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.
Cuba
Trans parent charged with kidnapping, allegedly fled to Cuba with child
Cuban authorities helped locate Rose Inessa-Ethington
Federal authorities have charged a transgender woman with kidnapping after she allegedly fled to Cuba with her 10-year-old child.
An affidavit that Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Jennifer Waterfield filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Utah on April 16 notes the child is a “biological male who identifies as a female” and “splits time living with divorced parents who share custody” in Cache County, Utah.
Waterfield notes the child on March 28 “was supposed to be traveling by car to” Calgary, Alberta, “for a planned camping trip with his transgender mother, Rose Inessa-Ethington, Rose’s partner, Blue Inessa-Ethington, and Blue’s 3-year-old child.”
The affidavit notes the group instead flew from Vancouver, British Columbia, to Mexico City on March 29. Waterfield writes the Inessa-Ethingtons and the two children then flew from Mérida, Mexico, to Havana on April 1.
The 10-year-old child called her biological mother on March 28 after they arrived in Canada. The custody agreement, according to the affidavit, required Rose Inessa-Ethington to return the child to her former spouse on April 3.
“Interviews of MV [Minor Victim] 1’s family members provided significant concerns for MV 1’s well-being, as MV 1 was born a male, however, identifies as a female child, which is largely believed to be due to manipulation by Rose Inessa-Ethington,” reads the affidavit. “Concerns exist that MV 1 was transported to Cuba for gender reassignment surgery prior to puberty.”
The affidavit indicates authorities found a note in the Inessa-Ethingtons’ home with “instruction from a mental health therapist located in Washington, D.C., including instruction to send the therapist the $10,000.00 and instructions on gender-affirming medical care for children.”
The affidavit does not identify the specific “mental health therapist” in D.C.
A Utah judge on April 13 ordered Rose Inessa-Ethington to “immediately” return the child to her former spouse. The former spouse also received sole custody.
“Your affiant believes that due to the extensive planning and preparation exhibited by both Rose Inessa-Ethington and Blue Inessa-Ethington to isolate MV 1 and take MV 1 to Havana, Cuba, without notifying or requesting permission from MV 1’s mother indicates they are likely not planning to return to the United States,” wrote Waterfield.
The affidavit notes Cuban authorities found the Inessa-Ethingtons and the child.
A press release the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah issued notes the Inessa-Ethingtons “were deported from Cuba” on Monday “with the assistance of the FBI.”
The couple has been charged with International Parental Kidnapping. The Inessa-Ethingtons were arraigned in Richmond, Va., on Monday. The press release notes a federal court in Salt Lake City will soon handle the case.
The New York Times reported the child is now back with their biological mother.
“We are grateful to law enforcement for working swiftly to return the child to the biological mother,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa Holyoak of the District of Utah in the press release.
The case is unfolding against the backdrop of increased tensions between Washington and Havana after U.S. forces on Jan. 3 seized now former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.
President Donald Trump shortly after he took office in January 2025 issued an executive order that directed the federal government to only recognize two genders: male and female. A second White House directive banned federally-funded gender-affirming care for anyone under 19.
The U.S. Supreme Court last year in the Skrmetti decision upheld a Tennessee law that bans gender-affirming care for minors.
Cuba’s national health care system has offered free sex-reassignment surgeries since 2008.
Activists who are critical of Mariela Castro, the daughter of former President Raúl Castro who spearheads LGBTQ issues as director of Cuba’s National Center for Sexual Education, have previously told the Washington Blade that access to these procedures is limited. The Blade on Wednesday asked a contact in Havana to clarify whether Cuban law currently allows minors to undergo sex-reassignment surgery.
Australia
Australia lifts additional restrictions on LGBTQ blood donors
Gay, bisexual men, trans people in long-term monogamous relationships can now donate
The Australian Red Cross Blood Service (Lifeblood) has lifted additional restrictions on LGBTQ people who want to donate blood.
The Star-Observer, an Australian LGBTQ newspaper, reported new Lifeblood rules that took effect on Monday will allow “gay and bisexual men and transgender people in long-term monogamous relationships to donate blood and platelets for the first time.”
The new policy defines “long-term monogamous relationships” as those that are at least six months.
All potential donors — regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity — will answer the same questions about recent sexual activity.
“Previous donor rules prevented many people from the LGBTQIA+ community from donating blood or platelets if they’d had sex within the past three months,” said Lifeblood CEO Stephen Cornelissen in a press release that announced the new policy. “These latest changes mean many gay and bisexual men and transgender people in long-term, monogamous relationships will become eligible to donate blood or platelets for the first time.”
Lifeblood in 2025 ended its blanket ban on sexually active LGBTQ people from donating blood.
Rodney Croome, an Australian LGBTQ activist who is the spokesperson for Let Us Give, a campaign that has championed the changes, donated blood on Monday.
“After three decades of advocacy, and for the first time in my life, I was able to donate blood today,” said Croome in a Facebook post that showed him donating blood. “From today, gay men, and bisexual men and transgender women who have sex with men, are able to give blood without the traditional three month abstinence period. All donors are now asked the same questions about sex regardless of the gender of our sexual partners.”
Croome in the post said “there are still problems with the new donor regime,” but said Let Us Give will continue to work with Lifeblood.
“Those who may have not been monogamous in the recent past should not be subject to a six month wait time,” he wrote. “Three months is considered more than enough in the UK, US and Canada. It should be here too. People on PrEP and trans people also face continued barriers. Let Us Give will continue to work towards greater equity in donation.”
European Union
Top EU court strikes down Hungary’s anti-LGBTQ propaganda law
Ruling issued days after voters outed Prime Minister Viktor Orbán
The European Union’s top court on Tuesday struck down Hungary’s anti-LGBTQ propaganda law.
Hungarian MPs in 2021 approved Act LXXIX of 2021.
“It shall be forbidden to make accessible to persons who have not attained the age of 18 years advertisement that depicts sexuality in a gratuitous manner or that propagates or portrays divergence from self-identity corresponding to sex at birth, sex change or homosexuality,” it reads.
The European Commission in 2022 challenged the law. Sixteen EU countries — Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden — joined the lawsuit. The European Parliament also supported it. Outgoing Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, for his part, said his government would defend the law.
The EU Court of Justice heard the case in 2024.
A press release that announced the ruling on Tuesday said Hungary “acted in breach of EU law.”
“The court finds, for the first time, a separate infringement of Article 2 TEU (Treaty on European Union), which lists the values on which the (European) Union is founded and which are common to all the Member States,” it reads. “The aspects of the amending law targeting content which portrays or promotes deviation from the self-identity corresponding to the sex assigned at birth, gender reassignment, or homosexuality constitute a coordinated series of discriminatory measures which are in breach, in a way that is both manifest and particularly serious, of the rights of non-cisgender persons — including transgender persons — or non-heterosexual persons, as well as the values of respect for human dignity, equality and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities.”
“Consequently, that law is contrary to the very identity of the (European) Union as a common legal order in a society in which pluralism prevails,” notes the press release. “Hungary cannot validly rely on its national identity as justification for adopting a law which is in breach of the values referred to above.”
The Háttér Society, a Hungarian LGBTQ rights group, said the ruling “is a milestone for the protection of human rights in the European Union, and it is also a historic victory for LGBTQI people in Hungary.”
The court issued its ruling nine days after Péter Magyar ousted Orbán in Hungary’s elections.
Orbán took office in 2010.
He and his government faced widespread criticism over its anti-LGBTQ crackdown that included laws that banned Pride events and other public LGBTQ events. (Upwards of 100,000 people last June denied the prohibition and marched in Budapest’s annual Pride parade.)
“Those amendments constitute a particularly serious interference with several fundamental rights protected by the (EU) Charter (of Fundamental Rights), namely the prohibition on discrimination based on sex,” notes the court’s press release.
The EU since Orbán took office has withheld upwards of €35 billion ($41.2 billion) in funds to Hungary in response to concerns over corruption, rule of law, and other issues. Magyar has said he will work with Brussels to unfreeze the money.
ILGA-Europe Deputy Director Katrin Hugendubel urged Maygar’s government to repeal the law.
“With this ruling, the CJEU (The EU Court of Justice) is confirming what we have been saying for six years,” said Hugendubel. “There is now no excuse for the Commission not to require Hungary to quickly withdraw the law. Hungary cannot enter a post-Orbán era without repealing this legislation, including the Pride ban.”
“If Péter Magyar truly aims to be pro-EU, he must place this at the top of his agenda for his first 100 days in office, as an essential part of his EU facing reforms,” added Hugendubel.
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