Oceania
Impact of Male Circumcision on the HIV Epidemic in Papua New Guinea: A Country with Extensive Foreskin Cutting Practices.
Abstract The degree to which adult medical male circumcision (MC) programs can reduce new HIV infections in a moderate HIV prevalence country like Papua New Guinea (PNG) are uncertain especially given the widespread prevalence of longitudinal foreskin cuts among adult males. We estimated the likely impact of a medical MC intervention in PNG using a… Read more »
Olympic kayak hopeful talks of relief after coming out as gay
An Olympic kayak hopeful has discussed coming out as gay, saying it was a relief, and that he had an overwhelmingly positive reaction. Connor Taras, 25, missed joining the 2012 Canadian Olympic team by half a second, and still travels to the US every winter for training. He said being gay but not out meant… Read more »
Support For Ian Thorpe From Ricky Martin, Gareth Thomas, Matthew Mitcham
Ricky Martin, Gareth Thomas and Matthew Mitcham are among the celebrities applauding Olympian Ian Thorpe’s decision to come out gay. “Congrats @IanThorpe!” out singer Ricky Martin tweeted. “Brave man! Happy for you! Millions appreciate what you’ve done! Proud of you! #SelfLove.” After years of denials, Thorpe, Australia’s most decorated Olympian, acknowledged he’s gay, saying he… Read more »
Senate hearing hears gay refugees in Australian run camps in New Guinea fear local laws
An Australian Senate estimates hearing has been told that LGBTI asylum seekers’ refugee applications are being processed under Papua New Guinea law – which punishes homosexuality with up to 14 years in jail Asylum seekers who have been told they can never resettle in Australia and are being held in camps in neighboring Papua New… Read more »
New Zealand Defense Force rated world’s most LGBTI inclusive military
The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies (HCSS) has released a study of LGBTI inclusion in the world’s militaries and has rated New Zealand’s armed forces the most supportive The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies (HCSS) have given a 100% rating for LGBTI inclusion to New Zealand’s armed forces – topping the rest of the world’s… Read more »
2 out of 3 LGBTI Australian young people still experience bullying in 2014
A new report by University of Western Sydney researchers has found that bullying is still all too common for LGBTI Australian young people with nearly one-in-ten saying the problem was so bad they had to change schools Almost one-in-ten LGBTI Australian young people has had to change schools because of homophobic bullying and more than… Read more »
Gay NZ skater Skjellerup blasts Olympics hosts
Kiwi speed skater Blake Skjellerup, one of the world’s only openly gay winter athletes, is still sweating on potential qualification for the Sochi Olympics, but remains eager to draw attention to Russia’s views on homosexuality. Skjellerup finished 33rd in qualifying for the Olympic 500m short track speed skating, one spot out of automatic qualification. The… Read more »
A quarter of all same-sex marriages in New Zealand are by Australians
Nearly a hundred Australian same-sex couples have resorted to travelling to New Zealand to get married since August. 47 female couples and 50 male couples have made the journey from Australia, since New Zealand’s equal marriage law came into effect in August. 361 same-sex couples in total have so far tied the knot in New… Read more »
Australia high court overturns ACT gay marriage law
Australia’s High Court has overturned legislation allowing gay marriage in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). The ACT parliament passed a bill in October making the territory the first part of Australia to legalise same-sex weddings. But the national government challenged the decision, saying it was inconsistent with federal laws. Some 27 couples who married since… Read more »
Gay Couples Begin Marrying In Australian Capital
Gay couples began marrying shortly past midnight in the Australian capital of Canberra as the nation’s first gay marriage law took effect. The Sydney Morning Herald reported on the marriages of Alan Wright and Joel Player, who exchanged vows beneath the 55 bronze bells of the National Carillon at Lake Burley Griffin, and Stephen Dawson… Read more »
Fiji to host first ever Pacific islands LGBTI short film festival
Fiji will be the first ever Pacific island nation to host an LGBTI themed short film festival when the inaugural A Night OUT at the Movies screens in Suva tomorrow night The Pacific islands region will get its first ever LGBTI short film festival A Night OUT at the Movies when it screens on Friday… Read more »
To stop AIDS, Australia must stand up for human rights
Indonesian activists from World Vision light 2880 candles during a World AIDS Day event in JakartaThis World AIDS Day, the people of Asia and the Pacific, who are living with, and working to prevent HIV, ask that the Australian Government make clear its intention for HIV funding, and stress the importance of Australia’s role as… Read more »
Australian Capital Territory first to legalise same-sex marriage
The Australian Capital Territory has become the first jurisdiction in Australia to legalise same-sex marriage. The bill passed after a short debate today by nine votes to eight, just over a year after federal parliament rejected a same-sex marriage bill 98-42. The move was passed in the 17-member ACT Legislative Assembly, backed by Labor and… Read more »
Gay Marriage Hopes Dashed As Conservatives Return To Power In Australia
Australia’s conservative opposition swept to power on Saturday, ending six years of Labor Party rule and the hopes of gay marriage supporters. “The coalition has won 13 seats clearly and with 10 seats still in play,” Australia’s newly-elected Prime Minister Tony Abbott told supporters gathered at Sydney’s Four Seasons Hotel. “And I can inform you… Read more »
Tasmanian Upper House defeats provision to ban offensive anti-gay materials
Tasmania’s Upper House of state parliament has vetoed a bill that would have prohibited offensive homophobic materials just a day after the Australian postal service confiscated 38,000 extreme anti-gay election flyers in the state LGBT rights activists in the Australian state of Tasmania have been floored by a decision by the state’s Upper House to… Read more »
Gay Ambassador to Australia Marries in D.C.
John Berry, U.S. ambassador to Australia, married his partner of 17 years, Curtis Yee, on Saturday. John Berry, the newly confirmed U.S. Ambassador to Australia, married his longtime partner in Washington, D.C., Saturday, reports the Washington Blade. Berry and his partner, Curtis Yee, have been together for 17 years, and married in a ceremony at… Read more »
Gay Speed Skater Blake Skjellerup Plans To Defy Russian Ban At 2014 Olympics
An openly gay speed skater from New Zealand says that he will represent both his country and the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia, next year if he is able to make the team. Blake Skjellerup plans to defy Russia’s recent ban of so-called “propaganda” supporting… Read more »
Tasmania votes to allow same-sex couples to adopt
The last Australian state to legalize homosexuality, and the first to introduce civil unions, has voted to allow same-sex couples to adopt non-biological children for the first time LGBT rights advocates in the Australian state of Tasmania have welcomed the passage of a law allowing same-sex couples to adopt. Since 2003 gays and lesbians in… Read more »
Poland: Prime Minister backs down and admits opposition to civil unions is too strong
The Polish Prime Minister admitted that civil unions would not happen soon The Prime Minister of Poland has backed down in the face of strong cross-party opposition to civil unions for gay couples, and admitted that the country will not adopt measures to allow it in the near future. Back in March, Deputies in Warsaw… Read more »
Poland’s only gay MP attacked after Equality Parade
Poland’s first openly gay MP has revealed that a man launched a homophobic attack on the group he was with after Warsaw’s Equality parade, before turning on the MP himself. Robert Biedron, who was elected to parliament in 2011, said the incident occurred after he had attended the Warsaw Equality Parade on Saturday. Several thousand… Read more »
Marriage equality advocates condemn vandalism of Tasmanian anti-gay marriage billboard
Australian marriage equality advocates have condemned the vandalizing of an anti-gay marriage billboard in the town of Wynyard, Tasmania, just days after it was erected Australian marriage equality advocates have condemned the vandalism of an anti-marriage equality billboard in Wynyard, Tasmania, as well as the business signs of the man behind the billboard, sign maker… Read more »
Same-sex marriages revealed in 1930’s Australia
A newspaper from 1932 shows that Australian gay men were holding illegal same-sex marriages behind closed doors eight decades ago A newspaper article from 1932 has been uncovered that shows that gay men were seeking to marry each other in Australia as long ago as 80 years ago. In an article in the tabloid The… Read more »
Legal protections against HIV-related human rights violations: Experiences and lessons learned from national HIV laws in Asia and the Pacific
Increasingly, countries in the Asia-Pacific region have put in place HIV laws to provide legal protections for people living with HIV. In a follow-up to the report of the Global Commission on HIV and the Law, Legal Protections against HIV-related Human Rights Violations: Experiences and Lessons Learned from National HIV Laws in Asia and the… Read more »
State schools better for minority students, says Michael Kirby
Gay Australian former high court judge Michael Kirby says state schools are less discriminatory to minority pupils than private or religious schools Gay Australian former high court judge Michael Kirby said that secular public schools are better for gay pupils and other minorities that private or religious schools. Kirby, who describes himself as a Protestant… Read more »
Interview: Anna Grodzka on life as Poland’s only openly trans MP
In an exclusive interview with PinkNews.co.uk, Anna Grodzka, currently the only serving openly transgender MP in Poland, and the world, talks of the struggles that the trans community face in her native country. Anna is currently in London because on Friday evening she will be giving the annual Kaleidoscope Trust lecture to mark International Day… Read more »
Fiji: LGBT rights campaigners say discrimination remains a major issue
Whilst holding week-long events to raise awareness, Fiji campaigners for LGBT rights have said that, despite some slow progress, there is still a long way to go, and that discrimination against LGBT people remains a problem. The country is marking the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHOT), which marks the World Health Organisation’s decision… Read more »
Week-long celebrations to mark IDAHOT
The Drodrolagi Movement (droMo) will be marking International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHOT) with a week of events that include rainbow-chalking driveways, a peace vigil, a documentary screening and discussion and a Pride Party. IDAHOT is a day to draw attention to the issue of homophobia and transphobia in the community. On May 17th… Read more »
Olympic swimmer comes out as gay
Amini Fonua, who represented the South Pacific islands nation of Tonga at London 2012, comes out as gay – but he goes to an ‘LGBT-unfriendly’ American university Olympic swimmer Amini Fonua has come out in his college newspaper, despite studying at one of the least LGBT-friendly schools in the US. New-Zealand-born Fonua represented the South… Read more »
Anti-gay marriage candidates win Tasmania election
Despite a campaign to make local election all about marriage equality, anti-gay-marriage candidates win all three contested seats in Australian state of Tasmania Two candidates who voted against gay marriage in last year’s Upper House vote in Tasmania won their seats in a local election yesterday. The third victor has also said she would vote… Read more »
World’s first transgender MP seriously ill
New Zealand’s Georgina Beyer, who became the world’s first openly transgender MP in 1999, has chronic kidney failure The world’s first transgender MP, New Zealand’s Georgina Beyer, is seriously ill with chronic kidney failure. Beyer had been about to announce her candidacy in the Wellington mayoral election. She has not confirmed if she will no… Read more »
‘Impersonating a woman’ decriminalized in Samoa
Third gender fa’afafine in Samoa celebrate the end of legal discrimination Fa’afafine, a third gender culture native to Samoa, are celebrating because a new law decriminalizes ‘impersonating a woman’. The Crimes Act 2012, which came into law yesterday, replaced the Crimes Ordinance 1961 which criminalized ‘the impersonation of a female’ by any male in Samoa.… Read more »
Pacific nations seek solutions to laws and policies that block access to HIV services
For activist and community leader Kapul Robert* from Papua New Guinea (PNG) accessing HIV services is a constant challenge. “Papua New Guinea has a law that says sodomy is illegal and this law is contributing to the high-levels of stigma existing in society for both men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender people.”… Read more »
No gay marriage in the Cook Islands, says prime minister
Despite ties to New Zealand, the Cook Islands will not proceeding with legalizing gay marriage The prime minister of the Cook Islands, Henry Puna, said they will not be following New Zealand into legalizing gay marriage, despite the islands ties to the Pacific nation. Puna said the Cook Islands ‘Christian values’ and ‘tradition’ prevent it… Read more »
Gay Marriage Legalized in New Zealand as Lawmakers, Public Cheer
New Zealand became the first Asia- Pacific nation to legalize same-sex marriage, prompting cheers and singing in the same parliament where sexual relations between men were decriminalized 27 years ago. The third and final reading of the Marriage Equality Bill was passed late yesterday 77 votes to 44. Lawmakers and members of the public applauded… Read more »
World’s only transgendered MP to become Polish deputy parliament speaker?
Anna Grodzka, Poland and the world’s only transgendered MP, says she is willing to stand for the post of deputy speaker of parliament “if my party supports me”. The MP for the liberal Palikot Movement – Poland’s third largest party in the lower house of parliament (Sejm) – has been put forward for the post… Read more »
Poll: Support for marriage equality in Poland doubled over nine years, but remains low
According to a new poll, support for equal marriage in Poland has doubled since 2003, but still remains low. The poll by TNS Polska indicated that in 2003, 8% of Polish people supported marriage equality, which had risen to 16% in 2012, reports Polskie Radio. The study was conducted between 6 and 10 December 2012… Read more »
A secret history of sexuality on the front
Archived files shed light on relationships in the army, writes Andrew Stephens. It was a hot night in Borneo and eight Australian soldiers were sitting around discussing film stars they fancied. The war had just ended – Hiroshima and Nagasaki were ashes – but most soldiers in Asia remained on active duty in the all-male… Read more »
New Zealand: Church billboard questions whether Jesus was gay
A controversial church billboard in New Zealand has been unveiled, which raises the question of whether or not Jesus might have been gay. St-Matthew-in-the-City church in Auckland, unveiled this year’s Christmas billboard, which features a depiction of baby Jesus in a crib, with a rainbow-coloured halo surrounding his head, reported Stuff.nz. The billboard reads: “It’s… Read more »
Thousands march for marriage equality in Australia
Thousands took to the streets this weekend in support of marriage equality, while the Australian Green party has pledged to move legislation in every parliament in the land until the issue is settled Nearly a thousand people marched for marriage equality in central Sydney on Sunday, with thousands more marching in other cities over the… Read more »
Fijian government says gays have nothing to fear in Fiji
Government of Fiji responds to protestors on the roof of an immigration detention center in Sydney The government of Fiji has responded to claims by protestors at Villawood Immigration Detention Centre in Sydney who said yesterday there are no gay rights in the Pacific islands nation. Three protestors climbed onto the roof at the immigration… Read more »
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