World
Out in the World: LGBTQ+ news from Europe & Asia
LGBTQ+ news stories from around the globe including ILGA-Europe, Liechtenstein, Georgia, United Kingdom, Taiwan and New Zealand
ILGA-EUROPE
BRUSSELS, Belgium – The International Lesbian and Gay Association—Europe (ILGA-Europe) released its annual Rainbow Europe Map module ranking countries across the continent on the status of LGBTI rights, revealing that many countries are falling behind as political pressure from far-right politicians grows.
The report was released May 15, just a day after the European Union’s Fundamental Rights Agency released its own report detailing a shocking growth in violence experienced by LGBTQ people across member states over the past year.
“Across Europe, LGBTI people are being targeted by hate speech and violence and their human rights are being actively undermined, yet we still see too many countries across the region stalling in moving legal protection forward and not renewing their commitments through national strategies and action plans,” says ILGA-Europe’s Advocacy Director, Katrin Hugendubel.
“This non-action is dangerous, as without proper legislation in place to protect minorities, including LGBTI people, it will be much too easy for newly elected governments to quickly undermine human rights and democracy.”
Once again, Malta held the lead in the country rankings, as it has for the past nine years, scoring 88% across ILGA-Europe’s categories of equality and nondiscrimination law, family recognition, hate crime and hate speech laws, legal gender recognition, intersex bodily integrity, civil society space, and asylum policies.
Iceland jumped to second place with 83% after passing new laws banning conversion therapy and facilitating legal gender recognition. Belgium reached third place with 78% after banning conversion therapy.
At the other end of the spectrum, Russia (2%), Azerbaijan (2%), and Turkiye (5%) hold the bottom rankings amid ongoing crackdowns on LGBT rights and expression in all three countries. Last year, Russia banned “the LGBT movement” as an “extremist organization.”
Several countries jumped up the rankings in this year’s report, including Greece and Estonia, which both legalized same-sex marriage. Liechtenstein collected points for extending adoption rights to same-sex couples, although it did not collect points for legalizing same-sex marriage, which happened the day after the report was released.
Germany, Bulgaria, Iceland, and Slovenia all collected points for passing legislation on hate crimes and hate speech, while Belgium, Cyprus, Iceland, Norway, and Portugal all collected points for banning conversion therapy.
But the changes haven’t all been positive. Several countries tumbled down the rankings as progress stalled on LGBTQ rights. Montenegro, Finland, Spain, Sweden, and Slovenia all lost points because their governments failed to renew action plans to promote LGBT rights. The report also noted the looming threat of right-wing governments across Europe, including in Italy where the national government has restricted the recognition of same-sex parents, and in several countries which are eying restrictions on legal gender recognition and trans health care, including France, UK, Slovakia, and Croatia.
The UK once occupied the top spot on ILGA-Europe’s rankings, but has fallen to 15th place as other countries press ahead on LGBT rights while the UK’s Conservative government has increasingly come under the sway of an anti-trans moral panic.
LIECHTENSTEIN
VADUZ, Liechtenstein – The Alpine microstate Liechtenstein saw its Parliament give final approval to legalizing same-sex marriage in a near-unanimous vote Wednesday.
By a vote of 24-1, Parliament approved a series of bills that would amend marriage law to allow same-sex couples to marry in the country of about 30,000 people nestled between Switzerland and Austria. The only “no” vote came from an MP from the right-wing populist Democrats for Liechtenstein party.
The new law will come into effect on Jan 1, 2025, as long as it is not vetoed by the Prince or challenged in a citizen-initiated referendum. The Prince is not expected to veto the bill, as he has previously expressed support for same-sex marriage.
Under the new law, no new civil unions will be registered, although same-sex couples already in same-sex unions will be allowed to continue their unions.
Liechtenstein’s Parliament had already amended the law to allow same-sex couples to adopt last year, following an order from the Constitutional Court.
The tiny, conservative-leaning and mostly Catholic country has been slow to adopt LGBT rights. It lacks any legal protections from employment discrimination or anti-LGBT hate crimes.
ILGA-Europe ranked Liechtenstein 33rd out of 48 states in Europe, with a score of 28% on its latest Rainbow Europe Map. This decision on marriage will likely see it rise somewhat in the rankings next year.
The Catholic Church has previously strongly rejected same-sex marriage. Last year, the country’s archbishop Wolfgang Haas had called same-sex marriage a “diabolical attack against the Creator’s will to salvation,” and cancelled a planned service for opening of parliament in protest of the law. Haas has since retired.
The decision makes Liechtenstein the last German-speaking country to legalize same-sex marriage.
In a state posted to its Facebook group, the Liechtenstein LGBT advocacy group FLay thanked the lawmakers and other supporters who helped get same-sex marriage legalized in the country.
“We are looking forward to introducing marriage for all per 1 January 2025 and thank you to all who have fought for it,” the statement said.
Liechtenstein is the 22nd European country to introduce same-sex marriage, bringing the global total to 38 countries. A bill before the Thai senate is expected to pass before the summer, which would make it the 39th.
GEORGIA
TBILISI, Georgia – The government of the former Soviet republic of Georgia says it is close to finalizing a new law against so-called LGBT propaganda inspired by similar laws passed in Russia and Belarus in recent years, in what critics say is an attempt to maintain power by stoking divisions on a culturally sensitive issue.
The Georgian capital of Tbilisi has been rocked by protests for weeks as the ruling Georgian Dream party reintroduced a controversial “Foreign Agents” bill inspired by a similar Russian law, which requires any organization that receives funding from out of the country to register with the government as “organizations serving the interests of a foreign power.”
Critics say the bill is intended to silence and discredit media and civil society that is critical of the government.
Friday saw intense protests marked by anti-government and pro-European demonstrators marking the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia while anti-LGBTQ protesters, including prime minister Irakli Kobakhidze and church leaders took to the streets to mark the government’s competing “Family Purity Day,” Reuters reported.
The party had first introduced the foreign agents bill last year, but withdrew it after months of protests and condemnation from European Union countries. The government reintroduced the bill this spring, with some observers suggesting it’s an attempt to tip this October’s national elections in their favor. For weeks, protesters have attempted to halt passage of the law, but Parliament gave it final approval May 14. It was vetoed by president Salome Zurabishvili on Saturday, but the government has enough votes in parliament to override the veto.
The proposed anti-LGBTQ law would amend article 30 of the Georgian Constitution to include a host of regulations restricting LGBTQ rights. It would ban recognition of same-sex relationships, ban adoption by gay people or same-sex couples, ban medical interventions to facilitate gender change, restrict recognition of gender to that of biological sex, and ban advocacy for recognition of same-sex couples or trans people.
To pass, the bill would require at least a ¾ vote of parliament (113 votes), or a 2/3 vote (100 votes) in each of two successive parliaments. The government currently controls 84 of the 150 seats in parliament, but likely believes it can pull enough votes from the opposition to pass the constitutional law.
Critics have noted that both laws put Georgia’s application to join the European Union in jeopardy as they clearly attack the fundamental rights at the heart of the Union. But while the EU has been sharply critical of the foreign agents law, its criticism of the anti-LGBTQ law has been far more muted.
Local activists say that the EU’s silence has been strategic, as any criticism would play into the hands of Georgian Dream, who claim that LGBTQ rights are a “pseudo-liberal ideology” advanced by a decadent West.
The timing of the bill is likely meant to further divide the opposition as protests mount against the foreign agents law. Georgian Dream has been sliding in the polls since it was returned to power in 2020, but still commands a plurality of support compared to the highly fractured opposition according to most polls.
Georgian Dream politicians have deep ties to Russia, and have increasingly sided with Russia in international and cultural disputes, including by refusing to impose sanction against Russia for the invasion of Ukraine. The support is ironic, considering that Russian forces invaded Georgia in 2008 and continues to support two unrecognized breakaway republics that resulted from that war.
On Friday, Republican Congressman Joe Wilson of the House Foreign Affairs Committee announced that he plans to introduce legislation to sanction Georgian leaders over their assault on democracy and introduce incentives for the government to reverse course.
ILGA-Europe ranked Georgia 36th out of 48 countries, with a score of just 25% on its most recent Rainbow Europe Map this week.
UNITED KINGDOM
LONDON, UK – The Conservative government of the UK has directed schools in England to ban discussion of gender identity in schools and restrict sex education for children under age 9, in an update to statutory guidance issued to schools that is currently under review.
Although the guidance has not yet been released or put into effect, LGBTQ activists and government critics are already comparing the guidance to the notorious Thatcher-era Section 28, which banned discussion of homosexuality in all schools across the UK from 1988 until it was repealed in England and Wales in 2003 and in Scotland in 2000.
The UK has long been in the grip of an anti-trans moral panic, fostered by segments of the ruling Conservative Party that are hostile to trans people and influential British celebrities like Harry Potter creator JK Rowling who has long campaigned against trans people’s rights.
Last week, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak appeared on ITV’s daytime talk show Loose Women, where he complained that “gender ideology” was infiltrating UK schools.
“Children were being exposed to lots of different things,” Sunak said. “You know, we’ve got lots of people talking to kids, they were talking about [how] you can have 72 different gender identities.”
There is no evidence that children in UK schools are being taught that there are 72 different gender identities or are being taught to engage in inappropriate behavior.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who was recently reelected to a third term, blasted the government’s new policy as being harmful to the children the government claims to want to protect.
“We’ve just got to be a bit aware when we have these conversations that we’re conscious about the impact that this has on trans young people,” he said.
“Many of these people – young people – learn about these things through social media. You know, the proliferation of porn, and also the proliferation of misogynists like Andrew Tate. If we’re delaying proper, responsible teaching until later on, I worry about who’s going to be rebutting some of the nonsense on social media.”
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan tried to mollify critics by claiming that the new policy will not restrict discussion of adults who have undergone gender reassignment.
“Gender reassignment” is listed as protected characteristic under the 2010 Equality Act, but the act does not list “gender identity” or “gender expression” as protected characteristics.
“Let me be clear on gender ideology in schools,” Keegan said on BBC Radio 4’s Today. “The thing that we’re trying to stop is not gender reassignment. Gender reassignment is something that is a protected characteristic – that adults are allowed to reassign their gender, there’s a process that they go through for that. That is a protected characteristic, and that can be taught.
“Gender identity and ideology is something different, and this is part of probably similar campaign groups that have been building this set of materials and this ideology,” she said.
Jo Morgan, the chief executive of Engendering Change, an organization that provides sex education workshops in schools, disputed the idea that schools are teaching children to be trans.
“They are concerned that schools are becoming breeding grounds for transgenderism. There’s no evidence to support that. What we are doing as educators is saying, this is in the news, in social media, it’s everywhere – let’s unpack it together and look at what sources of information you are being exposed to, let’s talk about how this relates to the Equality Act,” Morgan told The Guardian.
ILGA-Europe ranked the UK 15th out of 48 countries with a score of just 52% on its most recent Rainbow Europe report, citing a lack of legal protections for trans people and outdated procedures for legal gender recognition.
TAIWAN
TAIPEI, Taiwan – Outgoing Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-Wen hosted RuPaul’s Drag Race winner Nymphia Wind at a ceremony at her presidential office May 15, in a sign of the growing acceptance of LGBT people in the Asian island nation.
The Taiwanese-American performer Nymphia Wind was crowned the winner of season 16 of RuPaul’s Drag Race in an episode that aired April 19, taking home the crown and scepter and a cash prize of $200,000. She is the first person of East Asian descent to win the long-running reality competition series. American drag artist Raja, who is of Dutch-Indonesian ancestry, was the Drag Race first winner of Asian descent after taking the crown in season 3.
Tsai had been quick to offer her congratulations to Wind, posting a message on Instagram just days after her victory. Less than a month later, Wind was in her office, where she performed a trio of songs in full drag – Lady Gaga’s “Marry the Night,” Taiwanese singer Huang Fei’s “Chase, Chase, Chase,” and Jolin Tsai’s gender equality hit “Womxnly,” which she performed with a quintet of backup dancers in drag.
“I want to thank you for demonstrating your fearless beauty, standing up and breaking down barriers,” Tsai said to Wind after her performance, noting that her win “will bring courage to many young people in Taiwan, so they stay fearless and stay true to their hearts.”
Under Tsai’s leadership, Taiwan has become a bastion of liberal values, including progressive attitudes toward LGBTQ people. Among recent landmarks, Taiwan legalized same-sex marriage and adoption, and it banned conversion therapy, and the capital Taipei hosts East Asia’s largest Pride Festival.
“Thank you for your contributions to this country, so that I could grow up to be like this today,” Wind told Tsai after her performance. “Thank you for your eight years of dedication, becoming our Taiwan mother.”
Tsai is due to step down May 20. Her successor, Vice President Lai Ching-te, last year became the most senior government official to march in Taipei’s Pride parade.
NEW ZEALAND
(Photo Credit: Wellington Regional Hospital/Tom Ackroyd)
WELLINGTON, New Zealand – Activists are calling for greater access to gender-affirming surgeries after the New Zealand Medical Journal published a report of a trans teenager who attempted a self-mastectomy at home and had to be treated at hospital.
The teenager, an eighteen-year-old high school student, had reportedly watched a “how to” video on YouTube and prepared instruments for the surgery himself. He went to the hospital hours into the surgery after he became concerned that he had damaged a nerve while attempting to remove his left breast.
Surgeons at the hospital then removed both breasts, and he was discharged a day later. The report notes that the boy reported higher confidence and self-esteem at a post-operation interview a month later. The hospital’s mental health team assessed that he did not have a psychiatric disorder and was not suicidal, but that he had attempted the surgery as an act of desperation.
“Due to the long wait times of referral in the public healthcare system, an inability to afford a private consultation and the significant psychological stress of having breasts at an upcoming pool party he planned to complete a bilateral (double) self-mastectomy at home,” wrote the report’s authors, Wellington Regional Hospital doctors Mairarangi Haimona, Sue Hui Ong and Scott Diamond.
Gender-affirming surgeries are covered by New Zealand’s healthcare system, but wait times for surgeries can be lengthy – ten years or longer for “bottom surgery” by the only doctor in the country who performs it.
Top surgery can be accessed in the parallel private system for around NZ $15,000 (approximately US $9,200) and is generally not covered by private health insurance, putting it out of reach for many.
“Transgender people often need to self-advocate for care in the public health system, but with increasing demand and associated psychological and possible physical harm it’s crucial for public services to be more accessible to an under-served population,” the report’s authors concluded.
Self-surgery is an incredibly risky option for trans people – complications can range from scarring to infection to death. And the surgeries may not even work if the patient is taken to the hospital and patched up due to complications.
Te Ahi Wi-Hongi, executive director of the advocacy group Gender Minorities Aotearoa, urges any trans person considering home surgery to avoid it and “hang in there.”“It might seem right now it’s completely hopeless, but we went from a 40-year waiting list for genital reconstruction surgery to 10 years or less when in 2019 the Government made changes [announcing $3 million funding for genital gender-affirming surgery],” Wi-Hongi told the New Zealand Herald.
Global LGBTQ+ news gathering & reporting by Rob Salerno
Nepal
Nepalese Supreme Court issues landmark marriage equality ruling
Same-sex couples since 2023 allowed to marry under ‘temporary registration system’
The Nepalese Supreme Court on June 18 ruled the country must extend full marriage rights to same-sex couples.
The Supreme Court in 2023 ordered the country’s government to allow same-sex couples to temporarily register their marriages, but this recognition did not guarantee full marriage rights to gays and lesbians.
“Since the Supreme Court’s landmark 2023 decision, dozens of same-sex couples have legally married in Nepal under a temporary registration system,” said the Blue Diamond Society, a Nepalese LGBTQ+ advocacy group, in a June 19 press release. “However, the lack of national legislation has created uncertainty and fear for couples who want to register their marriage.”
“Many couples have been denied marriage licenses by local clerks who claim there is no national law instructing them to register marriages of same-sex couples,” further noted the Blue Diamond Society. “Other couples have been forced to file legal cases and endure costly legal battles simply to register their marriage. And even among couples who have registered their marriages, there is concern that their marriages may not be respected when it comes to adoption, inheritance, and other important protections they need to care for their families.”
Thailand and Taiwan are among the countries that have extended full marriage rights to same-sex couples.
The Japanese Supreme Court in March said it will consider six marriage equality lawsuits. The South Korean marriage equality movement in recent years has gained momentum with several court rulings that recognized same-sex relationships.
The Blue Diamond Society in its press release notes the June 18 decision is the fourth time the Supreme Court has ruled in favor of marriage equality.
“Today is a day of celebration for LGBTQIA+ people and families across Nepal,” said Blue Diamond Society Executive Director Manisha Dhakal. “The Supreme Court has once again affirmed that same-sex couples deserve the same dignity, respect, and legal protections as any other couple.”
“We are grateful for the court’s continued leadership,” added Dhakal. “With a newly elected government more committed than ever to equality, now is the time to complete this important work by updating Nepal’s civil code and ensuring marriage equality is fully and clearly protected in law.”
Dhakal in the press release said the Blue Diamond Society “looks forward to working constructively with the government of Nepal, lawmakers, and civil society partners to ensure the court’s vision of equality is fully realized.”
“The Supreme Court has spoken clearly,” Dhakal said. “The government has expressed its support for equality. We are encouraged by that commitment and urge Parliament to act swiftly so that every LGBTQIA+ couple in Nepal can access marriage with certainty, dignity, and respect. Nepal has already taken a historic step. Now it is time to finish the job.”
United Kingdom
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to resign
Announcement comes after Labour Party election loses, ambassador scandal
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday announced he will step down once his party chooses his successor.
Starmer succeeded Rishi Sunak of the Conservative Party in No. 10 Downing St. in 2024.
The Labour Party included a ban on so-called conversion therapy in England and Wales in its elections manifesto. King Charles III in last month’s King Speech that he delivered in the British House of Lords said a transgender-inclusive ban is among the British government’s legislative priorities.
Charles delivered his King’s Speech days after the Labour lost more than 1,000 council seats in local and regional elections. The May 7 vote took place against the backdrop of widespread criticism over Starmer’s decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the U.S., despite his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
Former Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham is seen as the frontrunner to become Labour’s new leader — and the UK’s next prime minister. Burnham was sworn in as an MP in the House of Commons hours after Starmer announced his resignation.
Starmer in his resignation announcement said he expects his successor will be in place before MPs return from their summer recess on Sept. 1.
Colombia
Abelardo de la Espriella elected Colombia’s next president
Far-right lawyer has pledged to end ‘gender ideology’ in the country
Abelardo de la Espriella on Sunday narrowly defeated Iván Cepeda in the second round of Colombia’s presidential election.
De la Espriella, a far-right lawyer who has praised U.S. President Donald Trump and Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, beat Sen. Iván Cepeda, a member of outgoing President Gustavo Petro’s Historic Pact party, by a 49.7-48.7 percent margin. De la Espriella will take office on Aug. 7.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday spoke with De la Espriella, who has pledged to end so-called “gender ideology” in Colombia, and congratulated him on his victory.
“This result reflects the will of the Colombian people and their commitment to democracy,” said State Department spokesperson Tommy Piggott in a statement. “The Trump administration looks forward to working closely with his incoming administration to advance our bilateral and regional security cooperation, end illegal immigration to the United States, and strengthen the economic ties between our two countries. Through our close bilateral cooperation, and under the leadership of President-elect De la Espriella, Colombia’s best days are ahead.”
The election’s first round took place on June 1.
Former Bogotá Mayor Claudia López, a centrist who ran as an independent, finished fifth. She would have become Colombia’s first female and first lesbian president if she had won the election.
De la Espriella and Cepeda faced off in the runoff because neither received a majority of votes in the first round.
El Salvador
‘Mani Fiesta tu Orgullo’: memoria, resistencia y celebración marcan inicio del Mes del Orgullo en El Salvador
Actividad reunió a cientos de personas en un espacio de encuentro, cultura y reivindicación
Entre los sonidos vibrantes de la batucada, las luces de colores, la música y los mensajes de reivindicación, el 5 de junio se llevó a cabo una nueva edición de “Mani Fiesta tu Orgullo”, un evento que durante los últimos cuatro años se ha convertido en una de las actividades más emblemáticas para dar inicio a las celebraciones y acciones de incidencia política, cultural y comunitaria del Mes del Orgullo en El Salvador.
La actividad, organizada por la Federación Salvadoreña LGBTI en conjunto con el Centro Cultural de España en El Salvador, congregó entre 200 y 300 personas que se dieron cita para compartir un espacio de encuentro, reflexión, memoria histórica y celebración de la diversidad.
Desde las 7 p.m. y hasta las 10 p.m., el recinto se transformó en un punto de reunión para activistas, artistas, organizaciones de la sociedad civil, personas de la comunidad LGBTQ+ y aliados que año con año encuentran en esta actividad una oportunidad para reafirmar su identidad y fortalecer los lazos comunitarios.
Más allá de una fiesta, los organizadores destacan que “Mani Fiesta tu Orgullo” representa un acto político y social de gran importancia, pues marca oficialmente el inicio de las actividades que diversas organizaciones desarrollan durante junio y permite posicionar públicamente las demandas, preocupaciones y aspiraciones de la comunidad LGBTQ+ salvadoreña.
Cuatro años construyendo comunidad y visibilidad
La iniciativa nació hace cuatro años como una propuesta para abrir el Mes del Orgullo desde un espacio cultural, inclusivo y accesible para todas las personas. Desde entonces, la actividad ha evolucionado hasta convertirse en una referencia dentro de la agenda de junio, permitiendo que organizaciones, activistas y miembros de la comunidad encuentren un espacio para compartir experiencias, fortalecer alianzas y proyectar mensajes de incidencia.
Para la Federación Salvadoreña LGBTI, uno de los aspectos más significativos ha sido el respaldo constante del Centro Cultural de España, institución que ha abierto sus puertas para albergar la actividad y contribuir a la promoción de los derechos humanos y la diversidad.
“Para nosotras y nosotros es muy gratificante contar con el apoyo del Centro Cultural de España, que ha sido un aliado importante para poder desarrollar este espacio y hacerlo crecer cada año”, destacaron integrantes de la Federación.
La continuidad del evento también refleja la capacidad de resistencia y organización de la comunidad LGBTQ+ en un contexto que continúa presentando desafíos relacionados con la igualdad, el reconocimiento y la garantía de derechos.
Durante estos cuatro años, “Mani Fiesta tu Orgullo” ha servido como un espacio de expresión artística, pero también como una plataforma para visibilizar las realidades que enfrenta la población diversa en el país.
Un hecho histórico: la participación activa de la Asamblea Feminista
Uno de los aspectos que marcó esta edición fue la participación activa de la Asamblea Feminista, organización que desde el año pasado se ha incorporado de manera más directa a la coordinación y desarrollo de las actividades del Mes del Orgullo.
Aunque históricamente mujeres lesbianas y bisexuales han formado parte de las marchas y acciones impulsadas por la comunidad LGBTQ+, su participación en los procesos organizativos había sido limitada. La incorporación de la Asamblea Feminista representa, según activistas, un paso importante hacia la construcción de un movimiento más amplio, inclusivo y articulado.
Para Karla Guevara, secretaria general de la Federación Salvadoreña LGBTI, este acercamiento constituye un hecho sin precedentes dentro de la historia reciente del movimiento.
“Creo que esto es inédito, y a nosotras y nosotres como Federación nos llena de orgullo que las compañeras lesbianas y bisexuales se hayan podido sumar a estas actividades del Mes del Orgullo”, expresó.
La participación de organizaciones feministas también evidencia una creciente convergencia entre distintas luchas sociales que comparten principios relacionados con la igualdad, la dignidad humana y la defensa de los derechos fundamentales. Para muchas personas asistentes, esta articulación representa una oportunidad para fortalecer redes de apoyo y construir agendas comunes frente a desafíos que afectan a diversos sectores históricamente excluidos.
Arte, música y celebración como herramientas de resistencia
La jornada estuvo marcada por expresiones artísticas que aportaron energía y color a la celebración. La reconocida batucada Las Musas fue una de las agrupaciones encargadas de animar la noche, aportando ritmos vibrantes que acompañaron gran parte de la actividad.
Asimismo, la participación de la DJ Drag Alexa Evangelista contribuyó a crear un ambiente festivo y diverso, donde la música se convirtió en un lenguaje común para las personas asistentes.
Más allá del entretenimiento, las expresiones artísticas desempeñan un papel fundamental dentro de los movimientos sociales, especialmente en aquellos relacionados con la diversidad sexual y de género.
El arte, la música, la danza y las expresiones culturales permiten construir comunidad, fortalecer identidades y generar espacios seguros donde las personas pueden expresarse libremente. En este sentido, “Mani Fiesta tu Orgullo” demuestra cómo la celebración también puede convertirse en una forma de resistencia frente a la discriminación y la exclusión.
Un manifiesto dedicado a la memoria y la gratitud
Uno de los momentos más significativos de la noche fue la lectura del manifiesto del orgullo correspondiente a este año. A diferencia de otros años, el documento estuvo enfocado principalmente en la memoria histórica y el reconocimiento de quienes construyeron los primeros espacios de organización y resistencia en condiciones mucho más adversas.
El mensaje recordó a aquellas personas que, en décadas pasadas, comenzaron a construir comunidad desde la clandestinidad, cuando la discriminación social era aún más intensa y los espacios seguros prácticamente inexistían. También rindió homenaje a quienes fallecieron durante la pandemia del VIH/Sida en las décadas de 1980 y 1990, una de las etapas más dolorosas para la población LGBTQ+ a nivel mundial.
El manifiesto destacó además la importancia de recordar la primera Marcha del Orgullo realizada en El Salvador en 1997, un acontecimiento histórico que marcó un antes y un después en la visibilidad pública de la comunidad diversa. Asimismo, se hizo un reconocimiento especial a las personas adultas mayores de la comunidad, incluyendo mujeres lesbianas, hombres gays, personas bisexuales y mujeres trans, cuyas experiencias y luchas han contribuido a abrir camino para las nuevas generaciones.
Para muchas de las personas presentes, este enfoque representó una invitación a mirar hacia atrás con gratitud, reconociendo que los avances actuales son el resultado de décadas de trabajo, organización y valentía.
El orgullo como memoria, comunidad y esperanza
Aunque junio suele asociarse con celebraciones, desfiles y manifestaciones públicas, para muchas organizaciones LGBTQ+ el orgullo también implica memoria, reflexión y compromiso con las generaciones futuras.
Eventos como “Mani Fiesta tu Orgullo” permiten recordar que detrás de cada conquista existen historias de personas que enfrentaron discriminación, violencia y exclusión para abrir espacios de participación y reconocimiento. Al mismo tiempo, estas actividades fortalecen los vínculos comunitarios y generan oportunidades para que nuevas personas se integren a los movimientos de defensa de derechos humanos.
La edición de este año dejó en evidencia que la comunidad LGBTQ+ salvadoreña continúa apostando por la organización colectiva, la construcción de alianzas y la recuperación de la memoria histórica como herramientas fundamentales para avanzar. Con una asistencia que superó las expectativas de los organizadores y una creciente participación de distintos sectores sociales, “Mani Fiesta tu Orgullo” reafirmó su lugar como una de las actividades más significativas del inicio del Mes del Orgullo en El Salvador.
Más que una celebración, fue un espacio para recordar, agradecer y reconocer que cada paso dado en la búsqueda de igualdad ha sido posible gracias a quienes, desde distintos momentos de la historia, decidieron levantar la voz y construir comunidad. Y precisamente allí radica la esencia de esta actividad: en recordar que el orgullo no solo se celebra, también se hereda, se construye y se comparte.
The Netherlands
Netherlands to ban conversion therapy
Dutch Senate on Tuesday approved prohibition bill
The Dutch Senate on Tuesday approved a bill that would ban so-called conversion therapy in the Netherlands.
NL Times, an online Dutch newspaper, reported 57 of 75 senators backed the proposal. The Dutch House of Representatives, the lower house of the country’s parliament, approved the measure last September.
Conversion therapy practitioners could face up to two years in prison and a €25,000 ($28,980) fine under the bill once it becomes law after King Willem-Alexander gives his royal assent.
“We have been fighting for the ban with victims and colleague organizations for almost 15 years and are very happy with this result,” said COC Nederland, a Dutch LGBTQ+ and intersex rights group, in a statement after Tuesday’s vote. “We see it as a victory for the victims.”
Seven EU countries — Belgium, Cyprus, France, Malta, Norway, Portugal, and Spain — have banned conversion therapy outright.
Greece in 2022 banned the practice for minors. German lawmakers in 2020 passed a law that prohibits conversion therapy for minors and for adults who have not consented to undergoing the widely discredited practice.
The European Parliament in April voted in favor of prohibiting conversion therapy across the EU. The European Commission last month said all EU countries should ban it.
Rob Jetten, the country’s first openly gay prime minister, took office in February.
This year’s World Pride will take place in Amsterdam from July 25-Aug. 8.
World
War, geopolitical tensions with U.S. overshadow Pride month events
Hungary’s new government has lifted Budapest Pride ban
Activists around the world are marking Pride month this year against the backdrop of war and geopolitical tensions with the U.S.
KyivPride on June 21 will hold its annual Pride march in the Ukrainian capital. The group, which is raising funds for the country’s air defense, on June 14 hosted KyivPride Park, an event that highlighted LGBTQ+ service members and veterans.
Russia in 2022 launched its war against Ukraine.
Oleksandr Demenko is the head of Ukrainian LGBT Military for Equal Rights. He also fought to defend Azovstal, a sprawling steel mill in Mariupol, a city in eastern Ukraine that Russian forces occupied after a months-long siege that ended on May 20, 2022.
Demenko in a KyivPride press release said that “almost no one talked about LGBTIQ+ servicemembers” before the war.
“Today we have our own platform, and every year more and more people are ready to speak openly,” he noted. “This is the best proof of how the country is changing.”
“When we talk about rights and equality, we are talking about specific people — service members who defend Ukraine. We carry out the same duties as everyone else, yet we still do not have the same rights,” added Demenko. “That is why it is so important that the state finally recognizes our families. On June 21, we will remind everyone of this at the KyivPride March.”
More than 100,000 people participated in Tel Aviv’s 28th annual Pride parade on June 12.
“Each year, we share a joyful day in Tel Aviv-Yafo,” said Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai. “It is a day when we come to celebrate the society we strive to be: one where people are valued not for who they are, whom they love, where they fall on the spectrum, or the kind of family they choose to create.”
Tel Aviv authorities last year cancelled the parade, which was to have taken place hours after Israel launched airstrikes against Iran. Tehran, in turn, launched hundreds of missiles toward the Jewish State.
President Donald Trump on June 23, 2025, announced a ceasefire that ended the 12-day war.
Israel and the U.S. on Feb. 28 launched airstrikes against Iran. The Jewish State continues to carry out airstrikes against Hezbollah, an Iran-backed Shia militant group the U.S. and Israel have designated a terrorist organization, in Lebanon.
Reports indicate the U.S. and Iran this week are poised to formally sign a ceasefire agreement. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday said his government would continue its efforts to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.
Hamas militants on Oct. 7, 2023, killed roughly 1,200 people, including upwards of 360 partygoers at the Nova Music Festival, when they launched a surprise attack against Israel from the Gaza Strip. The militants also kidnapped more than 200 people.
A case that South Africa filed with the International Court of Justice accuses Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in the Hamas-controlled enclave after Oct. 7.
Roma Pride organizers earlier this month banned two Jewish LGBTQ+ groups from having floats in their June 20 parade in the Italian capital because they refused to categorize the Israeli government’s post-Oct. 7 war in Gaza as a genocide. The decision has sparked outrage among Jewish organizations around the world.
“The participation of a float in Roma Pride therefore also assumes — regardless of the sexual orientation, identity, religion, ethnicity or nationality of the person you see — a clear and unequivocal position of condemnation of the genocide perpetrated by the Israeli government,” said Roma Pride in a May 26 statement. “The history of our republic is a history of resistance. The history of our movement is a history of resistance. Roma Pride, therefore, supports the right to exist and to resist (for) the Palestinian people oppressed by Israeli government’s criminal and genocidal conduct.”
Sipineq+, a Greenlandic LGBTQ+ rights group, organized its annual Pride parade that took place in Nuuk, the mineral-rich island’s capital, on June 13.
Trump since he took office for the second time has called for the U.S. to take control of Greenland, a self-governing Danish territory with a population of less than 60,000 people. Trump claims the U.S. needs to control the island in the Arctic Ocean between Europe and North America because of national security.
Cuba’s National Center for Sexual Education, a group that Mariela Castro, the daughter of former Cuban President Raúl Castro directs, last month held a series of events that commemorated the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia.
The IDAHOBiT commemorations took place against the backdrop of widespread blackouts and a severe fuel shortage after Venezuela stopped oil shipments to Cuba after American forces seized now former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, on Jan. 3. Federal prosecutors last month also indicted Raúl Castro over his alleged role in the 1996 shooting down of four planes that Brothers to the Rescue, a Miami-based Cuban exile group, operated over the Florida Straits that separate Cuba and the Florida Keys.
Raúl Castro, 94, was Cuba’s defense minister when the incident took place.
New Hungarian government lifts Budapest Pride ban
The Budapest Pride march will take place in the Hungarian capital on June 27, less than two months after Prime Minister Péter Magyar took office.
Hungarian lawmakers last year passed a bill that banned Pride events and allowed authorities to use facial recognition technology to identify participants. MPs later amended the Hungarian Constitution to ban public LGBTQ+ events.
More than 100,000 people defied the ban and participated in last year’s Budapest Pride parade. The event became one of the largest protests against then-Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his government that Magyar and his center-right Tisza party ousted on April 12.
Hungarian police on May 29 announced they will allow the Budapest Pride march to take place.
“We will march freely in fresh air for our rights, for the democratic Hungary,” said Budapest Pride on its Facebook page.
Erika Hilton, a Black travesti and former sex worker who has been in the Brazilian Congress since 2022, is among those who spoke at the annual São Paulo Pride Parade that took place on the city’s Paulista Avenue on June 7. Reports indicate more than 1 million people took part in the event.
Equal Namibia will hold several events in the country.
The Namibian High Court in 2024 struck down Apartheid-era statutes that criminalized consensual same-sex sexual relations — the country gained its independence from neighboring South Africa in 1990. The Namibian Supreme Court the year before ruled the country must recognize same-sex marriages legally performed elsewhere.
Patrick Reissner, co-founder of Equal Namibia, on Monday told the Los Angeles Blade the organization is preparing to file a marriage equality case. Reissner said two Equal Namibia staffers are planning to participate in this year’s World Pride, which will take place in Amsterdam from July 25-Aug. 8.
“By staying visible, engaging with the international (business) community, and pushing for more research in queer spaces — Namibian, regional, and continental — we hope to prove to our government that the economic and social costs of discrimination cause more damage, affect productivity, limit innovation, and hold back our nation’s investment attractiveness,” Reissner told the Blade. “Diversity and inclusion — across the board — are not only social values, but increasingly vital arguments in shaping our local economies for future generations.”
South Korea
South Korea marriage equality movement gaining momentum
Seoul court on June 5 ruled same-sex couple deserved legal protection
On Oct. 30, 2025, a same-sex couple in South Korea filed a petition with the country’s human rights commission after a public institution denied marriage leave to one of the men and later reduced his pay and performance bonus for taking time off for their wedding ceremony. The commission last month completed its investigation and continues to consider the case.
The petition comes as South Korea’s same-sex couples have won a series of legal victories in recent years, even though the country does not extend marriage rights to them. Courts have increasingly been asked to decide whether existing laws and workplace policies can extend equal treatment to LGBTQ+ people, often in the absence of legislative change.
The employer’s policy granted marriage leave, but it did not define marriage or specify who could claim the benefit. After the employee submitted a wedding invitation and requested a brief leave for a ceremony with his same-sex partner, the institution denied the request and treated his absence as unauthorized.
The South Korean Supreme Court ruled on July 18, 2024, that denying dependent health insurance benefits to same-sex couples while extending them to opposite-sex couples amounted to discriminatory treatment. The court said the unequal treatment infringed on human dignity and the right to pursue happiness.
South Korea’s marriage equality movement has evolved gradually, moving from social taboo and legal nonrecognition toward greater public visibility and limited judicial victories.
In 2004, a same-sex couple unsuccessfully sought a division of assets under a de facto marriage. Nearly a decade later, filmmaker Kim Jho Gwang-soo and his partner, Kim Seung-hwan, applied to register their marriage, but South Korean courts rejected their bid, as well as subsequent attempts by same-sex couples to gain legal recognition.
In February 2023, the Seoul High Court ruled that the National Health Insurance Service must extend dependent health insurance benefits to same-sex partners, marking a landmark legal victory for LGBTQ+ couples. The Supreme Court’s 2024 decision made it final.
Under South Korean law, a de facto marriage generally refers to a couple who live together and hold themselves out as married without formally registering their union. While such relationships may receive limited legal recognition in certain circumstances, a marriage is not legally recognized unless it satisfies legal requirements and is registered with the government.
In a ruling made public on June 5, a Seoul court found a same-sex couple had built a life partnership similar to a common-law marriage and deserved legal protection. The court ordered a third party whose affair led to the relationship’s breakdown to pay 10 million won ($6,611.59) in damages.
The court, however, said existing law did not allow it to recognize the relationship as a common-law marriage, underscoring the legal limits that same-sex couples continue to face.
“There is no evidence that the plaintiff and the former partner held a wedding ceremony or revealed their relationship to acquaintances outside their families,” said the court. “From September 2019, when they shared their finances, or at the latest from June 2023, when they lived with the plaintiff’s family and received engagement rings from the plaintiff’s parents and were recognized as a couple, they shared an emotional, physical and financial relationship with a mutual intent to marry, forming a life partnership similar to a common-law marriage.”
On May 31, 2024, South Korean lawmakers introduced the country’s first marriage equality bill. Former Justice Party member Jang Hye-yeong proposed the legislation that 12 lawmakers from across the political spectrum co-sponsored. and co-sponsored by 12 lawmakers from across the political spectrum. The legislation failed later.
While consensual same-sex relations are not criminalized in South Korea, marriage equality remains unrecognized. Reports suggest many LGBTQ+ people continue to live with limited public visibility.
Recent opinion surveys suggest public support for marriage equality in South Korea has declined.
A 2025 Hankook Research poll found that 31 percent of respondents supported extending marriage rights to same-sex couples, down from 36 percent in 2021. A separate Gallup Korea survey found that 34 percent backed marriage equality while 58 percent opposed it, reversing gains in public support and returning attitudes to levels seen nearly a decade ago.
The report attributed the decline in support to South Korea’s broader social and political climate.
Activists told the publication that far-right mobilization, heightened political tensions, and growing online radicalization among some young men had likely contributed to the shift. They also argued politicians routinely cite a lack of public consensus to delay measures such as the Life Partnership Act and the Marriage Equality Act, describing the argument as an excuse for inaction.
Kiyong Shim, an activist with Chingusai, a Korean gay rights group, told the Los Angeles Blade that the marriage leave dispute illustrates the challenges same-sex couples continue to face in South Korea. Shim said the country’s Civil Act contains no provision that explicitly prohibits same-sex marriage, but that marriage registrations by same-sex couples are refused as a matter of administrative practice.
“Because their relationships have no legal standing, exclusion arises in nearly every area of daily life: marriage leave, family allowances, medical decision-making, inheritance, housing, and more,” said Shim.
He said the marriage equality movement is advancing along two tracks: one is public campaigning, lectures, workshops, and community networking centred on the Marriage for All Korea campaign and the second is through litigation. Fourteen same-sex couples are now plaintiffs in various lawsuits that have been before South Korean courts since 2024.
Shim told the Blade that change is also beginning to take root in South Korea’s judiciary, pointing to the Supreme Court’s July 2024 ruling that recognized dependent health insurance benefits for same-sex partners.
“Those holding political responsibility — in the legislature, the executive, and beyond — continue to turn away from the rights of LGBTQ+ people,” said Shim. “LGBTQ+ individuals remain exposed to discrimination and hatred in everyday life, and many live by painfully concealing who they are. This is precisely why the campaigning cannot stop, and why the work of organizing must continue.”
Shim told the Blade that public opinion is moving in a more favorable direction, albeit gradually. He said attitudes toward homosexuality, sexual minorities, and marriage equality have steadily become more accepting.
“The problem lies in politics,” said Shim. “In Korea, the forces driving anti-homosexuality sentiment are largely conservative Protestant church groups, and these church groups are deeply entangled with politicians in the ruling Democratic Party. As a result, even within the ruling party, this issue is difficult to address. So we are in an asymmetric situation: the judiciary and public opinion are moving forward, while the very political actors charged with legislation and administration remain stationary.”
Taiwan, Nepal, and Thailand have extended marriage rights to same-sex couples. Shim told the Blade there is a growing sense that South Korea is falling behind.
“Society’s perceptions shift most deeply when the fact that LGBTQ+ people are right beside us becomes a natural part of daily life, but this cannot be left to those individuals alone,” he said. “The conditions that make coming out possible must be built by allies together with the community — building workplaces, schools, families, and neighborhoods where discrimination and hatred need not be feared.”
“What Korea needs right now is exactly this kind of broad, everyday solidarity,” added Shim. “Change in the law and change in daily life have to move together, and that is why the work of campaigning and organizing must not stop. There are already many same-sex couples in Korea living as families, caring for one another. The question is not whether they exist — it is when the state will finally recognize this reality in law.”
Niger
Niger recriminalizes homosexuality
Country’s military junta announced new penal code took effect June 12
Niger is the latest African country to recriminalize consensual same-sex sexual relations.
The Associated Press on June 12 reported the country’s military junta announced a new penal code under which anyone who “commits or attempts to commit an immodest or unnatural act or practices lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual (LGBTQIA+) acts” will face between five and 10 years in prison and a fine.
“This same penalty is applicable to persons who officiated the marriage, to the witnesses of the alleged spouses, as well as to persons who have given their consent for the celebration of the marriage and to the organizers,” reads the new code that took effect on June 11.
Niger borders Nigeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, Algeria, Libya, and Chad.
The AP notes homosexuality had not been criminalized in Niger. Anti-LGBTQ+ stigma, however, was widespread.
Lawmakers in Burkina Faso last September recriminalized homosexuality in the country. Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye on March 31 signed into law a bill that increased the penalty for anyone convicted of engaging in consensual same-sex sexual relations from one to five years in prison to five to 10 years.
Ghanaian lawmakers late last month approved a bill that would, among other things, criminalize LGBTQ+ allyship.
Germany
German group slams White House’s LGBTQ+ rights record ahead of World Cup
LSVD says trans, nonbinary soccer fans safety ‘not guaranteed’ in US
A German advocacy group on the eve of the 2026 World Cup sharply criticized the Trump-Vance administration over its anti-LGBTQ+ policies.
The World Cup will take place in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico through July 19. The tournament began on Thursday in Mexico City with Mexico beating South Africa 2-0.
“In the USA, democracy is being gradually dismantled,” said Julia Monro of Federation Queer Diversity, a German LGBTQ+ and intersex rights group known by the acronym LSVD, in a statement released on Wednesday. “In particular, the human rights of trans, intersex, and nonbinary individuals, as well as other queer people, are facing massive attacks and political instrumentalization by the Trump administration.”
The LSVD statement notes sports “has a special responsibility in this situation because it conveys values worldwide that extend beyond the playing field: fairness, respect, and inclusion.”
“This must apply to everyone, including trans* and nonbinary people,” says LSVD. “Those who love sport must also protect those who can only experience it under difficult circumstances.”
“The public visibility of queer people is being pushed back, companies and organizations with diversity strategies are being pressured, and laws for trans*, intersex, and nonbinary people are being tightened,” added the group. “This is not a fringe issue, but directly affects everyday life, mobility, and safety. The way minority rights are treated is a measure of the state of a democratic society. Inhumane measures must not be normalized. The international community must not remain silent as attention on the host country, the USA, increases. The Trump administration could exploit this media platform for further inhumane purposes, in order to transfer its homophobic agenda to other countries.”
LSVD also stressed the “safety of trans* and nonbinary soccer fans is currently not guaranteed in the USA.”
“We advise all queer fans to inform themselves carefully beforehand and to take precautions for their safety,” it said.
The Council for Global Equality is one of the more than 100 organizations that issued a travel advisory for the U.S. ahead of the World Cup.
LSVD in its statement pointed out the German government in 2025 issued a travel advisory for trans and nonbinary people who are planning to visit the U.S. The warning specifically noted President Donald Trump’s executive order that banned the State Department from issuing passports with “X” gender markers.
InterPride, the organization that coordinates WorldPride events, issued a travel advisory for trans and nonbinary people who planned to travel to the U.S. for WorldPride that took place last summer in D.C.
“Due to an executive order issued by the U.S. president on Jan. 20, all travelers must select either ‘male’ or ‘female’ when applying for entry or visas. The gender listed at birth will be considered valid,” read the InterPride advisory. “If your passport has ‘X’ as a gender marker or differs from your birth-assigned gender, we strongly recommend contacting the U.S. diplomatic mission before traveling to confirm entry requirements.”
LSVD notes the German government reiterated its 2025 travel advisory ahead of the World Cup.
“Anyone traveling with a different gender entry, with an ‘X’ marker in their passport, or who does not conform to the state’s expectations during checks, must expect problems in the USA,” said LSVD.
Hungary
Charges against Budapest mayor for organizing Pride march dropped
Country’s new government took office last month
Hungarian authorities on Thursday dropped charges against Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony over his role in organizing the city’s 2025 Pride march.
Karácsony spoke at the event, even though then-Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government banned it.
More than 100,000 people defied the ban and participated in the march that took place on June 28, 2025. The Associated Press notes the Budapest Chief Prosecutor’s Office in January charged Karácsony with “organizing the unlawful assembly despite a prohibition order.”
Karácsony, who has been Budapest’s mayor since 2019, described himself as a “proud defendant” after his indictment.
“It seems that in this country, this is the price you pay if you stand up for your own freedom and the freedom of others,” he said in a statement, according to the AP. “If anyone thinks they can ban me, deter me, or prevent me and my city from doing so, they are gravely mistaken.”
Budapest is Hungary’s capital and largest city.
Prime Minister Péter Magyar took office last month after his center-right Tisza party ousted Orbán’s Fidesz-KDNP coalition in elections that took place on April 12.
Hungarian police on May 29 announced they will allow the Budapest Pride march to take place this year.
The European Union’s top court, the EU Court of Justice, days after Orbán’s ouster struck down Hungary’s anti-LGBTQ+ propaganda law that MPs approved in 2021. The BBC notes Hungarian authorities cited the decision in their decision to drop the charges against Karácsony.
Authorities in Pécs, a city near Hungary’s border with Croatia, have also dropped charges against Géza Buzás-Hábel, who organized a 2025 Pride event.
Television loses a legend and longtime ‘Will & Grace’ director James Burrows
Nepalese Supreme Court issues landmark marriage equality ruling
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to resign
‘Boudoir Boys’ knows how to make you feel sexy
Abelardo de la Espriella elected Colombia’s next president
‘I’m Dead’ is the queer stand-up show giving us life
Rooftopia brings queer daylife to Fiesta Cantina
Can I get a witness!: Rusty Rose on Stonewall, Pride, and the fight that never ended
Obama Center opens with tributes to marriage equality, LGBTQ+ progress
It’s a Dad Race: Six Southern California fathers step into the ‘Drag Race’ spotlight
-
Television4 days ago‘I’m Dead’ is the queer stand-up show giving us life
-
Bars & Parties5 days agoRooftopia brings queer daylife to Fiesta Cantina
-
Pride Special5 days agoCan I get a witness!: Rusty Rose on Stonewall, Pride, and the fight that never ended
-
Illinois5 days agoObama Center opens with tributes to marriage equality, LGBTQ+ progress
-
Television2 days agoIt’s a Dad Race: Six Southern California fathers step into the ‘Drag Race’ spotlight
-
New York4 days agoN.Y. governor’s race presents stark contrast on LGBTQ+ rights
-
Commentary4 days agoMy Juneteenth: The world of difference between emancipation and equality
-
El Salvador4 days ago‘Mani Fiesta tu Orgullo’: memoria, resistencia y celebración marcan inicio del Mes del Orgullo en El Salvador
-
Movies4 days ago‘Stop! That! Train!’ is made for fans, but fun for all
-
Photos4 days agoPHOTOS: OUTLOUD Music Festival