Treatment of Gays No Better in South Africa

When Junior Mayema boarded a plane to South Africa from his native Democratic Republic of Congo in 2010, he cried tears of joy because he was finally heading to a country where he could live openly as a gay man.

Trans Community Makes Slow Progress in Vietnam

The restaurant Thuy Linh sits by one of Saigon’s black, soupy canals at the edge of District Three. Though operating in an area already full of restaurants and cafes it doesn’t struggle for business.

CARIBBEAN: Gay Rights Slowly Coming Out of the Closet

Over the past six months, governments in two influential Caribbean trade bloc member states – Jamaica and Guyana - have floated political test balloons on the question of whether colonial-era laws criminalising homosexuality should be amended in keeping with trends in most Western states.

Battle Rages to Stretch the Legal Concept of Family in Nicaragua

A bill under discussion in the Nicaraguan parliament has unleashed a nationwide debate on the concept of family.

South Africa’s ‘Traditional Courts Bill’ Impairs Rights of 12 Million Rural Women

The Traditional Courts Bill currently under discussion in South Africa’s parliament and due to be enacted by the end of 2012 could undermine the basic rights of some of the country’s most vulnerable inhabitants: the 12 million women living in remote rural communities across the country.

Q&A: How Sex Education Programs Can Shape a Better Future

In Latin American countries and in the Caribbean, where income disparities are among the greatest in the world, too many people often lack access to comprehensive health services and information needed to live healthy lives.

Cuban Activists Defend Sexual Rights as Human Rights

The Fifth Cuban Day Against Homophobia focused on recognising and including sexual rights as human rights, a cause increasingly advocated by activists demanding respect for sexual diversity in this Caribbean island nation.

Obama’s Gay Marriage Endorsement Makes Waves in the Caribbean

It is a widely recognised cliché that when the United States sneezes, the Caribbean catches cold.

ARGENTINA: Things Slowly Getting Better for Transgender People

Transvestites and transsexuals in Argentina, who were among the most marginalised minority populations, have seen respect for their rights grow in recent years, especially since same-sex marriage became legal in this country a year and a half ago.