The number of countries where consensual same-sex sexual relations are illegal has risen to 66 following the adoption of a new anti-LGBTQ law in Niger in June 2026, marking a reversal after years of gradual global decriminalisation. Specialist on the subject is the blog 76 Crimes. When Colin Stewart started that project, the list contained…
Tag: Kazakhstan
Experiencing Expo 2025 Osaka Kansai Japan
Autumn 2025. We – Sam and Danny, Michel and Wille, and Timothy – are travelling to Japan for a quite classic tour of the Land of the Rising Sun. We are flying separately as we used miles. On the planning: Tokyo, Kanazawa, Shirakawa, Osaka, and Expo 2025, Hiroshima, Himeji, Miyajima, Kyoto, Nara, Nagoya, Hakone, and…
Belarus adopts sweeping anti-gay information law, joining global crackdown on queer rights, criminalises “promotion” of homosexuality, gender transition, and childlessness
Belarus has adopted a controversial law banning the “propaganda” of consensual same-sex relationships, gender reassignment, and voluntary childlessness, aligning itself with a growing number of nations that criminalise discussions and positive portrayals of LGBTQIA+ identities.
BELGIUM | Safer in theory, harsher in reality: polarisation and violence mark 2025 for LGBTQIA+ people
Belgium remains one of Europe’s front-runners when it comes to legal protection for LGBTQIA+ people. Yet 2025 exposed a widening gap between progressive legislation and everyday reality, one can read in ILGA-Europe‘s Annual Review. Civil society organisations report a continued rise in homophobic and transphobic violence, declining acceptance among young people, and growing polarisation in…
INDIA | Skyscanner sees rise of ‘shared experiences’ as travel trend
In its ‘Travel Trends 2025 Report‘, Skyscanner sees collective travel experiences as the trend of 2025 (and beyond?). It also sees people from India travelling more.
SHOPPING IN SEOUL | Myeongdong – Lotte Young Plaza – Avenuel – Lotte Department Store
Autumn 2024. Ten years after my first trip to Seoul in 2014, I am returning to the Republic of Korea, better known as South Korea. Not solo this time, but with Oriol, who has never been to Korea. On the itinerary: flying with Qatar Airways to Incheon via Doha, the capital Seoul, the historic city…
ILGA-EUROPE | New era of coordinated attacks on foundations of Fundamental Rights, as EU bins Equal Treatment Directive
A major report published today, 18 February 2025, identifies how LGBTQIA+ people are being weaponized to erode the foundations of freedom and democracy across Europe. The report describes the changes in 2024.
ILGA-EUROPE | Alarming surge in transphobic speech across Europe sparks concern for June 2024 EU elections
Ahead of the elections throughout the European Union coming June, a new ILGA-Europe report shows a stark rise in anti-LGBTQIA+, and in particular, transphobic statements from politicians across Europe.
ILGA-EUROPE | 2022 deadliest rise in homophobic and transphobic violence in over a decade
Twelve years into annually reporting on the human rights situation of LGBTQIA+ people, Europe’s leading LGBTQIA+ equality organisation finds that pervasive hate speech across the region has led to life or death consequences.
Political and governmental homophobia and transphobia in Europe not necessarily backed by public opinion
A report from ILGA-Europe, the leading LGBTQI organisation in Europe and Central Asia finds that amid a rise in official anti-LGBTI rhetoric fuelling a wave of hate crime in every country in Europe, there is a growing institutional resolve to tackle hatred and exclusion.