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Out in the World: LGBTQ news from Europe and Canada
Three Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna cancelled after attack plot uncovered
BULGARIA
Parliament rushed through passage of a Russia-style “LGBT propaganda” law Aug. 7 in a marathon session that was marked by speeches that queer activists have denounced as bordering on hate speech, and that sparked protests around the capital.
The vaguely worded law bans “propaganda, popularization and encouragement, directly or indirectly, of ideas and views connected to nontraditional sexual orientation or to gender-identifying different from the biological,” in Bulgarian schools. The law does not prescribe any specific punishment for infractions.
The bill was introduced by the Revival Party, which maintains strong ties to Russia’s government, but passed with surprising support from the pro-European Union center-right GERB party. Altogether, 159 MPs voted for the bill, while only 57 voted against it, mostly from the reformist We Continue the Change Party.
Bulgaria is currently without an elected government, as June national elections yielded a hung parliament. Fresh elections are scheduled for Oct. 20 — Bulgaria’s fifth election in three years. Parties are likely using the threat of “LGBT propaganda” to shore up votes.
Nevertheless, the passage of the law sparked protests from queer, women, and human rights groups around the capital, Sofia, calling on President Rumen Radev to veto the law.
“This is the first step in making non-traditional sexual orientation a crime. I consider this absolutely unacceptable and out of the spirit of what we strive to be as a country and society,” Ivan Ivanov, a protestor at the Aug. 7 rally, told Euronews.
Anti-LGBTQ “propaganda” laws have been spreading since Russia passed its law in 2013. Hungary and Lithuania have laws restricting LGBTQ speech in schools or around children, but Bulgaria is the first EU country to pass such a law since the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Lithuania’s law breached the European Convention in January 2023.
Other countries considering such laws right now are Georgia and Kazakhstan. Several African states have also recently passed or are considering laws criminalizing promotion of LGBTQ rights, including Uganda, Ghana, Namibia, and Liberia. Increasingly, similar laws are also being passed in Republican-led U.S. states.
AUSTRIA
Local organizers Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour cancelled three dates in Vienna after authorities arrested two suspected extremists on charges that they planned to attack a concert.
Swift had been scheduled to play at the Ernst Happel Stadium on Aug. 9, 10, and 11.
Authorities said they had arrested a 19-year-old main suspect in Ternitz, about 50 miles south of Vienna, and a second 17-year-old suspect in the capital.
Omar Haijawi-Pirchner, head of Austria’s Directorate of State Security and Intelligence, says the 19-year-old had been radicalized in the direction of the Islamic State, and that they had found material related to the Islamic State and al-Qaeda at the home of the 17-year-old.
Haijawi-Pirchner says that the suspect was employed by a company providing services at the concerts and was planning to use knives or self-made explosives to “kill as many people as possible” at the concert.
Initially, promoters said the concerts would go ahead with extra security provided by the national police, but the dates were quickly cancelled hours later.
Promoters Barracuda Music said all tickets would be automatically refunded within 10 business days.
The concert dates had been sold out for months, with an estimated 170,000 people expected to attend.
This isn’t the first time an Islamic extremist has allegedly targeted a pop concert. In 2017, an extremist suicide-bombed an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England, killing 22 people and wounding more than 100.
CANADA
The Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal from alt-right figure Jordan Peterson of the decision by the College of Psychologists of Ontario requiring him to undergo social media training or risk losing his license to practice.
Peterson, who rose to international prominence for his strident opposition to a transgender rights bill passed by the Canadian government in 2017, has become a darling of the alt-right movement for his writings and social media posts advancing frequently misogynistic and transphobic views on women, masculinity, and gender identity, as well as general antipathy to other left-wing issues.
In 2022, the College of Psychologists found that his posts may be “degrading” and call into question his ability as a psychologist and bring the profession disrepute. It ordered he undergo social media training.
Peterson sought judicial review, but he lost at lower courts. The Supreme Court did not give reasons why it dismissed the appeal. Peterson was ordered to pay costs.
Initially, Peterson said he would continue to fight the order, somehow, but days later his lawyer had told CBC that Peterson would attend the training.
The case has divided rights groups in Canada, with the LGBTQ advocacy group Egale intervening on behalf of the College of Psychologists of Ontario, while the Canadian Civil Liberties Union intervened on behalf of Peterson, arguing that professional associations shouldn’t regulate speech unrelated to the profession.
Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre, who has also courted the alt-right and far right in Canada, also posted in support of Peterson.
“Another government bureaucracy threatens to ban a Canadian from practicing his profession because he expressed political opinions the state doesn’t like,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
The College of Psychologists of Ontario is not a government bureaucracy. It is a professional association.
BELGIUM
Former Belgian Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo spoke out against transphobia in an open letter after the current deputy prime minister raised alarms this week by recommending a transphobic book on his social media channels.
Deputy Prime Minister David Clarinval of the center-right Reformist Movement was accused of transphobia after he posted on X praise of the book “Transmania: Investigation into the Excesses of Transgender Ideology” by Marguerite Stern and Dora Moutot.
The book, originally published in France, is full of conjectures and conspiracy theories asserting that trans people aren’t real and that they are associated with pedophilia. It has become a symbol of the far right in France since it was published in April 2023.
Clarinval defended his post to the Brussels Times.
“This book gives a broader view of the transgender issue,” he said.
Di Rupo, who was Belgium’s first openly gay prime minister and now serves as a member of the European Parliament, wrote an open letter calling for conservatives and liberals to agree to protect all people’s rights in the wake of the controversy.
“In this reactionary climate, it is essential to emphasize that the freedoms granted to transgender people in no way diminish the freedoms of other citizens. The extension of rights and freedoms to some never diminishes those of others,” Di Rupo writes.
“Finally, it is important to remember that the freedoms we enjoy today are the fruit of fierce struggles, countless political battles and incalculable human tragedies. They are indeed heroic struggles, often marked by great suffering and sacrifice, that have shaped the free world in which we live in the West. Whether it is the fights for civil rights in the United States, for gender equality, for the rights of LGBTQIA+ people or for freedom of expression, they have all been driven by the same unwavering will: That of defending the dignity, freedom and respect of the human being in all its complexity.”
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.
Ukraine
Ukrainian Supreme Court recognizes same-sex couple as a family
Zoryan Kis and Tymur Levchuk married in US in 2021
The Ukrainian Supreme Court has recognized a same-sex couple as a family.
The couple — Zoryan Kis and Tymur Levchuk — have lived together since 2013. They legally married in the U.S. in 2021.
The Kyiv Independent notes the couple challenged the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry’s refusal to acknowledge Levchuk as Kis’s family member, therefore denying him spousal rights while Kis was posted at the Ukrainian Embassy in Israel. Kis and Levchuk challenged the decision in court in 2024.
Kyiv’s Desniansky District Court last year in a landmark ruling recognized Kis and Levchuk as a family. Vsi Razom, an anti-LGBTQ organization, appealed the decision.
Insight, the Ukrainian LGBTQ rights group that represented Kis and Levchuk, said the Supreme Court upheld the lower court’s ruling on Feb. 25.
“The Supreme Court of Ukraine has upheld the legality of recognizing a same-sex couple as a family based on their factual relationship, despite the absence of legal recognition of same-sex partnerships in Ukrainian legislation,” Insight Chair Olena Shevchenko noted to the Washington Blade on Tuesday. “The court confirmed the decision, establishing the fact that (the) two men had lived together as a family, affirming that such recognition can be based on proven circumstances of their shared life rather than on political decisions or the existence of formal partnership laws.”
Insight in a Facebook post added the Supreme Court ruling sets “a tremendous precedent.”
“No homophobic or conservative organization will be able to use the courts as a tool to persecute or overturn decisions in favor of LGBT+ people under the guise of ‘social morality,’” said Insight. “The state has protected the boundaries of private life.”
The Supreme Court issued its ruling a day after Ukraine marked four years since Russia began its war against the country.
The Ukrainian constitution defines marriage as between a man and a woman.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in 2022 publicly backed civil partnerships for same-sex couples. Shevchenko pointed out Ukrainian law “currently does not provide a mechanism for registering same-sex marriages or partnerships.”
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