News
Russian activist: Gay crackdown seeks to ‘shut down’ advocacy
Polina Andrianova’s group fined 500,000 rubles under “foreign agent” law
Protesters gathered outside of the Russian Embassy on Wednesday, July 31, 2013. (Washington Blade photo by Damien Salas)
“These laws are aimed at driving LGBT people back into silence, back underground, back to the invisibility,” Polina Andrianova of Coming Out, a St. Petersburg-based advocacy group, told the Washington Blade. “That’s the whole point of them.”
Andrianova spoke to the Blade from St. Petersburg after an appellate judge in the city on July 25 overturned a lower court’s ruling that fined Coming Out 500,000 rubles or slightly more than $15,000 for violating a 2012 law that requires groups that receive funding from outside Russia to register as a “foreign agent.”
“We were extremely surprised the appeal judge actually dismissed the decision of the lower court and sent our case back for trial,” she said. “Even though it’s clear we’re not guilty of anything, we did not expect that.”
The Coming Out case comes against the backdrop of growing outrage over Russia’s LGBT rights record.
President Vladimir Putin in late June signed a broadly worded law that bans gay propaganda to minors across the country. A second statute that prohibits foreign same-sex couples and any couple from a country in which gays and lesbians can legally marry from adopting Russian children took effect last month.
Andrianova told the Blade only a handful of people have been charged and found guilty of violating the gay propaganda law. She said the statute’s true impact, however, is felt outside the Russian legal system.
“The propaganda terminology is so vaguely defined that nobody knows what is right or wrong to do,” Andrianova said. “All I know is it has something to do with me being openly gay. If I am on the streets and I hold hands with my girlfriend or kiss my girlfriend — something that any heterosexual couple can do at any time — I’m afraid now that somebody will call the police. Some mother with a child will call the police and the police will arrest me and harass me.”
Authorities in the Russian capital in May arrested 30 people who tried to stage a Pride march outside Moscow City Hall. Police in Murmansk on July 21 arrested four Dutch LGBT rights advocates who were filming a documentary about gay life in Russia.
St. Petersburg police on June 29 took dozens of LGBT rights advocates into custody as they tried to stage their own Pride event.
Andrianova, who did not attend the gathering, told the Blade that several Coming Out volunteers and clients are among the roughly 50 people whom authorities arrested. She said her organization is representing them in court.
Anti-gay laws way for Putin to ‘gain more conservative support’
Andrianova told the Blade she feels the ongoing anti-LGBT crackdown is part of what she described as a “much wider campaign” for Russia to “define itself and define itself in opposition to the West, Europe and the United States.”
“Russia is defining traditional values and Christian orthodox heterosexual values, patriarchal when a man has a role and a woman has a role with a traditional family with kids,” she said. “Gay people, non-Christian orthodox people, all of them are viewed as kind of dangerous to the traditional values of Russia and so they’re viewed as non-Russian and [have] imported values from the West.”
Andrianova added she feels Putin signed the gay propaganda to minors and adoption bans into law as a way to maintain his popularity within the country, especially after protests erupted after the country’s 2012 presidential election the former KGB officer won.
“He got a bit worried about it,” Andrianova said. “He’s trying to gain more conservative support.”
Andrianova blasts Russian sports minister over Sochi comments
Andrianova spoke to the Blade as concerns over whether Russian authorities plan to exempt athletes and visitors who will visit Sochi for the 2014 Winter Olympics in February from the country’s gay propaganda law mount.
The Associated Press on August 5 reported the International Olympic Committee is engaged in “quiet diplomacy” with senior Russian officials on the issue.
Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko told a Russian sports website last week the gay propaganda law will apply to those who travel to Sochi for the Olympics. He told reporters during a Moscow press conference on Thursday that the statute’s critics need to “calm down.”
“Does that mean that during all the rest of the time you don’t need to be tolerant and we don’t need to be correct in your behavior towards your own citizens?” Andrianova asked, referring to Mutko’s statements. “This double standard and hypocrisy needs to be picked up and highlighted by the rest of the world.”
All Out and Athlete Ally on August 7 presented a petition with more than 340,000 signatures to the IOC in Lausanne, Switzerland, that urges it to pressure Russian officials to protect the rights of their LGBT citizens. Andre Bank, executive director of All Out, on Thursday discussed the issue with Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vitaly Cherkin before he met with U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in New York.
The Associated Press earlier on Friday reported IOC President Jacques Rogge sought further clarification from the Russian government over the application of the gay propaganda ban during the Sochi games.
Andrianova suggested to the Blade that President Obama’s decision to cancel his meeting with Putin that had been scheduled to take place in Moscow before next month’s G-20 summit in St. Petersburg is among the ways to continue to highlight Russia’s LGBT rights record. She said she does not support calls to boycott the Sochi games.
“It’s going to be much more effective to use the Olympics to raise this issue as loud and as visibly as possible,” Andrianova said. “We should call on the athletes and the sponsors and staff and volunteers to make this issue as visible as they can, to speak as loudly as they can to speak about how shameful it is and how absurd it is for Russia to be acting like this towards its LGBT citizens. That’s going to be more effective and more visible in Russia than some athletes not coming to the Olympics.”
Malaysia
Malaysia blocks access to Grindr, other gay dating websites
Restrictions part of continued anti-LGBTQ crackdown
Malaysia has blocked access to Grindr, Blued, and other gay dating websites, and is now considering further steps to restrict their mobile application.
Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil on Feb. 25 said the government is pursuing legal measures to curb the availability of LGBTQ dating apps on Google’s Play Store and Apple’s App Store.
Fadzil, in a written parliamentary reply, said the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission has not received any requests to remove the mobile versions of Grindr and Blued from app stores, noting the challenges of regulating platforms owned by foreign companies.
“Control over applications on platforms such as Google Play and Apple Store is subject to regulations and policies set by the said platform providers, since both applications are owned by foreign companies operating outside of Malaysia,” Fadzil said. “This includes those that spread lewd or immoral content, exploitation, abuse, scams, exploiting children or threats towards public safety.”
Fadzil was responding to a question about whether the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission had worked with app store providers to block downloads of such apps.
The Washington Blade reached out to Google and Apple multiple times for comment but did not receive a response.
Malaysia has stepped up digital restrictions targeting the LGBTQ community as part of a broader crackdown on what authorities describe as “deviant” or immoral content. Consensual same-sex sexual relations remain criminalized in the country under both civil and Sharia law.
Malaysia has proposed a Cyber Crime Bill that would expand the government’s legal powers to address the misuse of digital platforms, including the promotion of same-sex dating applications, Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said. The bill would replace the Computer Crimes Act of 1997.
“We are disappointed in the decision to block access to Grindr in Malaysia and believe that online platform regulation should be proportionate and consistent with international human rights law,” a Grindr spokesperson told the Blade in an email.
“At Grindr, our mission is to help make a world where the lives of our global community are free, equal, and just,” added the spokesperson. “For many of our users, Grindr is often the primary way for them to connect, express themselves, and discover the world around them. In addition to serving as an important source of information, Grindr is committed to advancing the health and well-being of the community around the world and through our social impact initiative, Grindr for Equality, we partner with hundreds of advocates, community-based organizations, and public health agencies to support the global LGBTQ+ community.”
Grindr, based in California, is popular around the world. Blued, a China-based app that BlueCity operates, is one of the world’s largest social networking and dating platforms for gay men.
Blued did not respond to the Blade’s request for comment.
Online platforms ‘critical for LGBTQ people’
Malaysian authorities in May 2023 raided Swatch stores at shopping malls across the country and confiscated more than 160 rainbow-colored watches from the company’s Pride collection, saying the designs carried “LGBT connotations.” The raids, which the Home Affairs Ministry carried out, were widely criticized by advocacy groups.
Police last June opened an investigation into a closed-door LGBTQ sexual health workshop.
Selangor police chief Hussein Omar Khan said authorities were examining the event under the Penal Code for allegedly causing “disharmony or ill will” on religious grounds, as well as under the Communications and Multimedia Act, a law frequently used to police online speech. Critics said the investigation reflected growing government overreach and warned against the criminalization of public health initiatives aimed at marginalized communities. Activists cited this case as another example of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s crackdown on LGBTQ rights.
The Home Affairs Ministry in November 2020 banned the book “Gay Is OK! A Christian Perspective,” written by Pastor Oyoung and published by Gerakbudaya in 2013, saying it was likely to be “prejudicial to public order, morality and the public interest.” The Kuala Lumpur High Court later overturned the ban and ordered the respondents — then-Home Affairs Minister Hamzah Zainudin and the Malaysian government — to pay costs of 5,000 Malaysian ringgit ($1,276.81.)
A 2014 Human Rights Watch report documented widespread discrimination and abuse against transgender women in the country.
The report found that trans people face arrests under laws that effectively criminalize “cross-dressing,” along with harassment and abuse by police and religious authorities. It also described systemic discrimination in employment, health care, and education, leaving many trans women marginalized and vulnerable to violence and exploitation.
Thilaga Sulathireh, a founding member of Justice for Sisters, a Malaysian trans rights group, said restrictions on LGBTQ people’s freedom of expression through censorship have been an ongoing trend in Malaysia over the past decade.
Sulathireh said there have been increasing calls to curb what critics describe as “LGBT normalization” in films, books, and social media, which activists link to what they say is a harmful and inaccurate perception that LGBTQ people are immoral. Sulathireh added Grindr had been blocked in Malaysia for several years and that, as of last weekend, the app was no longer available on Google Play and the Apple App Store. Sulathireh said Justice for Sisters views the move as a serious violation of LGBTQ people’s rights to nondiscrimination, dignity, privacy, and freedom of expression.
“The blocking of LGBTQ related apps is part of the on-going and increasing trend of state sponsored discrimination against LGBTQ people in Malaysia,” Sulathireh told the Blade in an email. “In late February, the deputy minister in the prime minister’s (Religious Affairs) Department announced that the government is opting to replace references to LGBT persons with the term “budaya songsang” (deviant culture) and encouraged others to do the same to avoid LGBT normalization in all spaces, including social media. At the same time, called on members of the public to immediately report ‘suspicious activities, events or content.’”
Sulathireh told the Blade a deputy minister recently outlined a range of government-led initiatives targeting LGBTQ people in Malaysia.
According to Sulathireh, these include so-called “spiritual guidance camps.” Sulathireh said some participants, including those who identify as “ex-LGBT” or part of the “hijrah” community, have been encouraged to act as peer educators to reach other LGBTQ people.
Additional initiatives the deputy minister listed include academic Islamic conferences, state-level sermons coordinated by the state Islamic councils, and mosque-level programs. Sulathireh told the Blade the government presented a paper to the Council of Rulers outlining what officials described as the negative implications of legal gender recognition. Sulathireh said authorities have also established a multiagency committee to address issues involving Muslim LGBTQ people, promoted what they call “psychospiritual therapy,” and worked with police and the Communications and Multimedia Commission to monitor the promotion of LGBTQ-related activities online.
“The blocking of these apps and websites severely impacts all areas of LGBTQ people’s lives,” said Sulathireh. “These platforms have proven critical for LGBTQ people to find support, communities, access life-saving resources, information and services, love and intimacy. I think being able to find love, intimacy and connections is critical for LGBTQ’s self-acceptance, self-worth, health, and well-being.”
“The blocking makes it even more challenging for people to connect safely online and offline,” added Sulathireh. “People will become more isolated and all of these have a severe impact on LGBTQ’s mental health and well-being, which is already poor.”
Sulathireh said Justice for Sisters research and observations indicate many LGBTQ people in Malaysia already experience social media and digital spaces as hostile environments. As a result, many limit their use of these platforms and adopt higher levels of self-censorship. Sulathireh added the recent bans targeting LGBTQ visibility on digital platforms are also unfolding alongside a broader policy push to restrict social media access for children under 16.
“The state sponsored LGBTQ discrimination over the years has resulted in increasing discrimination by non-state actors and anti-rights groups with impunity,” Sulathireh said. “This ban will further entrench the culture of impunity against LGBTQ people.”
Nalini Elumalai, senior Malaysia program officer at ARTICLE 19, an international freedom of expression organization, said the blocking of dating apps is not occurring in isolation but is happening under the guise of public morality, digital censorship, and the enforcement of laws that undermine the rights of LGBTQ individuals in Malaysia.
Elumalai noted that Deputy Religious Affairs Minister Marhamah Rosli recently urged the public to refrain from using the term “LGBT” and instead describe it as “deviant culture” in an effort to combat normalization and reduce LGBTQ-related content on social media. Elumalai said blocking Grindr and Blued represents an ongoing attack on the LGBTQ community, particularly their rights to freedom of expression, access to information, and to be treated equally before the law without discrimination — protections guaranteed under Articles 8 and 10 of Malaysia’s Federal Constitution.
“The blocking of LGBTQI+ dating platforms appears to reflect a broader pattern in Malaysia where LGBTQI+-related expression and activities face heightened scrutiny and repression, particularly when they become visible online,” said Elumalai in a statement to the Blade.
Elumalai noted JEJAKA, a community-based organization had to cancel their “Glamping with Pride” event that was to have taken place on Jan. 17-18 because of safety concerns after it received death threats on social media.
“Ongoing repression of LGBTQI+ expression will further entrench systemic discrimination against marginalized groups, normalise inequality, and perpetuate division and hostility among the people in Malaysia,” said Elumalai. “Further, when one group is punished or prevented from expressing themselves freely online, others, including various online platforms, may also self-censor out of fear that they too could face scrutiny or penalties, even for legitimate expressions.”
The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission has not responded to the Blade’s request for comment.
Chile
Far-right Chilean President José Antonio Kast takes office
Former congressman opposes LGBTQ rights
Chilean President José Antonio Kast took office on Wednesday.
Kast — the far-right leader of the Republican Party who was a member of the country’s House of Deputies from 2002-2018 — defeated Jeannette Jara — a member of the Communist Party of Chile who was the former labor and social welfare minister in former President Gabriel Boric’s government — in last year’s presidential election.
The Chilean constitution prevented Boric from running for a second consecutive term.
The Washington Blade has previously reported Kast has expressed his opposition to gender-specific policies, comprehensive sex education, and reforms to Chile’s anti-discrimination laws. Kast has also publicly opposed the country’s marriage equality law that took effect on March 10, 2022, the day before Boric took office.
The Movement for Homosexual Integration and Liberation, a Chilean LGBTQ and intersex rights group known by the acronym Movilh, declared a “state of alert” after Kast’s election, “given this leader’s (Kast’s) public and political trajectory, characterized for decades by systematic opposition to laws and policies aimed at equality and nondiscrimination of LGBTIQ+ individuals.”
Argentine President Javier Milei, Deputy U.S. Secretary of State Christopher Landau, and Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado are among those who attended Kast’s inauguration that took place in the Chilean Congress in Valparaíso.
District of Columbia
Capital Stonewall Democrats set to celebrate 50th anniversary
Mayor Bowser expected to attend March 20 event
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, members of the D.C. Council, and local and national Democratic Party officials are expected to join more than 150 LGBTQ advocates and supporters on March 20 for the 50th anniversary celebration of the city’s Capital Stonewall Democrats.
A statement released by the organization says the event is scheduled to be held at the Pepco Edison Place Gallery building at 702 8th St., N.W. in D.C.
“The evening will honor the people who built Capital Stonewall Democrats across five decades – activists who fought for rights when the odds were against them, public servants who opened doors and refused to let them close, and a new generation of leaders ready to carry the work forward,” the statement says.
Founded in 1976 as the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club, the organization’s members voted in 2021 to change its name to the Capital Stonewall Democrats.
Among those planning to attend the anniversary event is longtime D.C. gay Democratic activist Paul Kuntzler, 84, who is one of the two co-founders of the then-Gertrude Stein Democratic Club. Kuntzler told the Washington Blade that he and co-founder Richard Maulsby were joined by about a dozen others in the living room of his Southwest D.C. home at the group’s founding meeting in January 1976.
He said that among the reasons for forming a local LGBTQ Democratic group at the time was to arrange for a then “gay” presence at the 1976 Democratic National Convention, at which Jimmy Carter won the Democratic nomination for U.S. president and later won election as president.
Maulsby, who served as the Stein Club president for its first three years and who now lives in Sarasota, Fla., said he would not be attending the March 20 anniversary event, but he fully supports the organization’s continuing work as an LGBTQ organization associated with the Democratic Party.
Steven McCarty, Capital Stonewall Democrats’ current president, said in the statement that the anniversary celebration will highlight the organization’s work since the time of its founding.
“Capital Stonewall Democrats has been fighting for LGBTQ+ political power in this city for 50 years, electing people, training organizers, holding this community together through some really hard moments,” he said. “And right now, with everything going on, that work has never mattered more. This gala is the first moment of our next chapter, and I want the community to be a part of it.”
The statement says among the special guests attending the event will be Democratic National Committee Vice Chair Malcolm Kenyatta, who became the first openly gay LGBTQ person of color to win election to the Pennsylvania General Assembly in 2018.
Other guests of honor, according to the statement, include Mayor Bowser; D.C. Council member Zachary Parker (D-Ward 5, the Council’s only gay member; D.C. Council member Anita Bonds (D-At-Large); Earl Fowlkes, founder of the International Federation of Black Prides; Vita Rangel, a transgender woman who serves as Deputy Director of the D.C. Mayor’s Office of Talent and Appointments; Heidi Ellis, director of the D.C. LGBTQ Budget Coalition; Rayceen Pendarvis, longtime D.C. LGBTQ civic activist; and Phillip Pannell, longtime D.C. LGBTQ Democratic activist and Ward 8 civic activist.
Information about ticket availability for the Capital Stonewall Democrats anniversary gala can be accessed here: capitalstonewalldemocrats.com/50th
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