Latest news with #LGBTQI
Metro
16 hours ago
- Politics
- Metro
Christian group threatens Westminster Council over 'indoctrinating' pride flags
A London council has been threatened with legal action after hanging trans-inclusive Pride flags around Regent Street from this weekend. Group Christian Concern says Westminster Council is 'indoctrinating' visitors to the famous West End location and breaching planning control. The Crown Estate, which owns most of the property on Regent Street, lodged plans in March to hoist hundreds of flags in 20 locations between mid-June and mid-July to support Pride events. But after being permitted by Westminster Council in mid-May, Christian Concern says the council is opening itself up to potential legal action. In recent years, the display has included over 300 LGBTQI+ Progress Pride flags, developed in 2018 by non-binary American artist and designer Daniel Quasar. Based on the iconic rainbow flag from 1978, the redesign celebrates the diversity of the LGBTQ community and calls for a more inclusive society, celebrating trans, black and brown, gender non-binary and intersex community members. But hardline Christians say the flags, which on June 22 will replace Union Jacks currently flying to mark VE Day, create division by excluding more traditional views. Christian Concern has previously made the point to the council that the Cass Review prohibits the indoctrination and confusion of primary school children with trans ideologies. But the group claims: 'The flags do just that, exposing the hundreds of thousands of children who walk up and down Regent Street, including those who visit Hamleys, to a message and symbols which will be unlawful to teach and display in schools.' Last year, Christian Concern launched a petition signed by 31,000 people calling for a similar display to be stopped. Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, said: 'Many people experience these flags as an attack on historic, traditional beliefs about sex and gender. 'They send the message that people holding these views, which are worthy of respect in a democratic society, are not welcome. 'The majority of the public does not know the highly controversial and harmful symbolism presented by the Progress Pride Flag. At the heart of the flag is the trans flag – pink for girls, blue for boys and white for the 'transition' phase. 'This ideology has been discredited by the Cass Review, the closure of the Tavistock, and most recently Supreme Court ruling. When will the Crown estate catch up with the rest of society? 'If the council chooses to proceed with the display, we will have no option but to pursue legal action.' The proposed flags will be hung from supporting wires, making use of existing fixing points which are intended for reuse. In the planning report, Westminster planning officer Shaun Retzback noted that the flags would be hung at 20 locations along the street running from Oxford Circus to Piccadilly from June 22 until July 17. He said: 'Flags are, in principle, an acceptable, colourful addition to Regent Street's buildings and there is a longstanding tradition of such displays. More Trending 'The flags proposed, to be strung on lines across the street, are not harmful to visual amenity for the temporary period sought, neither are they harmful when considered cumulatively with other flags and banners displayed on buildings in the street at present and across the street from time to time.' A Westminster City Council spokesperson told Metro: 'The council supports festivals and celebrations from our different communities across the year. Pride is an annual and established fixture and has been supported by the Council for many years. 'Pride flags are in keeping with a cosmopolitan City that welcomes millions of visitors every year. All public community celebrations have a fixed duration and are both proportionate and fitting. Given similar pronouncements in previous years we await further information about the Christian Legal Centre's legal challenge with interest.' Metro contacted the Crown Estate. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: £20 Pan-Indian feast from a Michelin-starred chef: 10 unmissable Time Out deals MORE: Enjoy the weekend's heat with London's best boat restaurants MORE: 'Swan Whisperer' banned from Hyde Park after residents objected to him kissing the birds
RTÉ News
19 hours ago
- Politics
- RTÉ News
Green Party leader to attend Pride parade in Budapest despite ban
Green Party leader Roderic O'Gorman has said that he will travel to Hungary to attend the Budapest pride parade on 28 June after Hungarian police said they are banning the parade. The march, which would be the city's 30th pride parade festival, is organised in support of the LGBTQI+ community, and had been planned for 28 June. "The police, acting within their authority over public assemblies, prohibit the holding of the assembly at the aforementioned location and time," the police said in a statement published on their website. They added that the decision could be appealed within three days at the country's supreme court. However, Budapest's liberal mayor Gergely Karacsony vowed to hold the march, despite the police ban. "Given that the municipality did not make its announcement within the framework of the law on gatherings, this interdiction has no value," he wrote on his Facebook page. He added: "Budapest city hall will organise the Budapest pride march on June 28 as a city event. Period." Speaking this afternoon, Mr O'Gorman said that the police move is the "most egregious attack" on the LGBTQI+ community seen in decades. "This is a very explicit erosion of the rights of the LGBTI+ community in Hungary. "It's an absolute attempt to silence them by their government. It's a clear breach of human rights. "And that's why it's important that elected reps from all over Europe rally around Hungarians, rally around people in Hungary who see this for what it is and support them at the Budapest parade this year," said Mr O'Gorman. Hungary's parliament, in which Prime Minister Viktor Orban's right-wing Fidesz Party has a big majority, passed legislation in March that created a legal basis for police to ban LGBTQI+ marches, citing the protection of children. Mr Orban's government has a Christian conservative agenda and has been fielding an intensifying campaign against the LGBTQI+ community. It also pushed through constitutional changes in April stipulating that Hungary recognises only two sexes, male and female. Mr Orban previously said that organisers "should not even bother" organising pride in Budapest this year. Mr O'Gorman that the Hungarian government of Mr Orban "has been scapegoating the LGBTI+ community now for many years, and what they've done now is one further escalation".
ABC News
2 days ago
- Politics
- ABC News
Refugee tribunal grants woman residency in New Zealand over Tongan persecution
A Tongan woman has been granted the right to remain in New Zealand after the Refugee Tribunal found she would face persecution in Tonga because of her sexual orientation as a lesbian. She is currently recognised as a refugee due to the danger she may face in her home country. Tonga is among several Pacific countries, where same sex relationships are outlawed and can carry jail time. Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Tonga Leitis Association, the only LGBTQI organisation in Tonga, Joey Joleen Mataele said many families are not open about the sexuality of their children, especially when it comes to lesbians. "Gay and trans communities are so open but when it comes to lesbians it is a delicate issue," Joey said.
The Spinoff
2 days ago
- General
- The Spinoff
New research finds over half of LGBTQI+ flatters experience housing discrimination
New research shows that flatting is a 'site of vulnerability' for queer people, and recommends policy change. 'I was kicked out of a house when coming out as trans to my flatmates and asking they use my preferred name and pronouns.' '[I was] asked to leave a flat when someone suspected I was 'a faggot.'' 'They said they wouldn't be comfortable with a gay couple moving in.' 'An old flatmate's girlfriend was visibly uncomfortable interacting with me… I used to hate it when she came over.' 'My flatmate's boyfriend often made questionable comments about queer people in front of me and she did nothing to stop it'. These are just a few of the 894 survey responses that housing and health researcher Brodie Fraser from the University of Otago has analysed in an academic paper published this morning. The paper, Flatting amongst LGBTQI+ people in Aotearoa New Zealand, finds that over half of the queer flatter participants experienced housing discrimination. Homeowners experienced it too, though at lower levels. Homophobia and transphobia came from flatmates, landlords, property managers, visitors, real estate agents and neighbours. Fraser put out the online survey with 45 questions covering demographics, housing quality, household composition, wellbeing, homelessness, involuntary mobility and discrimination as part of their post-doctoral research in 2022. Where their PHD had focused on the LGBTQI+ communities' experiences of homelessness, Fraser now wanted to consider why queer people are over-represented in homeless statistics. Data from the 2023 census shows that in New Zealand, LGBTQI+ people experience homelessness at higher rates than non-LGBTQI+ people. The census also shows that LGBTQI+ people are more likely to be renting, have lower incomes and live in poorer quality housing than their non-LGBTQI+ counterparts. 'Things are pretty bad,' says Fraser. 'What's going on upstream?' People flat mainly because it's cheaper than renting on their own. In New Zealand and other traditionally home-owning countries, flatting is becoming increasingly common, and the age of flatters is rising. Figures from the 2023 census show that young people are staying at home with family longer, likely due to affordability. However, international research shows that this is often not an option for LGBTQI+ people – family relationship breakdowns, such as parents not accepting queer identities, force people from their homes. This adds another level of precarity, and it's more likely that LGBTQI+ people will find themselves without a home or having to accept substandard conditions – either in the built or social aspects of the home. While flatting, and bad flatting situations, are not unique to LGBTQI+ people, they often have less time, money and options when considering where to live. Where many flatters will have experienced a 'bad' flatmate that leaves dirty dishes or is noisy, this latest research shows LGBTQI+ flatters deal with flatmates who are discriminatory towards their sexual orientation or gender and make them feel unsafe, or even kick them out. The flatters in Fraser's survey worried about housing discrimination and often moved because of a relationship breakdown within their household. Each time they had to look for a new home, they were opened up to potential discrimination from flatmates, landlords and others. There was a high rate of exposure to homelessness: 37.5% of survey respondents had experienced it. Another recurring theme was that people preferred to live with other queer people to avoid potential homophobia or transphobia. This can involve housing hunting through specific avenues. Flatting is a kind of 'wild west', says Fraser. It's often seen as being part of a life stage that young people pass through, though data, particularly from the census, shows that it is increasingly becoming a long-term arrangement for adults, due in part to housing unaffordability. Still, legal and policy frameworks are not targeted at flatting. The Residential Tenancies Act 1986 only covers tenants (who have signed onto the lease) and landlords, not flatmates. Only landlord-tenant disputes are heard by the Tenancy Tribunal. There is a house sharing agreement template, but it 'holds no actual weight,' says Fraser. It means that flatting is 'a site of vulnerability, of discrimination, and you don't have any recourse, you don't have any way to protect yourself and you can end up homeless very, very quickly'. Fraser points to another piece of research, from the UK, on why policy may be missing. It examined parliamentary discussions, particularly around LGBT homelessness, and found that across parties, there's an emphasis on collecting data before action towards policy. The authors argue that the conservative political party can signal progress without risking their conservative supporters. 'Parliamentarians in particular, use lack of data and lack of evidence as a way to say, well, we can't do anything because we don't know anything,' says Fraser. 'It's a way for them to avoid taking responsibility for something that is so clearly an issue.' The findings of the research published today came as no surprise to Fraser, who is seven years deep into studying the broader topic. But that's not to say it's not important to them. 'It is really affirming to get that down and to be able to publish it in an academic way. That puts weight behind what activists are saying, what the community members are saying. Science has shown that this is what is happening. We're not just making it up. Please listen to us.'
Otago Daily Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Otago Daily Times
Australia's rainbow population rising after 'burst of acceptance'
Australians are becoming more comfortable identifying as lesbian, gay or bisexual, and experts are likening it to the sexual revolution of previous decades. Researchers at Charles Darwin University estimated Australia's LGBTQI population doubled between 2012 and 2020, increasing from 3.3 per cent to 5.8 per cent of adults over 15. The data came from the HILDA longitudinal survey of 17,000 Australians with responses from participants who identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual or another sexual identity. The data was collected in 2012, 2016 and 2020. During this time period there was a "burst of acceptance" of sexual minorities in Australia, particularly after the 2017 same-sex marriage vote, lead researcher Fiona Shalley told AAP. "Being a minority sexual identity and engaging in that used to be criminal, but Australia has come a long way," she said. "There was also stigma and discrimination associated with being a sexual minority so a lot of people did not disclose their identity until more recently." If the young adults who participated in the study maintained their sexual minority identities throughout their life, Australia's LGBTQI population could grow by about three percent each year. By the time the next data is updated from 2024, the population size could be about 1.7 million people, Ms Shalley said. "If you think about the sexual revolution of the 1960s and 70s, it was in response to changes in behaviours and social attitudes," she said. "This boom in population could also be in response to changing attitudes around sexual behaviours." While Australia's LGBTQI demographic has been a hidden group with little national data capturing the population, researchers hope to change that. The Australian Bureau of Statistics in 2024 estimated 4.5 per cent - or about one in 20 - Australians aged 16 and over were LGBTI+, based on combined data from multiple household surveys. A new category of sexual orientation and gender will be included in the 2026 census questions for the first time. "We still don't know enough about (the LGBTQI demographic) to understand how the population will grow in the future, but we are certainly noticing them now," Ms Shalley said. "The growing confidence of people identifying as LGB+ is likely influenced by the number of visible positive role models, social media attention, and in our storytelling."
