South America
Santiago: Twelfth annual pride parade attracts 80,000 and British ambassador
On Saturday, Santiago’s twelfth annual pride parade took place with over 80,000 people demanding further advancement of LGBT rights in Chile. Marcha por la Igualidad, or March for Equality, took place on a sunny winter day in Santiago, with attendees demanding equality before the law. The march was also attended by prominent politicians as well… Read more »
Brazil: Bar warned for discriminating against lesbian couple
A bar in the city of Teresina, Brazil was issued with an administrative warning for having discriminated against a lesbian couple. The municipality of the city of Teresina, Brazil issued a penalty notice against a bar that discriminated against a lesbian couple who attended a Valentine’s Day party at the premises. The warning was issued… Read more »
Uruguay Recognizes Marriage Of Gay Couple
A court in Uruguay has for the first time recognized the legal marriage of a gay couple. Judge Eduardo Martinez recognized on appeal the legality of a marriage entered into in Spain, where Socialists legalized marriage equality in 2005. The binational couple lives in both Uruguay and Spain, El Pais reported. Attorney Michelle Suarez, a… Read more »
The Equal Rights Trust
Statement of Interest 1. The Equal Rights Trust (ERT) submits this parallel report to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (the Committee) for its forthcoming review of the combined seventh and eighth periodic reports of Guyana under Article 18 of the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms… Read more »
Gay Rights Slowly Coming Out of the Closet
Georgetown (IPS) – Over the past six months, governments in two influential Caribbean trade bloc member states – Jamaica and Guyana – have floated political test balloons on the question of whether colonial-era laws criminalising homosexuality should be amended in keeping with trends in most Western states. The climate for gay people in the two… Read more »
280 gay hate murders in Brazil and Peru in 2011
A report suggests the risk of a gay man being murdered in Brazil is 800% higher than in the US Sex-rights groups in Peru and Brazil announced the number of homosexual killings in 2011. Brazil’s Grupo Gay da Bahia (GGB) documented 266 murders of gays, lesbians and transvestites in Brazil last year, six more than… Read more »
Internationally hate crimes against LGBT community members become more frequent and cruel
Internationally hate crimes against LGBT community members become more frequent and cruel: it’s a spiral of blood and horror are crimes that show a network that links Santiago de Chile in the vicinity of Puebla. The modus operandi is the same: a group of youths caught the victim and subjected to a lengthy session of… Read more »
Brazil’s new bill criminalizes homophobia
The Senate’s revisions to the penal code safeguard against gender identity or sexual orientation discrimination A peaceful anti-homophobia demonstration in Brazil is one of several responses to reports of homophobia in the country. A Brazilian Senate committee passed an anti-homophobia bill on Friday (25 May). Just days after the human rights committee approved civil unions… Read more »
Colombia grants gay couples right to express affection publicly
Ruling comes after two gay men were escorted out of a Cali mall for kissing in public Colombia’s constitutional court has ruled the government cannot restrict gay couples’ right to express affection in public. The ruling comes after two men were forced to leave a Cali mall when a security guard found them kissing in… Read more »
Argentina Adopts Landmark Legislation in Recognition of Gender Identity
New York – In Argentina, human rights advocates worldwide are celebrating the passage of the most progressive gender identity law in history. The law gives self-identified trans people access to critical services without the need for medical intervention and provides for specific human rights protections. Argentina’s Senate passed the law on May 9th, with 55… Read more »
Colombia: Partner of gay Catholic priest wins pension rights
The gay partner of a deceased Catholic priest has been told he is allowed to have his lover’s pension, despite the cleric’s vow of chastity. The Constitutional Court of Colombia found in favor of the partner, who lived with the priest for 28 years before his death in 2009, in landmark ruling, unprecedented in the… Read more »
Argentina makes sex-change surgery a legal right
Argentina – Adults who want sex-change surgery or hormone therapy in Argentina will be able to get it as part of their public or private health care plans under a gender rights law approved Wednesday. The measure also gives people the right to specify how their gender is listed at the civil registry when their… Read more »
Chile passes hate crime bill in the wake of gay man’s killing
In the wake of a national outcry over the homophobic killing of a young man, the Chilean Congress has approved an anti-discrimination bill that outlaws discrimination on the grounds of race, religion, gender, and/or sexual orientation. The bill had languished in Congress for over seven years, but was finally fast-tracked to approval by the President,… Read more »
Chile votes in law to protect gay bash victims
The gay-bashing of 24-year-old Daniel Zamudio sparked a national outcry and a global call for hate-crime legislation Chilean congress passed a hate-crimes law Wednesday night, an act of legislation pending since 2005. The law passed with a vote 25-3, and allows people to file anti-discrimination lawsuits for crimes committed against them based on their sexual… Read more »
Argentina Leads World in Ground-Breaking Identity Law
Argentina has led the world again in LGBT rights, this time focusing on the transgender community. Yesterday, legislation passed allows a legal change of gender by simply filling out a form. This is a progressive step – To change your gender, most countries require a medical diagnosis, letters from therapists, and often medical intervention. But… Read more »
Roman Catholic Church urges end to sexual discrimination
The Roman Catholic Church wants an end to sexual discrimination of persons, even as the religious body contemplates the pros and cons of scrapping colonial laws against buggery. President of the Antilles Episcopal Conference (AEC) Archbishop Patrick Pinder of Nassau, Bahamas has highlighted “the Catholic Social Tradition which urges us to challenge laws which discriminate… Read more »
Supergay TV Celebrity Jean Wyllys Campaigns for Equality in Brazil’s Congress
Just how many people know of Brazilian Supergay Jean Wyllys? In 2005, 50 million Brazilians voted for him to win the popular reality TV show Gran Hermano, Brazil’s version of Big Brother. That’s only 13 million short of the number of Americans who voted for Obama during our national presidential election. Instead of opting to… Read more »
Guyanese, resist all calls to discriminate!
On the afternoon of April 22, 2012 more than a hundred men and women came out to the poolside of Duke Lodge. They were straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and transsexual. It was a fantastic celebration of being proud and Guyanese, as they participated in and supported the Caribbean Men’s Internet Survey: CARIMIS We were… Read more »
Mayor creates gay branch for Bogota, Colombia
Mayor Gustavo Petro’s LGBTI Affairs Branch will address reports of homophobia in capital city Gustavo Petro, the mayor of Colombia’s capital, Bogota, has launched the LGBTI Affairs Branch to address local problems of discrimination based on sexual-orientation. The group will also build an education and events venue to further raise awareness of other lesbian, gay,… Read more »
Court Recognizes First Gay Marriage In Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
A court in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil approved a request to convert the civil union of a gay male couple into a civil marriage, the AFP reported. Judge Luiz Felipe Francisco said Brazilian law does not prohibit marriage between members of the same sex. “As there is no explicit barrier to marriage between two people… Read more »
Supergay Andre Fischer: Queer Brazil’s Media King
When you think of mainstream television programs like Ellen, Glee, and Modern Family, you can see the power of the the media to change American societal attitudes towards LGBT individuals. To learn about queer life in Brazil, we met with media guru Andre Fischer. Supergay Andre is director of Mix Brazil, the largest LGBT media… Read more »
Brazil’s Surge in Violence Against Gays Is Just Getting Worse
One of the developing world’s rising stars is also seeing a surge in antigay homicides. Kristian Jepsen on how the hate crimes are casting a shadow over a major emerging economy. Brazil has never been hotter. Tourists and entrepreneurs are flocking to the country for its natural beauty and its booming business climate. Portuguese professionals… Read more »
Gay-Inclusive Anti-Discrimination Bill Approved In Chile After Death Of Daniel Zamudio
Lawmakers in Chile have responded to the murder of Daniel Zamudio by passing a gay-inclusive anti-discrimination law. Zamudio died March 27 from injuries he received during an attack in a park in Santiago on March 3. Police have arrested 4 suspects who have been charged with beating Zamudio for an hour, burning him with cigarettes… Read more »
Guyana: Public consultation on removal of anti-gay laws
Authorities in Guyana are planning a series of public consultations on whether to repeal the country’s anti-gay laws. Guyana remains the only country in mainland South America with laws forbidding homosexuality on its statute books, though they are said not to be enforced. Homophobia and anti-gay laws remain widespread in the Caribbean, however, with which… Read more »
Gay Chilean man dies in hospital after neo-Nazi attact
Daniel Zamudio, a gay 24-year-old Chilean man who was left brain-dead following an attack in Santiago by four alleged members of a neo-Nazi gang, died yesterday in hospital after three weeks in a medically-induced coma. Zamudio was violently beaten in a park in the Chilean capital early in March. Four of his attackers have been… Read more »
Chilean Leaders Condemn Brutal Homophobic Attack
A vicious anti-gay attack on a Chilean man, in which a swastika was drawn on the victim’s chest, has received strong criticism from political leaders in the country. Daniel Zamudio, 24 (pictured), has been in a medically induced coma while undergoing treatment for severe head trauma and a broken right leg after a vicious attack… Read more »
LatAm gays reach high govt offices
Bogota, Colombia – Tatiana Pineros is a man by birth and a woman by choice. Pineros, 34, is also a high-powered public servant who manages a $360 million budget and nearly 2,000 employees in Colombia’s biggest and most powerful municipal government. Her appointment by Bogota’s new mayor to head the capital’s social welfare agency was… Read more »
Chilean leaders condemn brutal beating of gay man amid calls for hate crime legislation
Santiago, Chile – A brutal attack on a gay Chilean man drew strong condemnation from political leaders and entertainer Ricky Martin on Tuesday. Doctors in Santiago said 24-year-old Daniel Zamudio had been put in an induced coma while being treated for severe head trauma and a broken right leg suffered in Saturday’s beating. A swastika… Read more »
Sex workers call for a more educated police force
The Guyana Coalition of Sex Workers is advocating for a better educated Guyana Police Force capable of handling diverse issues in a mature manner. President of the coalition, Cracey Fernandes in an interview with Guyana Times called for a more professional approach by police officers in the treatment of gays, lesbians, transvestites and commercial sex… Read more »
Collateral Damage : The Social Impact of Laws affecting LGBT in Guyana
This report was authored by Christopher Carrico and published by the Faculty of Law UWI Rights Advocacy Project, Faculty of Law, University of the West Indies. From the Executive Summary This study focused on the social effects of laws that criminalise lesbian, gay and bisexual orientations and transgender identities in Guyana. It was designed to… Read more »
Chile to Meet International Obligations on Sexual Diversity
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights released this week its report. There, the commission said that after three years Chile received its Universal Periodic Review, that Chile has only “partially complied with contradictions and” two of its four commitments on sexual diversity rights. After the Minister of Justice, Theodore Bank, presented on Monday in… Read more »
LGBTI groups and Jose Delgado reach four agreements’ after conflict
Jose Delgado, a journalist and program director “in flesh” must attend academic workshops that will address issues of sexual diversity. One of the agreements reached yesterday with the LGBTI groups of Guayaquil. The Centre City LGBTI, represented in the mediation process by Carlos Alvarez legal and Gonzalo Abarca, will be responsible for issuing these courses.… Read more »
Colombia: Gay priests ‘hired hitmen after AIDS diagnosis’
A pair of Catholic priests in Colombia reportedly hired hitmen to kill them after one was diagnosed with AIDS. The Daily Mail reports the case of Rafael Reatiga, 35, and Richard Piffano, 37, Roman Catholic priests in Bogota. When the men were discovered shot dead last year, they were thought to have been the victims… Read more »
Peru gay rights activists push for more rights in law
On 12 February 2011, the Peruvian police beat a group of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people who were kissing in the capital’s main square to protest against discrimination. A year later, Lima’s gay movement is renaming the anniversary as Peru’s Stonewall, in reference to the riots in New York in 1969 which gave rise… Read more »
Little is known about these men who offer sex for money
Mishe in Brazil, Chapero in Spain in Peru Freight, Prepayment in Colombia, New York Muster, taxi boy in Argentina. Many are the names by which they are known, but little is known about these men who offer sex for money. “Creatures of the Night”, a film by Hernan Aguilar, delves into the lives of four… Read more »
Discrimination, policies, and sexual rights in Brazil.
Source – Instituto de Medicina Social, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. carrara@ims.uerj.br Abstract This article focuses on a politics arena that has been articulated through the impact of ideals of sexual rights on Brazilian sexual politics, namely the affirmation of “LGBT rights”. These rights have been constructed both through attempts to extend… Read more »
Sao Paulo Metro launches campaign to combat homophobia
The Brazilian State of São Paulo in partnership with the São Paulo City Metro (Underground) launched yesterday a campaign to combat homophobia entitled: “See beyond prejudice. Respect differences.” Its objective is to increase respect towards, and decrease discrimination against, LGBT people living in South America’s most populous city. The first stage of the project aims… Read more »
Ecuador’s new lesbian health minister to close ‘gay cure clinics’
The appointment of a lesbian politician as Ecuador’s new health minister has caused a stir this week, as she announced a campaign to shut down religious ‘lesbian cure’ clinics. Ecuadorian president, Rafael Correa, announced the appointment of Carina Vance Mafla, who is openly gay, as the newest member of his cabinet. The American-born activist hit… Read more »
Festival kicks off 4th Patagonian Festival of Sexual Diversity
El Bolson (Télam) – Families and young people living in Patagonia, as well as domestic and foreign tourists of all ages took part Thursday in the opening quarter of the Patagonian Festival for Sexual Diversity. The festival, which runs until Saturday morning, the entity was organized by the South Open and sponsored by the National… Read more »
National consultations on scrapping gay laws delayed; SASOD calls it “inexcusable”
Guyana’s two-year old delay in holding national consultations on the decriminalizing of homosexuality is being labeled “inexcusable” by a gay advocacy group. And with time already running out for the next United Nations review, government is yet to say exactly when this work will begin. Scrapping British colonial laws was also one of the agenda… Read more »
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