Latham for defamation after Latham refused to apologise for a string of homophobic and sexualised slurs against the gay MP. Greenwich says the lawsuit is on behalf of young and old LGBTQIA+ people who face regular abuse, and has said that Latham’s attack “has exposed me to contempt, ridicule and extreme abuse, based on my sexuality, and demands action”. Earlier this month, Greenwich lodged a complaint that Latham had used a carriage service to harass or offend, while the NSW Anti-Discrimination Body is also investigating a complaint of homosexual vilification.
Penguin Random House and the writers' organization PEN America have filed a lawsuit against the Escambia County School Board for removing 10 books including those by Toni Morrison and Alice Sebold. The parents' rights legislation at the centre of the row, dubbed the "Don't Say Gay" law, was signed into state law by governor Ron DeSantis, a possible 2024 Republican presidential candidate. The bill prevents teachers from discussing sexual orientation and gender identity with primary school children. The lawsuit argues that the Parental Rights in Education Act only applies to "classroom instruction", not library materials. The suit states that the school violated parents' and students' First Amendment rights. "Books have the capacity to change lives for the better, and students in particular deserve equitable access to a wide range of perspectives. Censorship, in the form of book bans like those enacted by Escambia County, is a direct threat to democracy and our Constitutional rights," said Nihar Malaviya, CEO of Penguin Random House.
United Conservative Leader Danielle Smith has urged that LGBTQ rights become depoliticised, following criticism of a candidate’s negativity towards transgender children. Jennifer Johnson, who is standing for election as an MLA, apologised for her comparison of transgender children to the presence of feces in food. In a subsequent candidates’ debate, Smith, along with the Alberta Party Leader Barry Morishita and the NDP’s Gwendoline Dirk, opposed politicising the rights of LGBTQ children and adults. Topics for discussion at the debate, which focused on broaching differences of opinion, included healthcare, education, support for small businesses and corporate tax rates.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has signed bills into law that prohibit gender-affirming care for under-18s, restrict school pronoun use and force people to use bathrooms corresponding with the sex they were assigned at birth. Drag show restrictions were also signed into law, allowing the revocation of food and drink licences of businesses hosting adult performances while admitting children. The legislation takes effect immediately. A total of at least 17 states have now passed laws prohibiting gender-affirming care for minors, despite opposition from medical groups and LGBTQ+ advocates, with judges blocking proposed laws in Alabama and Arkansas.
Mexico is to introduce travel documents that recognise different gender identities with a new system that allows people to avoid checking either male or female on passport applications. Mexicans will be able to select "X" to counter the need to specify gender, with the foreign ministry touting the decision as "historic progress". However, some non-binary activists criticised the policy as confusing gender and sex. Alex Orue of the LGBTQ+ rights non-profit It Gets Better said, "it's stigmatizing for non-binary people and it becomes a matter of inspection of genitalia, since gender identities do not always match bodily attributes of biological sex".
The United Conservative and NDP leaders of Alberta, Danielle Smith and Rachel Notley, are to debate before the May 29 Alberta election. They will cover topics such as corporate tax rates, small businesses, health care, education, and the protection of LGBTQ children and adults. Smith was also recently involved in a debate in Medicine Hat. An audience member at this debate asked how the candidates would ensure the protection of LGBTQ children and Smith said the issue should be depoliticized. Earlier that day, a UCP candidate, Jennifer Johnson, apologized for comparing transgender children in schools to having feces in food.
London Public Library refuses to accommodate event featuring author of How Woke Won
CBC
23-05-18 08:00
The London Public Library in southwestern Ontario has refused the Society for Academic Freedom’s request to rent its space for an event featuring British author Joanna Williams. Her views on being ‘woke’, which she questions, are controversial and divisive, with the Society opposed to speech codes and so-called anti-hate legislation. A spokesperson for the library said that the decision was made in keeping with its strategic plan, which includes anti-racism and anti-oppression, whilst Williams said: “Libraries should be the site of public debate”.
Despite overwhelming support for same-sex marriages in Japan, the Shinto religion is reportedly slowing down progress. Many Japanese view the Shinto faith as a cultural practice, with many attending shrines in January to pray for good fortune, take part in traditional rites of passage or ask for blessings relating to romance or job prospects. But the Shinto Association of Spiritual Leadership has attempted to influence lawmakers on the issue of LGBTQ and transgender rights. It has reportedly distributed a pamphlet describing homosexuality as "an acquired mental disorder, an addiction" that could be remedied by "restorative therapy" and has been involved in campaigns against LGBTQ rights. Attempts to introduce the legalisation of same-sex marriages in Japan have proved largely unsuccessful in the face of the association's opposition.
Mark Anthony Scerri, a notorious serial rapist and sexual sadist, has been interviewed over the cold case death of William “Bill” Rooney in February 1986. Scerri, who has been jailed twice for a series of sexual assaults on men, was quizzed in a landmark NSW inquiry into hate crimes against the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer community. Scerri was the “primary person of interest” in the case and his evidence will be included in the inquiry’s final report, which is due at the end of August. The inquiry was also notable for its closed-door approach.
