Category Archives: LGBTQ+ rights

Italian politician demands ban on Peppa Pig episode showing lesbian couple

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Brothers of Italy’s Federico Mollicone urges state broadcaster not to show episode with co-parenting polar bears

A senior member of a far-right Italian political party tipped to win general elections this month has appealed to state broadcaster Rai not to screen an episode of the globally popular children’s cartoon series Peppa Pig over the inclusion of a same-sex couple in its cast of characters.

The episode, called Families, was shown for the first time in the UK on Tuesday, and features two co-parenting lesbian polar bears. A character called Penny announces: “I live with my mummy and my other mummy. One mummy is a doctor and one mummy cooks spaghetti.” The family then sit down for a meal together.

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Iran condemns two women to death for ‘corruption’ over LGBTQ+ media links

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Outcry over show trial, which follows Zahra Seddiqi Hamedani talking to BBC about abuse of gay people in Iran’s Kurdish region

Two women have been condemned to death in Iran because of their links to the LGBTQ+ community on social media, human rights groups have reported.

Zahra Seddiqi Hamedani, 31, and Elham Choubdar, 24, were found guilty of a number of charges by a court in Urmia, in the Iranian province of West Azerbaijan, on 1 September but the details of their sentences only emerged this week.

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Six Gulf states warn Netflix over content violating ‘Islamic values’

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Gulf states did not identify the type of content, though Saudi Arabia state-media condemned shows with gay characters

A group of Persian Gulf states have threatened Netflix with legal action if it continues broadcasting content that “contradicts” Islam, while Saudi state media indicated that the offending material centred on shows depicting sexual minorities.

A statement issued jointly by the Saudi media regulator and the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), headquartered in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, did not specifically identify material, referring only to content that “contradicts Islamic and societal values”.

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Transgender man dies after Pride parade assault in Germany

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Malte C, 25, died in hospital a week after being struck by assailant at parade in Münster

A 25-year-old transgender man has died of his injuries in hospital almost a week after he was assaulted while helping people at a Pride parade in western Germany, police have said.

The man, who police have named only as Malte C in accordance with privacy conventions, intervened when the attacker aimed homophobic slurs at other participants during the Christopher Street Day parade in Münster, police said.

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Stephen Port: murder victims’ families say Met ‘insensitive’ to make settlements public

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Relatives ‘caught completely off guard’ by announcement of compensation – and two families have still to settle

The Metropolitan police have been accused of “insensitivity” over their announcement that they have settled compensation claims with relatives of some of the victims murdered by the serial killer Stephen Port.

Families were taken completely by surprise at the public announcement, while claims brought by relatives of two of the victims have yet to be settled, the families’ spokesperson said.

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Arkansas cannot enforce ban on gender-affirming care for trans kids, court rules

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Federal appeals court affirms ruling stopping state enforcing 2021 law before trial on possible permanent block in October

A federal appeals court on Thursday said Arkansas cannot enforce its ban on transgender children receiving gender-affirming medical care.

A three-judge panel of the eighth US circuit court of appeals affirmed a ruling temporarily stopping the state enforcing the 2021 law. A trial is scheduled in October before the same judge on whether to permanently block the law.

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Vietnam declares being LGBTQ+ is ‘not an illness’ in victory for gay rights

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Campaigners hail landmark decision as a ‘huge paradigm shift’ in attitudes towards sexuality

Being gay, bisexual or transgender should not be considered an illness and cannot be treated, the Vietnam government has announced in “a huge paradigm shift” in LGBTQ+ rights in the country.

The Ministry of Health said medical professionals should treat LGBTQ+ people with respect and ensure they are not discriminated against.

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Singapore to repeal law that criminalises sex between men

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Scrapping of colonial-era section 377A law hailed as ‘a win for humanity’ by LGBTQ+ rights groups

Singapore will repeal a colonial-era law that criminalises sex between men, a landmark decision described by LGBTQ+ groups as “a win for humanity”.

In a national address on Sunday, the prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong, said that scrapping section 377A of the penal code would bring the law into line with current social attitudes and “provide some relief to gay Singaporeans”.

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Gay rights campaigner welcomes Isle of Man police apology

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Police chief’s apology for way laws against homosexuality were enforced described as ‘long overdue’

A campaigner who came to symbolise the battle for gay rights on the Isle of Man has welcomed a “long overdue” apology from a police chief for the way the island’s laws against homosexuality were enforced.

In a five page letter to the Isle of Pride group, Gary Roberts, the chief constable of Isle of Man constabulary, makes an apology for his service’s “institutionalised approach, which caused harm to some people”.

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Uganda’s suspension of LGBT charity a ‘clear witch-hunt’, say campaigners

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Country’s government says Sexual Minorities Uganda ‘operating illegally’ in east African nation

The Ugandan government has suspended the country’s leading gay rights organisation, accusing it of operating illegally in the east African nation, in a move campaigners condemned as “a clear witch-hunt”.

The National Bureau for Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) – part of the internal affairs ministry – announced on Friday that it had suspended Sexual Minorities Uganda (Smug) for not registering with the authorities.

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Commonwealth Games must do more for LGBT rights, says former swimmer

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Michael Gunning calls for event to push for change after a ‘petrifying’ visit to his home country, Jamaica

The former Team GB swimmer Michael Gunning has called on the Commonwealth Games to do more to help improve LGBTQ+ rights in member countries as he talked of his “petrifying” experience visiting his home country, Jamaica, for the first time since he came out as gay.

Gunning, who retired from swimming earlier this year to help promote equality in sport, said the event could do more on the global stage to push the issue.

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