World
LGBTQ news from Europe and Asia
Pro-democracy activist Jimmy Sham wins legal victory in Hong Kong
Greece
Some parents of students at a primary school in Corinth, a Greek city 48 miles west of Athens, are outraged after discovering that after a renovation, maintenance and painting of the building facilities, the undersides of balconies of the school appeared to have been enblazened with Pride flags.
Posting pictures to Facebook, the Parents’ Association of the 2nd Primary School of Corinth’s conservative members sent letters of complaint addressed to the city government, the Directorate of Primary Education and the school’s management.
The city’s deputy mayor, Yannis Gezerlis, responded to the incident, clarifying that the new paint scheme was not about the Pride colors and the LGBTQ community but about the colors of the iris or the sky arc symbolizing.
“Let me remind you here that the colors of the LGBT Pride flag; have the same arrangement as the rainbow but they are six and not seven like the colors of the iris which also includes blue, and there was rather than only an established identification of childhood and education, rebirth with the knowledge symbolized by the rainbow, and where it existed before the LGBTI community appeared,” he said adding: “And of course we cannot uncritically erase the past like this because it looks like something we oppose.”
Slovakia
Early parliamentary elections are scheduled to be held in Slovakia on Sept. 30, and the European People’s Party, (EPP) a center-right, major pro-European political group, has endorsed KDH, the Christian-democratic political party in Slovakia that is a member of the EPP, despite KDH Leader Milan Majersk’s homophobic public comments and position.
During a pre-election TV debate ahead of the snap elections at the end of this month, in response to a question from the audience, Majersk referred to LGBTQ people as an “ideology” a “scourge” to the country as bad as corruption in government.
“Both are the misfortune of any country, not just Slovakia – both corruption and LGBTI. They are scourges that are destroying the country. Any country,” Majerský said. In a Facebook post after the debate Majerský attempted to walk back his harsh rhetoric writing that that he meant LGBTQ “ideology,” not people.
Andrea Letanovská, leader of Demokrati, another EPP-affiliated party from Slovakia, also echoed the criticism, reminding that “hateful words can kill,” as two young people were shot dead in a terrorist attack outside the Tepláreň gay bar last October.
“To hear this from someone who stands for democratic and Christian values, from someone who is supposed to love his neighbor, it is very sad indeed,” said Letanovská.
Ukraine
Instead of a Pride parade at the end of August, LGBTQ activists tied cardboard figures to trees in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. Co-organizer Sofia said they represented people “who cannot join the march for some reasons.”
“I think that people should be protected, especially now, during the war, when anything can happen at any time. We are not immune to anything,” she said.
According to the Kharkiv Pride Instagram account, only 100 people were able to register for the event for security reasons.
United Kingdom
Appearing on “Piers Morgan Uncensored” on Monday, London’s LGBTQ-friendly mayor, Sadiq Khan, sparred with the conservative presenter and journalist after Morgan asked the mayor to define a woman. This question has become a anti-transgender dog whistle for TERFs and “gender criticals” in Britain who are opposed to transgender rights.
Morgan has made several public statements in opposition to trans rights in the U.K. Although the mayor was not on the show discuss trans or women’s issues, he took the opportunity to insist that trans women are women.
“I answer that question knowing full well that there are people watching this who have gender dysphoria and have concerns in relation to this issue,” Khan said adding: “A woman, when it comes to biology and sex, is an adult girl,” he continued. “There are some women who have gender dysphoria and trans women can also be women as well.”
Ireland
Counter protesters in Corcaigh, Ireland’s second largest city, surrounded the Cork City Library to shield patrons and staff from a far-right protest occurring outside of the building.
PinkNewsUK reported that on Sept. 2 about 300 people turned out in support of the library and its staff, and in opposition to the Ireland Says No rally, which was organized by conservative groups.
The conservative groups and far right protestors are angered over LGBTQ books and want them removed. The city had previously been forced to shut the library during another anti-LGBTQ book demonstration, out of fear for the safety of library staff.
Speaking to CorkBeo, Sinn Féin Councilor Mick Nugent said: “For me, it’s primarily in support of library workers in terms of what they’ve had to put up with over the past number of months. The library is open today, which is good, business as usual.”
“It’s about equality, it’s about liberty, it’s about fraternity and it’s about diversity. We’re supporting all communities that decided to make Cork their home.”
China
Pro-democracy activist Jimmy Sham won a partial victory in the Court of Final Appeal, Hong Kong’s high court, when it ruled this week that the government formulate an alternative framework for same-sex couples seeking legal recognition as the court refused to recognize same-sex marriages which are not currently allowed.
A poll this year found that 60 percent of Hong Kongers supported same-sex marriage, compared to just 38 percent a decade ago France 24/AFP reported.
Sham, 36, who is one of dozens of activists behind bars awaiting prosecution under the Beijing-imposed Hong Kong security law on charges unrelated to LGBTQ rights, had twice failed to convince the courts that Hong Kong should legally recognize his marriage to a same-sex partner, which was registered in New York nearly 10 years ago.
Tuesday’s ruling said that the government’s failure to actively provide alternative options — like civil unions — for same-sex partners violates their rights.
“The absence of legal recognition of (same-sex partners’) relationship is apt to disrupt and demean their private lives together in ways that constitute arbitrary interference,” the court said in its ruling.
LGBTQ rights in China have steadily eroded as the government has cracked down over the past several years.
In Asia only Nepal and Taiwan recognize same-sex marriage while in South Korea lawmakers have recently introduced legislation that would recognize same-sex partnerships AFP also noted.
Rights advocacy has partly gone underground after Beijing imposed a national security law on Hong Kong in 2020, following huge and sometimes violent pro-democracy protests in the finance hub.
Senegal
A dozen Senegalese men arrested for ‘unnatural acts’
Popular journalist and musician among those taken into custody
Senegalese police have charged a dozen men with committing “unnatural acts.”
The New York Times reported Pape Cheikh Diallo, a popular television reporter, and Djiby Dramé, a musician, are among the men who authorities arrested. They appeared in court in Dakar, the Senegalese capital, on Monday.
Le Soleil, a Senegalese newspaper, reported authorities arrested the men on Feb. 6 “for intentional transmission of HIV, unnatural acts, criminal conspiracy, and endangering others.” The newspaper further notes the men have been placed in “pre-trial detention.”
Senegal is among the countries in which consensual same-sex sexual relations remain criminalized.
Police in Kaolack, a town that is roughly 135 miles southeast of Dakar, in 2015 arrested 11 people who allegedly engaged in same-sex sexual acts during “a celebration of a gay marriage.” The National Assembly in 2021 rejected a bill that would have further criminalized homosexuality in the country.
Philippines
Philippines Supreme Court rules same-sex couples can co-own property
Advocacy group celebrated landmark decision
The Philippines Supreme Court in a landmark ruling said same-sex couples can co-own property under the country’s Family Code.
The Philippine News Agency on Tuesday notes the court issued its ruling in the case of two women who bought a house in Quezon City, a suburb of Manila, the Filipino capital, before they broke up.
The two women, according to the Philippine News Agency, “agreed to sell the property” after they ended their relationship, “and the registered owner — the respondent — signed a document acknowledging that the other partner paid for half of the purchase and renovations.” The Philippine News Agency notes “the registered owner” later “refused to sell the property and withdrew her earlier acknowledgment of co-ownership, prompting the other partner to file a complaint.”
A Regional Trial Court and the Philippines Court of Appeals ruled against the plaintiff.
The Supreme Court in a 14-page ruling it issued on Feb. 5 overturned the decisions. The Supreme Court published its decision on Tuesday.
“Considering that there is co-ownership between petitioner and respondent, then each co-owner may demand at any time the partition of the thing owned in common, insofar as her share is concerned,” said the Supreme Court in its ruling, according to the Philippine News Agency. “Having rightful interest over the subject property, petitioner has the right to demand the division of the subject property.”
The predominantly Catholic country’s Family Code defines marriage as “a special contract of permanent union between a man and a woman entered into in accordance with law for the establishment of conjugal and family life.” It also states in Article 148 that “in cases of cohabitation” outside of marriage, “only the properties acquired by both of the parties through their actual joint contribution of money, property, or industry shall be owned by them in common in proportion to their respective contributions.”
“In the absence of proof to the contrary, their contributions and corresponding shares are presumed to be equal,” it reads.
The BBC reported the Supreme Court ruling states this provision “applies to all forms of co-habitation,” regardless of the couple’s gender. A Supreme Court press release indicates the decision notes lawmakers and the Filipino government “must address same-sex couples’ rights, as courts alone cannot resolve all related policy concerns.”
“This court does not have the monopoly to assure the freedom and rights of homosexual couples,” it reads. “With the political, moral, and cultural questions that surround the issue concerning the rights of same-sex couples, political departments, especially the Congress must be involved to quest for solutions, which balance interests while maintaining fealty to fundamental freedoms.”
LGBT Pilipinas, a Filipino advocacy group, welcomed the ruling.
“This ruling marks a monumental step forward in the legal recognition of LGBTQ+ families and relationships in the country,” it said in a statement.
LGBT Pilipinas added the ruling “lays a crucial legal foundation for broader recognition of same-sex relationships and strengthens the push for comprehensive anti-discrimination protections.”
“This is a win not only for the LGBTQ+ community, but for fairness and justice in Philippine society as a whole,” said the group.
Italy
Olympics Pride House ‘really important for the community’
Italy lags behind other European countries in terms of LGBTQ rights
The four Italian advocacy groups behind the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics’ Pride House hope to use the games to highlight the lack of LGBTQ rights in their country.
Arcigay, CIG Arcigay Milano, Milano Pride, and Pride Sport Milano organized the Pride House that is located in Milan’s MEET Digital Culture Center. The Washington Blade on Feb. 5 interviewed Pride House Project Manager Joseph Naklé.
Naklé in 2020 founded Peacox Basket Milano, Italy’s only LGBTQ basketball team. He also carried the Olympic torch through Milan shortly before he spoke with the Blade. (“Heated Rivalry” stars Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie last month participated in the torch relay in Feltre, a town in Italy’s Veneto region.)
Naklé said the promotion of LGBTQ rights in Italy is “actually our main objective.”
ILGA-Europe in its Rainbow Map 2025 notes same-sex couples lack full marriage rights in Italy, and the country’s hate crimes law does not include sexual orientation or gender identity. Italy does ban discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment, but the country’s nondiscrimination laws do not include gender identity.
ILGA-Europe has made the following recommendations “in order to improve the legal and policy situation of LGBTI people in Italy.”
• Marriage equality for same-sex couples
• Depathologization of trans identities
• Automatic co-parent recognition available for all couples
“We are not really known to be the most openly LGBT-friendly country,” Naklé told the Blade. “That’s why it (Pride House) was really important for the community.”
“We want to use the Olympic games — because there is a big media attention — and we want to use this media attention to raise the voice,” he added.
Naklé noted Pride House will host “talks and roundtables every night” during the games that will focus on a variety of topics that include transgender and nonbinary people in sports and AI. Another will focus on what Naklé described to the Blade as “the importance of political movements now to fight for our rights, especially in places such as Italy or the U.S. where we are going backwards, and not forwards.”
Seven LGBTQ Olympians — Italian swimmer Alex Di Giorgio, Canadian ice dancers Paul Poirier and Kaitlyn Weaver, Canadian figure skater Eric Radford, Spanish figure skater Javier Raya, Scottish ice dancer Lewis Gibson, and Irish field hockey and cricket player Nikki Symmons — are scheduled to participate in Pride House’s Out and Proud event on Feb. 14.
Pride House Los Angeles – West Hollywood representatives are expected to speak at Pride House on Feb. 21.
The event will include a screening of Mariano Furlani’s documentary about Pride House and LGBTQ inclusion in sports. The MiX International LGBTQ+ Film and Queer Culture Festival will screen later this year in Milan. Pride House Los Angeles – West Hollywood is also planning to show the film during the 2028 Summer Olympics.
Naklé also noted Pride House has launched an initiative that allows LGBTQ sports teams to partner with teams whose members are either migrants from African and Islamic countries or people with disabilities.
“The objective is to show that sports is the bridge between these communities,” he said.
Bisexual US skier wins gold
Naklé spoke with the Blade a day before the games opened. The Milan Cortina Winter Olympics will close on Feb. 22.
More than 40 openly LGBTQ athletes are competing in the games.
Breezy Johnson, an American alpine skier who identifies as bisexual, on Sunday won a gold medal in the women’s downhill. Amber Glenn, who identifies as bisexual and pansexual, on the same day helped the U.S. win a gold medal in team figure skating.
Glenn said she received threats on social media after she told reporters during a pre-Olympics press conference that LGBTQ Americans are having a “hard time” with the Trump-Vance administration in the White House. The Associated Press notes Glenn wore a Pride pin on her jacket during Sunday’s medal ceremony.
“I was disappointed because I’ve never had so many people wish me harm before, just for being me and speaking about being decent — human rights and decency,” said Glenn, according to the AP. “So that was really disappointing, and I do think it kind of lowered that excitement for this.”
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