World
Out in the World: LGBTQ news from Europe and Asia
Irish State Minister Jack Chambers has come out as gay
IRELAND
In an Instagram post on Sunday, Irish State Minister Jack Chambers, who is a member of the lower house of the Irish Parliament for Dublin West, the Teachta Dála, came out as gay.
Chambers wrote: “Here’s a look back at some of 2023. As I look forward to 2024 I am sharing with you something a little different but it’s something I wanted to do for a while.
As a politician it can sometimes be difficult to speak about my own personal life and that can lead to things drifting. However, It’s important for me to be true to myself firstly — and to you all in my public service role. I am starting 2024 by telling you all that I am proud to say that I am gay. 🏳️🌈
As a politician and citizen I want to share this today as part of who I am. Having shared it with many of my close family and friends, their support and love has given me the confidence and courage to share this publicly today.
I am fortunate that Ireland is a country that has made so many strides in recent years, — becoming a much more inclusive and equal society to the extent that the sharing of this information is becoming increasingly unremarkable.
I’m looking forward to a busy, productive and hard working year ahead as a TD for Dublin West along with my ministerial responsibilities and helping colleagues across the country as Fianna Fáil’s Director of Local Elections 2024.”
Reaction to the minister’s announcement was overwhelmingly positive including from his fellow Teachta Dála lawmaker, John Lahart, who wrote: “Proud of you Jack — the best colleague one could hope for. Always there for you whenever you need it. You’ve an amazing future ahead of you.”
SERBIA
In another of an ongoing series of attacks on the LGBTQ Pride Info Center in the Serbian capital city of Belgrade, an unknown suspect described only as a masked male, during the afternoon of on January 7, 2024, threw a series of objects at the glass front windows of the center shattering them completely.
In a press release, Goran Miletić, director of Europe and MENA Department at Civil Rights Defenders, stated that this is the 19th attack on Pride Info Center since its establishment in August 2017, and none of the previous attacks has been thoroughly investigated, nor have any of the perpetrators been prosecuted to date.
“We can’t ignore the ongoing danger and vulnerability the community faces. It’s crucial to act now and work together to guarantee the safety and well-being of everyone,” Miletić said.
Miletić went on to express solidarity with the Pride Info Center.
“Civil Rights Defenders has been supporting Pride Info Center since its opening. The center aims to raise awareness about the community, addressing its issues and challenges while also serving as an information point for Belgrade Pride and the broader LGBTQ+ movement. Additionally, it functions as a social and creativity hub, hosting exhibitions, performances, movie screenings, debates and discussions organized by various LGBTQ+ organizations.
We express solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community in the country in demanding justice and equal rights. Together, we strive for a world where love triumphs over hate. The attack is reprehensible because it undermines the very essence of inclusivity and acceptance and is a stark contradiction to the principles of understanding, respect, and unity. It is a call to action for us to stand together, unwavering in our commitment to create a society where diversity is celebrated and everyone can live free from fear.
We strongly condemn the attack and call on the Serbian authorities to thoroughly investigate the case and ensure accountability for those responsible.”
Nearly two years ago on Feb. 18, 2022, another individual had gained access to the center breaking furniture and other things and he threatened the staff. The man was escorted out by security guards and was arrested by a police patrol.
GREECE
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in a Jan. 10 interview with state broadcaster ERT announced that his government intended to implement further LGBTQ rights.
The prime minister told ERT that a bill he had pledged in July 2023 to legalize same-sex marriages will be moving forward in the next few months.
“I, and all those who believe in this legislation, must convince our parliamentarians and subsequently those who may still have a negative stance,” Mitsotakis said. “What we are going to legislate is equality in marriage, which means the elimination of any discrimination based on sexual orientation. It is not something radically different from what applies in other European countries.”
Greece’s left-wing opposition leader, Stefanos Kasselakis, who married his longtime male partner Tyler Mcbeth in New York in October 2023, several weeks after winning a party leadership election, told reporters in a press conference last November that legislation legalizing same-sex marriage will be brought to the Greek Parliament before its current term expires in 2027.
The prime minister faces steep opposition from right-wing conservatives and the powerful Greek Orthodox Church. Opinion polls indicate that Greeks are evenly divided on the issue of same-sex marriage but generally oppose granting full parental rights to gay couples.
Mitsotakis stated that his proposed law would not extend to allowing same-sex couples to adopt children via surrogacy, saying: “We won’t change the law on assisted parenthood. The idea of women who are turned into child-producing machines on demand … That is not going to happen.”
It would, however, protect existing children of same-sex parents, including adopted children or those born to surrogacy abroad.
The legal clarification would mean that should one of the parents die, the other will be given parental rights.
A member of the church’s governing body, the Holy Synod, the Metropolitan of Piraeus, Seraphim, has threatened to excommunicate lawmakers if they voted in favor of legalizing same-sex unions, and has called homosexuality “an abuse of the body” and a “great sin.”
“The position of the Church of Greece remains that children have an innate need and therefore a right to grow up with a male father and a female mother. No amount of social modernization and no amount of political correctness can bypass (this),” the church said.
POLAND
A Polish nationwide daily economic and legal newspaper confirmed with a Warsaw District Court this week that two pardons issued before Christmas by President Andrzej Duda were given to two anchors of state television who were found guilty by the court of criminal defamation against a prominent activist for abortion and LGBTQ rights.
Magdalena Ogórek and Rafał Ziemkiewicz were given pardons in a case against the pair dating back to 2019. They were accused of defaming Elżbieta Podleśna, a licensed psychotherapist and civil rights activist who was a leading person in the Polish Women’s Strike protests in 2017 and 2018.
English language Polish media outlet Notes from Poland reported that in one episode of the news show W tyle wizji on TVP, the state broadcaster, the pair spoke about Podleśna, an activist best known for being put on trial for the crime of “offending religious feelings” by adding LGBTQ rainbow colors to an image of the Virgin Mary and Jesus.
During their show, Ogórek and Ziemkiewicz suggested that Podleśna, who is a practicing psychologist, used her “quasi-medical skills” to “manipulate” her “brainwashed” patients into attending protests.
In response, Podleśna launched action against the TV presenters using Poland’s criminal defamation law Notes from Poland reported. The pair were found guilty in December 2022, with an appeal against the conviction rejected in May 2023. As a punishment, Ogórek and Ziemkiewicz were ordered to pay Podleśna 10,000 zloty ($2,506.06) each.
TVP was heavily aligned with the anti-LGBTQ Law and Justice (PiS) government which suffered a major defeat this past fall. Duda’s office told Polish media that he had made the decision to pardon the pair based on “the principles of justice and rationality of criminal repression, as well as the incidental nature of the acts of the convicted persons.”
Notes from Poland noted that Duda was an ally of the former PiS government and approved a large increase in state funds for TVP, which subsequently supported the president during his successful 2020 re-election campaign.
Human Rights Watch issues World Report 2024
Editor’s note: The following article was provided by Human Rights Watch, an international NGO headquartered in New York that conducts research and advocacy on human rights.
Global leaders have failed to take strong stands to protect human rights during 2023, a year of some of the worst crises and challenges in recent memory, with deadly consequences, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2024. Governments should stop engaging in transactional diplomacy and do their utmost to uphold universal human rights principles.
Renewed armed conflict between the Israeli government and Hamas caused tremendous suffering, as did conflicts in Ukraine, Myanmar, Ethiopia and the Sahel. The year 2023 was the hottest since global records began in 1880 and the onslaught of wildfires, drought and storms wreaked havoc on communities from Bangladesh to Libya to Canada. Economic inequality rose around the world, as did anger about the policy decisions that have left so many people struggling to survive.
“The international system that we rely on to protect human rights is under threat as world leaders look the other way when universal principles of human rights are violated,” said Tirana Hassan, executive director at Human Rights Watch. “Every time a country overlooks these universal and globally accepted principles, someone pays a price and that price is sometimes peoples’ lives.”
In the 740-page World Report 2024, its 34th edition, Human Rights Watch reviews human rights practices in more than 100 countries. In her introductory essay, Executive Director Tirana Hassan says that 2023 was a consequential year not only for human rights suppression and wartime atrocities but also for selective government outrage and transactional diplomacy that carried profound costs for the rights of those not in on the deal. But she says there were also signs of hope, showing the possibility of a different path, and calls on governments to consistently uphold their human rights obligations.
Governments’ double standards in applying the human rights framework not only put countless lives at risk, but they chip away at trust in the institutions responsible for enforcing and protecting rights, Human Rights Watch said. When governments are vocal in condemning the Israeli government’s war crimes against civilians in Gaza but silent when it comes to Chinese government crimes against humanity in Xinjiang, or demand international prosecution for Russian war crimes in Ukraine while undermining accountability for U.S. abuses in Afghanistan, they weaken the belief in the universality of human rights and the legitimacy of the laws designed to protect them.
Governments have found it easier to disregard human rights issues in the international arena in part because their violations of human rights at home have gone unchallenged by the international community, Human Rights Watch said.
The human rights and humanitarian crises have led many to question the effectiveness of the human rights framework, when abusive governments are able to benefit from the lukewarm endorsement of a rights approach by more democratic and rights-respecting governments, Human Rights Watch said. Civil society organizations, grassroots movements and human rights defenders can help to re-establish the human rights framework as the roadmap to building thriving, inclusive societies.
Many governments that condemned Hamas’ war crimes have been reserved in responding to those by the Israeli government. The unwillingness to call out Israeli government abuses follows from the United States and most European Union member countries’ refusal to urge an end to the Israeli government’s 16-year closure of Gaza.
Tradeoffs on human rights in the name of politics are clear when many governments fail to speak out about the Chinese government’s intensifying repression. Chinese authorities’ cultural persecution and arbitrary detention of a million Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims amount to crimes against humanity, yet many governments, including in predominantly Muslim countries, stay silent.
In Sudan, which descended into armed conflict in April 2023 when the two most powerful Sudanese generals began battling each other for power, the U.N. has failed to stop massive abuses against civilians, most notably in the Darfur region. The U.N. Security Council closed its political mission in Sudan at the insistence of the Sudanese government, ending what little remained of the U.N.’s in-country capacity to protect civilians and publicly report on the rights situation. It has also done nearly nothing to tackle the Sudanese government’s intransigence in cooperating with the International Criminal Court (ICC).
In the U.S., President Joe Biden has shown little appetite to hold responsible human rights abusers who are key to his domestic agenda or those in China’s sphere of influence. US allies like Saudi Arabia, India and Egypt continue to violate the rights of their people on a massive scale.
The EU has circumvented its human rights obligations, pushing asylum seekers and migrants back to other countries or striking deals with abusive governments like Libya and Turkey to keep migrants out. Democratic governments in the Asia-Pacific region, including Japan, South Korea, and Australia consistently deprioritize human rights in the name of assuring military alliances and trade.
Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India’s democracy has slid toward autocracy, with authorities targeting minorities, tightening repression and dismantling independent institutions.
In Tunisia, President Kais Saied has eliminated checks and balances. El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele has manipulated high levels of crime for a security crackdown to grab and consolidate power. In Bangladesh, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government ordered the arrest of over 10,000 opposition leaders and supporters ahead of the January 2024 election.
But just as these threats are interconnected, so too is the power of the human rights framework to protect people’s freedom and dignity.
In a milestone decision, in November, the International Court of Justice ordered the Syrian government to prevent torture and other abuses. The Japanese parliament passed its first law to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people from “unfair discrimination.” In Mexico, a civil society coalition persuaded Congress to pass a law establishing full legal capacity, benefiting millions of people with disabilities and older people.
In March, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and his children’s rights commissioner for war crimes relating to the forcible transfer of children from occupied territories of Ukraine to Russia. Brazil’s Supreme Court upheld all Indigenous peoples’ rights to their traditional lands, one of the most effective barriers against deforestation in the Amazon.
And in November, the United Kingdom’s highest court unanimously found that Rwanda is not a safe third country for the government to send asylum seekers, striking down an agreement that effectively shifted the UK’s asylum responsibilities to Rwanda.
“Human rights crises around the world demonstrate the urgency of applying longstanding and mutually agreed principles of international human rights law everywhere,” Hassan said. “Principled diplomacy, by which governments center their human rights obligations in their relations with other countries, can influence oppressive conduct and have a meaningful impact for people whose rights are being violated.”
Additional reporting from Greek Public Broadcasting ERT, Notes from Poland, PinkNewsUK, Agence France-Presse, the BBC and Human Rights Watch.
Afghanistan
ICC unseals arrest warrants for Taliban officials accused of persecuting LGBTQ people, women
‘For LGBTIQ+ people, this matters enormously’
The International Criminal Court this week unsealed arrest warrants for four Taliban officials in Afghanistan accused of targeting LGBTQ people, women, and others who defy the group’s strict gender norms.
The warrants the ICC unsealed on Oct. 5 are for Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban’s supreme leader, and Chief Justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani. The ICC also unsealed warrants for Education Minister Habibullah Agda and Higher Education Minister Neda Mohammad Nadim.
The ICC last year announced warrants for Akhundzada and Haqqani, as the Washington Blade previously reported.
“In the warrants of arrest, the (Pre-Trial) Chamber (II), in line with current developments in international law, found that the definition of ‘gender’ in the Rome Statute necessitates an interpretation that goes beyond a purely biological conception of sex,” reads the ICC’s Oct. 5 announcement. “It considered that it requires acknowledging the socially constructed roles, behaviors, expectations, and hierarchies traditionally associated with individuals on the basis of their sex. The Chamber considered that these societal constructs, commonly referred to as ‘gender norms,’ form part of the contextual lens through which acts amounting to gender-based persecution under article 7(1)(h) must be assessed.”
“It found that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the four suspects are criminally responsible for having ordered, induced or solicited the crime against humanity of persecution, under article 7(1)(h) of the Rome Statute, on gender grounds against girls, women, and other persons non-conforming with the Taliban’s policy on gender, gender identity or expression; and on political grounds against persons perceived as ‘allies of girls and women,’” it adds. “These crimes are believed to have been committed on the territory of Afghanistan since the Taliban seized power on Aug. 15, 2021, and have continued until at least Jan. 20, 2025.”
The Rome Statute established the ICC, which is in the Dutch city of The Hague, in 2002 after 60 countries ratified it.
The U.S. is among the countries that do not recognize the ICC. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday announced U.S. sanctions against the ICC, which he described as a “rogue court.”
Then-ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan in January 2025 announced a request for warrants against Taliban officials over their treatment of women and other groups since they regained control of Afghanistan in 2021. It marked the first time the ICC specifically named LGBTQ people as victims in a gender persecution case before it.
A report that Outright International released in 2023 notes Taliban officials have systematically targeted LGBTQ people — especially gay men and transgender women.
Taliban officials have subjected them to physical and sexual assault as well as arbitrary detention. The Outright International report also notes Taliban authorities have carried out public floggings for alleged same-sex sexual relations, and have collected intelligence on LGBTQ activists and community members.
Artemis Akbary, executive director of the Afghanistan LGBTIQ Organization, on Oct. 5 described the additional arrest warrants as “huge.”
“For LGBTIQ+ people, this matters enormously,” he said. “It strengthens the understanding that gender persecution can also capture persecution based on non-conformity with imposed gender roles, identities, and expressions.”
“This is an important development for accountability in Afghanistan, and potentially far beyond it,” added Akbary.
Central America
Alianza para la Inclusión fortalece la defensa de derechos LGBTQ en Centroamérica
Se implementa el proyecto en Guatemala, El Salvador y Honduras
Promover, proteger y defender los derechos humanos de las personas LGBTQ en Centroamérica es el propósito del proyecto “Alianza para la Inclusión: hacia la promoción de derechos LGBTIQ+ en Centroamérica”, una iniciativa subvencionada por la Unión Europea, Global Gateway, Oikos Cooperação e Desenvolvimento y Camões — Instituto da Cooperação e da Língua, que articula esfuerzos en Guatemala, El Salvador y Honduras.
El proyecto, cuya implementación se desarrolla entre 2025 y 2028, busca fortalecer a organizaciones, liderazgos comunitarios y redes regionales frente a contextos marcados por la discriminación, la violencia y la reducción del espacio cívico.
A través de procesos de formación, atención integral, protección, fortalecimiento organizativo, incidencia y articulación regional, la iniciativa procura generar condiciones más seguras y dignas para que las personas LGBTQ puedan ejercer plenamente sus derechos.
Formación y fortalecimiento de liderazgos
Durante los primeros 18 meses de ejecución, el proyecto ha desarrollado acciones de formación y acompañamiento, otorgado subvenciones a colectivos comunitarios, impulsado estrategias de seguridad integral y respaldado procesos regionales de articulación e incidencia.
Uno de los resultados reportados es la participación de 489 personas LGBTQ de Guatemala, El Salvador y Honduras en procesos formativos relacionados con la desnaturalización de la violencia, organización e incidencia. Asimismo, 41 personas líderes LGBTQ de El Salvador y Guatemala fortalecieron sus capacidades para la formulación de proyectos.
Para Pedro Campos, coordinador de Oikos — Cooperação e Desenvolvimento en El Salvador, estos procesos tienen una dimensión que trasciende lo técnico.
“Desde hoy estamos cada día más convencidas y convencidos de que la gestión de proyectos más que técnica o administrativa es esencialmente humana. Nunca debemos olvidar que la persona en toda su diversidad es el centro de nuestro quehacer. Y si un día la empatía y el amor nos abandonan, habremos perdido la esencia de nuestro trabajo”.
La formación también ha significado una oportunidad para fortalecer liderazgos comunitarios. Josh Hernández, persona no binaria y codirectore de Espacios Seguros El Salvador, destaca el impacto que tuvo su participación.
“Esta experiencia me ha fortalecido como activista y como parte de una organización comunitaria, y me ha permitido ampliar mi visión y soñar con nuevas actividades que contribuyan a construir una cultura de paz en nuestra sociedad salvadoreña”, comenta Hernández.
Atención integral para personas LGBTQ en situación de vulnerabilidad
En El Salvador, uno de los componentes del proyecto se ha enfocado en brindar atención integral a personas que enfrentan situaciones de violencia, discriminación o vulnerabilidad.
A través de COMCAVIS TRANS, el proyecto permitió atender a 128 personas, mediante servicios psicosociales, legales y de resguardo temporal en su albergue.
La atención incluyó orientación para activar mecanismos de denuncia y medidas de protección, además de contención emocional, manejo de crisis y acompañamiento para la estabilización de condiciones básicas.
La experiencia también se ha extendido a Honduras. Loren López, directora ejecutiva de la Asociación de Mujeres Lesbianas y Bisexuales LITOS, resaltó el valor de generar espacios seguros para mujeres lesbianas, bisexuales y personas LTBQ (lesbianas, trans, bisexuales y queer).
“Me quedo con la satisfacción de haber contribuido a crear espacios donde una mujer LTBQ+ pueda sentirse segura, escuchada y reconocida, sin tener que esconder quién es. Esta experiencia fortaleció a LITOS y nos dejó nuevas herramientas y posibilidades para seguir trabajando por los derechos y la eliminación de la discriminación”, agrega López.
La seguridad integral como herramienta de protección
En contextos donde quienes defienden derechos pueden enfrentar diferentes tipos de riesgos, el proyecto ha incorporado la seguridad integral como un componente fundamental.
Durante 2026, 140 personas LGBTQ pertenecientes a seis organizaciones participaron en procesos de formación sobre seguridad integral, abordando dimensiones físicas, digitales y emocionales.
Como resultado, seis organizaciones elaboraron y consolidaron sus propios planes de seguridad integral, incorporando medidas de prevención y respuesta ante riesgos físicos y digitales, con especial énfasis en la protección de información sensible, el uso seguro de plataformas digitales y la gestión de incidentes en entornos virtuales.
Incidencia para transformar políticas y garantizar derechos
La iniciativa también ha acompañado procesos de incidencia y litigio estratégico en Guatemala.
La Asociación LAMBDA, junto con la Comisión Presidencial por la Paz y los Derechos Humanos (COPADEH), acompañó una consulta nacional con personas LGBTQ para contribuir a la elaboración de una Estrategia Nacional para las personas LGBTQ, cuyo proceso se encontraba en elaboración y cuya aprobación se esperaba para finales de 2026.
Asimismo, en julio de 2026 fue presentada ante la Corte Constitucional de Guatemala una acción de inconstitucionalidad como parte de una estrategia nacional de litigio estratégico orientada a la aprobación del matrimonio igualitario. Al cierre de la actualización de resultados de este año, el proceso permanecía pendiente de resolución.
El acompañamiento jurídico también ha permitido apoyar procesos individuales relacionados con el reconocimiento de la identidad.
Uno de estos casos es el de Paula Escobar, mujer trans guatemalteca acompañada por LAMBDA en el proceso de cambio de nombre en sus documentos de identidad.
“Ha sido el paso más grande de mi vida, pues me libró de momentos incómodos y de dar explicaciones para ser reconocida como la mujer que soy”.
De acuerdo con el testimonio, la organización se encargó de la gestión legal y aproximadamente seis meses después obtuvo una respuesta favorable.
Redes regionales para ampliar el alcance de la defensa de derechos
La articulación regional constituye otro de los componentes del proyecto. La iniciativa ha apoyado a redes latinoamericanas que buscan fortalecer y posicionar el trabajo de organizaciones LGBTQ.
Entre ellas se encuentra la Alianza Centroamericana y del Caribe de Hombres Trans, que articula organizaciones y personas transmasculinas de Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica y Panamá.
Durante su primer año, ALICAHT desarrolló su Plan Estratégico y Reglamento Interno 2025-2030, además de su identidad gráfica y sitio web.
Otro proceso regional respaldado fue el III Congreso Regional de CORPORA en Libertad, realizado en Guatemala en diciembre de 2025. El encuentro reunió esfuerzos orientados a fortalecer la defensa, promoción y garantía de los derechos humanos de las personas LGBTQ privadas y exprivadas de libertad en América Latina y el Caribe.
El espacio permitió fortalecer la articulación regional y compartir experiencias y estrategias frente a los desafíos que enfrentan las personas LGBTQ dentro y fuera de los sistemas penitenciarios.
Ari Vera, fundadora de CORPORA, ha destacado la importancia del trabajo en red como una herramienta para generar transformaciones y fortalecer las capacidades colectivas.
Inclusión más allá de las palabras
Durante el Foro “El Impacto de Incluir”, uno de los planteamientos centrales fue que la inclusión requiere transformaciones concretas y no únicamente el uso de conceptos o siglas.
Jason García, técnico PMA de Monitoreo, Evaluación y Aprendizaje para Oikos El Salvador, señaló una de las barreras que persisten en los proyectos. “Una de las barreras en los proyectos es que son binarios y no se reconocen las otras identidades”.
Desde esta perspectiva, un proyecto inclusivo no se limita a utilizar la palabra inclusión o incorporar las siglas LGBTQ, sino que requiere revisar prácticas, metodologías, mecanismos de participación y formas de reconocer la diversidad.
Como parte de este proceso también se preparó una guía práctica que sistematiza instrumentos y mecanismos del Sistema Internacional de Derechos Humanos, destacando su importancia histórica en la ampliación y protección de derechos.
La compilación fue presentada en la X Conferencia de la Red ILGA LAC y en el 18º Encuentro de la Red Centroamericana de Intercambio Académico en Derechos Internacionales, realizado en la Universidad de El Salvador.
Cooperación centrada en las personas
Los resultados alcanzados durante los primeros 18 meses reflejan una estrategia que combina formación, atención directa, protección, fortalecimiento institucional, incidencia y construcción de redes.
Para la Unión Europea, colocar a las personas en el centro constituye un elemento fundamental de la cooperación. Duccio Bandini, embajador de la Unión Europea en El Salvador, expresó “Desde la Unión Europea seguiremos apostando para una cooperación que pone en el centro a las personas. Porque el verdadero impacto de influir se mide en vidas transformadas, en derechos conquistados y en sociedades que celebran con orgullo su diversidad”.
Con una implementación prevista hasta 2028, la Alianza para la Inclusión continúa articulando organizaciones nacionales y redes latinoamericanas para fortalecer capacidades y generar herramientas que permitan a las personas y organizaciones LGBTQ enfrentar los desafíos de sus contextos y avanzar en la promoción, protección y defensa de los derechos humanos.
Más allá de las cifras y los productos alcanzados, el proyecto coloca en el centro una premisa: la inclusión se construye cuando las personas pueden participar, organizarse, defender sus derechos y vivir su identidad con dignidad y seguridad.
Brazil
Transgender woman elected to Brazilian Chamber of Deputies
Thabatta Pimenta is first trans person from northeast Brazil elected to Congress
SÃO PAULO — Voters in Brazil’s Rio Grande do Norte state on Sunday elected a transgender woman to the country’s Chamber of Deputies.
Natal Municipal Councilwoman Thabatta Pimenta, who is a member of the Green Party, won with 92,743 votes. She is the first trans woman from northeast Brazil elected to the country’s Congress.
Pimenta became emotional when she was speaking to her supporters after she won. Her brother Ryan, who has cerebral palsy, was by her side.
“This victory belongs to the people of Rio Grande do Norte,” she said. “It is a victory built from the ground up … the people themselves rose up, and you saw the result: today they elected the first female travesti federal deputy from northeast Brazil.”
Pimenta will join Erika Hilton, a travesti member of the leftist Socialism and Liberty (PSOL) party who was a sex worker before her election to the São Paulo Municipal Council, and Duda Salabert, a trans woman and fellow PSOL member from Minas Gerais state, in the Chamber of Deputies.
Hilton on Sunday won re-election with 1,596,472 votes, the most any female member of Congress has received in Brazilian history. Dudabert also won re-election with 215,192 votes.
“Thank you Minas Gerais,” said Dudabert on social media after she won re-election.
❤️ REELEITA!!! Obrigada Minas Gerais! Com muito trabalho, aumentamos nossa votação! Muito orgulho em ser, pela segunda eleição consecutiva, a terceira candidatura mais votada de Minas Gerais para o cargo de deputada federal. E mostramos novamente que é possível fazer uma campanha “lixo zero”- sem imprimir santinhos, bandeiras ou adesivos. Muito feliz! Obrigada Minas ! Obrigada Brasil
— Duda Salabert 5️⃣0️⃣5️⃣0️⃣ (@DudaSalabert) October 5, 2026
Five openly bisexual Chamber of Deputies candidates also won their races on Sunday.
• Guilherme Cortez, a PSOL member in São Paulo state
• Dandara Tonatzin, a member of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s Workers’ Party in Minas Gerais
• Anielle Franco, a Workers’ Party member in Rio de Janeiro state
• Maria Marighella, a Workers’ Party member in Bahia state
• Giovana Mondardo, a Brazilian Communist Party member in Santa Catalina state
Fabio Félix, a gay PSOL member of the Chamber of Deputies who represents the Federal District in which Brasília, the country’s capital, is located won re-election with 224,224 votes. Rick Azevedo, a gay PSOL member from Rio de Janeiro state, won his Chamber of Deputies race.
Daiana Santos, a lesbian Brazilian Communist Party member who represents Rio Grande do Sul state in the Chamber of Deputies, won re-election with 114,315 votes.
Two lesbian women won their Chamber of Deputies campaigns.
• Rosa Amorin, a Workers’ Party member from Pernambuco state
• Bella Gonçalves, a Workers’ Party member from Minas Gerais who is a member of the Belo Horizonte Municipal Council
Samanda de Lula, a lesbian Workers’ Party member, will represent Rio Grande do Norte in the Brazilian Senate.
Rio de Janeiro Municipal Councilwoman Mônica Benício, who is a PSOL member, came up short in her bid for the Senate. Her then-partner, Rio de Janeiro Municipal Councilwoman Marielle Franco, and her driver, Anderson Gomes, were assassinated on March 14, 2018.
Fabiano Contarato, a gay senator from Espíritu Santo who is a member of the Workers’ Party, also lost his re-election bid.
“I receive the election results with respect and serenity,” he said on social media. “The popular will is sovereign, and democracy must always be respected.”
Jean Wyllys is a gay former member of the Chamber of Deputies who previously represented Rio de Janeiro state. He resigned in 2019 and fled Brazil after he received death threats. Wyllys this year ran to represent São Paulo state in the Chamber of Deputies, but he did not win his race.
VoteLGBT, an organization that seeks to increase LGBTQ representation in Brazilian politics, noted 529 openly LGBTQ candidates ran in the election. The group on Sunday more than 30 of them won their races across the country.
Natasha Ferreira, a Workers’ Party member, became the first travesti elected to public office in Rio Grande do Sul when she won a seat in the state’s Legislative Assembly. Voters in other states across the country also elected more than 20 LGBTQ candidates to their respective Legislative Assemblies.
• Keka Bagno, a bisexual PSOL member, was elected to the Federal District Legislative Chamber
• Açucena, a lesbian Workers’ Party member, was elected to the Espíritu Santo Legislative Assembly
• Fabricio Rosa, a gay Workers’ Party member, was elected to the Goiás Legislative Assembly
• Iza Lourença, a bisexual PSOL member, was elected to the Minas Gerais Legislative Assembly
• Tiago Botelho, a gay Workers’ Party member, was elected to the Minas Gerais Legislative Assembly
• Flávio Brasileiro, a gay Workers’ Party member, was elected to the Paraíba Legislative Assembly
• Dani Balbi, a trans Brazilian Communist Party member, was elected to the Rio de Janeiro Legislative Assembly
• Verônica Lima, a lesbian Workers’ Party member, was elected to the Rio de Janeiro Legislative Assembly
• Dani Monteiro, a bisexual PSOL member, was elected to the Rio de Janeiro Legislative Assembly
• Jean Volpato, a gay Workers’ Party member, was elected to the Santa Catarina Legislative Assembly
• Linda Brasil, a trans PSOL member, was elected to the Sergipe Legislative Assembly
• Sofia Favero, a trans PSOL member, was elected to the São Paulo Legislative Assembly
• Paula Nunes dos Santos, a bisexual PSOL member, was elected to the São Paulo Legislative Assembly
• Ediane Maria, a bisexual PSOL member, was elected to the São Paulo Legislative Assembly
• Monica das Pretas, a bisexual PSOL member, was elected to the São Paulo Legislative Assembly
• Duda Hidalgo, a bisexual Workers’ Party member, was elected to the São Paulo Legislative Assembly
• Rodrigo Mar, a bisexual Workers’ Party member, was elected to the São Paulo Legislative Assembly
• Thainara Faria, a bisexual Workers’ Party member, was elected to the São Paulo Legislative Assembly
• Keit Lima, a bisexual PSOL member, was elected to the São Paulo Legislative Assembly
Lula and Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, whose father is former President Jair Bolsonaro, will face off in the presidential election’s second round on Oct. 25.
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D.C.’s LGBTQ homeless facilities face possible hit from Trump funding cuts
Trump uses anti-trans slur against Democratic Senate candidate
U.S. int’l trade negotiator, consultant James Bedore dies at 82
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District of Columbia5 days agoD.C.’s LGBTQ homeless facilities face possible hit from Trump funding cuts
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2026 Midterm Elections5 days ago
Trump uses anti-trans slur against Democratic Senate candidate
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Obituary4 days ago
U.S. int’l trade negotiator, consultant James Bedore dies at 82
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California4 days ago
Calif. GOP gubernatorial candidate ad ‘disgusting attempt to exploit lesbian intimacy’
