#20GayTeen: 10 Big International LGBTQ News Stories This Year
This year's international news items for the LGBTQ community stretch across the globe and include key moments of both progress and setback. Here are some of the biggest stories that took place abroad in 2018.
Historic LGBTQ Representation at the Olympics
The 2018 Winter Olympics had a historic number of LGBTQ athletes, with a total of 15. Many of them won medals, including American figure skater Adam Rippon, who won a bronze, and also made headlines for criticizing Vice President Mike Pence as the choice to lead the U.S. delegation and for skipping the traditional White House visit.
Canadian pair skater Eric Randford became the first openly gay athlete to win a gold medal in the Winter Olympics. Randford and skating partner Meagan Duhamel also became the first team to complete a quadruple throw jump at any Winter Olympic competition when she landed their throw quadruple Salchow.
Openly bisexual speed skater Ireen Wüst, from the Netherlands, also medaled, winning gold.
Marriage Equality Wins in Costa Rica
This year's presidential election in Costa Rica saw the center-left's Alvarado Quesada handily defeated conservative Alvarado Munoz. Quesada ran in part on promising to allow same-sex marriage.
Then, this summer, the country's Supreme Court ruled the country's same-sex marriage ban was unconstitutional and discriminatory, giving legislators a time limit of 18 months to change current law.
Sydney Gay Pride Celebrates Same-Sex Marriage
This year's Sydney Pride Parade was particularly notable, coming on the heels of the nation legalizing marriage equality. It was also the 40th anniversary of the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. And if that wasn't enough, Cher headlined the event.
This year’s Mardi Gras honored the 78ers, a group of people involved in the original protest, which took place on June 24, 1978 as a peaceful march for gay rights that sparked the annual parade.
Costa Rica Allows Trans People to Change Name, Gender on Documents
In another win for the LGBTQ community in Costa Rica, the country's high court ruled in favor of transgender people looking to change the name and gender marker on official documents to match their identity.
While transgender people have been able to change their legal name on documentation since 2013, it required a judicial order and changing the actual gender was not allowed.
U.K. Prime Minister Apologizes for Colonial-Era Anti-LGBTQ Laws
U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May apologized for colonial-era anti-LGBTQ laws that criminalized homosexuality, which is still in place in some nations.
"As the United Kingdom’s prime minister, I deeply regret both the fact that such laws were introduced and the legacy of discrimination, violence, and death that persists today," May said at a Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in May.
Turkish Police Attack Istanbul Pride
In July, Turkish police attacked the Istanbul Pride march after around 1,000 demonstrators ignored a ban and gathered to wave rainbow flags and signs calling for acceptance and rights for the community. It was the fourth consecutive year that the demonstration had been banned, with the authorities citing safety concerns for the decision.
"The governor cited the excuse of security in its decision to ban the march and in one word, this is comical. Our marches went on peacefully without being banned for 13 years," organizers said in a statement.
Hong Kong Rules in Favor of Spousal Visas for Same-Sex Couples
Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal ruled in favor of spousal visas for same-sex couples, a decision activists hope will accelerate LGBTQ equality in city. On Wednesday, justices ruled unanimously that a foreign lesbian couple—identified in court papers only as QT and SS—were entitled to spousal visas, overturning a previous ruling that would have prevented the pair from remaining in Hong Kong for work.
Marriage Equality Upheld in Bermuda
Bermuda’s highest court ruled right of same-sex couples to marry in the British island territory. The judges ruled that banning same-sex couples from wedding in Bermuda was unconstitutional. The Bermudan Gov. John Rankin then signed a law rescinding equal marriage and replacing it with domestic partnerships. After back-and-forth, the Bermudan Court of Appeals ruled against government officials and in favor of marriage equality advocates.
Taiwan Votes Against Marriage Equality
In November, voters in Taiwan rejected the legalization of marriage equality in a series of ballot referenda. The country's high court ruled in favor of marriage equality last year, but it was left to Taiwan’s legislature to amend the nation’s civil code or pass a law allowing for marriage equality. Had the vote gone the other way, Taiwan would have been the first place in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage.
Hundreds Flee Anti-LGBTQ Crackdown in Tanzania
Hundreds are feeling Tanzania after the government there instituted a crackdown against the LGBTQ community.
The governor of the country’s economic capital, Dar es Salaam, Paul Makonda, encouraged citizens to turn in those they knew to be, or suspected to be, gay, and said officials would scour social media posts to find LGBTQ people and arrest them. While the federal government distanced itself from the proclamation, arrests were reported and the fear spread throughout the region, causing the mass fleeing.