Search result for " lgbt "

Openly LGBTI and in Office: A Historic Election for Guatemala

Posted by Alana Marsili on Friday, November 20th 2015

USAID elections projects promote transgender rights with lessons learned from the region. / NDI

Guatemalans are taking action to include the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) community in election processes. On Sept. 6, they elected the first openly LGBTI congressperson into office, a turning point in Guatemalan inclusion and civil rights.

Read the rest of this entry »

Ensuring LGBTI People Have Right to Vote in Guatemala

Posted by Paola Ramos and Aden Tedla on Monday, May 18th 2015

In January, two researchers traveled to Guatemala to identify barriers the trans community faces in being able to participate in elections. / Aden Tedla

This year, Guatemala will be electing a new president. USAID is working to make sure lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons are empowered with the right to participate and vote.

Read the rest of this entry »

Teaching Tolerance: A Lesson for Kosovo’s Educators in LGBT Awareness

Posted by Bridget Nurre on Wednesday, December 10th 2014

The municipality of Dragash/Dragaš in southern Kosovo is home to a diverse community of 33,590 people, including 12,000 members of the Bosniak and Gorani minority communities. Strong Muslim faith unites this community, which is an example of ethnic tolerance for the country. / USAID

USAID-sponsored LGBT sensitivity training for school principals “tickles” a few minds and opens a dialogue in Kosovo’s most traditional communities about the school’s role in setting the societal standard for inclusiveness.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Economic Case for LGBT Equality Worldwide

Posted by Claire Lucas on Friday, November 21st 2014

Dr. Claire Lucas, USAID’s senior adviser on partnerships, addresses the audience at the launch of the joint Williams Institute-USAID report on LGBT inclusion and economic development. Seated, left to right: Carla Koppell, chief strategy officer, USAID; M.V. Lee Badgett, report author and research director, Williams Institute; and Brad Sears, executive director, Williams Institute. Photo credit: Matthew Corso/USAID

It has long been suspected that LGBT discrimination stifles innovation, curbs economic growth and locks people into the devastating cycle of extreme poverty. A new report proves it.

Read the rest of this entry »

“Being LGBT” in Asia

Posted by Thomas White on Thursday, November 13th 2014

USAID’s “Being LGBT in Asia” initiative has just released its eighth series of comprehensive country reports. They examine the LGBT experience across Asia, highlighting the various stages of social acceptance, tolerance and challenges that LGBT people experience across the continent.

Read the rest of this entry »

Moving Forward with USAID’s LGBT Vision for Action

Posted by Todd Larson on Monday, July 14th 2014

A gay rights activist holds a rainbow flag during a Rainbow Pride rally in Kolkata on July 15, 2012.

While June’s Pride month celebrations have ended, we have many reasons to keep the celebrations going – with release of the USAID LGBT Vision for Action, concretely demonstrating support for the human rights of LGBT persons around the world.

Read the rest of this entry »

New Report Highlights the Hardships and Hard-Won Victories for LGBT People in the Europe and Eurasia Region

Posted by Catherine Cozzarelli, Acting Senior Gender Advisor, PPL/P on Wednesday, February 26th 2014

As the recent winter Olympics in Sochi illustrated all too well, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in Russia face tremendous hurdles in their everyday lives, including openly hostile laws and an extremely difficult working environment for the grassroots organizations that advocate for social change in the face of grave personal risks. The situation in Russia is unfortunately not unique, with LGBT people facing increasing hostility, discriminatory laws, and escalating threats of violence in many countries around the world.

Read the rest of this entry »

LGBT Rights in Jamaica: A Conversation with Maurice Tomlinson

Posted by Regina Jun, Gender Advisor for the Bureau of Latin America and the Caribbean and Maurice Tomlinson, Attorney-at-Law on Tuesday, December 10th 2013

Photo of Maurice Tomlinson. Credit: Maurice Tomlinson.

Regina Jun, Gender Advisor for the Bureau of Latin America and the Caribbean, spoke with Maurice Tomlinson, who is an Attorney-at-Law, law lecturer on sexual rights, and HIV/AIDS advocate.

Read the rest of this entry »