Around the world gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people face discrimination and violence because of who they love, how they look, or who they are. Seventy six (76) countries prosecute people on the grounds of their sexual orientation and seven countries punish homosexuality with the death penalty. Illegality makes LGBT people invisible, subjecting them to human rights abuses including torture, killing and executions, arrests under unjust laws, discrimination in health care, jobs and housing, domestic violence, and denial of family rights and recognition.
From Colombia to Kuwait, police harass transgender people under laws that punish "causing public scandal" or "wearing the clothes of the opposite sex." Lesbian and bisexual women, in many countries, face discrimination under the law, forced marriages, and horrific violence from parents or spouses.
But in all these places, often at great personal risk, more and more people are rising to defend their rights as LGBT people.
Latest News
A new report by Free & Equal argues that decriminalisation must be at the heart of international efforts to secure LGBT rights.
Inspiration
In Nepal, Sunil Pant’s work to defend the health and sexual rights of men who have sex with men, and metis, a Nepali term for transgender people has gone from strength to strength.
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