Uganda, already one of the world’s harshest anti-gay regimes, is introducing a new bill which would impose up to 10 years in prison for simply identifying as LGBTQ. In 2023 the Ugandan president, Yoweri Museveni, signed into law the “Anti-Homosexuality Act” which brings the death penalty to anyone involved in “aggravated homosexuality”. Prior to that, […]
Investigative reporter Michael Tracey looks at the anti-trafficking industry. In the wake of the moral panic and conspiracy theories surrounding the late financier Jeffrey Epstein, about whom much still remains unknown, politicians on both the right and left as well as NGOs have exploited the ever-expanding concept of “sex trafficking” to characterize virtually all commercial […]
Despite the Netherlands electing its first openly gay prime minister (and its youngest yet) and the Church of Norway providing an apology for the harm and pain its caused LGBTQ+ folks in its history, not all of Europe is on the same page when it comes to protecting LGBTQ+ rights and freedoms. In late September […]
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is likely to introduce a new policy on trans athletes after its director of health, medicine, and science, Dr. Jane Thornton, gave a “science-based review” to its members showing permanent physical advantages to being born male. Thornton, a former Canadian rower, has referenced the use of SRY cheek-swab gene test […]
Michigan state Rep. Josh Schriver (R) introduced a bill, the Anticorruption of Public Morals Act, that proposes banning pornography and depictions of transgender people, real or imagined, under very broad terms. This pushes criminal penalties, heavy fines, possible sexual-offence charges. Critics argue that the bill is unconstitutional and say it conflates trans existence with obscenity […]
Sexual offense laws require anyone who is convicted of a sexual offense to be put on a registry once the individual has served out their sentence. Public registration and restrictions extended beyond an individual’s sentence are punitive and put the registrant and their families at risk. A 71-year old man who was on California’s online […]
Since Pride Month in June, the New York City Police Department has cracked down on “cruising” (public sex) in Penn Station using gay Hookup apps like Sniffies. Some queer community members are alarmed and argue such crack downs are unethical and unjustly targeting of LGBTQ+ people. Immigrant justice advocates are also concerned because these arrests […]
In a defamation action brought by a man with a decades-old conviction for statutory rape involving a consensual relationship with a 15-year old while he was in his 20s, a federal court ruled against him, finding that it is “substantially true” to call such an individual a “pedophile” even though nothing in his background or […]
Texas has passed the so-called Texas Women’s Privacy Act, S.B. 8 which prohibits transgender people from using bathrooms that align with their gender identity in schools and government buildings. This bill also bans women’s violence shelters from providing services to anyone not assigned female at birth unless they are younger than 17 and a child […]
If you’re interested in sexual representations within gaming platforms then you’ll want to check out this juicy event: “Sex, Money, and Censorship: Battles Over the Deplatforming of Sexual Expression in Games”, a panel discussion with researchers, advocates, and designers. The panel is sponsored by the Canadian Game Studies Association and co-hosted by the Institute for Research […]
