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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
Watsamon Tri-yasakda who prefers to be called June is a 25-year-old freelance photographer who lives in Bangkok, Thailand. She graduated two years ago and her photo projects include event coverage as well as documentary photography and this year focused on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) stories. June photographed several major LGBT pride parades in Asia and recently covered “The One: Miss Teen Beauty Queen 2015” -a transgender teen beauty pageant in Thailand…. Read More
Meet Pema Doji, a tour guide and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) activist from Bhutan, which is perched on the Eastern edge of the Himalayan mountains. Pema describes himself as an introvert who’s idea of a perfect day is staying home, sipping a cup of tea and reading a really good book. He says he is socially awkward because of the bullying and discrimination that he experienced while growing up…. Read More
“Out in Japan” is an ambitious photography project which aims to take photographs of 10 000 lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in Japan by 2020, when Tokyo will garner global attention as the host of the Olympic Games. The photographer, Leslie Kee from Singapore is directing the project, which is sponsored by the non-profit, Good Aging Yells. Gon Matsunaka, the founder of Good Aging Yells says “LGBT people in Japan… Read More
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