The largest circulated HIV publication in the country, Plus, unveiled its 25 Amazing People of the Year, per a press release. Just a few of the individuals are actor Billy Porter; Mandisa Nikita Dukashe: South African nurse/"undetectable equals untransmittable" activist; scientific writer Marc Wagner; Indonesia-based HIV activist Aan S. Rianto (who's also part of "undetectable equals untransmittable"); Deondre B. Moore, a 27-year-old HIV activist running for a seat in the Texas House of Representatives; circus performer Sadiq Ali; Tony Enos, a pop musician who identifies as Two-Spirit (LGBTQ+ Native American); and British actor Nathaniel Hall (who is in the miniseries It's a Sin).
About 40 people protested outside The Guardian's London headquarters, accusing the British newspaper of repeated transphobia, according to LGBTQ Nation. While there were reportedly many articles in The Guardian's history that spurred the protest, the catalyst was an op-ed by Catherine Bennett in the newspaper's weekly publication, The Observer; the article used the recent murder of 33-year-old Sarah Everard to argue that "those who self-declare their sex and who are perceived as males" should not be allowed in women's spaces. Everard, a cisgender woman, was abducted and killed by police officer Wayne Couzens, a cisgender man. In the piece, Bennett says allowing trans women into places like restrooms will allow "the same sort of opportunist from appearing in women-only changing rooms."
Princess Amalia, the Dutch heir to the throne, would still be eligible to take the throne if she were to marry another woman, LGBTQ Nation noted. The decision, announced by the Netherland's Prime Minister, came after a formal inquiry from Parliament. If her father, King Willem-Alexander, were to die, Princess Amalia (Catharina-Amalia, Princess of Orange) would immediately take the throne. She is very private, and her sexual orientation is unknown.
A Kuwaiti court has sentenced a transgender woman to prison for "imitating the opposite sex" online, Human Rights Watch noted. On Oct. 3, the court sentenced Maha al-Mutairi, 40, to two years in prison and a fine of 1,000 Kuwaiti dinars (USD 3,315) for "misusing phone communication" by "imitating the opposite sex" online under article 70 of the telecommunication law and article 198 of the penal code. She has been arrested multiple times since 2019 for her transgender identity, but the current conviction is apparently based on her online activities in 2021.
On Oct. 12, Botswana's Court of Appeals held a hearing on decriminalization of same-sex relations after the state appealed a 2019 ruling by the High Court to decriminalize, an OutRight International press release stated. Katlego K Kolanyane-Kesupile—a trans artivist from Botswana, and a former OutRight Action International Religion Fellow—said, "I am hopeful for a fair ruling. The Attorney General representative Sidney Pilane, appearing for the state, showed that the government has little ground to stand on and continuously made contradictory statements." OutRight Action International Acting Executive Director Maria Sjodin added, "I hope that the Court of Appeals will continue this trend and uphold decriminalization, which has already made a significant impact on the lives of LGBTIQ people in Botswana." A decision is expected within the next four to six weeks.
Members of France's National Assembly unanimously approved a bill that would ban so-called conversion therapy in the country, The Washington Blade noted, citing the French publication Tetu. Conversion-therapy practitioners would face two years in prison and a 30,000-euro ($34,652.55) fine; those who administer the widely discredited practice to a minor would face three years in prison and a 45,000-euro ($51,978.82) fine. Practitioners could also lose their medical licenses for up to 10 years.
A Namibian court ruled that a gay couple's son—born via surrogacy in South Africa in 2019—is a Namibian citizen by descent, in a decision hailed as a "big win" for same-sex couples, Openly News reported. High Court Judge Thomas Masuku ruled that a paternity test is not needed to prove that Yona Luhl-Delgado is the son of Namibian Phillip Luhl and his Mexican husband, Guillermo Delgado. Yona and his twin sisters, who are also battling to obtain Namibian citizenship in a separate case, were all born via surrogacy in South Africa.
For the first time, Nepal introduced a third gender category in the national census, lematin.ch reported. Officials from the Central Bureau of Statistics have been going to homes in this country of 30 million inhabitants to explain to them the possibility of ticking the "other" box, in addition to the male or female genders. Nepal is relatively progressive; for example, a third gender category for citizenship documents was created in 2013 and Nepal started issuing passports including the "other" category two years later.
The Welsh government has been accused of being "dictated to" by an LGBTQ+ organization, the BBC reported. Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi said the government promoted an "ideological culture" by adopting Stonewall's interpretation of the Equality Act. Protections for people based on factors including age, disability, race, religion, sexual orientation, pregnancy and gender reassignment are enshrined in the Equality Act 2010; however, in a document sent to Stonewall and seen by the BBC, the term "gender reassignment" has been replaced with the term "gender identity" in the Welsh government's Equality and Diversity Policy.
In Ghana, a regional chief threatened to storm the country's parliament with 10,000 people to force through an anti-LGBTQ+ measure, PinkNews reported. Osagyefo Agyeman Badu II, president of Bono Regional House of Chiefs, is so determined to push the bill that he made the threat, adding he was "saddened" by those who support LGBTQ+ rights. Rightify Ghana has described the bill as the "most homophobic document the world has ever seen."
British Conservative MP Sir David Amess was fatally stabbed as he met constituents, the BBC reported. Essex Police said they were called to reports of a stabbing in Leigh-on-Sea, and arrested a man. Among other things, Amess supported Brexit in the 2016 EU referendum and tweeted a picture of a life-size cardboard cutout of Margaret Thatcher on the day the UK left the European Union, The Guardian noted. His eldest daughter, actress Katie Amess, was critical of her father's stance on LGBTQ rights after he defied his friend David Cameron to vote against same-sex marriage.
In England, a gay couple were left with cracked ribs and other injuries after they were violently beaten by a homophobic mob outside a gay club, according to PinkNews. Dan Wilson and Rob Morris were attacked outside Colors nightclub in Basildon, Essex, according to Echo News. Morris was dressed in drag at the time of the attack, which occurred just steps away from their apartment. The couple left the nightclub and were quickly apprehended by a group of five men.
The Human Rights Campaign Foundation (HRCF), in partnership with Instituto de Políticas Publicas LGBT and Instituto Mais Diversidade, is launching LGBTQ+ workplace equality programs in Argentina and Brazil, known respectively as Equidad AR and Equidad BR, a press release noted. These build upon existing benchmarking surveys and reports in Latin America that currently recognize employers in Chile and Mexico who have demonstrated a commitment to LGBTQ+ equality by adopting crucial LGBTQ+ inclusive policies and practices for their employees.
As South African anti-apartheid icon Archbishop Desmond Tutu marked his 90th birthday recently, a portrait of him recently defaced by racist graffiti has been restored by the artist, who added a celebratory message, ABC News reported. Artist Brian Rolfe added "Happy Birthday Tata Desmond Tutu! Father of the Rainbow Nation" to the large mural. Tutu has notably supported LGBTQ+ rights and same-sex marriage.
The BBC overhauled its guidelines for dealing with bullying and sexual harassment on set in light of "recent revelations" in the TV and film industries, Deadline reported. Deadline saw an email sent by BBC Chief Content Officer Charlotte Moore to dozens of UK indies, which tasked producers on all new shows with confirming they have a suitable "respect at work policy," naming at least one safeguarding contact and requiring all cast and crew to complete anti-bullying and harassment training before the cameras roll. The blanket policy will cover all genres and is an update on the previous policy.
Out Australian comedian Hannah Gadsby had a message for Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos about his decision to double down on defending Dave Chappelle's recent transphobic and homophobic comedy special, according to out.com . Sarandos had evoked Gadsby as an example of the diversity the streamer has in a memo he sent to the company. "So we have Sex Education, Orange Is the New Black, Control Z, Hannah Gadsby and Dave Chappelle all on Netflix," he said. "You didn't pay me nearly enough to deal with the real world consequences of the hate speech dog whistling you refuse to acknowledge, Ted." Gadsby posted on social media, in part. "F*ck you and your amoral algorithm cult… I do sh*ts with more backbone than you. That's just a joke! I definitely didn't cross a line because you just told the world there isn't one."
A copycat version of RuPaul's Drag Race has launched in Russia, one of the most anti-LGBTQ countries on Earth—and almost all gay content has been removed, according to LGBTQ Nation. Royal Cobras stars online celebrity Nastya Ivleeva, a straight cisgender woman, as the host and the judges are also straight celebrities. Discussions about LGBTQ issues are forbidden and contestants' sexuality isn't discussed.
A work by British street artist Banksy that sensationally self-shredded just after it sold at auction three years ago recently fetched almost $25.4 million—a record for the artist, and close to 20 times its pre-shredded price, according to KTLA.com . "Love is in the Bin" was offered by Sotheby's in London, with a pre-sale estimate of 4 million to 6 million pounds ($5.5 million to $8.2 million).
British police said they would take no action after reviewing a document related to a U.S. civil sexual-assault lawsuit filed against Queen Elizabeth II's son Prince Andrew, NBC News reported. Virginia Giuffre, who accused Andrew of sexually abusing her when she was a teenager, filed the suit in August in New York's Southern District. The suit alleges that convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019 after he was arrested on federal sex trafficking charges, and his longtime associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, compelled her to engage in sexual acts with Andrew 20 years ago. Andrew, the Duke of York, has always vehemently denied the allegations.
