(Left to right) LGBTQ+ activists in Spain celebrated the legalisation of Gay marriage in 2005 (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0). A transgender woman represents her home at a Pride festival in Rome (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0). A couple advocates for marriage equality in Vietnam by holding a symbolic wedding in 2015 (screenshot from YouTube). A masked equality march in Krakow in 2020 (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0). A gay activist in Uganda walks with his partner (Used with permission). Image composed in Canva by Sydney Allen.
Since Global Voices’ inauguration in 2005, we have offered a platform for people whose voices have been marginalized within their societies and in the larger global media landscape, including thousands of testimonies, opinion pieces, and news stories about gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people and others who didn’t fit into the gender or sexuality binary (LGBTQ+ people) and their allies.
When GV was first formed, the world was a very different place for the LGBTQ+ community.
In 2005, 73 countries still criminalized homosexuality, down to 64 today. Only two countries (Belgium and the Netherlands) had legalized same-sex marriage nationwide prior to 2005, with Canada and Spain bringing the total up to four that same year. Today, same-sex marriages can be performed and are legally recognized in 38 countries — encompassing about 20 percent of the global population.
In the early 2000s, LGBTQ+ people were still fighting widespread social stigma and, in many countries, faced violence and oppression. By 2005, the fight against HIV/AIDS was “the highest priority in the global agenda,” according to the International Monetary Fund, and billions of dollars were being put toward containing AIDS outbreaks. In Africa, a massive AIDS treatment program had been started in 2002, and three years later, the program was expanding throughout the continent and saving millions of lives. In 2006, South Africa became the first country on the continent to legalize same sex marriage, the fifth worldwide to do so. Today, it remains the only place in Africa where same-sex couples can wed.
In 2007, Nepal’s government officially recognized a third gender, marking a historic move toward gender inclusivity. This was also a major decolonial win, considering much of the stigma against queer people is rooted in prejudice brought by Western Christian colonizers. This is true for many former colonial states — many of which have rich traditions of multiple genders and sexual constructs.
In 2010, Argentina became the first country in Latin America to legalize same sex marriage. Since then, many other countries in Latin America have been facing an uphill battle for marriage equality and safety for transgender and gender diverse individuals.
Between 2015 and 2018, several Caribbean nations, starting with Jamaica, held Pride celebrations for the first time ever; a significant move, considering that many of these territories still have anti-gay legislation.
In 2020, much of the world celebrated “pride inside” as the COVID-19 pandemic forced billions into their homes, led to the cancellation of over 220 PRIDE celebrations, and uprooted queer communities around the world. The United Nations found that LGBTQ+ people were uniquely vulnerable during this time, as many lost their jobs and were forced into unsafe housing or living situations, often forced to hide their identity due to social or familial pressure.
Unfortunately, many regimes used the tumult of the COVID-19 pandemic to consolidate power and drag back LGBTQ+ rights and freedoms by removing protections, banning or violently cracking down against LGBTQ+ events and clubs, or censoring online queer spaces.
In addition to local-centered news stories about the fight for LGBTQ+ rights, GV has also featured pieces talking about the realities of being gay around the world, such as how men circumvent internet blocks to use Grindr in Russia, queer slang in Turkey, safe spaces for LGBTQ+ people in ultra-traditional Japan, the ongoing battle to get colonial-era legislation that criminalises same-sex acts in the Caribbean off the law books, and more.
