Homophobia: Last News

By Nicky BathI found myself on Larrakia land, Darwin, on election night, initially with a small group of colleagues glued to the TV in a hotel bar and then later with the remaining delegates of the Australian Professional Association for Trans Health (AusPATH)* 2022 conference where we watched Scott Morrison concede. When I think about the post-election landscape, I think about buses.  The blue Liberal bus can now go in for a full service and maybe a respray. The repaint, I hope, will demonstrate reflection on how the Liberal party can be inclusive of LGBTIQ+ people and communities and see us as part of the solution in reducing health and wellbeing disparities, rather than the problem. LGBTIQ+ Health Australia (LHA) was at times welcomed onboard the blue bus, and I am grateful to Greg Hunt, Minister for Health and Aged Care, who demonstrated commitment and understanding of LGBTIQ+ people.

Star of HBO’s series Euphoria, Hunter Schafer live-streamed a Transphobic encounter at a Düsseldorf nightclub, over the weekend.Schafer, 23, was trying to get into German nightclub, Silq with her assistant when the assistant was allegedly denied entry into the club because she is trans. She said, “[You] said my friend could not come in because she’s trans.“You’re on live with 7 million people by the way.“Don’t come to Silq. It’s not safe for transgender people.”Schafer ended the live stream saying, “Fuck Silq – I don’t know, “Internet, do what you do.

Ukrainian soldiers are wearing their pride on their chest with a unicorn patch as an act of defiance against Russia and the country’s attempted erasure of LGBTQ+ people.Out LGBTQ soldiers currently fighting for Ukraine’s sovereignty from Russia have been donning unicorn patches to signal to Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Russia as a whole, that they won’t be silenced. Back in 2014, Russia invaded Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula. During that invasion, there was an overwhelming push by the Russian military to remove anyone from its ranks who identified as a part of the LGBTQ community.The Crimean Peninsula has historically been one of the few safe spots in Eastern Europe to be LGBTQ.

Former Virginia Tech football player Isimemen Etute was acquitted on Friday on charges of beating an openly gay man Jerry Paul Smith to death, who he claimed had posed as a woman on Tinder.A jury found Etute not guilty of the charges of second-degree murder, reported The Roanoke Times.Trigger Warning: This story discusses a murder, which might be distressing to some readers. For 24-hour crisis support and suicide prevention call Lifeline on 13 11 14. For Australia-wide LGBTQI peer support call QLife on 1800 184 527 or webchat.Etute, then 18, had received oral sex from Smith (40), when he visited his apartment on April 10, 2021, after matching on Tinder.

Brisbane-based Citipointe Christian College, which had issued a controversial student enrolment contract earlier this year describing homosexuality as “sinful” and reserving the right to sack gay and trans students, has been dragged to the Queensland Human Rights commission. Parents and former students of the institution on Thursday filed discrimination complaints against the now withdrawn anti-LGBTQI student enrolment contracts, reported The Guardian. The Christian school’s student enrollment contract compared homosexuality to bestiality and paedophilia. “We believe that any form of sexual immorality (including but not limiting to adultery, fornication, homosexual acts, bisexual acts, bestiality, incest, paedophilia and pornography) is sinful and offensive to God and is destructive to human relationships and society,” the contract stated.The updated contract asked parents to agree to enrolling the students only on the basis of their “biological sex” and allowed the school to expel students for coming out as gay or transgender. A public backlash forced the school to withdraw the contract and principal pastor Brian Mulheran resigned in the wake of the controversy.According to solicitor Matilda Alexander and Queensland LGBTI+ Legal Service patron the enrolment contract violated Queensland’s anti-discrimination laws.

Robbie McEwen, former Australian cyclist-turned commentator and a three-time winner of the Tour de France points classification, has apologised after using a homophobic slur on live television. The incident occurred last week during the broadcast of stage 10 of the Giro d’Italia on Eurosport and GCN+. Trigger Warning: This story discusses the use of a homophobic slur, which might be distressing to some readers. For 24 hour crisis support and suicide prevention call Lifeline on 13 11 14. For Australia-wide LGBTQI peer support call QLife on 1800 184 527 or webchat.Cycling is a sport for all & everyone should feel welcome.

By Dr Christopher Pepin-NeffAs Australia celebrates the 2022 International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Interphobia & Transphobia (IDAHOBIT) on Tuesday, 17 May, another day looms large, the May 21 federal election. Together, these days represent an important statement about where the LGBTQI community is going in 2022 and beyond as we face a resurgence of hate-fueled stigma. Now Peter Dutton stands in the wings to inherit the Prime Minister role from Scott Morrison if the Coalition is re-elected.

Anglican Bishops in Australia have voted down a statement against gay marriages that sought to affirm the “traditional view” of marriage as only between a man and a woman. The statement, introduced by the conservative Sydney Diocese and its Archbishop Kanishka Raffel, said that solemnising same-sex marriages was “contrary to the teaching of Christ and the faith, ritual, ceremonial and/or discipline of this Church.”At the 18th General Synod of the Anglican Church held earlier this week, the statement found overwhelming support among the laity and the priests. The statement passed in the House of Laity (63-47) and in the House of Clergy (70-39), but was blocked by the Anglican Bishops.

By Jackie TurnerThe first few weeks of this marathon election campaign have been gruelling for trans people – particularly trans women and girls – as our lives have once again become the subject of a cooked-up debate. But if candidates think attacking our community is a vote winner, they’re sorely mistaken.The research found that, in both seats, a candidate who expressed views critical of the LGBTIQI people would stand to lose twice as many votes as they’d secure. Conversely, there is overwhelming support for our community, with over 75 percent of people agreeing that trans people deserve the same rights and protections as other Australians, and two in three agreeing that religious schools should not be able to fire someone or expel a student for being transgender. In addition, LGBTIQ+ votes can’t be taken for granted. With over 5,600 LGBTIQI respondents, our community election survey is one of the largest surveys of its kind in Australia.

Alabama has criminalised Gender Affirming Care for transgender teens with those providing it now facing up to 10-years in prison.The Alabama Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act makes it a felony to provide puberty blockers, hormones, and surgeries to transgender youth under the age of 19.The law, which went into effect on Sunday, is being challenged in court. U.S.

Popular South Korean K-Pop singer and actor Holland said he was the victim of a homophobic attack last week. Holland, one of the few out gay K-Pop singers, said he was attacked on May 5, while he was walking in the Itaewon neighbourhood in Seoul. Trigger Warning: This story has details and visuals of a homophobic attack, which might be distressing to some readers. For 24 hour crisis support and suicide prevention call Lifeline on 13 11 14. For Australia-wide LGBTQI peer support call QLife on 1800 184 527 or webchat.The Itaewon area, where the incident occurred is the popular LGBTQI night life district in South Korea.The photo showed bruises to his head and face.

The first Downton Abbey film gave us Thomas Barrow, played by Rob James-Collier, a gay butler whose sexuality was explored throughout the film by way of a short-lived romance with the king’s royal dresser. However, in Downton Abbey: A New Era, currently playing in theatres, Thomas Barrow’s story gets more of a spotlight and his experiences as a gay man are presented under a warmer more optimistic light, with bright hope for his future. For LGBTQI fans of both the show and western television, the introduction of this storyline back in 2010 was a milestone moment. Thomas Barrow is an openly gay character played by an openly gay actor; while in this moment in time this alone may not be much to celebrate, in 2010 this was relatively rare in Hollywood, considering shows like Will & Grace were the height of mainstream gay representation, with straight actors playing the lead roles. At this time streaming services which have now majorly streamlined production and allowed more marginalised stories to be told, were also not yet around. Thomas Barrow.

A gay man was bashed, on April 24 in South Africa, by a group of men in an apparent hate crime. Mfundo Ngobese, 24, was walking with friends after a night out when they were approached by the three men. Ngobese’s friends took off, but one of the men tripped him before he could get away.“My mouth and chin were hurt and half my teeth are broken. The femur on my right leg is also broken.

A chilling new video released by the NSW Supreme Court captures the moment Sydney resident Scott White discusses with police detectives about the 1988 murder of 27-year-old gay American mathematician Scott Johnson.Trigger Warning: This story had details of homophobic slurs and the murder of a gay man, which might be distressing to some readers. For 24 hour crisis support and suicide prevention call Lifeline on 13 11 14. For Australia-wide LGBTQI peer support call QLife on 1800 184 527 or webchat.Johnson’s naked body was found on the morning of December 10, 1988 at the base of a cliff at Blue Fish Point, near Manly’s North Head on Sydney’s northern beaches.

A gay sexual assault survivor was allegedly seduced by a police officer with the Sussex Police’s Sexual Offences Investigation Team, who asked him to share explicit photographs.The officer investigating the case “did a caring, empathetic interview,” with the man.“In the weeks that followed, he was just amazing,” the man said. “He got me.” Later on when the man logged onto Grindr, he noticed a blank profile, named “BiCurious39”,  and started a conversation.  As the conversation progressed he realised it was the officer investigating his rape case. The officer encouraged the man to send explicit photographs and the officer even told the man that sex with him would “help him heal and regain his sex drive.”Officer ChargedThe man became distressed and reported the officer to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).At the review hearing, the officer was charged with “gross misconduct” with the penalty being instant dismissal.According to the report, “As the officer had already been dismissed from the force for another, unrelated case, no further action was taken.

Trigger Warning: This story discusses a gay hate murder, which might be distressing to some readers. For 24-hour crisis support and suicide prevention call Lifeline on 13 11 14. For Australia-wide LGBTQI peer support call QLife on 1800 184 527 or webchat.The case had remained unsolved for over three decades, until White’s ex-wife Helen alerted the police in 2019 about his role in the murder.Helen told the court that her ex-husband had boasted about “bashing gays” to her and the couple’s children.His lawyers had claimed that White himself was gay.

What do you get when you put eight Russian men into a country house and have them try to figure out which one is gay? A new homophobic Russian reality show of course.Vitaly Milonov, a politician affiliated with the far-right United Russia party and best known for his extreme homophobic rhetoric, is presenting the new online series I’m Not Gay and was featured in the first episode.Milonov was the principal sponsor of Russia’s “Gay Propaganda Law,” which prohibits the distribution of pro-LGBTQ material. These materials are any which  “raises interest in…non-traditional sexual predispositions,” or  include “distorted ideas about the equal social value of traditional and non-traditional sexual relationships.”The show has eight men living together as they try and figure out which one is gay.

A Florida man has been sentenced to write a 25-page essay on the 2016 Pulse Nightclub massacre after he defaced a newly unveiled rainbow memorial intersection in Delray Beach, Florida. Alexander Jerich, 20, received his writing sentence on Thursday, April 21 after he purposely left a 15-foot skid mark across a memorial rainbow intersection, dedicated to those who lost their lives in the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando, unveiled on June 12, 2021.  As Jerich was driving across the intersection he did a burnout, leaving the indelible skid mark.Judge Scott Suskauer, believing Jerich to be ignorant of the meaning of the memorial, ordered him to research and write about the 49 people who died at Pulse Nightclub and about the people and loved ones they left behind. He also asked for Jerich’s analysis as to why the LGBTQ community receives such hate.“I want your own brief summary of why people are so hateful and why people lash out against the gay community,” Suskauer said.According to the Palm Beach Post, Jerich pled guilty in March to criminal mischief and reckless driving.

Attacks on the LGBTQI community could translate into less votes for political parties. A new poll suggests Liberal candidates could face a defeat in NSW seats of Wentworth and Parramatta over Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s refusal to act against anti-LGBTQI statements made by his “captain’s pick” candidate Katherine Deves. Polling conducted in the seats of Parramatta and Wentworth by Redbridge Group for national LGBTQI advocacy group Equality Australia have revealed that debates critical of the community “costs at least twice as many votes as it secures”.Much of recent federal election discussions have veered to LGBTQI issues, after Morrison’s “captain’s pick” candidate for the seat of Warringah Katherine Deves was found to have made statements against the LGBTQI community in now-deleted posts on .

change was captured in a viral clip on Twitter — captioned “THEY REMOVED PETER PARKER’S HOMOPHOBIA” — and viewers praised the cut of the script’s line.THEY REMOVED PETER PARKER'S HOMOPHOBIA pic.twitter.com/QmbFabVpc7One person did their own dub to change the line, writing, “Why cut the joke out entirely? Why not try to change it somehow? I threw this together pretty quick, changes it from homophobic joke to classic ‘your mom’ joke.”“I am glad they changed it. BUT they could have at least changed the line to “did your MOM pick it out for you,” someone suggested, while another noted, “When the punchline is gay marriage it’s not really a good punchline.”“British TV network ITV removed the vaguely homophobic line Spider-Man says to Bonesaw in the first Raimi film,” one more added.

A non-binary lesbian was found dead in their house last Thursday, in Karatina, Kenya. Sheila Lumumba, 25, was found days after going missing. Trigger Warning: This story has details of the murder of an LGBTQI person, which might be distressing to some readers. For 24 hour crisis support and suicide prevention call Lifeline on 13 11 14. For Australia-wide LGBTQI peer support call QLife on 1800 184 527 or webchat.According to reports, they were raped and had their leg broken by six men, because they were a lesbian.  Kenyan Human rights activist Njeri Wa Migwi posted on , “Today Sheila is dead, six men broke into her house and gang-raped her, further broke her leg according to the autopsy and killed this beautiful beautiful human in Karatina town.