Swede draws 'tactile' sex book for blind people

An image of woman wearing a strap on and a picture of five people having sex with each other are among the scenes depicted in a Swedish book designed to offer stimulation for blind and visually impaired people. 

The publication includes both braille text and tactile illustrations of sexual encounters, which readers can trace with their fingertips. Created by Swedish artist Nina Linde, 33, it features pictures of gay and lesbian sex acts as well as those between men and women.
 
"The book is about sexual stimulation, I don’t think 'porn' is the right word. And sexual stimulation is for everyone," she told The Local. The artist said she had come up with the idea for the publication after visiting the Braille Library in Stockholm.
 
"I discovered that there is no porn or dirty stuff at all for the visually impaired. Everyone needs some sexual stimulation." Read more

UN: President of Zimbabwe tells United Nations “We are not gays”

Robert Mugabe, the 91-year-old leader of Zimbabwe, deviated slightly from his prepared remarks during his address to the United Nations General Assembly, to do something that he does frequently: slur against homosexuality. "We are not gays," he shouted. And it's worse than it sounds.

Mugabe made the comment in the course of a point about "double standards," which is usually dictator code for "I'm tired of Western countries calling out my human rights abuses," and about "new rights," which is usually code for "I long for the days when discrimination against certain groups was considered acceptable."   Read More via Vox 

UN: Saudi Arabia insists UN keeps LGBT rights out of its development goals

Saudi Arabia is insisting the UN removes gay rights from the organisation’s Global Goals/Sustainable Development Goals, saying it is “counter to Islamic law”. The protest comes from the Saudi Foreign Minister, Adel Al-Jubeir, who told the UN General Assembly that “mentioning sex in the text, to us, means exactly male and female. Mentioning family means consisting of a married man and woman,” AP reported.

He stated Saudi Arabia has the right not to follow any agenda that runs “counter to Islamic law”. Though the SDGs set a series of “ambitious targets” for UN member states, related to poverty, equality and ending climate change, overt references to LGBT equality were removed from the final agreement.  Read More via Independent 

United Nations entities call on States to act urgently to end violence and discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex adults, adolescents and children.

In an unprecedented joint initiative, 12 UN agencies issued a powerful joint call to action on ending violence and discrimination against LGBTI adults, adolescents and children.  

“This is the first time that so many members of the UN family have joined forces in defence of the basic rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people,” said the UN Human Rights Office’s Chief of Global Issues, Charles Radcliffe. Read more via the UN

excerpt: All people have an equal right to live free from violence, persecution, discrimination and stigma. International human rights law establishes legal obligations on States to ensure that every person, without distinction, can enjoy these rights. While welcoming increasing efforts in many countries to protect the rights of LGBTI people, we remain seriously concerned that around the world, millions of LGBTI individuals, those perceived as LGBTI and their families face widespread human rights violations. This is cause for alarm – and action. Read the full statement 

Canada: Two more communities mourn trans deaths by suicide

September 26, I made a memorial sign containing the names and photos of the 16 trans people reported to have died by suicide so far in 2015; and I took the sign with me to the Second Annual Journey to Hope Walk for Suicide Awareness and Prevention. Della Fergusen, organizer of the event, invited me to join her on stage during the opening ceremonies to read all of their names aloud to the gathered crowd. It was a sobering experience that will stick with me for the rest of my life, as I recall how close I too have come to my own death over the years.

Less than 48-hours later I learned of not one, but two more reported suicides of trans people occurring on September 28, 2015. In Toronto, Ontario, Canada, friends and peers of 29-year-old Ryley Courchene have taken to social media to talk about her passing and comfort one another through their grief. There has yet to be any significant coverage of her passing through online news sites or in any Canadian publications.

Also on the 28th, 16-year-old trans activist, youth leader, and accomplished writer, Skylar Lee,  Wisconsin, scheduled a Tumblr blog post to go live which contained his suicide note. In it, he discussed his longtime struggles with depression and mental health issues, and requested of mourners: “Don’t turn my name into a hashtag”.  Read More via Planet Transgender

Argentina: Iconic trans activist stabbed to death in BA

Trans activist Diana Sacayán — who in 2012 received from President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner a DNI card with her female identity — was found dead with multiple stab wounds yesterday in her apartment in the City neighbourhood of Flores.

Sources from the Attorney General’s Office confirmed that the high-ranking member of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) was murdered. The same source confirmed that Sacayán’s body was found in a pool of blood with her hands and feet tied with rope. 

The building superintendent noticed that the door to her flat on the 13th floor was open. When he entered, he witnesses traces of violence everywhere. Investigators said that the apartment’s door was broken from the inside, meaning that Sacayán likely knew the perpetrator and allowed the murderer to come inside and locked the door, but he was not able to find the key to open the door.  Read More via Buenos Aires Herald 

Morocco takes action against anti-gay attack

Morocco has arrested three people suspected of beating up a man presumed to be homosexual and attempting to blackmail his family with a video. "A suspect was arrested for assaulting a young man, who was undressed, for his assumed homosexuality, and another two were arrested for trying to blackmail the victim's family with a video," Casablanca police said.

Online newspapers posted footage showing individuals beating a young man wearing women's underwear, before undressing him completely while threatening to kill him. From the video, police managed to identify the 17 year old victim. Read More via Your Middle East

Jamaica: Cops save gay man from angry mob

An openly gay man was rescued by police after an angry mob cornered him inside a bank parking lot in Half Way Tree.

Loop News arrived on the scene just in time to see police keeping the crowd at bay. The man said that he was walking with three friends when the mob descended on them and they ran in different directions. He ran into a popular bank's parking lot where a policeman arrived quickly and called for backup. 

"I am gay and they wanted to beat me because I am gay. But I am comfortable with who I am," added the man.

Members of the crowd were unsympathetic towards the man. "Ah lucky him lucky, you saved his life," a man told the cop who arrived first on the scene. Ironically, some members of the crowd praised the policeman for his efforts.  Read More via Loop Jamaica

Belgrade: Lesbians cruelly attacked in Café

After a book-reading public event, Dragoslava Barzut, a lesbian writer and feminist activist went the nearest café with three other lesbian friends from the lesbian football team. They were relaxed & singing in the small cafe with live music, filled with around 40 people altogether. After midnight men came in and started to beat them, screaming and cursing ‘Lesbians Lesbians!’.

Barzut noted a ‘thin and small’ waitress helped the women escape by intervening in the attack and locking the women in a bathroom until the police arrived. 

Representatives from the Lawyers' Committee for Human Rights said they will file the case as a hate crime. Read More via Labris 

UK: Figures reveal a 'shocking' rise in homophobic hate crimes

The number of homophobic attacks reported to police leapt by nearly a quarter last year, Home Office figures have revealed.

Forces in England and Wales recorded 5,597 hate crimes against gays and lesbians in 2014-15, a rise of 22 per cent on the previous 12 months. The spike in violence and abuse based on victims’ sexual orientation emerged in statistics revealing a continued rise in offences which are classified as “hate crimes”. 

Although some of the increase could be explained by victims being more willing to come forward, David Cameron described the latest figures as unacceptable and said more needed to be done to fight hate crime. Read More via the Independent