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Out in the World: News from Asia, Europe, and Australia

Thai king on Sept. 24 approved country’s marriage equality bill

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(Los Angeles Blade graphic)

THAILAND

Thailand’s same-sex marriage bill received approval from King Maha Vajiralongkorn and was published in the Royal Gazette on Sept. 24, the final step in the legislative process, and paving the way for marriages to begin on Jan. 22, 2025.

The law grants same-sex couples full equality with heterosexual married couples, including adoption, inheritance, medical, and taxation rights. It was approved overwhelmingly by legislators in the summer, but there was some worry that that the king could block its approval. 

Thailand now becomes the first county in Southeast Asia to legalize same-sex marriage, and the 39th country worldwide. 

“Congratulations on everyone’s love,” Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said in a post on X.

Thailand has long been a popular tourist destination for LGBTQ people and its queer community has made big strides in attaining legal rights in recent years. 

A bill to allow Thai people to change their legal gender or identify as nonbinary was ordered drafted by previous Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, who was dismissed by a Constitutional Court ruling in August over ethics charges. It’s not yet clear if Shinawatra’s new Cabinet is approaching the gender identity law with the same priority. 

The Hungarian parliament in Budapest, Hungary, on April 4, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

HUNGARY

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is calling on queer candidates of his Fidesz party to discreetly out themselves  to avoid further scandals ahead of 2026 elections. 

Fidesz has pushed numerous anti-LGBTQ policies in the name of protecting family values over its 14 years in power, but over the past two years has found its leaders embroiled in several sex scandals that expose the party’s hypocrisy. 

In February, the decision to pardon a man who had been convicted of helping to cover up sexual abuse a state-run children’s home led to the resignations of Hungary’s president and the woman who was expected to lead Fidesz into this summer’s European Parliament elections.

Earlier in September, Gergő Bese, a Catholic priest with strong ties to Fidesz who had advocated for stronger laws against LGBTQ people was revealed to have had several long-term relationships with men, participated in gay sex parties, and to have filmed himself having gay sex in videos that were available on gay porn web sites. Orbán has since scrubbed all photos of him with Bese from his social media and web sites.

One of the founders of Fidesz resigned in December 2020, after it was reported that Belgian police found him at an illegal gay sex party in Brussels during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns.

Since coming to power, Fidesz has passed constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriage and adoption by same-sex couples. It passed a law blocking access to materials seen to promote LGBTQ people to anyone under 18, and another banning recognition of transgender peoples’ gender identity.

According to polls, Fidesz is facing its strongest opposition in years ahead of the next elections scheduled for April 2026. 

POLAND

The European Court of Human Rights delivered another ruling against Poland’s refusal to recognize same-sex couples on Sept.19, finding that the state’s refusal to recognize same-sex marriages concluded abroad violates same-sex couples’ right to private family life.

The case was brought by two lesbian couples who had married in the UK and Denmark respectively. Upon returning to Poland, authorities refused to register their marriages or allow them to file their taxes jointly.

“By refusing to register the applicants’ marriages under any form and failing to ensure that they have a specific legal framework providing for recognition and protection, the Polish authorities have left them in a legal vacuum and have not provided for the core needs of recognition and protection of same-sex couples in a stable and committed relationship. The court finds that none of the public interest grounds put forward by the government prevail over the applicants’ interest in having their respective relationships adequately recognized and protected by law,” the court ruled.

The European Court of Human Rights hears cases from states that have ratified the European Convention on Human Rights. While it does not have power to enforce its rulings, they are nonetheless influential in shaping local laws and decisions by domestic courts.

The European court has not found that the convention contains a right to same-sex marriage, but it has ruled that member states have an obligation to provide same-sex couples with a way to register their relationship and attain the rights of marriage. The court ruled last year that Poland’s lack of civil unions for same-sex couples was similarly a violation of the convention.

Poland’s government has tabled a civil union bill that it hopes to pass by the end of this year, but which faces a rough ride through a narrowly divided parliament, and it has been threatened with a veto by the country’s far-right president.

This week, a new poll showed that nearly two-thirds of Poles support civil unions, and narrow majorities also support same-sex marriage and adoption rights.

IRELAND

The government has decided to press ahead with new LGBTQ-inclusive hate crime legislation after bowing to opposition pressure to remove sections that would have expanded hate speech laws to protect trans people. The government expects to table the legislation is parliament in the coming weeks.

The new hate crime legislation will allow judges to impose harsher sentences on people convicted of crimes that are motivated by a victim’s “protected characteristic,” which includes their race, color, nationality, ethnic or national origin, sexual orientation, gender (including gender identity and expression), and disability.

Hate speech laws in Ireland already include provisions criminalizing hate speech based on sexual orientation, but not based on sex or gender. A bill passed by the lower house of parliament last year would have expanded hate speech laws to include protections based on gender and included provisions for spreading hatred on the internet along with the new hate crime provisions, but it stalled in the upper house. 

Opposition to the bill centered on free speech concerns and eventually grew to include members of the government coalition.

Justice Minister Helen McEntee announced this week that the government was dropping the hate speech elements of the bill to focus on getting the hate crime provisions passed before the current term of parliament ends in March 2025.

Also this summer, the government announced it no longer believed it could introduce and pass conversion therapy legislation before the election.

Ireland’s LGBTQ community has expressed mixed feelings about the government’s decision.

“While we feel this is a missed opportunity to strengthen legislation on extreme hate speech, we nonetheless welcome their commitment to pass the hate crime sections of the legislation,” the Coalition Against Hate Crime said in a statement.

AUSTRALIA

LGBTQ activists in South Australia state scored a victory this week when the state legislature became the latest to pass a ban on so-called conversion therapy. 

The new law criminalizes practices that seek to change or suppress a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity and taking someone out of South Australia to undergo conversion therapy. It also gives survivors an opportunity for redress through civil courts.

“This new law confirms we are not broken, disordered or in need of fixing,” Equality Australia CEO Anna Brown says in a statement. “The legislation is not perfect but it’s an important step forward, and it will protect thousands of vulnerable South Australians into the future.”

Conversion therapy has now been banned in all parts of Australia except the Northern Territory,  Western Australia, and Tasmania, although the governments of the latter two have announced plans to bring forward legislation to do so. 

While Australia’s state governments are moving forward on protections for LGBTQ Aussies, the federal government under Labor Party Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has dragged its feet on promised reforms since it was elected in 2022. 

The federal government walked back earlier campaign commitments to pass a national ban on the practice, and also gave up on a promise to repeal loopholes in federal anti-discrimination laws that allow anti-LGBT discrimination in religious schools. The government also abandoned a pledge to introduce a ban on anti-LGBTQ vilification.

Earlier this summer, the government did an embarrassing policy 360 when it announced it was breaking a pledge to count LGBTQ people in the national Census, only to reverse that and announced that LGBTQ people would be counted in the 2026 survey after all. 

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El Salvador

#JusticiaParaKarla: una lucha por el derecho a la identidad en El Salvador

Karla Guevara inició su camino legal y personal en 2020

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Karla Guevara (Foto de Ernesto Valle por el Washington Blade)

Cinco años han pasado desde que Karla Guevara inició un camino legal y personal para lograr que su nombre y género sean reconocidos en su Documento Único de Identidad (DUI). Cinco años de sentencias, apelaciones, puertas cerradas y vulneraciones que hoy se resumen en una sola palabra: resistencia.

En medio de un país que aún arrastra estructuras jurídicas y sociales poco sensibles a las realidades trans, Guevara se ha convertido en una voz visible. No solo por la denuncia pública de su caso, sino por su capacidad de transformar el dolor en acción: ha iniciado la campaña #JusticiaParaKarla, la cual acompaña con conversatorios llamados “Si tú fueras yo” en diferentes zonas del país.

Su historia se remonta al año 2018, cuando, junto a otras tres defensoras de derechos humanos —Mónica Hernández, Bianca Rodríguez y Verónica López— interpuso una demanda para lograr el cambio de nombre legal. La acción se inspiró en la Opinión Consultiva 24/17 de la Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos, que obligó a los Estados miembros de la OEA a garantizar los derechos de las personas trans, incluyendo el reconocimiento de su identidad.

A diferencia de sus compañeras, cuyo proceso fue resuelto favorablemente, Guevara fue la única a quien el Estado salvadoreño le negó el derecho, incluso tras contar con una sentencia favorable. El camino ha sido empinado, desgastante y doloroso, y ha implicado múltiples etapas legales con resoluciones contradictorias.

El 8 de enero de 2020, el juzgado declaró su demanda improponible. Guevara apeló el 22 de ese mismo mes, pero la Cámara de Familia desestimó su recurso. Aun así, perseveró. En abril de 2021 presentó una segunda apelación, y en septiembre se revocó la decisión del juzgado, ordenando admitir su demanda. Una pequeña luz parecía abrirse.

En agosto de 2022, después de varios peritajes que, según Guevara, incluyeron momentos donde se sintió expuesta y violentada, recibió una sentencia favorable: se autorizaba su cambio de nombre y género en la partida de nacimiento. Sin embargo, esta victoria fue parcial y breve. Aunque se ordenó marginar su partida, no se ordenó cancelarla como en otros casos similares.

El 4 de octubre de ese mismo año, la sentencia fue enviada al Registro del Estado Familiar. Pero la respuesta institucional fue sorprendente: el 3 de noviembre, la Alcaldía de San Salvador se negó a realizar el cambio. El jefe del registro y el registrador presentaron un amparo ante la Sala de lo Constitucional, paralizando el proceso.

“No solo me lo negaron, sino que ahora me exponen a un juicio aún mayor”, expresa Guevara. La frustración y la indignación fueron creciendo. En febrero de 2023, presentó una denuncia ante la Fiscalía General de la República, aunque lo hizo con poca esperanza. “Temía que no harían nada”, dijo. Y el 16 de abril de 2024, sus temores se confirmaron: la Fiscalía archivó el caso alegando que “no existe delito que perseguir”.

El 19 de noviembre de ese mismo año, Guevara decidió acudir a instancias internacionales y presentó su caso ante la Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos. La CIDH ya notificó al Estado salvadoreño y le otorgó un plazo de cuatro meses para responder por qué no ha ejecutado el cambio ordenado por el juzgado.

“Obviamente no van a dar respuesta”, lamenta Guevara. Lo dice con la voz entrecortada, como quien ya ha llorado mucho, pero no ha perdido la voluntad de hablar. Reconoce que el proceso le ha afectado emocionalmente. “Cada vez que hablo de esto se me corta la voz”.

Las heridas no solo vienen de las oficinas estatales, sino también de las calles. Las miradas, los comentarios, el momento de presentar el DUI en cualquier trámite. “Es como si cada vez tuviera que explicar mi existencia. Es un juicio constante sobre quién soy”.

Guevara no está sola. Reconoce que hay otras personas trans en la misma situación. “Lo preocupante es que solo pasa en algunas zonas del país. En otras ha habido casos exitosos”, afirma. La disparidad en el trato revela una preocupante arbitrariedad institucional.

Uno de esos casos exitosos es el de Valeria Mejía, coordinadora de monitoreo y evaluación de ASPIDH. Su DUI ya refleja su nombre identitario, aunque no su género. 

“Cuando recibí mi DUI con el nombre que me identifico pensé: aquí empieza una nueva vida”, relata.

Para Mejía, el cambio fue profundamente simbólico. “Uno ve pasar toda su vida frente a los ojos. Toda la discriminación, todos los rechazos. Sentí que algo sanaba”. A pesar de ello, su género asignado al nacer sigue apareciendo en el documento, lo que le genera inseguridad.

“El problema es que tengo que ir a todas las instituciones donde aparezco con mi nombre anterior. En el Seguro Social, por ejemplo, aún estoy registrada con el nombre masculino y no pueden atenderme, aunque el número del DUI sea el mismo”, explica.

Casos como los de Guevara y Mejía visibilizan una problemática estructural: el Estado salvadoreño no garantiza de forma uniforme el derecho a la identidad de las personas trans. Las resoluciones favorables son solo el primer paso. Su implementación efectiva aún tropieza con prejuicios, burocracia y omisiones.

Con la campaña #JusticiaParaKarla, la activista busca más que una solución a su caso personal. Busca generar conciencia, exigir coherencia legal y empujar una transformación cultural. En la marcha del 17 de mayo contra la LGBTIfobia, su presencia se hizo notar con camisetas, banners y mensajes que interpelan directamente al sistema.

Guevara ha hecho de su cuerpo, su voz y su historia una herramienta de resistencia. En cada conversatorio de “Si tú fueras yo”, invita a imaginar, a empatizar, a incomodarse. 

“Lo que me pasa a mí le puede pasar a cualquier persona trans. Y si el Estado no nos reconoce, nos niega también la posibilidad de existir plenamente”, expresa.

Hoy, la resolución está en manos de la CIDH y el tiempo corre. La lucha de Guevara ya no es solo por una partida de nacimiento. Es por el derecho a ser, a vivir sin miedo, a que el nombre que la representa no siga siendo un motivo de juicio, burla o rechazo.

Mientras tanto, sigue esperando. Sigue alzando la voz. Sigue sembrando esperanza en quienes vienen detrás. Porque como ella misma dice: “Esto no se trata solo de mí. Se trata de justicia”.

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China

Female writers arrested in Chinese crackdown on gay erotic fiction

Pingping Anan Yongfu arrested last month, detailed ordeal on Weibo

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(Photo by Aylandy/Bigstock)

On China’s Weibo, a platform akin to a digital town square, a young woman using the handle Pingping Anan Yongfu laid bare a harrowing ordeal. She was arrested and subjected to a humiliating strip search for publishing gay erotic fiction. Her raw and unsparing account exposed a broader clampdown. 

Since February, at least 30 other writers — mostly women in their 20s — have shared similar stories of law enforcement raids, their lives upended for crafting “danmei,” a genre of male-male romance often laced with explicit themes, on Haitang Literature City and other platforms.

”I will never forget it — being escorted to the car in full view,” posted Pingping. “Enduring the humiliation of stripping naked for examination in front of strangers, putting on a vest for photos, sitting in the chair, shaking with fear, my heart pounding.”

A wave of legal limbo engulfs the writers, with many released on bail or awaiting trial, their fates uncertain, according to a BBC. Others remain behind bars, their detention a stark reminder of the crackdown’s reach.

Beyond those arrested, a broader net has been cast: scores of contributors to Haitang Literature City have been hauled in for interrogations, their online words now a potential liability under China’s pornography laws for producing and distributing obscene materials. 

China’s pornography laws cast a long shadow over writers, with those profiting from their work facing prison terms exceeding a decade for crafting “explicit descriptions of gay sex or other sexual perversions.” Yet, heterosexual erotica often escapes such scrutiny, slipping through the cracks of enforcement. Nobel Laureate Mo Yan, whose novels brim with graphic sexual scenes, and Jia Pingwa, known for vivid depictions in works like “Abandoned Capital,” and other acclaimed writers continue to publish freely, their books lining shelves without fear of raids. This stark disparity underscores a selective crackdown, where gay erotica bears the brunt of official censure.

Beijing’s unease with the online outcry was palpable, as the trending hashtag #HaitangAuthorsArrested, which amassed more than 30 million views on Weibo, vanished abruptly under censorship’s heavy hand. Posts offering legal advice to the embattled writers were scrubbed, and a detailed report on the crackdown by Caixin, a leading Chinese news outlet, was swiftly taken offline. Writers’ accounts, including some of their pseudonymous handles, have also begun to disappear, erased from the digital landscape as authorities tighten their grip.

As her post ricocheted across China’s digital sphere, Pingping abruptly deleted it, replacing it with a brief message expressing gratitude to supporters while conceding she had broken the law. The admission, tinged with resignation, marked her final act on Weibo before she erased her account entirely, vanishing from the platform amid mounting pressure from authorities.

“Danmei,” a vibrant subgenre of Chinese fiction, centers on romantic and often sexually explicit relationships between men, captivating a largely female readership through its blend of emotional depth, fantasy, and forbidden desire. Rooted in Japanese “yaoi” or “boys’ love,” but distinctly shaped by Chinese cultural sensibilities, it flourishes on Haitang Literature City and JJWXC and other platforms where writers craft sprawling tales of historical, fantastical, or modern love that often laced with themes of power and sacrifice. 

Despite its popularity — bolstered by blockbuster adaptations like “The Untamed,” which amassed millions of fans — “danmei” faces intense scrutiny in China, where authorities deem its explicit content “obscene” under vague pornography laws. This tension reflects a broader cultural clash: while “danmei” offers a space for exploring queer identities and challenging traditional gender norms, its underground allure draws both devoted fans and the wary eye of censors seeking to uphold conservative values.

A sweeping crackdown in late 2024 saw Chinese authorities prosecute roughly 50 “danmei” writers, ensnaring them in a legal dragnet under the country’s 2004 obscenity laws. Among them, Yuan Shang Bai Yun Jian, a prominent author who earned 1.85 million yuan ($250,874.58) from her work on Haitang Literature City, was sentenced to nearly five years in prison, her success weaponized as evidence of “obscene materials for profit.” 

The harsh penalties, which outstrip those for some violent crimes, sparked outrage online, with netizens decrying the disproportionate punishment for crafting stories that, while explicit, harmed no one.

Chinese media regulator banned ‘danmei’ TV dramas in 2022 

Humiliation washed over Pingping as law enforcement stormed into her college classroom, recounted a writer using the Weibo handle “Tianxia Ju Da Bingyuan” or “The World Is a Vast Asylum.” Dragged from her lecture under the stunned gazes of her peers, she endured a public spectacle as officers trailed her to her dormitory, rifling through her belongings in a search for evidence of her “danmei” stories, leaving her exposed and her privacy shattered.

“Danmei” novels, centered on male-male romance have spurred numerous Chinese television dramas, but state censorship has sharply reduced their output. A 2021 Sixth Tone report identified more than 60 “danmei”-based dramas in development or slated for release, involving actors who include Chen Feiyu and Fan Chengcheng. Many of them, however, were halted following the 2022 National Radio and Television Administration ban on such adaptations. 

MyDramaList records 16 aired series, including “The Untamed” (2019) and “Word of Honor” (2021), each with 30–50 actors, totaling approximately 480–800 performers. Lead actors, including Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo, earned $1–3 million per series, per The China Project, while others made $50,000–$100,000, though precise figures remain limited due to private contracts. The 2021 “Internet Clean-up Campaign” and continued restrictions have significantly curbed new “danmei” adaptations.

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United Nations

UN Human Rights Council extends LGBTQ rights expert’s mandate

29 countries voted for resolution

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U.N. headquarters in New York (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

The U.N. Human Rights Council on Monday extended the mandate of the United Nations’ independent LGBTQ rights expert for another three years.

The resolution passed with 29 countries (Albania, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, the Dominican Republic, France, Georgia, Germany, Iceland, Japan, Kenya, the Marshall Islands, Mexico, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, South Korea, Romania, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, and Vietnam) voting for it and 15 countries (Algeria, Bangladesh, Burundi, China, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Gambia, Indonesia, Kuwait, Malawi, Maldives, Morocco, Qatar, and Sudan) voted against it.

Benin, Ghana, and Kyrgyzstan abstained.

The U.S. in February withdrew from the Human Rights Council. The Trump-Pence administration in 2018 pulled the U.S. from it. The U.S. in 2021 regained a seat on the Human Rights Council.

Graeme Reid has been the UN’s independent LGBTQ rights expert since 2023. The South African activist, among other things, previously ran Human Rights Watch’s LGBT Rights Program.

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