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Category: Front Page

  • Protest organised against Chechnya “concentration camp” for gay men

    People are being urged to join a protest outside the Russian Embassy to show solidarity to men being held in “concentration camps” in Chechnya.

    Up to a hundred men, suspected of being gay are being held, against their wills, in what some media outlets are describing as “concentration camps”. A protest has been organised outside the Russian embassy in London.

    Steve Taylor who is organising the protest wrote,

    “The world’s media are reporting that gay men (and presumably other members of the LBT+ community) are being arbitrarily detained and killed in Chechnya. Other reports say that a ‘concentration camp’ has been established in the Chechen town of Argun.

    “London fails if it does not challenge this inhumanity. We MUST stand up to this. Bring banners, flags and most importantly bring yourselves to challenge this oppression and show solidarity with LGBT+ people in Russia.

    “It will be a PEACEFUL and LEGAL protest. The Metropolitan Police have been informed and we will work with them in coming hours to ensure a safe event.”

    According to a Russian newspaper, Novaya Gazeta, last week, men, suspected of being gay, disappeared overnight in the Russian Republic of Chechnya. A spokesperson for the leader of the Republic denied the reports and claimed that gay people did not exist in the region.

    This aggression against gay men reportedly began after an LGBT organisation applied for the rights to march in the capital of Grozny.

    The protest will take place near the Russian Embassy on the junction of Bayswater Road and Ossington Street. Met officers will be there for public safety. 5:30 PM. Find out more here.

     

  • Chechnya opens “concentration camp” for gay men

    Disturbing reports are emerging that Chechnya officials have opened a “concentration camp” for gay people after 100 men were allegedly rounded up last week.

    Gay men who were rounded up in Chechnya last week are reportedly being kept, locked up in a “camp”, separated from their families, homes and friends. There have been reports of murders and torture.

    According to a Russian newspaper, Novaya Gazeta, last week, men, suspected of being gay, disappeared overnight in the Muslim-majority Russian Republic of Chechnya.

    A spokesperson for Chechnya’s leader Ramzan Kadyrov, said, that the report was “lies and disinformation” and claimed that gay people did not “exist in the republic”. The report was even dismissed as a sick April Fool’s joke, by the region’s interior ministry.

    Now, new reports are suggesting that the men who were captured are being held in “concentration camps”, the first in Europe since the second world war.

    This aggression against gay men reportedly began after an LGBT organisation applied for the rights to march in the capital of Grozny.

    The Republic is known for being very conservative and has a Sunni Muslim majority population. LGBT people who come out are often shunned by their families. Chechnya is formally part of Russia, but functions ostensibly, as an independent state, taking many of Russia’s laws as its own, including Russia’s anti-gay propaganda law, which it passed in 2013.

    RESCUE PLAN?

    Russian group LGBT Network said,

    “No national and/or religious traditions and norms can justify kidnapping or killing of a human being. Any references to ‘traditions’ to justify kidnappings and killings are amoral and criminal”.

    They added,

    “The Russian LGBT Network is ready to evacuate people”.

     

    Svetlana Zakharova, from the Russian LGBT Network, told MailOnline:

    “Gay people have been detained and rounded up and we are working to evacuate people from the camps and some have now left the region.”

    It has not been possible to verify these claims.

  • Manchester to become first UK city to officially record same-sex domestic abuse reports

    Greater Manchester police will be making history from today as it becomes the first city to officially record domestic abuse reports within the LGBT community.

    Following work between Greater Manchester Police, support service Independent Choices, LGBT Foundation and specialist trainers, code “D66” has been used in GMP’s City of Manchester division since June 2016 to record reports of domestic abuse in the LGBT community.

    Over 100 incidents have been logged in the pilot area since then and from today, Monday 10th April, officers in all areas of Greater Manchester will use the code.

    Since June, police and partners have had extra training to increase their understanding of the different needs of people who find themselves in domestic abuse situations. 

    No other police force in the UK has recorded this information before and it’s hoped that its introduction will add to Greater Manchester’s current work to capture trends and patterns and ultimately tackle the issue and support victims in the most effective way possible.

    Detective Chief Inspector Myra Ball from GMP said,

    “This is a huge step forward in tackling domestic abuse specifically within the LGBT community here in Greater Manchester, and shows our commitment to supporting all victims of domestic abuse in the best way possible, for them.

    “Over the six month pilot in just one area of Greater Manchester we logged over 150 incidents of LGBT domestic abuse. This code will help us to identify and monitor LGBT domestic abuse incidents, which in turn will help us shape any processes needed to tackle it.

    “Across the multiagency partnership we have identified the lack of monitoring in this respect and the partnership has funded a specialist LGBT IDVA (Independent Domestic Violence Adviser) at Independent Choices. We are also continuing our work on a national level with the national LGBT domestic abuse helpline at Galop to better understand the issues surrounding domestic abuse in the LGBT community and encourage victims and friends and family of victims to report the issue and have the confidence to come forward.”

    Nik Noone, CEO of Galop said,

    “Domestic abuse does not discriminate, and neither should the reporting of domestic abuse. The GMP’s D66 code will not only help break down barriers to reporting, we hope it will encourage other police forces across the country to roll out similar initiatives. Galop will be working hard to support this key development for LGBT survivors.”

    People in Greater Manchester are encouraged to get comfortable talking about domestic abuse in all its forms – including coercion and control – thanks to the ‘Sitting Right With You’ campaign. The campaign gets people thinking differently about domestic abuse and encourages victims or concerned friends and family to take that first step towards help and support.

  • So just what is the best thing about dating Harry Styles?

    So just what is the best thing about dating Harry Styles?

    Recently on the BBC Radio 1 breakfast Show with Nick Grimshaw, whilst promoting his debut single, ‘Sign Of The Times’, Harry Styles revealed the best thing about dating him.

    CREDIT: One Direction / YouTube

    Apparently it’s his four nipples!

    “Best trait I don’t know, it’s weird to pick your best, shall we go with the nipples thing? Still got them, managed to keep them. Maybe I just hide them in limited edition albums, like golden tickets. I’ll hold onto them.”

    We must admit that seeing any part of Harry Styles is always the best part of our day also.

    He also mentioned about his upcoming album.

    “I think we wrote about 70 songs. We did 50 songs and ideas in Jamaica and that’s including like little ideas… full songs, I say there are 30 songs probably. I just wanted to not be somewhere that I’d get distracted. It was 360 of writing, you’d go home for dinner, write at the house then go back to the studio. I liked being away from everything and doing it like that.”

    well we can’t wait to hear it and see the cover shots!

  • Who wore it better, Marcus Collins or Todrick Hall?

    Soooo, have you been seeing Todrick Hall’s latest pictures of him in his Kinky Boot‘s drag?

    Wowzers.

    You may remember that Marcus Collins starred in the UK version of Kinky Boots last year, well, US star, Todrick Hall is now starring in the US version and he looks pretty darn amazing.

     

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BRJuYtGhqrs/?taken-by=todrick&hl=en

    The US singer, has been playing the role of Lola in Kinky Boots since November 2016. The musical was written by Cyndi Lauper and Harvey Fierstein.

     

    https://www.instagram.com/p/-6liy6H5ll/

     

    What is certain, both lads know how to serve up good face. Just gorgeous!

     

  • THIS IS HORSE SH*T, LGBT activists disrupt plush housing awards

    The Sexual Avengers strike again. This time a plush, £3000 per table, Property awards ceremony in central London.

    2017 Property Developer's Awards Protest-Photo Bex Wade-28

    LGBT+ activists dumped manure and cockroaches in front of a swanky London hotel yesterday. It was hosting the Annual Property Awards, an event which costs up to £3030 per table and hosts the who’s who of the property and housing industry. The campaigners say that the awards celebrate, “an industry which leaves queer youth homeless on the streets of London”.

    The pressure group, the Sexual Avengers, were campaigning for more “genuinely affordable homes”, the scrapping of ‘right to buy’ which they say breaks up the social housing system, and the provision of LGBT+ homeless support service.

     

    2017 Property Developer's Awards Protest-Photo Bex Wade-14

    2017 Property Developer's Awards Protest-Photo Bex Wade-6

    Guests arriving at the Grosvenor House hotel, for the £330 per ticket event, were met with manure and cockroaches, dumped by the activists on the doorstep of the building, forcing hotel staff to clean up the mess. The guests were ushered into the event via the backdoor.

    2017 Property Developer's Awards Protest-Photo Bex Wade-5

    Sexual Avenger Stacey Jones said,

    “My partner died of cancer last April, and they wanted to kick me out in May. They couldn’t understand how I could be in a relationship with a woman when I had a child. I’d just lost my partner and had to sit there and justify my sexuality. Why did I deserve the house where we lived, where I cared for her and where she died?

    “Property developers need to build for need not greed. I’ve been homeless twice, and I’d be on the streets now if it wasn’t for Stonewall. The number of empty properties and the number of people on the streets –it’s madness.”

    2017 Property Developer's Awards Protest-Photo Bex Wade-9

    According to the latest stats, one in four people currently living on the streets identifies as LGBT+. Speaking in 2016, Tim Sigsworth MBE, Chief Executive of the Albert Kennedy Trust, which  said,

    “Homeless LGBT young people are one of the most disenfranchised and marginalised groups within the UK. 4,800 young LGBT people in the UK are currently homeless or living in hostile environments – that’s 24% of the youth homeless population in this country.”

    Sexual Avenger Dina Fox said,

    “I am a mentally ill, disabled transgender woman in my early 20s. I am nominally a student but I’m currently taking a break from my studies due to my ongoing mental health problems.

    I normally only rent in London during the academic year and return home to the countryside for the summer. However, I have been depending on social and mental support from LGBT charities and services based in central London and could not expect any such support back home. In addition, the community where I grew up is far more socially conservative than London and it would be very unlikely that I’d be able to transition or live openly there.

    I am trying to secure new housing as I will not be able to afford my current rent for long, since my student finance money has been stopped with the interruption of my studies. I am receiving help from Stonewall Housing to apply for supported housing for vulnerable people and I have been told I will be able to pay for this with housing benefit. While I am currently optimistic, I am keenly aware of how fragile my present situation is, and also of how a person in my position who might have additional barriers in accessing these organisations would really struggle.

    If I fail to get housing in the next couple of months I face a choice of being homeless in an environment where I receive appropriate support and healthcare, or moving back home where I would likely face a serious further deterioration of my condition. Until I experienced it for myself I had never understood how easily a person can slip through what I imagined to be our social safety net.”

  • Welsh Government announces a new HPV vaccination for gay and bisexual men

    The Welsh Government has announced that an HPV vaccination will be made available for all gay and bisexual men.

    An HPV vaccination which could offer protection against certain types of cancers will be offered to gay and bisexual men in Wales. The campaign was rolled out from April 1st.

    It is currently being offered to men, up to the age of 45, who attend sexual health clinics. The decision follows a recommendation by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). 

    Commenting on the move, Welsh Lib Dem Equalities Spokesperson, Cadan ap Tomos, said,

    “The Welsh Liberal Democrats welcome this announcement as a step towards protecting men who have sex with men against certain cancers. The HPV vaccine is proven to be effective in reducing these risks and should be welcomed.

    “However, while this is a step in the right direction, we want to see the programme go further. All boys aged 14 in Wales should be vaccinated on the same basis as their female peers to ensure the maximum protection, and make sure that gay and bisexual men aren’t at a discriminatory risk of developing these cancers later on in life.”

    What Is HPV?

    HPV is the name for a group of viruses that affect the skin and moist membranes lining the body such as the cervix, anus, mouth and throat. HPV infections are highly contagious when transmitted sexually.

    Some strains of the HPV virus can cause genital warts, and cancers of the anus, penis, mouth and throat. In some cases, it can also cause head and neck cancer.

  • Luxembourg’s Prime Minster was told to pretend partner was “assistant” in anti-gay country

    Luxembourg’s Prime Minster, Xavier Bettel has spoken about how it was suggested that he should describe his boyfriend at the time as an “assistant” on an official trip to an unnamed country.

    Speaking at this year’s Economist Pride Event, Pride and Prejudice, the world’s only and first openly gay world leader, Xavier Bettel, explained how it was suggested, by another country’s government officials, that his boyfriend, now husband, should be described as an assistant rather than his partner. Mr Bettel was on an official political visit to the unnamed country, although he wasn’t Prime Minister at the time.

    Mr Bettel was on an official political visit to the unnamed country, although he wasn’t Prime Minister at the time.

    Speaking about the incident, he said,

    “I was an MP and had a meeting in the country and my partner, he is my husband now, but was my partner at the time, was joining me, I wrote on the paper, a form, that I would be joined by my partner.

    “They asked me, ‘Are you sure?’, and I said ‘Yes, I’m sure!’.

    “They said, ‘can’t you write that he’s your assistant and not your partner, so he’s your political assistant’, I said, ‘I prefer the reputation to be gay than have sexual relaitons with all my staff!’”

    The Luxembourg Prime Minister also said that he was sometimes invited for official visits to other countries, only to be told that it would be too dangerous to come because of his sexuality. One such country’s officials asked that he not to mention the fact that he was gay, to which Xavier said he would purposely bring up and speak out about homosexuality. The invitation was swiftly removed.

     

     

     

     

  • Gay men “round up” in Chechnya, three reportedly killed

    More than 100 men, suspected of being gay, have been allegedly rounded up and subjected to torture in Chechnya.

     

    According to a Russian newspaper, Novaya Gazeta, dozens of men, suspected of being gay, have disappeared in the Muslim-majority Russian Republic of Chechnya. Three have reportedly been murdered.

    Meanwhile, the spokesperson for Chechnya’s leader Ramzan Kadyrov, said, that the report was “lies and disinformation” and claimed that gay people did not “exist in the republic”. The report was even dismissed as a sick April Fool’s joke, by the region’s interior ministry.

    The Republic is known for being very conservative and has a Sunni Muslim majority population. LGBT people who come out are often shunned by their families. Chechnya is formally part of Russia, but functions ostensibly, as an independent state, taking many of Russia’s laws as its own, including Russia’s anti-gay propaganda law, which it passed in 2013.

    Amongst the missing are two television reporters and at least one religious leader.

    The men had been detained in “connection with their nontraditional sexual orientation, or suspicion of such,” Novaya Gazeta reported.

    According to The Independent Tatyana Lokshina of the Human Rights Watch in Moscow said,

    “It’s a vicious attack against LGBT people. It’s happened for several weeks under order of leadership,”

    She revealed that many of the men had been tortured and humiliated. She said that there had been reports that three had been killed.

     

     

  • Gilbert Baker had the vision to unite LGBT people all over the world

    Tributes have poured in from all over the world since the death of Gilbert Baker, the creator of the iconic LGBT rainbow flag.

    JGY_9224

    The creator of the iconic rainbow flag, Gilbert Baker died at the age of 65, his death was announced on Twitter last night.

    The rainbow flag was first seen in 1978 in San Francisco and originally had eight colours to it, to reflect the diversity of the LGBT community. Today the flag has six stripes, red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple. Baker referred to this version of the flag as the “commercial version” because it was too expensive to include the hot pink colour in mass production.

    Michael Salter-Church, Co-Chair Pride in London commenting on the death of Gilbert Baker, artist and LGBT activist who designed the rainbow flag in 1978, said,

    “Gilbert Baker had the vision and foresight to unite LGBT people all over the world with the now iconic rainbow flag. As a worldwide movement, LGBT people are connected, strengthened and celebrated through this symbol of diversity and colour.

    “We are honoured that Gilbert personally made the giant rainbow flag enjoyed by millions of spectators at Pride in London over the past decade. We will march with an extra beat in our heart at this year’s Pride in London on Saturday 8 July eternally grateful and ever more determined.”

  • Walking Dead actor comes out as gay

    Walking Dead actor, Daniel Newman has come out as gay in an emotional video.

    TV star Daniel Newman has uploaded a video to YouTube coming out as gay to his fans. The Walking Dead actor said that he now realised that it was important to be “visible” in this day and age.

    The video has been watched by over 23,000 in just one day.