19 Apr 2018 - NPWJ News Digest on LGBTI rights

Articles

Gay rights ruling in Kenya could reverberate through Africa
by Pri, 17 Apr 2018

Gay rights activists are celebrating after a Kenyan court ruled that subjecting suspected gay men to forced anal testing was illegal. The landmark case marked a significant shift in sexual minority rights in the country, which activists hope will eventually lead to decriminalizing homosexuality in Kenya and other countries in the region.

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Bills to curtail LGBT rights are failing in state legislatures
by The Chicago Tribune , 17 Apr 2018

In a striking shift from recent years, major legislation curtailing LGBT rights has been completely stymied in state capitols around the country this year amid anxiety by Republican leaders over igniting economic backlash if they are depicted as discriminatory. In the thick of this year's legislative sessions, LGBT activists were tracking about 120 proposed bills that they viewed as threats to their civil rights. Not one of them has been enacted as many sessions now wind down; only two remain under serious consideration.

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China's Weibo reverses ban on 'homosexual' content after outcry
by the Guardian, 16 Apr 2018

One of China’s largest social media sites, Sina Weibo, has reversed a ban on online content “related to homosexuality” after outcry from the country’s internet users. On Friday, Sina Weibo said that for the next three months it would be removing comics and videos “with pornographic implications, promoting bloody violence, or related to homosexuality”. The internet company said the initiative was in an effort to “create a sunny and harmonious community environment” and comply with the country’s cybersecurity laws.

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UK urged to push Commonwealth leaders to address LGBT rights
by Reuters , 16 Apr 2018

LONDON - LGBT campaigners called on Britain on Monday to urge leaders of Commonwealth countries to make same sex relations legal across the network of 53 mostly former British colonies, launching a petition and organizing a picket. As the week-long Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) got underway, LGBT campaigners launched a petition calling for Britain to apologize for colonial era homophobic laws still used in 37 of the 53 member nations.

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