Amicus curiae briefs from interested outside parties—the Latin words mean “friends of the court”—inform appellate judges about what’s at stake in a case. But they also serve another, more subtle purpose, working as a public relations tool for corporations.
US: Multi-trillion dollar investors tell North Carolina: Ditch ‘hate-filled’ HB2
Digital Pride: The first online, global Pride festival
The LGBTI Pride movement is going fully online for the first time with a new global event – Digital Pride.
Created by Gay Star News, the Digital Pride festival was the first Pride anyone, anywhere in the world can join in – all they need is a smartphone, computer or tablet.
Live-streamed video discussions on topics ranging from identity and isolation to international LGBTI rights. Celebrities, politicians, activists and YouTube stars will be joining in with video messages and the world’s leading social media channels will help amplify the message of LGBTI love.
Scott Nunn, Gay Star News director, said: ‘For a lot of people going to a Pride is not an option. They could risk their lives by trying to be open and proud about who they are. ‘The LGBTI community connects digitally more than any other way and we have used our power online to accelerate change around the world. Read more and check out the discussions via Gay Star News
Australia: LGBT youths are turning to Facebook to find a safe place to live
Increasingly, LGBT youth are turning to “Queer Housing” groups on Facebook to find housemates they trust will be accepting. The groups have cropped up across Australia’s biggest cities and beyond – Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide, Canberra, Albury-Wodonga.
Admins say they fill a crucial gap between underfunded emergency service providers and generic house-hunting websites, where LGBT people might end up with people who seem friendly but don’t accept their sexuality or gender.
Adelaide woman Shaylee Leach started the Queer Housing Adelaide group after experiencing “secondary homelessness” – bouncing between friends without a stable roof over her head. The higher rates of mental illness and unemployment experienced by LGBT people can make house hunting difficult. Read more via Buzzfeed
Spain: 'Imagine Madrid without gays' metro advert sparks row
Madrid locals have been criticizing a poster in the city's metro which asks the public to imagine the city without gay people. The poster, which features shots of the empty streets of the Spanish capital, features the slogan: "Imagine Madrid without gays".
Rather than the "imagine Madrid without gays" (wouldn’t it be great) as many people have inferred the poster is actually trying to say imagine how terrible Madrid would be without its gay population. The message appears to be a little too subtle, however, and the public have reacted strongly.
"I understand the main goal of the add is to attract attention but this has been done in such an ambiguous way that any homophobic person would feel good about it - 'Let the gays go far away this would be a calmer and nicer city without them," Rion Blake, who tweeted about the advert said. Read more via the Local
16 ‘Pro-LGBT’ businesses that operate in countries with poor human rights records
US: Students denied access to LGBT resource websites
The Sioux Falls School District’s internet filter carries an anti-LGBT bias, students say. Students are barred from accessing LGBT resource sites such as “It Gets Better” and “GLADD” on district devices according to Roosevelt High School senior and former city council candidate Briggs Warren.
Students who try to reach these sites are met with a large exclamation point under bold red letters reading, “access denied.” At the same time, conservative sites such as the Family Resource Council and Focus on the Family are accessible, meaning that students are able to reach sites projecting negative views of homosexuality but not those with positive views.
LGBT youth are four times more likely to attempt suicide than their straight peers, according to The Trevor Project, a suicide hotline specific to gay and questioning youth. This makes the blocked sites all the more troubling, according to ACLU executive director Heather Smith.
“Schools that block these resources, intentionally or otherwise, are sending a message that being gay, bisexual or transgender is wrong or shameful,” Smith said in a statement. Read more via USA Today
UK: Government updates USA travel advisory to warn LGBT people
The UK government has updated its travel advice for the United States – to warn people gay people about new anti-LGBT laws. The Foreign Office updated its guidance this week in the wake of laws passed in North Carolina and Mississippi to permit discrimination based on religious belief.
The new travel advice warns: “Laws vary from state to state. When you are physically present in a state, even temporarily, you are subject to that state’s laws.
“The US is an extremely diverse society and attitudes towards LGBT people differ hugely across the country. LGBT travelers may be affected by legislation passed recently in the states of North Carolina and Mississippi. Before traveling please read our general travel advice for the LGBT community. You can find more detail on LGBT issues in the US on the website of the Human Rights Campaign.” Read more via Pink News
South Africa: An African first – LGBT business network to be launched
In a major boost for South African LGBT businesses and entrepreneurs, an agreement to start an LGBT business network has been struck with the US National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC). Headed by The Other Foundation, a task team has been set up to begin the process of establishing the network – an African first. It will promote, empower and give a voice to LGBT businesses, advocate for LGBT supplier diversity and inclusion among corporates and provide networking opportunities for its members.
Speaking at the event, openly gay MP Zakhele Mbhele (DA) commented that many of the issues facing the LGBT community, including the heightened vulnerability of black lesbian women in particular, could be directly linked to the country’s socio-economic inequalities. He said that the economic development of all South Africans is vital, adding that, “We have to get the basis of this country fixed to tackle these manifestations of homophobia”.
Xhanti Payi, a trustee of The Other Foundation, told the audience that prejudice and discrimination has often kept LGBT people out of work in South Africa; affecting their ability to make a living: "We need to create spaces where people can create their own businesses and succeed,” he said, describing the founding of the network as “a very important initiative”. Read more via Mamba Online
Australia: Gay CEOs unmoved by church pressure on marriage equality
Fairfax Media reported that the Archdiocese contacted Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce and SBS chief executive Michael Ebeid, urging them to reconsider their public endorsement of same-sex marriage.
Both companies were among hundreds of Australian corporations to pledge their support for the Australian Marriage Equality campaign last year, and both chief executives addressed a high-profile breakfast hosted by the AME in May.
Shortly after the AME campaign was launched, the Archdiocese addressed letters to many of the organisations involved, including Qantas, SBS, Telstra, the Football Federation of Australia and law firm Maurice Blackburn.
"I wonder whether you have questioned whether it is the role of a corporation such as yours to be participating in such an important matter that impacts all of Australian society now and into the future," wrote Sydney Archdiocese business manager Michael Digges.
South Africa: Tourism Minister Derek Hanekom gives keynote at the annual International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association global convention
The 33rd Annual Global Convention of the International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA) is the first business conference of its kind to be held on the African continent. Excerpt from the keynote:
...Perhaps we are now better described as a “Kaleidoscope Nation” – where things are constantly changing and shifting, and sometimes even colliding. But the beauty is all still there. The different colours are still wondrous. The shape and form of our nation shifts continuously, but it is up to us to define the dream, and to shape it.
I have no doubt that our shared dream is of a world where you can love who you choose to love, without fear or embarrassment; where the colour of your skin does not matter; where you can worship in your way, or not worship, if that is your choice. A world where our sameness is more important than our differentness – where you can be you and I can be me and we care for each other.
We became the first country in the world to include a sexual orientation protection clause in our Constitution to ensure the rights of all people. Consequently, LGBT people took pride of place as full and equal members of our society. It filled many of us with immense pride, but it was a hard battle and there was considerable opposition to it from some quarters. Read more via eTN Global Travel Industry News
Philippines: Why call centers might be the most radical workplaces
You may not realize it, but the person on the other side of your customer service phone call might be transgender. On calls, Filipino workers can safely adopt women’s voices, names, and clothing, all while earning a decent wage. But their success at work doesn’t protect them from the discrimination they face outside of it.
In the Philippines, call centers have become havens for gender-nonconforming people, a place where they can experiment with their gender presentation and identity. Since most of the labor takes place over the phone, employees assigned male at birth may adopt traditionally feminine names, take on a “female voice,” or wear women’s clothing while talking to customers, a freedom that would be impossible in most other industries in the country.
For decades, beauty parlors were a rare refuge where gender-variant Filipinas could openly work, at the expense of low wages. But today “call centers are the new beauty parlor,” said Naomi Fontanos, the head of a major Philippine transgender organization and herself a former call center worker. Read more via Buzzfeed