27 Apr 2017 - NPWJ News Digest on on LGBTI Rights

Articles

Community Rallies to Save HIV Clinic And Nurses Jobs in The UK
by Advocate, 27 Apr 2017

The Sussex Beacon, an HIV/AIDS service organization, will remain open—thanks in large part to a petition signed by more than 10,600 people. The Sussex Beacon, based in Brighton, England, helps hundreds of people living with HIV in the area, and was recently in danger of closing due to threat of closure due to changes in funding. Fortunately, the local community come to the Sussex Beacon’s aid. The petition, along with support from the English HIV charity, Terrence Higgins Trust, and a few local celebrities, including the Brighton-based DJ Norman Cook (aka Fatboy Slim). Not only did the saving of the organization enable the continuation of care for many in the area living with HIV, it helped save dozens of jobs, including 14 nurses, who work at the clinic. The Sussex Beacon clinical services director and nurse, Jason Warriner, told the online nursing journal, Primary Health Care, “It has been a difficult and stressful few months for staff, but people have carried on doing their jobs, and the feedback from service users has been amazing.” “This threat to funding is what all charities are facing at the moment, especially in the HIV sector. It does feel a bit like we're a sector in decline. If you want to save high quality services, you have to put the funding there,” added Warriner.

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Ninth black trans woman killed in the US this year
by Pink News, 24 Apr 2017

The ninth trans black woman has been killed this year in the US. Chayviss ‘Chay’ Darice Reed was shot dead on Friday in Miami-Dade County, Florida, according to local news station WPLG. Reed, a 28-year-old Florida native, was reportedly shot in the stomach several times while running across the street late at night. The murderer fled the scene and is still on the run. Her gender was initially reported incorrectly, due to false reports from the crime scene. Reed’s murder follows those of eight other trans black women this year. Tiara Richmond, 24, was murdered in Illinois, Mesha Caldwell, 41, died in Mississippi, Jamie Lee Wounded Arrow, 28, was killed in South Dakota, and Jojo Striker, 23, was shot dead in Ohio. The most recent murder before Reed’s was of Alphonza Watson, 38, who was killed on March 22 in Baltimore, Maryland.

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Zimbabwe: Mugabe Praising Rights Commissioner Torches Gay Storm
By AllAfrica, 22 Apr 2017

A Commissioner with the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) has torched as storm with local gays and lesbians after she showered praises on President Robert Mugabe for resisting the imposition of "un-cultural" practices on the country by foreigners. Commissioner Petunia Chiriseri, a preacher with a local church, had been asked to give a prayer during Tuesday's festivities to celebrate the country's 37 years of independence at the National Sports Stadium. But the visibly excited official went far beyond a prayer, giving a lengthy sermon which was full of Mugabe praises and never short of its own share of controversies. Pastor Chiriseri, sworn into the State rights watchdog in 2016, thanked Mugabe for "consistently acknowledging the power of gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ". She also blasted unnamed nations that now worship Satan "under the so called multi-sectoral approach and freedom of worship". In remarks that were apparently directed at gays and lesbians, Chiriseri thanked Mugabe for his firm stand against "unbiblical" practices.

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Chechnya leader rejects reports of anti-gay purge
by The Guardian, 21 Apr 2017

Chechnya’s leader Ramzan Kadyrov has used a meeting with Vladimir Putin to deny reports of an anti-gay purge in the southern Russian republic he runs. The newspaper Novaya Gazeta alleges that more than 100 Chechen men suspected of being gay have been rounded up and at least three killed. Despite Kadyrov’s denial, evidence of a massive campaign against gay men is building. During a televised meeting on Wednesday evening in the Kremlin, Kadyrov raised the “provocative articles about the Chechen Republic, the supposed events … the supposed detentions.” Putin did not ask him to clarify his comments or ask follow-up questions, which made the meeting look more like a public show of support in the face of international criticism. The Guardian has spoken to four men who have been involved in the anti-gay round-up in different ways, including one man who talked about being tortured with electric shocks during more than a week in which he was held in captivity with more than a dozen other suspected gay men. This week, the Guardian spoke to two men who had been targeted for being gay. Both were outside Chechnya, having already fled the republic, but neither wanted their names, ages or any other identifying factors to be made public, citing a fear of Chechen authorities and their own families. 

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