MALTA. X Factor Malta host Ben Camille took to his Instagram stories to denounce gay conversion therapy: “If you’re gay, embrace it. Thank your lucky stars. Just as if you’re straight or bisexual. Thank your lucky stars that you’ve identified your sexuality and that you know what it is. Because that means you can find love”
POLAND. The leader of Poland’s Senate, Stanislaw Karczewski, tweeted an attack on gay people. Roughly translated: ‘We say “No!” attack on children. We will not be intimidated. We will defend the Polish family.’
SERBIA. Prime Minister Ana Brnabic’s partner has a baby boy: ‘The delivery on Wednesday went well and both the mother, Milica Djurdjic, and the baby are “doing fine,” a brief statement said. Brnabic became Serbia’s first ever female and gay prime minister in 2017, a surprise move in the Balkan country, where gay people often face harassment and attacks. Brnabic and Djurdjic have attended public events together such as concerts or exhibition openings.’
MALAYSIA. After the Malaysian tourist minister says there are no gay people in Malaysia, the tourism bureau says it will not stop gay people from visiting: “As a main tourism destination in Asia, Malaysia has never and will not do anything to stop our guests based on their sexual orientation, religion and cultural belief.”
KENYA. “Gay” street art causes stir: ‘It can be found on some stairs, leading to a footbridge near the University of Nairobi, which have been painted in the colours of the rainbow. Naitiemu Nyanjom, one of the artists involved, described it as a “stairway to heaven”. But some have accused the artists of secretly promoting homosexuality by painting an LGBT rainbow flag. Homosexual acts are illegal in Kenya, punishable by 14 years in jail.’
JAPAN. Tokyo District Court rejects damages claim filed by parents of student who died after being outed: “The parents sued Hitotsubashi University, claiming the state-run school failed to respond properly to the outing of the 25-year-old that led to his death. But the Tokyo District Court ruled the university had not failed in its responsibility to secure a safe environment for its students, with presiding Judge Masanori Suzuki saying there was no issues with the way professors and staff members had dealt with the situation. The student was exposed as gay by the other student to a group of about 10 peers on messaging app Line in June 2015. Two months later, the student suffered a panic attack in class and left before fatally falling from a university building.”
SOUTH KOREA. Pride organizers urge government to protect them: ‘The committee said it had submitted a request to the Seoul Metropolitan Government on Tuesday for the use of Seoul Plaza, the launching point for the parade since 2015. “The government should drop its attitude of walking on eggshells around haters and instead show its willingness to guarantee universal rights for the socially marginalized, including sexual minorities,” said Kang Myung-jin, head of the Seoul Queer Culture Festival Organizing Committee. He called on the Seoul government and police to be more active in protecting their rights to hold the event and in guaranteeing participants’ safety.’
Last year:
BRAZIL. Bolsonaro government wasting no time resurrecting bills that would ban gay marriage, among other things: “Brazil, since its constitution and as a Christian nation, while obeying the principle of secularity, maintains, in the Constitution and in the laws, the values of the family, derived from the culture of its people and the Natural Law… After the legal defense, we began to defend the Christian Values, since the authors represent the Catholic and evangelicals, respectively. We firmly believe that God created us and designated marriage and the family as the most fundamental of human relationships. In today’s world, as in the past, families are targeted by those who struggle against Christian values… God approved of sexual relations within marriage, but same-sex relationships are absolutely forbidden by God…”
UNITED KINGDOM. Birmingham school stops teaching LGBTQ curriculum after hundreds of parents pull children from school: ‘On Friday about 600 Muslim children, aged between four and 11, were withdrawn from the school, parents said. The school would not confirm the number. Last month, the Guardian reported that the assistant headteacher of the school was forced to defend the lessons after 400 predominantly Muslim parents signed a petition calling for them to be dropped from the curriculum.’
CANADA. Nova Scotia students will soon be able to mark their gender as “X” at school. “This month, the category of sex will be replaced with gender, allowing students to choose F for female, M for male or X for non-binary, transgender, gender fluid, gender diverse or another gender identity.”
BONUS VIDEO. Why is Russia homophobic?
