Bad blood? Belgian Constitutional Court rules on gay and bisexual blood ban
In September 2019, the Belgian Constitutional Court (‘BCC’) reviewed the constitutionality of a law setting up a 12-month blood donation deferral period for men who have sex with men (MSM)....
Discriminatory Torture of an LGBTI Person: Landmark Precedent Set by the Inter-American Court
Earlier this year, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) issued a landmark judgment Azul Rojas Marín and Another v. Peru (Azul), in which Peru was found responsible for the...
Germany’s Ban on Conversion Therapy: One Step Forward and Two Steps Back
Conversion therapy (CT) is a constellation of medical, psychoanalytic, behavioural, religious techniques and interventions, that seek to alter an individual’s sexual orientation, gender identity and expression. It stigmatises same-sex attraction...
Hungarian Bill Obliterates Gender Recognition Rights
On 19th May 2020, the Hungarian parliament passed Bill T/9934. Article 33 of the Bill makes information on an individual’s gender marker legally immutable post-sex assignment at birth. In the...
Singaporean High Court upholds criminalisation of sexual intercourse between consenting males
On 30th March 2020, the High Court of Singapore upheld the constitutionality of Section 377A of the Singapore Penal Code, which criminalises consensual sexual intercourse between men. Broadly, the challenge...
A Gay Kiss on the Internet: Can Strasbourg Litigation Help Win the War Against Homophobia?
On 14 January 2019, the European Court of Human Rights found a violation of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) in Beizaras and Levickas v Lithuania, as a result...
LGBT+ Rights in Northern Ireland
It’s the middle of a busy month for the LGBT+ sector in Northern Ireland, with four Pride festivals taking place across the province. Normally the summer is a bit of...
The High Court of Botswana decriminalises same-sex relations
The judgement of the Botswana High Court in LM V The Attorney General, which legalised same-sex sex relations, is important for gay couples across Africa. The judgement demonstrates that laws,...
Brazil’s top court uses anti-racism legislation to make discrimination against LGBT people a criminal offence
On 13th June 2019, Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court (STF), by a majority of 8 to 3, recognized discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity as a type...
#Repeal162: Same-Sex Marriage Bogeyman an Incomprehensible Justification for Criminalizing Same-Sex Conduct
Over the past six years, Kenyan human rights activists, lawyers and organisations have secured key legal victories that have underscored the Constitution’s prohibition of discrimination on the grounds of sexual...
The UK Supreme Court and the Gay Marriage Cake: Is ‘Indissociability’ Half-baked?
Giving the judgment of the court in Lee v Ashers Baking Co (2018), Lady Hale discusses ‘indissociability’ when determining whether direct discrimination has occurred. Indissociability refers to circumstances in which...
A Small Success for LGBT Rights in Russia
Maxim Neverov, 16, was the first minor charged for ‘promoting homosexuality,’ under the Russian Federal Law, “On Protection of Children from Information Harmful to Their Health and Development” passed in...
