Issue #19 Monday, 29 May 2023
Dear Subscriber,
Welcome to the latest issue of the LGBT Great News Digest, a short briefing on the 5 LGBTQ+ news stories you need to know about right now.
As we approach global LGBTQ+ Pride month, we wanted to share a brief reminder of some of the training and awareness programmes LGBT Great is offering throughout June to Members and Non-Members alike:
1. The Importance of Pride: An Introduction to LGBTQ+ DE&I This introductory session supports teams and organisations of all sizes to understand the historical context surrounding Pride before exploring an introduction to LGBTQ+ inclusive language and what it means to be an ally in 2023. Click here for more info
2. A Bedrock of Solidarity: LGBTQ+ Pride and Intersectional Allyship Intersectionality refers to the overlapping aspects of one’s identity and the corresponding instances of power and marginalisation that occur at the intersections of those dimensions. In this session, we explore how the concepts of LGBTQ+ Pride, intersectionality, and allyship overlap and offer a series of suggestions to support allies to be even more impactful during Pride month and beyond. Click here for more info
3. Seeing is Believing: The Power of Role Models and Visibility
Finally, LGBT Great will be in Boston and New York for in June. If you would like to connect whilst we are in town, please email us here. We would love to see you!
Best wishes,
The LGBT Great Team |
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| 1. LGBTQ+ workers in Italy report facing discrimination |
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On 15 May 2023, UNAR and ISTAT released a study that found that 41.4% of LGBTQ+ respondents believed that being gay or bisexual had been a disadvantage for their career and had negatively impacted their professional recognition and remuneration potential. In addition, 60% of LGBTQ+ respondents preferred not to discuss their private lives at work out of concern for revealing their sexual orientation. The poll was carried out in 2022 and surveyed n=1,200 people. _____ Our View: The LGBTQ+ community in Italy has been facing significant challenges since Giorgia Meloni assumed office as Italy’s Prime Minister in October 2022. Her administration has instructed mayors to refrain from registering children of same-sex couples, and she has expressed a determination to confront what she calls the 'LGBT lobby'. The findings of this survey are concerning, revealing a disturbing shift in public sentiment that is negatively impacting the welfare of the LGBTQ+ community in Italy. |
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| 2. USA eases rule on gay and bisexual men donating blood |
| On 11 May 2023, the FDA announced eased restrictions around blood donations from gay and bisexual men. The new policy evaluates all prospective donors using the same criteria when screening for recent, higher-sexual activity. _____ Our View: While this represents a significant advancement, it only includes gay and bisexual men who have had the same sexual partner within three months before the screening. Those who have engaged in sexual activity with multiple partners are still ineligible to donate. Nonetheless, incremental strides like this contribute to overall progress, as this ruling finally ends a long-standing discriminatory and biased ban.
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| 3. Pakistan court revokes trans rights |
| On 19 May 2023, the Federal Shariat Court ruled to revoke sections 2(f), 3, and 7 of the Transgender Act 2018, which relate to gender identity, the right to self-perceived gender identity, and the right of inheritance for transgender people, respectively. The court said these sections did not conform to their interpretation of Islamic principles. _____ Our View: A World Human Rights Watch report from 2019 found that 479 attacks against transgender women had been reported in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province in 2018, with 57 trans women being killed in the province since 2015. Given the shocking scale of anti-LGBTQ+ hate crimes already prevalent across Pakistan, this ruling further ostracizes the trans and non-binary community and erodes the rich precolonial history of diverse gender identities in the region.
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| 4. Taiwanese parliament bill allows gay couples to jointly adopt kids |
| On 16 May 2023, the parliament of Taiwan passed an amendment that effectively allows same-sex couples to jointly adopt children. The amendment comes after a family court in southern Kaohsiung City last year ruled in favour of a married gay man seeking to share parenthood of his husband's adopted child. _____ Our View: In 2019, Taiwan became the first region in Asia to legalise same-sex marriage, and thereby the vanguard of LGBTQ+ rights across the continent. With this latest ruling, the Taiwanese administration has further expanded protections for same-sex couples and can hopefully serve as a beacon of inspiration for LGBTQ+ equality to neighbouring countries like China, Pakistan, and India.
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| 5. Mexico starts issuing non-binary passports |
| On 17 May 2023, the government of Mexico issued the nation’s first non-binary passport to Mexican activist Ociel Baena. The updated issuance policy lets gender non-conforming and non-binary Mexicans to replace the gender category with an ‘X’ rather than male or female. _____ Our view: The declaration coincided with the commemoration of IDAHOBIT, with 16 countries worldwide now including an 'X' marker on official documents. This demonstrates a growing recognition within legalese, of individuals who identify as gender non-conforming or non-binary.
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Applications for new Corporate Members are opening again. If you would like to find out more about the membership options with LGBT Great, get in touch today via this short form. |
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Disclaimer The information contained in this newsletter is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by LGBT Great and while we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability, or availability with respect to the newsletter or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained in the newsletter for any purpose. All the quotations in the news are presented as originally published. LGBT Great does not necessarily share the views of the quoted authors and is not responsible for the accuracy of the information or quality of the analysis provided by them. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk. |
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