europe
LGBTIQ protesters arrested for ‘offending religious feelings’ in Poland
Polish police have arrested three people over an LGBTIQ rights protest that saw a Jesus statue get a Pride flag makeover. Police in capital city Warsaw announced three people had been detained after the demonstration. Activists protesting against the government’s anti-LGBTIQ policies hung the flags off statues of Jesus Christ, astronomer Copernicus and the Mermaid …
WATCH: ‘Gay purge’ horrors revealed in doco ‘Welcome to Chechnya’
A new HBO documentary exposes the horrors of Chechnya’s violent “gay purge” and the brave efforts of activists to rescue persecuted LGBTIQ Chechens. In recent years, authorities have captured, detained and tortured numerous LGBTIQ Chechens for their sexual orientation in the Russian republic. A number have reportedly died. Acclaimed filmmaker David France’s new doco Welcome …
Hungary just banned legal recognition for transgender people
Hungary’s parliament has voted to end legal recognition for transgender and intersex people, in a regressive move slammed by human rights activists. Right-wing prime minister Viktor Orbán (pictured) and his ruling Fidesz party voted to ban trans and intersex people from obtaining identity documents that reflect their gender identity. Lawmakers voted 134-56 to declare gender …
Europe’s 10 best and 10 worst countries for LGBTIQ people revealed
Advocacy group ILGA-Europe has ranked the most and least LGBTIQ-friendly countries in Europe in its annual Rainbow Europe Country Ranking. The yearly list, backed by the European Union, ranks 49 European countries from most to least LGBTQ-friendly. Each country’s ranking is based on how the laws and policies of each country affect the lives of …
Gay Polish couple give out rainbow masks to fight coronavirus and homophobia
A gay couple in Poland have handed out hundreds of rainbow face masks in the country’s so-called “LGBT-free” zones, to fight both homophobia and the coronavirus. Local leaders have declared a third of the country an “LGBT-free” zone, passing resolutions opposing “LGBT ideology” and vowing to avoid financially supporting NGOs who promote equal rights. But …
Shocking map shows a third of Poland declared ‘LGBT-free zone’
Activists in Poland have showed a third of their country is a self-declared “LGBT-free” zone as local governments pass resolutions against “LGBT ideology”. In 12 months, more than 80 Polish municipal or local governments have proclaimed themselves to be “free from LGBTI ideology” through the pledges. Lawmakers in the areas passed the resolutions vowing to …
Finland’s new PM Sanna Marin has two mums
Finland will this week swear in Sanna Marin as Prime Minister. She told local paper Helsingin Sanomat that coming from a rainbow family matters to her. At 34, Sanna Marin also becomes the world’s youngest Prime Minister. The PM elect said she came from a poor family. She attributed her ability to get ahead in …
Arrests as hundreds of homophobes storm gay film premiere
Hundreds of far-right homophobes swarmed a cinema in Georgia to protest the premiere of new gay romance film And Then We Danced. The Swedish-Georgian co-production is a coming-of-age story filmed in the former Soviet republic and billed as a “gay romance” between two young male Georgian ballet dancers. A handful of Georgian cinemas scheduled screenings …
Right-wing homophobes are furious at these Coca-Cola ads
A conservative politician in Hungary has called for a boycott of Coca-Cola after an ad campaign included images of same-sex couples hugging and kissing. The ads have slogans like “zero sugar, zero prejudice” and are cashing in on Budapest’s week-long Sziget Festival. This year the festival has the theme of “Love Revolution”. But the ads …
Poland LGBTIQ stars fight homophobia with epic Taylor Swift lip sync
Polish LGBTIQ celebrities, politicians and activists have united to call out homophobia in their country in a lip-sync to Taylor Swift’s “You Need To Calm Down”. The video’s creators, Polish husbands and activists Jakub and David, aimed to bring attention to the conservative government’s anti-gay rhetoric and also homophobic violence in the country. Polish husbands …