World
Top 10 international stories of 2022
Brittney Griner, expansion of marriage rights, and World Pride shocker
WNBA star Brittney Griner’s arrest in Russia, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s defeat in his country’s presidential election and the extension of marriage and other rights to LGBTQ and intersex people around the world made headlines over the past year. Here are the top international stories of 2022.
#10 World Pride 2025 cancelled, moved to D.C.
The decision to cancel WorldPride Taiwan 2025 sparked widespread criticism among the island’s LGBTQ and intersex activists.
WorldPride Taiwan 2025 had been scheduled to take place in Kaohsiung, but organizers in August announced its cancellation. The announcement said InterPride, a global LGBTQ and intersex rights group that organizes WorldPride events, had asked organizers to remove Taiwan from the event’s name. InterPride in a subsequent interview with the Washington Blade disputed this claim.
InterPride on Nov. 3 announced D.C. will host WorldPride 2025.
#9 Kenya’s landmark intersex rights law takes effect
A landmark law that granted equal rights and recognition of intersex people in Kenya took effect in July.
The Children Act 2022 allows intersex people to select an “I” gender marker. The law, among other things, also requires intersex children to have equal access to education, medical care and other basic services and protects them from so-called sex normalization surgeries without a doctor’s recommendation.
The law took effect roughly five years after Kenya became the first country in Africa to count intersex people in a Census.
#8 British government removes trans people from bill to ban conversion therapy
The British government in April cancelled an LGBTQ and intersex rights conference after advocacy groups announced they would boycott it over then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s decision to exclude transgender people from a bill to ban so-called conversion therapy.
The Safe to Be Me Conference was to have taken place in London from June 29-July 1, 2022. A British government spokesperson on April 5 confirmed the conference’s cancellation.
Nick Herbert, a member of the British House of Lords who advised Johnson on LGBTQ and intersex issues, in a statement described the conference’s cancellation as “damaging to the government and to the U.K.’s global reputation.” Herbert added it is “also an act of self-harm by the LGBT lobby.”
#7 Former British colonies decriminalize homosexuality
Four former British colonies in 2022 decriminalized consensual same-sex sexual relations.
Lawmakers in Singapore on Nov. 29 repealed Section 377A of the country’s penal code that criminalized homosexuality. Singaporean MPs on the same day also approved an amendment to the city-state’s constitution that defines marriage as between a man and a woman.
The Barbados High Court on Dec. 12 struck down the country’s sodomy law.
A judge on the High Court of Justice in St. Kitts and Nevis on Aug. 29 decriminalized consensual same-sex sexual relations in his country. High Court Judge Marissa Robertson, who sits on the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, earlier in the year ruled sections 12 and 15 of Antigua and Barbuda’s Sexual Offenses Act 1995 are unconstitutional.
#6 Marriage equality legalized across Mexico, Cuba, Chile, Switzerland, Slovenia
Several countries around the world extended marriage rights to same-sex couples in 2022.
Cubans on Sept. 25 approved a new family code that includes marriage equality.
Lawmakers in Slovenia on Oct. 4 passed a bill that extended marriage and adoption rights to same-sex couples. Switzerland’s marriage equality law took effect on July 1.
Chile’s marriage equality law took effect on March 10. Same-sex couples can legally marry throughout Mexico after lawmakers in Tamaulipas state on Oct. 26 approved a marriage equality bill.
A court on Dec. 6 ruled Aruba and Curaçao must allow same-sex couples to marry.
#5 Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro defeated
Former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Oct. 30 defeated incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro in the second round of the country’s presidential election.
Da Silva, who was Brazil’s president from 2003-2010, defeated Bolsonaro in the election’s first round that took place on Oct. 2, but neither man received at least 50 percent of the vote.
Bolsonaro, a former congressman and Brazilian Army captain, has faced sharp criticism because of his rhetoric against LGBTQ and intersex Brazilians, women, people of African and indigenous descent and other groups. Bolsonaro, among other things, has encouraged fathers to beat their sons if they are gay and falsely claimed people who are vaccinated against COVID-19 are at increased risk for AIDS.
#4 Marriage equality becomes part of U.S. foreign policy
The special U.S. envoy for the promotion of LGBTQ and intersex rights this year confirmed the Biden administration’s support of LGBTQ and intersex rights abroad now includes marriage equality.
“The administration acknowledges that married or not, LGBTQI+ people, couples and their families deserve full equality, access to legal protections and should have their families legally recognized,” said Jessica Stern during an exclusive interview the Blade published on June 1. “All of this is consistent with President Biden’s commitment to LGBTQI+ equality and marriage equality specifically.” President Biden in February 2021 signed a memo that committed the U.S. to promoting LGBTQ and intersex rights abroad as part of his administration’s overall foreign policy. The White House four months later named Stern, who was previously the executive director of OutRight International, to her position.
#3 LGBTQ issues overshadow World Cup
Qatar’s LGBTQ and intersex rights record overshadowed the 2022 World Cup that ended on Dec. 18.
Consensual same-sex sexual relations remain punishable by death in Qatar. A report that Human Rights Watch published in October noted several cases of “severe and repeated beatings” and “sexual harassment” of LGBTQ and intersex people while in police custody from 2019 and September 2022.
World Cup Ambassador Khalid Salman in November described homosexuality as “damage in the mind” during an interview with a German television station. Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a Nov. 22 press conference in Doha, the Qatari capital, criticized FIFA over its threat to sanction European soccer teams if their captains wore “one love” armbands during the World Cup.
#2 LGBTQ Ukrainians flee war
LGBTQ and intersex Ukrainians are among the millions of people who have fled their country after Russia launched its war against it on Feb. 24.
Dmitry Shapoval, a gay man with HIV, lived in Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, until he swam across a river and entered Poland in March. Shapoval now lives in Berlin with his cat and has begun the process of resettling in Germany.
“I feel very secure here,” Shapoval told the Blade on July 22 during an interview in Berlin.
LGBTQ and intersex activists from Ukraine were among those who took part in Berlin’s Christopher Street Parade that took place a day after Shapoval spoke with the Blade. Kyiv Pride, Kharkiv Pride and Insight are among the myriad organizations that continue to support LGBTQ and intersex Ukrainians who remain in the country.
#1 Brittney Griner detained in Russia
WNBA star Brittney Griner returned to the U.S. on Dec. 9 after Russia released her in exchange for a convicted arms dealer.
Griner — a Phoenix Mercury center and two-time Olympic gold medalist who is a lesbian and married to her wife, Cherelle Griner — had been serving a nine-year prison sentence in a penal colony after a Russian court convicted her on the importation of illegal drugs. Customs officials at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport in February detained Brittney Griner after they found vape canisters with cannabis oil in her luggage.
Russia on Dec. 8 released Brittney Griner in exchange for Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer who had been serving a 25-year prison sentence in the U.S.
Advocacy groups are demanding the Trump-Vance administration not to deport two gay men to Iran.
MS Now on Jan. 23 reported the two men are among the 40 Iranian nationals who the White House plans to deport.
Iran is among the countries in which consensual same-sex sexual relations remain punishable by death.
The Washington Blade earlier this month reported LGBTQ Iranians have joined anti-government protests that broke out across the country on Dec. 28. Human rights groups say the Iranian government has killed thousands of people since the demonstrations began.
Rebekah Wolf of the American Immigration Council, which represents the two men, told MS Now her clients were scheduled to be on a deportation flight on Jan. 25. A Human Rights Campaign spokesperson on Tuesday told the Blade that one of the men “was able to obtain a temporary stay of removal from the” 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and the other “is facing delayed deportation as the result of a measles outbreak at the facility where they’re being held.”
“My (organization, the American Immigration Council) represents those two gay men,” said American Immigration Council Senior Fellow Aaron Reichlin-Melnick in a Jan. 23 post on his Bluesky account. “They had been arrested on charges of sodomy by Iranian moral police, and fled the country seeking asylum. They face the death penalty if returned, yet the Trump (administration) denied their asylum claims in a kangaroo court process.”
“They are terrified,” added Reichlin-Melnick.
My org @immcouncil.org represents those two gay men. They had been arrested on charges of sodomy by Iranian moral police, and fled the country seeking asylum. They face the death penalty if returned, yet the Trump admin denied their asylum claims in a kangaroo court process.
They are terrified.
— Aaron Reichlin-Melnick (@reichlinmelnick.bsky.social) January 23, 2026 at 8:26 AM
Reichlin-Melnick in a second Bluesky post said “deporting people to Iran right now, as body bags line the street, is an immoral, inhumane, and unjust act.”
“That ICE is still considering carrying out the flight this weekend is a sign of an agency and an administration totally divorced from basic human rights,” he added.
Deporting people to Iran right now, as body bags line the street, is an immoral, inhumane, and unjust act. That ICE is still considering carrying out the flight this weekend is a sign of an agency and an administration totally divorced from basic human rights. www.ms.now/news/trump-d…
— Aaron Reichlin-Melnick (@reichlinmelnick.bsky.social) January 23, 2026 at 8:27 AM
HRC Vice President of Government Affairs David Stacy in a statement to the Blade noted Iran “is one of 12 nations that still execute queer people, and we continue to fear for their safety.” Stacy also referenced Renee Good, a 37-year-old lesbian woman who a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shot and killed in Minneapolis on Jan. 7, and Andry Hernández Romero, a gay Venezuelan asylum seeker who the Trump-Vance administration “forcibly disappeared” to El Salvador last year.
“This out-of-control administration continues to target immigrants and terrorize our communities,” said Stacy. “That same cruelty murdered Renee Nicole Good and imprisoned Andry Hernández Romero. We stand with the American Immigration Council and demand that these men receive the due process they deserve. Congress must refuse to fund this outrage and stand against the administration’s shameless dismissal of our constitutional rights.”
Central America
Dignidad para vidas LGBTQ en Centroamérica
Embajada canadiense en El Salvador se presentó ‘Historias de vida desde los cuerpos y territorios de la disidencia LGBTIQ+’
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador — “A los 16 años, mi papá me echó”. Esa frase directa, sin adornos ni concesiones, es parte de una de las historias más impactantes del libro “Historias de vida desde los cuerpos y territorios de la disidencia LGBTIQ+”, presentado el 23 de enero. El testimonio pertenece a Estrella Cerón, mujer trans salvadoreña, cuya vida quedó marcada por la expulsión familiar y la violencia cotidiana ejercida contra su identidad.
Estrella relata que fue descubierta abrazando a un muchacho en la panadería que pertenecía a su familia, lugar donde también trabajaba. La respuesta fue inmediata: no le permitieron cambiarse de ropa ni llevar sus pertenencias. Salió “sucia, con olor a grasa, sin zapatos”. Su padre lloró al verla irse, pero no la detuvo. “Así ándate”, le dijo. Ese episodio no solo marcó su historia personal, sino que hoy se convierte en un reflejo de una realidad compartida por muchas personas trans en El Salvador y la región.
Durante la presentación del libro, Cerón tomó la palabra y compartió lo que significó volver a su historia frente a otras personas. Reconoció que no fue un proceso sencillo, pues implicó enfrentarse a recuerdos profundamente dolorosos.
“Fue doloroso hablarlo, sentí como un muro que fui rompiendo a poco a poco, saliendo adelante y pues hasta el día de hoy me siento más empoderada y más fuerte”, expresó. Sus palabras resonaron entre las y los asistentes, evidenciando que narrar la propia vida puede convertirse en un acto de sanación y afirmación personal.
Este momento público subrayó uno de los ejes centrales del proyecto: el derecho de las personas LGBTQ a contar sus historias en sus propios términos, sin miedo y con dignidad.
Rostros de la Equidad: un proyecto regional de memoria y justicia
La presentación de las publicaciones se realizó en el marco del proyecto Rostros de la Equidad, impulsado por COMCAVIS TRANS, con el apoyo de OIKOS y la Embajada de Canadá en El Salvador. El evento reunió a activistas, representantes de organizaciones sociales, cooperación internacional y público en general.
Como parte de este proyecto se presentaron dos materiales: el libro “Historias de vida desde los cuerpos y territorios de la disidencia LGBTIQ+” y el glosario vivencial y de conceptos sobre la diversidad sexual y de género. Ambos productos buscan aportar a la visibilización, sensibilización y defensa de los derechos humanos de las personas LGBTQ en Centroamérica.
El proyecto se concibió como un proceso colectivo, regional y participativo, en el que las voces protagonistas fueran las de quienes históricamente han sido marginadas.
El libro de historias de vida se distancia de la lógica del simple recopilatorio de testimonios. Tal como lo expresa su prólogo, se trata de “un acto de memoria, reparación, justicia personal y colectiva”. Su objetivo es mostrar voces que han resistido al silencio y al miedo, y que hoy deciden narrar sus verdades.
Las historias incluidas atraviesan experiencias de expulsión familiar, discriminación, violencia institucional, migración forzada y exclusión social. Sin embargo, también dan cuenta de procesos de resistencia, organización comunitaria, reconstrucción personal y esperanza.
En ese equilibrio entre dolor y dignidad, el libro se convierte en una herramienta política y pedagógica que interpela a la sociedad y a las instituciones.
Junto al libro se presentó el glosario vivencial y de conceptos sobre la diversidad sexual y de género, una propuesta que busca ir más allá de las definiciones tradicionales. El glosario no se limita a explicar términos, sino que los conecta con experiencias reales de personas LGBTQ.
Cada concepto está atravesado por el derecho a la identidad, el reconocimiento y la dignidad. De esta forma, las palabras dejan de ser etiquetas para convertirse en relatos vivos que reflejan cuerpos, territorios e historias concretas.
Las organizaciones impulsoras señalaron que el glosario pretende ser una herramienta accesible para procesos formativos, educativos y comunitarios, aportando a una comprensión más humana de la diversidad sexual y de género.
El respaldo internacional y el valor de la resistencia
Durante la presentación, la embajadora de Canadá en El Salvador, Mylène Paradis, reconoció el trabajo de COMCAVIS TRANS, OIKOS y de todas las personas que hicieron posible Rostros de la Equidad.
“Las historias de vida reunidas en este libro nos recuerdan que resistir no es solo sobrevivir, sino también afirmar la propia existencia, reclamar derechos y construir esperanza incluso en contextos adversos”, afirmó Paradis, destacando la importancia de apoyar iniciativas que promueven la justicia social y los derechos humanos.
Su intervención subrayó el valor político de la memoria y el papel de la cooperación internacional en el acompañamiento de procesos liderados por organizaciones locales.
Un proceso regional de escucha y construcción colectiva
El libro y el glosario son el resultado de una consulta a 10 personas LGBTQ: cuatro de Guatemala, dos de El Salvador y cuatro de Honduras. Además, se realizaron grupos focales en cada uno de estos países para profundizar en las experiencias compartidas.
El proceso inició en agosto de 2024 y concluyó con la presentación pública de los resultados en enero de 2026. Para las organizaciones participantes, este trabajo evidenció la necesidad de generar espacios seguros de escucha y diálogo en la región.
La dimensión regional del proyecto permite identificar patrones comunes de violencia, pero también estrategias compartidas de resistencia y organización.
Georgina Olmedo, encargada del área de formación y nuevos liderazgos de COMCAVIS TRANS El Salvador, destacó que el libro busca reconocer las historias que atraviesan las personas LGBTQ.
“Son historias marcadas por la resistencia, la dignidad, el aprendizaje y toda la esperanza”, señaló, subrayando que muchas de estas vivencias continúan siendo invisibilizadas en el discurso público.
Para Olmedo, visibilizar estas narrativas es un paso necesario para transformar las realidades de exclusión y violencia que enfrenta esta población.
Escuchar sin juzgar: el valor del acompañamiento
Desde OIKOS, Jason García resaltó que el libro incluye voces de Guatemala y Honduras, lo que le otorga un carácter regional. Señaló que fue un honor conocer historias de personas que se atrevieron a contar lo que nunca antes habían contado.
García explicó que muchas de las personas participantes expresaron estar cansadas de ocultar quiénes son y que, durante el proceso, encontraron por primera vez espacios donde fueron escuchadas sin ser juzgadas.
“Cada historia que se comparte es un recordatorio de que ninguna violencia puede apagar la dignidad de una persona”, afirmó, destacando los procesos de sanación y reconstrucción que emergen incluso en contextos adversos.
Marielos Handal, integrante del equipo de OIKOS que acompañó la investigación, compartió una reflexión sobre los retos que implicó construir estas publicaciones. Las entrevistas, explicó, dejaron nudos en la garganta, silencios densos y muchas preguntas abiertas.
Entre ellas, cómo continuar escribiendo después de escuchar relatos de abandono, rechazo y violencia sistemática; cómo narrar sin revictimizar, sin simplificar ni maquillar la verdad, pero tampoco explotarla.
Estas preguntas atravesaron todo el proceso editorial, marcando el cuidado con el que se construyeron tanto el libro como el glosario, priorizando siempre la dignidad de las personas participantes.
Palabras que se convierten en dignidad colectiva
La presentación cerró con un llamado a leer estas publicaciones no desde la lástima, sino desde la responsabilidad colectiva de reconocer las deudas históricas con las personas LGBTQ en Centroamérica.
Historias de vida desde los cuerpos y territorios de la disidencia LGBTQ y su glosario vivencial se consolidan como documentos necesarios en un contexto marcado por la exclusión, pero también por la lucha, la memoria y la esperanza.
En cada relato, como el de Cerón, queda claro que narrar la propia historia es un acto profundamente político: contar lo vivido no borra el dolor, pero lo transforma en palabra, memoria y dignidad compartida.
Russia
Russia designates ILGA World an ‘undesirable’ group
Justice Ministry announced designation on Jan. 21
Russia has designated a global LGBTQ and intersex rights group as an “undesirable” organization.
ILGA World in a press release notes the country’s Justice Ministry announced the designation on its website on Jan. 21.
The ministry’s website on Tuesday appeared to be down when the Washington Blade tried to access it. ILGA World in its press release said the designation — “which also reportedly includes eight other organizations from the United States and across Europe” — “has been confirmed by independent sources.”
“ILGA World received no direct communication of the designation, whose official reasons are not known,” said ILGA World.
The Kremlin over the last decade has faced global criticism over its crackdown on LGBTQ rights.
ILGA World notes Russians found guilty of engaging with “undesirable” groups could face up to six years in prison. The Russian Supreme Court in 2023 ruled the “international LGBT movement” is an extremist organization and banned it.
“Designating human rights groups ‘undesirable’ is outlandish and cynical, yet here we are,” said ILGA World Executive Director Julia Ehrt. “But no matter how much governments will try to legislate LGBTI people out of existence, movements will stay strong and committed, and solidarity remains alive across borders. And together, we will continue building a more just world for everyone.”
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