A 28-year-old trans woman in China has won her lawsuit against the hospital and doctor that subjected her to three months of traumatic and painful electroshock conversion therapy treatments, the Guardian reports.
The woman, a performance artist who goes by the name Ling’er, said she hoped the victory would help others in the LGBTQ+ community protect their rights.
“In China, the situation for transgender people is not very optimistic,” she said. “There’s a lack of protection for this group.”
Ling’er asserted in her suit that the enforced conversion therapy treatments had violated her personal rights. Her victory came with a small award of about $8,000 U.S.
Ling’er was taken to a hospital in Qinhuangdao City in 2022 after coming out to her parents as transgender the previous year. They were “very opposed” to her gender identity, Ling’er said, and “felt that I wasn’t mentally stable. So they sent me to a mental hospital.”
There, she was tied to a bed with restraints and diagnosed with “anxiety disorder and discordant sexual orientation.” Ling’er identifies as heterosexual.
She was kept in hospital for 97 days over her objections and subjected to seven sessions of electroshock therapy.
“It caused serious damage to my body,” Ling’er said. “Every time I underwent the treatment, I would faint … I didn’t agree to it, but I had no choice.”
Chinese law dictates patients can’t be forcibly subjected to psychiatric treatment barring a threat to their safety or others’.
Ling’er’s hospital physician said in testimony that she might pose a risk to the safety of her parents if they killed themselves because of her gender identity, according to a report in Chinese media.
The night before the electroshock treatments, Ling’er was restricted to a diet of bread and milk. During the treatments, her arms and legs were fixed and something was taped to her hands, Ling’er recalled. With each session, “as soon as the power was turned on, I fainted.” She says she suffers from heart arrhythmias in the aftermath.
During her internment, Ling’er was forced to cut her long hair and conform to a male gender identity.
“For three months, they forced me to wear men’s clothes step by step. It was painful and helpless for me,” she said.
There are a few precedents for Ling’er’s legal victory.
In 2017, a gay man in Henan province was awarded a small settlement after he was forced to stay in a psychiatric hospital for 19 days and take medications to “treat” his homosexuality.
In 2014, a judge ruled a facility falsely claimed it could “cure” a man’s homosexuality when he was subjected to hypnosis and electroshock therapy without consent.
While China removed homosexuality from an official list of psychiatric disorders in 2001, it retained a diagnosis for “sexual orientation distress,” leaving the door open for therapies claiming to cure it.
After she was discharged and returned home, Ling’er discovered that her parents had removed her women’s clothes and cosmetics and prepared a men’s wardrobe for her.
Months later, after Ling’er’s parents confiscated her hormone pills, she decided to leave her hometown. She packed a small pink suitcase, she said, found a place to stay for one night, and left by car the next day.
Police in Moscow raided multiple bars early Saturday and arrested the director of a gay travel agency under laws criminalising “LGBT propaganda”, state media reported.
The raids came on the one year anniversary of Russia’s Supreme Court outlawing the “international LGBT movement”, paving the way for arrests and prosecutions of the country’s already repressed LGBTQ community.
Russian security forces raided at least three bars and nightclubs overnight “as part of measures to combat LGBT propaganda”, the state TASS news agency reported.
Social media videos from the Arma nightclub, the former premises of the Mutabor, showed club-goers sitting on the dancefloor while riot police walked around shouting orders.
Another video showed people being walked out of the popular Mono gay club in central Moscow with their hands above their heads, with a police van parked outside.
The interior ministry said police had also raided an unnamed nightclub on Skladochnaya Street that had been “propagandising the ideology of the banned LGBT movement”.
The Interfax news agency named the club as “Inferno Night”.
Police in the capital also arrested the director of a travel agency for gay men on suspicion of “organising tours for members of the LGBT community”.
The 48-year-old director of “Men Travel” was suspected of “preparing a trip for supporters of non-traditional sexual values to go to Egypt for the New Year holidays”, the TASS news agency reported Saturday, citing law enforcement.
The Kremlin has ramped up conservative rhetoric since launching its military assault on Ukraine almost three years ago, casting the conflict as a battleground against the West and its values.
Rights groups say the country is waging an unprecedented crackdown on LGBTQ people that has seen the owners of gay bars arrested and anyone associated with promoting LGBTQ rights prosecuted.
With President-elect Donald Trump just under two months away from taking office and a slew of troubling cabinet appointments making headlines — including anti-vax crank Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for Health & Human Services (HHS) Secretary — LGBTQ+ Americans are understandably concerned about what a second Trump administration will mean for our rights and healthcare.
In a recent interview with the Washington Blade, Human Rights Campaign (HRC) director of HIV and health equity Torrian Baskerville acknowledged the fears many LGBTQ+ people, particularly those who are Black, trans, and/or living with HIV, are experiencing around healthcare in light of both Trump’s rhetoric and the proposals laid out in Project 2025.
“While we are desiring and hoping for the best,” he said, “the reality is that things that we have seen, at least the rhetoric, hasn’t been hopeful. And so we’re just hoping that there are guardrails in place that help to maintain and control as best as possible some of the things that may be going on.”
Speaking prior to Trump’s announcement of Kennedy as his pick for HHS secretary, and of Marty Makary and former Rep. Dave Weldon (R-FL) to lead the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), respectively, HRC senior public policy advocate Matthew Rose weighed in on the importance of the incoming President’s choices for those positions.
“HHS will be very important for us,” Rose told the Blade. “Who they put at the Office of Civil Rights at HHS will be incredibly important for us. The Assistant Secretary for Health has, under Democratic administrations, and in Republican administrations, been a champion for us, sometimes.” Admiral Brett Giroir, Trump’s Assistant Secretary for Health during his first administration, Rose noted, “did what he could for us.”
While Rose said he’s less concerned with Trump’s pick to lead the National Institutes of Health — “unless they find someone really, really crazy” — he said that the FDA appointment “is a worry because it could change just how we view drugs and drug regulations and how those get approved.”
Trump’s pick for director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is also a concern, Rose said, “because the people who make the budget decide how money gets spent.”
On Monday, Trump nominated Russell Vought, described as a “key architect” of Project 2025, for his OMB director. In a recent interview with Democracy Now, ProPublica reporter Molly Redden indicated that Vought is likely to use the position to block funding for programs and organizations — like Planned Parenthood — that don’t align with Project 2025’s radical right-wing agenda.
When it comes to HIV care and prevention, Rose looked to the first Trump administration: “The HIV community has continuously reminded Republicans that Donald Trump did create the Ending the HIV Epidemic initiative that has helped move the needle,” he said. “And so there is some promise there. They aren’t all full-on, like, anti-PrEP all the time, but they are wary of it.”
However, Rose predicts potential conflict between efforts to curb the HIV epidemic and Project 2025’s anti-LGBTQ+ agenda.
“Those same people who said, ‘Wow, these HIV numbers are really bad and we should do something about it’ were like, ‘But we hate all these LGBTQ people and their health, and so we’re not going to have any non-discrimination [rules], and we don’t care if we kick them off their health care, and we don’t care if they’re invisible in society,” Rose explained. “Given where the epidemic has always been in the community, it’s hard to end the HIV epidemic without talking about LGBTQ people and the resources that we use in the community, and the lives that we live, and the lives that we have.”
Rose said he also expects “greater deference” in the new administration to religious exemptions and so-called conscience clauses, which allow healthcare providers to refuse to provide certain services that conflict with their religious beliefs.
Rose also noted that every budget produced during the first Trump administration “decimated funding for the CDC and HRSA and HHS in all of the HIV line items.”
“He didn’t wholesale eliminate anything, but he shaved those things down to bare bones,” Rose said.
Access to PrEP and other contraceptives under the Affordable Care Act’s preventive services coverage requirement could also be in even greater jeopardy. Experts expect the ongoing legal battle in Braidwood vs. Becerra — a legal case challenging the Affordable Care Act’s requirement for insurers to cover preventative healthcare — to eventually reach the Supreme Court, and Rose thinks the new Trump administration could reverse the Biden administration’s position supporting the landmark healthcare law’s requirement that insurance providers cover PrEP.
“We’re actually very concerned about the government reversing its role,” Rose said. “Changing the position on Braidwood is pretty quick and easy for them to do. They can pull out of that pretty fast.”
“It’s still an active case,” he added, “and we don’t know what’s going to happen if the U.S. government switches its position on it. I imagine that state attorneys general, who have been tracking the case, would step in, but we’ll have to see what their capacity looks like.”
Rose indicated that it will likely take a while for the incoming Trump administration to upend healthcare. “There’s just a lot of regulation to get through,” he said. While the new administration is ready to implement its immigration policies on day one, Rose said he expects “less acute pain” in the realm of healthcare in the early day.
But even Trump’s immigration policies will impact public health, causing a “chilling effect” for undocumented immigrants or those living in mixed-status families who need to access care.
Baskerville also noted that concerns about safety that Trump’s rhetoric inspires, particularly among trans people and undocumented immigrants, may be a major roadblock for those communities seeking the care they need in the years ahead.
“If folks aren’t feeling safe at home, if they’re not feeling safe in their communities,” he explained, “they’re not going to access any of the healthcare, or any of the other things, and feel like they’re empowered to do that.”
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed a bill Wednesday banning transgender students from using school restrooms that align with their gender identities. The Republican-majority state Senate pushed forward SB 104, also known as the “Protect All Students Act,” in a 24-7 party-line vote.
“No school shall permit a member of the female biological sex to use a student restroom, locker room, changing room, or shower room that has been designated by the school for the exclusive use of the male biological sex,” and vice versa, the bill reads.
The bill defines “biological sex” as the “biological indication of male and female, including sex chromosomes, naturally occurring sex hormones, gonads, and nonambiguous internal and external genitalia present at birth, without regard to an individual’s psychological, chosen, or subjective experience of gender.” The bill adds that a birth certificate may be used as proof of biological sex if it was “issued at or near the time of the individual’s birth.”
The bill also mandates that Ohio schools cannot have restrooms or locker rooms that are open to all genders, excluding family facilities or single-occupancy facilities. Exceptions to the bill include children under 10 who are being assisted by family members, school employees whose job duties require them to enter all restrooms or people with disabilities who are being assisted.
DeWine, a Republican, conducted a legal review before he signed the bill, according to The Associated Press.
The American Civil Liberties Union condemned SB 104 in a statement after it passed in the state Senate, deeming it “anti-trans” and urging DeWine not to sign it.
“If allowed to go into effect, SB 104 will create unsafe environments for trans and gender non-confirming individuals of all ages. This bill ignores the material reality that transgender people endure higher rates of sexual violence and assaults, particularly while using public restrooms, than people who are not transgender,” Jocelyn Rosnick, policy director for the ACLU of Ohio, said in a statement.
Senate Democratic leader Nickie J. Antonio urged DeWine to veto the bill in a letter published Nov. 15.
“Sponsors of the legislation declare that the bill is about safety. However, this bill does nothing to make anyone safer. Instead, it will make trans people less safe and fail to increase the safety of all students,” Antonio wrote. “There’s a line between being passionate and understanding and being concerned about safety. Given that trans kids already face discrimination and bullying in schools, this bill could exacerbate the issue.”
The Center for Christian Virtue, which describes itself as Ohio’s largest Christian public policy organization, had called on DeWine to sign the bill, hailing it as preserving privacy.
“Today is a huge victory for children and families in Ohio. Amended SB104 is common-sense legislation that will guarantee the only people entering young ladies’ private spaces are female, not men claiming to be female,” the organization’s policy director, David Mahan, said in a statement after the Senate passed the bill.
Mahan did not specify whether a man claiming to be female has ever entered a women’s restroom in Ohio, and he did not respond to requests for comment.
There is no evidence that letting transgender people use public facilities, like restrooms, that align with their gender identities increases assaults or privacy violations, according to a 2018 study published in the journal Sexuality Research and Social Policy. Another study, published in the journal Pediatrics in 2019, found that transgender youths are at higher risk of sexual assault when they are not allowed to use restrooms that fit their gender identities.
Ohio House Republicans attached the legislation about restrooms to proposals regarding report card data for Ohio’s college credit program for high school students.
Melanie Willingham-Jaggers, the executive director of GLSEN, which advocates for LGBTQ students, condemned the law in a statement following DeWine’s signature.
“Extremist politicians are panicking because transgender students exist,” Willingham-Jaggers said. “Bathroom bans do not work: they isolate transgender youth, exacerbate harassment and unsafe conditions, and encourage schools to engage in harmful and stigmatizing gender-policing at the bathroom door.”
I wish I had better news but the fear of the repeal of marriage rights and other civil liberties, along with the threat of physical and political backlash aimed at the LGBTQ+ community, is well-founded. We must band together as a community and be aware of what we can do to help protect ourselves, and our loved ones, during a second Trump presidency.
There are precautions that you can take to ensure that you, and your families, are legally protected going into a Trump/Vance administration; and this means different things for different people under our LGBTQ+ rainbow.
Make Sure You, and Your Relationship is Protected
Estate planning, estate planning, estate planning. These basic documents have always been the first impenetrable line of defense for LGBTQ+ individuals and couples. The nine LGBTQ+ specific documents that I recommend are:
Revocable Living Trust
Last Will & Testament
Healthcare Power of Attorney
Durable Power of Attorney
Living Will
Hospital Visitation Authorization Form – one for your partner and one for your Chosen Family
Agent for Disposition of Remains
Pet Care Directive
Tangible Personal Property Memorandum
I became passionate about estate planning after the Terri Schiavo disaster; a married, straight woman and yet her husband’s wishes about her end-of-life care were not respected because the family disagreed with him and wanted her kept alive artificially.
At that moment, I realized the full importance of LGBTQ+ individuals to put their wishes in writing.
A Revocable Living Trust is what we have been using for decades to recreate a marriage. If your relationship is a castle, consider this a moat around your castle – protecting you from government and family hostility. It is also a confidential document that is not given to the Register of Wills and acts as probate avoidance tool, which is extremely helpful to avoid government oversight after you’re gone and further ensure that your wishes are protected.
Durable Powers of Attorney give someone the legal authority to act for you, as you, as if you were personally present. This is an immensely powerful and helpful document for LGBTQ+ folks.
The health care documents are particularly important to ensure your wishes are protected. Moreover, even if you are married, you are only considered married in 37 countries out of 195 that fly a flag – so a Hospital Visitation Authorization Form (HVA) is essential to travel with. Together, a Health Care Power of Attorney along with a Hospital Visitation Authorization Form will protect you.
The second HVA is for your chosen family – folks that are close to you like family and guarantees that they are allowed to visit you in the hospital, when they would otherwise be denied access.
The Pet Care Directive/Trust is self-explanatory, it protects our fur babies! It appoints someone who will be able to take care of your pet immediately should anything happen to you; tells them who your veterinarian is and provides them a sum of money so that they can care for your pet the way you would want them cared for.
Lastly, if you recently got married, make sure you took the correct steps when obtaining a marriage license and that your collective assets, especially property, are protected and titled properly to fully protect you.
Should I Get Married Before It’s Too Late?
With marriage equality on the chopping block, it’s a real question for folks. Should you get married to hedge your bets?
While it saddens me that anyone would feel pressured to get married out of fear, but we can’t ignore the reality of what marriage as a legal contract provides. It bestows 1,138 federal rights and privileges — and these financial and legal privileges touch on every aspect of our lives – from inheritance, social security, Medicaid, family rights, veteran benefits and taxes, just to name a few. While there is no inherent power in marriage itself, these privileges offer significant security, and I want everyone to have access to them if they can benefit.
Even if the Supreme Court of the United States overturns Obergell, any valid marriage entered into by a U.S. citizen cannot be taken away. If marriage equality is rolled back, marriages performed before any changes could be grandfathered in, preserving some rights and protections. Ultimately, getting married now would mean hedging your bets in an uncertain environment.
If you’re considering marriage right now, I strongly recommend doing so with a prenuptial agreement in place. Why a prenup? Because everyone already has one—it’s just a matter of whether you write it yourselves or the state you live in does it for you. Should the unfortunate event of divorce arise, you’ll be reading something (the divorce code in your state) regardless, and the divorce code is meant for everyone in your state and therefore meant for no one. A prenup is carefully crafted with the unique aspects of your relationship in mind and a very empowering process to go through with your partner.
That said, marriage alone won’t give you the full protection you are looking for. Only estate planning bestows true power and control. Estate planning should be the first step for any couple, especially in today’s climate. But, if marriage offers you some benefits, go forward with a prenuptial agreement in place. And remember that real empowerment comes from intentionally safeguarding your future, whether that includes marriage or not.
Confirmatory Adoptions – Being on a Birth Certificate Does Not Confer Parentage Rights!
Please make sure your parental rights are legally secured. Being married or appearing on a birth certificate does not confer parentage; only an adoption decree confers legal parentage. The laws are constantly in flux as it relates to LGBTQ+ family planning and will definitely be changing in the coming years so if you have children, please ensure that your family unit is protected.
I also recommend executing Pre-birth and post-birth guardianship documents so that the parent adopting is considered the legal guardian of the unborn child and the legal guardian of the child, once they are born, but before being declared a parent at the Adoption Hearing. Even if you are married and your spouse’s health care power of attorney, if the choice you would make for your spouse’s health would impact the life of the child that you are adopting, you would be barred from making any decisions over your spouse’s health. As such, being both the health care power of attorney for your spouse AND the pre-birth guardian of the unborn child, would empower you to be able to make any decisions should there be complications during childbirth.
Last but definitely not least, estate planning is crucial for families as only a Last Will & Testament can appoint the guardian of your children should anything happen to you.
IDs and Passports
It’s important that all queer people, but especially non-binary, gender-diverse and transgender individuals whose legal documents may not accurately reflect their name or gender identity, secure these documents for themselves. ID’s and passports that accurately reflect our identities are crucial tools for navigating our society and the world safely.
The Executive Director of National Center for Transgender Equality, Mara Keisling told The Huffington Post, “[w]e just don’t know what’s going to happen. But, for now, I suggest that folks think about what they want their ID’s to be. If you’re somebody who has needed a passport for a while, I would go do it. For sure. [N]ow is always the best time to do something you’ve been stalling on.”
Name Change Court Orders
In the same vein of IDs and passports, the non-binary, gender-diverse and transgender community should consider obtaining a Name Change Decree sealed by court order. Once you have that piece of paper, changing other documents becomes seamless, including your social security card, your driver’s license or state ID, your birth certificate and your passport.
**Self-Care**
We are all feeling a wide range of emotions, from anxiety, to fear and frustration. For the LGBTQ+ community, these feelings are intensified by the unique challenges and uncertainties that this political shift will bring. Prioritizing self-care becomes crucial for maintaining both emotional resilience and mental well-being during these times. Taking steps to ground yourself, connect with others, and engage in mindful practices can create a strong foundation for navigating whatever lies ahead. Remember that self-care isn’t selfish—it’s a necessary act of self-preservation and empowerment.
Here are some supportive practices designed to help you stay centered and strong in the face of change.
Connect with Your Community: Reach out to friends, family, and chosen family (framily). Being with people who understand and support you can be incredibly grounding. Plan gatherings, virtual or in person, to share space and mutual support.
Limit News Intake: Staying informed is important, but constant updates can be overwhelming. Set specific times to check the news and avoid consuming it right before bed. Consider following uplifting or positive news sources to balance the information.
Engage in Mindfulness Practices: Activities like meditation, deep breathing, and journaling can help manage stress and anxiety. Apps like Headspace or Calm, or even a simple daily journal, can help you stay present and centered.
Move Your Body: Physical activity, whether it’s a walk, workout, yoga, or dance, releases endorphins and can be an excellent way to relieve stress. Find a type of movement you enjoy and make it a regular practice.
Create a Safe Space at Home: Make your living environment a sanctuary. Consider setting up a cozy area with items that bring you comfort, like books, photos, or artwork, and practice grounding exercises in this space when you need calm.
Engage in Creative Outlets: Writing, drawing, cooking, or playing music can provide an emotional outlet. Creativity allows expression without judgment, which can be particularly freeing during stressful times.
Set Boundaries on Social Media: While it’s tempting to scroll for information or validation, social media can be overwhelming. Limit your time or avoid certain topics altogether if they start affecting your mental well-being.
Volunteer or Advocate: Sometimes, taking action can provide a sense of control. Volunteering or supporting causes that matter to you, especially within the LGBTQ+ community, can channel your energy into positive change.
New research has revealed the impact of transphobia on transgender and non-binary people’s mental health.
The study, “State of Trans+ Mental Health 2024,” surveyed more than 2,000 people across 75 countries, with 68 per cent of respondents saying they had been diagnosed with a mental-health condition. On average, one in every six suffered with depression and anxiety. More than 51 per cent experienced “poor or very poor” mental health.
More than 80 per cent of those who responded said a lack of social acceptance was one of their main challenges, while a similar number, 79.8 per cent, put gender dysphoria as one of their biggest hurdles. Fear of discrimination (70.7 per cent) and family rejection (59.9 per cent) were also mentioned.
The report, published by LGBTQ+ mental wellness app Voda, found that just 14.7 per cent had a positive experience when accessing healthcare, while 40.7 per cent had difficulty even doing so.
An overwhelming majority of respondents emphasised the importance of mental-health services for trans people being created by transgender and non-binary individuals, with nearly 84 per cent highlighting the need for therapists or mental-health professionals to also transgender or non-binary.
Jaron Soh, Voda’s co-founder and chief executive, said: “This report is a call to action to recognise the significant gaps in mental-health provision for trans+ individuals, and [to] work toward creating inclusive, affirming services that address their needs.”
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has eased the regulations on kidney and liver donations between HIV-positive donors and HIV-positive recipients, something that HHS says will increase access to these organs.
A rule on interpretation of the HIV Organ Policy Equity Act removes requirements for clinical research and institutional review board approval for such donations, “based on research demonstrating the safety and effectiveness of kidney and liver transplants between donors and recipients with HIV,” says an HHS press release. The rule became final Wednesday.
“We continue to do everything in our power to increase access to life-saving organs while addressing health inequities faced by people with HIV,” HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in the release. “This rule removes unnecessary barriers to kidney and liver transplants, expanding the organ donor pool and improving outcomes for transplant recipients with HIV. This evidence-based policy update demonstrates our commitment to ensuring all Americans have access to the care they need.”
“Research shows that kidney and liver transplants between donors and recipients with HIV can be performed safely and effectively,” added Adm. Rachel Levine, assistant secretary for health. “This policy change reflects our commitment to following the evidence and updating our approaches as we learn more. By removing research requirements where they are no longer needed, we can help more people with HIV access life-saving transplants.”
The HOPE Act, passed in 2013, allows for organ donation by people with HIV only to those who are already living with the virus. Under the act, “donors with HIV must not have evidence of opportunistic infections and recipients must have a stable CD4+ T-cell count and established HIV suppression and control on effective antiretroviral therapy,” the new rule explains.
Research has demonstrated “that the safety and outcomes of kidney and liver HOPE Act transplants are well established, with over 517 HOPE Act kidney and liver transplants conducted to date,” the new rule notes. The requirements for these transplants that were revoked by the new rule created an unnecessary barrier, according to HHS.
HHS published the proposed rule in the Federal Register in September and received 56 public comments on it before it became final.
Also Wednesday, the National Institutes of Health, part of HHS, published a notice seeking public comment on a proposed revision to its research criteria for HOPE Act transplants of other organs, such as heart, lung, and pancreas. “This effort aims to streamline the HOPE Act research requirements and continue to build an evidence base of outcomes data on HOPE Act transplants of organs other than livers and kidneys,” the press release says. Comments are due by December 12.
Last week, the Ugandan High Court of the Civil Division awarded $40,000 (the equivalent of 150 million Ugandan shillings) to 20 men who were tortured by police after their 2020 arrests for alleged homosexuality.
“They assert that on the morning of the said date their residence was invaded by a mob, among which were the respondents, that subjected them to all manner of torture because they were practicing homosexuality,” Justice Douglas Singiza reportedly stated.
“The alleged actions of torture include beating, hitting, burning using a hot piece of firewood, undressing, tying, biding, conducting an anal examination, and inflicting other forms of physical, mental, and psychological violence based on the suspicion that they are homosexuals, an allegation they deny.”
The torture occurred in the village of Nkokonjeru in the Kyengera Town Council – Wakiso District. The plaintiffs worked with the Human Rights Awareness and Promotion Forum, a non-profit human rights organization. They filed a human rights complaint against the Kyengera town council, mayor Abdul Kiyimba, principal officer Philimon Woniala, and the Attorney General.
The arrests happened just after the Ugandan government implemented COVID-19 lockdowns.
“Based on the same suspicion [of homosexuality], the applicants were then arrested, taken to Nkokonjeru B police station, and charged with doing a negligent act likely to spread infection by disease,” said Singiza. He noted that there was little evidence given for violations of the country’s anti-homosexuality laws and that the investigations lacked merit.
The men were then sent to prison on March 31, 2020, “Where they were again allegedly beaten, examined, harassed, and subjected to discrimination.”
Uganda has strict laws against homosexuality. The 2023 Anti-Homosexuality Act, signed by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni in May 2023, makes what it describes as “aggravated homosexuality” — including same-sex acts that transmit HIV — punishable by the death penalty, imposes a life sentence for “recruitment, promotion and funding” of same-sex “activities,” and even bans identifying as LGBTQ+ in Uganda. It has been roundly condemned by human rights organizations, members of the U.S. House of Representatives, President Joe Biden, and even Pope Francis.
Dr. Frank Mugisha, human rights activist and executive director of Sexual Minorities Uganda, said on X of the ruling: “A Ugandan court has awarded Shs150 million to 20 Ugandans who were tortured for alleged homosexuality during the COVID lockdown, marking a significant victory for the LGBTQ+ community. This decision builds on earlier successes, including a 2008 ruling for Victor Mukisa and a favorable judgment against Rolling Stone, a Ugandan tabloid known for its harmful publications.”
“Local leaders and politicians have now been put on notice that if you beat up people based on their sexual orientation and gender identity, you pay from your own pockets,” said Adrian Jjuuko, executive director of Uganda’s Human Rights Awareness and Promotion Forum, in a statement to Barron’s.
In addition to the brutality experienced by LGBTQ+ people, Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act has already cost the country as much as $1.6 billion in the year since it became law, according to a new report by Open for Business, a coalition of global companies dedicated to LGBTQ+ inclusion.
“It is estimated that in the twelve months following the AHA’s passage, Uganda has made an economic loss of between $470 million and $1.6 billion,” according to the report, a sum that comprises between 0.9–3.2% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).
LGBTQ people and allies are speaking out about the upcoming groundbreaking oral argument at the U.S. Supreme Court regarding access to health care for transgender youth.
The case, U.S. v. Skrmetti, challenges Tennessee’s law banning health care such as hormone therapy and puberty-pausing medications for transgender youth under 18, while the same treatments remain available to cisgender (non-transgender) youth. The law also criminalizes doctors and providers who seek to support transgender youth. As the ban is one of approximately 25 such bans passed in Republican-controlled state legislatures around the country in recent years, the Court’s decision could have a widespread impact on the availability of care to all youth nationwide.
The stakes are high for transgender people and their loved ones, and for everyone who cares about freedom and the ability to take care of their families without government interference. Experts and members of the transgender community spoke out about the significance of the case and their personal stories on a recent media briefing hosted by GLAAD, the American Civil Liberties Union, the GenderCool Project, and the Fenway Institute.
Sruti Swaminathan (they/them), a staff attorney with the ACLU National, kicked off the briefing by outlining the basics of the case and potential impact, particularly in the current landscape as we prepare for the next presidential administration to take office.
“The misinformation stemming from the Trump campaign and soon to be administration with respect to transgender identities and the demonization of the medical care that transgender people access has a catastrophic impact on the way non-transgender individuals and individuals who have the least amount of knowledge about us view these issues,” Swaminathan explained.
“It is going to be more important than ever to center trans voices in the media and elevate trans stories in daily interactions. Litigation will be essential, but it will not be enough. We will engage on every advocacy front, including mobilizing and organizing our network of millions of ACLU members and activists in every state to work to protect LGBTQ people from the dangerous policies of a second Trump administration.”
Kai (he/him), a 21-year-old college senior and GenderCool Project Champion, transitioned at 10 years old and is thriving today due in large part to the lifesaving health care and support he received. He’s passionate about GenderCool’s work to embrace positive storytelling around young people to dispel misinformation, and urges media coverage and people talking about this landmark case to do the same.
Transgender Flag, Getty
“What’s going to move viewers is seeing our faces, hearing our voices, and feeling the impact that these unjust laws are going to have on real human beings,” Kai said as he urged reporters to focus on the humanity at the center of the case. “Most importantly, allow these trans voices to shine through by truthfully articulating their lived experience; give them the stage to do that. Facts don’t always elicit the emotions we need to tell with this story. Sometimes we find ourselves so caught up in the stats and the legal jargon, and we forget what’s really at stake here especially with this case: the lives of young people who are just trying to be their authentic selves.”
Katie Jenifer (she/they) also participated in the briefing. Katie is a lawyer living in North Carolina and parent of a GenderCool Champion named Maddie, who she describes as a “smart, witty, very loving 17-year-old; and she is also thriving.” Maddie is co-captain of her school cheer team, enjoys embracing her creative side, and has just finished sending off college applications where she aspires to study nursing. Katie described their experiences with the media and shared that they have not always been positive due to a lack of respect for their privacy, and offered tips to journalists for their coverage.
“What I would like people to know is we’re just a regular family,” Katie said. “We’re just trying to figure out life with a teenage daughter and her college-aged sister. We make decisions about our daughters just like I imagine most families do. What should curfew be? What are acceptable school grades? How much is too much screen time? Just like other families, we try to make the best and most informed decisions that we can so we as her parents can raise a happy, healthy, kind, safe member of society.”
Katie agreed with Kai that access to health care has had a tremendous effect on her daughter’s ability to be happy and successful.
Families could be heavily affected by the outcome of this case, but so will affirming doctors and health care providers who know that care should be between families and medical experts that they trust, not the government. Sean Cahill (he/him) is the director of health policy research at the Fenway Institute, which focuses on LGBTQI+ health equity. About half of Fenway Health’s 35,000 patients are LGBTQI+ and 6,000 are transgender or nonbinary, while Sean works in the research arm of the institute which has been tracking the hundreds of bills introduced in state legislatures this year to harm transgender people.
“I don’t think it’s an accident that we see this rise in anti-transgender activism starting in 2015, the year that won full equality for same-sex marriage,” Sean explains, pointing out the trend of anti-transgender bills proposed in various areas over the past decade before spiking in the area of health care. The attacks, while vile, are part of a backlash of the overall increasing visibility and acceptance for transgender and LGBTQ people overall, according to GLAAD’s most recent Accelerating Acceptance survey.
With the wide scope of potential outcomes related to the case, it’s hard to speculate on what the justices will do. What we do know is that the most powerful thing LGBTQ people and our allies can do is to tell our personal stories of love and support for our transgender friends, neighbors, coworkers, and community members, and to share our kindness and understanding in order to move the court of public opinion. We have resilience and strength, and we need to show the next generation of transgender and nonbinary youth in this moment, and always, that we will be here for them.
The Vatican has blocked discussions on women’s rights at the UN climate summit, COP29, over concerns that support for them would include trans and gay women.
According to BBC News, representatives for Pope Francis, aligned with Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iran and Egypt to prevent an agreement that would have provided more support for women affected by climate change.
The 10-year-old UN action plan, Lima Work Programme on Gender, which ensures that work on climate change acknowledges support for women, including financial support, was due to be updated at the summit in Azerbaijan, which is due to end on Friday (22 November).
Several countries wanted to include a line highlighting that all women’s experiences of the impacts of climate change are different, and can be compounded by “gender, sex, age and race”.
However, the four countries and the Vatican – the world’s smallest independent state – objected, citing concerns that it could be inclusive of trans women. They also want references to gay women removed. This has reportedly stalled the deal completely.
According to LGBTQ+ rights website Equaldex, only Vatican City has fully legalised homosexuality, while in Iran and Saudi Arabia it can be punishable by death. In all but Iran, changing gender is not permitted.
Colombia’s environment minister and lead negotiator Susana Muhamad told the BBC: “It is unacceptable. The Latin American countries are working very hard, we will not allow the gender programme to drop and allow human rights to be dropped.”
And Sostina Takure, from Christian charity ACT Alliance, said she was shocked to hear the Vatican “opposed the human rights language”, adding: “My heart shattered into a million pieces.”
A spokesperson for the Vatican said: “The Holy See hopes that consensus will be reached, with respect for the sensitivities of each participating state and in a language acceptable to all.”
The current UN plan on gender and climate is due to expire at the end of this year, meaning if the countries do not come to an agreement by Friday, there will be no specific global agreement for supporting women facing the effects of climate change.
According to a report by UN Women, by 2050 almost 240 million more women and girls will face food insecurity caused by climate change, compared with 131 million more men and boys. Almost 160 million women and girls will be pushed into extreme poverty by climate change, the report added.
Charities including ActionAid said it was crucial to reach a deal because the UN estimated that women and girls currently make up 80 per cent of those displaced by climate change.
