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Chhum Vy, an outreach worker for Men’s Health Cambodia (MHC), lives in Steung Meanchey, a low-income neighborhood in southern Phnom Penh. She has converted her rental house into a makeshift community centre for gay and transgender people who live in the area. To get there you pass through a Buddhist temple compound, then head down narrow streets, just wide enough for a motorbike.
GENEVA/BANGKOK, 16 May 2024—On the International Day to End Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia, IDAHOBIT (commemorated worldwide on 17 May) and ahead of Pride Month in June, UNAIDS is calling on governments everywhere to protect the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) people. Assuring the rights of every person is essential for public health because it enables equitable access to health services.
At his previous factory job, Tom Wang (not his real name) says coworkers gossiped about his sexuality and made fun of him. When he visited a public health facility for an HIV test, the nurse peppered him with questions like “Why do you need it? Have you been sleeping with many partners?”
On April 14th members of the Cook Islands rainbow community assembled at parliament with colourful flags and cautious optimism. It turned out to be the day they’d been working toward for the last twelve years. Parliament removed laws prohibiting consensual sex between men, striking out sections of the Crimes Act that had been on the books since the turn of the 20th century.
BANGKOK, 15 April 2023—UNAIDS applauds today’s decision by Cook Islands lawmakers to remove laws prohibiting consensual sexual acts between men from the Crimes Act. By decriminalising sex between same-sex partners, the Pacific nation joins a global movement toward affirming the human rights to non-discrimination and privacy.
This isn’t your mother’s clinic.
GENEVA/BANGKOK, 22 August 2022—UNAIDS applauds Singapore’s announcement that it will repeal section 377a of the country’s penal code which criminalizes consensual sexual relations between men. The law, which dates back to 1938 when Singapore was under British colonial rule, punishes gay consensual sex by a prison sentence of up to two years.
(The views and opinions expressed in interviews or commentaries are those of the interviewees and contributors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of UNAIDS) UNAIDS #LoveWithoutLabels campaign, which celebrates everyone’s right to choose their sexual identity and partners ends on 31 May. On the last day of the #LoveWithoutLabels campaign, we speak with a Filipino couple, Darren Eleazar Perez and Jeffry Acaba. Darren is a master’s degree student… Read More
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