[International] [Blog/News]
Trans Murder Monitoring Project: 333 cases of reported murders of trans people in the last 2 years
The Trans Murder Monitoring Project (TMM), whose press release last November linked to the results of its research posted on the TGEU website, has now launched its official website, Transrespect versus Transphobia Worldwide (TvT).

[International] [Blog/News]
Inclusive Human Rights Reports Highlight Anti-Trans Abuses Worldwide
NCTE commends the US State Department’s annual human rights reports to Congress for highlighting severe and growing abuses against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people worldwide. The reports, which summarize human rights conditions in every country besides the US, are a critical tool for understanding and addressing the dire threats facing LGBT people in their daily lives in many parts of the world.

[UK]
'Transexual countess' waits on benefit fraud trial verdict
A transexual community worker who allegedly swindled hundreds of thousands of pounds in benefits using two identities is awaiting a verdict in her trial.

[Finland]
Transgender vicar to resign over loss of parishioners' confidence
A loss of confidence among parishioners has caused the transgender Imatra vicar Marja-Sisko Aalto to leave her position.

[Australia]
Australia reverses landmark no-sex ruling
An Australian who made world headlines by being officially declared neuter vowed Thursday not to surrender the "sex not specified" identification document authorities in Sydney now claim they issued in error. The Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages said the certificate was invalid because new legal advice was that the registrar may "only issue a recognized detail certificate or a new birth certificate following a change of sex in either male or female gender."
Brit Declared Genderless After Sex-Change Snafu
Las autoridades australianas dan marcha atrás en el reconocimiento del derecho a no ver especificado el sexo registral

[Malawi]
Malawi church leaders meet on gay rights
Church leaders say they have met in this fiercely conservative southern African nation to "understand the phenomenon" of same sex partners days ahead of a court verdict that could send two gay men to jail for up to 14 years.
Malawi Church Leaders to Condemn Homosexual Behavior

[Malawi]
La pareja de Malawi se enfrentará a un nuevo juicio en abril
Finalmente, el tribunal que ha juzgado a Steven Monjenza y Tiwonge Chimbalanga, la pareja de Malawi detenida a finales de diciembre tras celebrar una boda por el rito tradicional de su país, y que se enfrenta a una posible pena de 14 años de cárcel por homosexualidad y escándalo público, ha decidido que sea un nuevo juicio el que decida la suerte de los jóvenes.

[Iran]
Iranian actor returns to screens after gender reassignment
An Iranian actor has returned to screens as a man after transitioning.
Saman Arastu, who was previously known as Farzaneh, had a strong career as a woman, playing television and film roles.
Now, the 42-year-old has taken advantage of Iran's liberal laws on gender reassignment after years of counselling and has returned to acting.

[India]
An evolution in gender politics: A transsexual contests BBMP elections in Karnataka
Veena S a Dalit and transsexual, who is a part of various social movements fighting for the rights of minorities, sexual minorities, sex workers & women.will now be contesting the BBMP election.
Praja Rajakiya Vedike (PRV), a forum for city-based activists, has nominated two of their candidates for the upcoming BBMP elections: Veena S. from Okalipuram ward and A. Derick Anil from Hebbala ward.
(Photo: Veena S. is a transsexual and Dalit, and wants to bring about a change in society is contesting BBMP elections.)

[India]
Transgenders say they still face ‘harassment’ in city
The Delhi High Court’s judgment decriminalising homosexuality has hardly made any difference to the rate of gay hate crimes in the city, it was revealed at the State Consultation for MSM (Men who have Sex with Men) and Transgenders organised by MANAS Bangla in Science City today.

[New Zealand]
Breach leads to jail term for transgender man
A transgender man will be kept apart from other New Plymouth prison inmates for the length of his six-month prison sentence.
Hina Tutaki, also known as Hendrix Waitere, was sent to jail yesterday after admitting making a break from home detention which was being served at his mother's home.
Tutaki was last year given a sentence of home detention on a raft of mostly fraud-related offences. At the time, the home detention was allowed, mostly because of the tormenting the effeminate man would likely face in prison.

[Canada]
Tanya Bloomfield to run Bluenose Marathon barefooted
Tanya Bloomfield plans to raise money for Halifax's LGBTQ community by ticking off one thing on her bucket list: running a marathon, barefoot. Bloomfield, sponsorship coordinator for Halifax Pride, hopes to raise $10,000 for Safe Harbour Metropolitan Community Church when she runs the Bluenose Marathon this May.
Safe Harbour (3115 Veith Street) is a Christian organization, embracing the "Rainbow Community." Though not religious, Bloomfield, a transgendered woman herself, is impressed by the church's inclusiveness.

[Canada] [Blog/Commentary]
Patent Pending: Transgender vs. Transsexual
What is the difference between a transgender person and a transsexual person, I've been asked recently by two people.
You'd think it would be an easy question to answer. Ask 10 people, and you probably will get 10 different answers. I think a lot of it is personal interpretation. But before I give my opinion, let's see what GLAAD has to say in their Media Reference Guide (link listed under Sites I Like):

[USA] [Blog/Commentary]
Fighting a hate crime bill with hate
You gotta love it: An extremist political group is campaigning against a hate crimes bill with a hateful undercover video that only proves the need for just such a measure. Mass Resistance, a "pro-family action center" in Massachusetts, recently went undercover with a video camera at a transgender conference with the intention of documenting the horrors that would allegedly be introduced with the passage of a state bill outlawing gender-based discrimination and hate crimes. The supposedly damning evidence: Footage of transgender women using the ladies' restroom.
[Blog/Commentary] Mass Resistance made me mad enough to vomit

[USA]
ENDA sit-ins take place at Pelosi's offices
Gay-rights activists staged sit-ins at the Washington, D.C., and San Francisco, Calif., offices of U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi March 18, demanding that voting on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act ( ENDA ) take place on the House floor by the end of this month, according to Advocate.com.
Gay-Rights Protesters Stage Sit-In at Nancy Pelosi's Office: Leaders Stand Ready to Bail Out Activists(Photo: Joel Silberman via getEqual - Activists are arrested after protesting outside House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office on March 18.)
VIDEO: Big day for GetEQUAL; San Diegans protest DADT, arrests of activists
The DC Pelosi ENDA 8 - GetEQUAL heroes arrested after sit-in at Speaker's office
Four arrested in ENDA protest on Capitol Hill

[DC, USA]
The State of Transgender Hate Crimes in D.C.
Last month, D.C. police released a report breaking down every hate crime reported in D.C. [PDF] over the past five years. In 2007, changes to the D.C. Human Rights Act required police to begin recording hate-bias crimes motivated by the victim’s “gender identity or expression”—in other words, crimes that specifically target transgender victims. Since then, crimes against the transgender community have been the second most frequently recorded type of hate crime committed in D.C., after sexual orientation.

[LA,USA]
Alexandria Police: Two men shot at prostitute when they found out 'she' was really a 'he'
Alexandria Police officers arrested two men who shot at an Alexandria man early Wednesday morning after they discovered that the victim, who was dressed as a woman and had just performed sexual acts on both men, really was a man, authorities reported.
The victim told police that the shooters became angry when they discovered he was a man and not a woman. The victim was not injured.

[MD, USA]
Montgomery transgender aide sues county for $5 million
A transgender aide to a Montgomery County councilwoman is suing the county for $5 million, saying it broke the anti-discrimination law she helped write.
Dr. Dana Beyer, a senior policy adviser for Councilwoman Duchy Trachtenberg, D-at large, helped draft and guide a 2007 bill through the County Council that outlawed discrimination based on gender identity. The transgender law passed the council unanimously. (photo courtesy danabeyer.com)
Transgender Woman Sues Under Law She Helped Write
Transgender woman sues under law she helped write
Council aide sues Montgomery for $5 million

[TX, USA]
SAPD officer suspended indefinitely
A San Antonio police officer has been placed on indefinite suspension after being accused of a string of misconduct, including, most recently, that he had sex with a woman in the back of his patrol car while on duty, according to city documents.
Officer Christopher Martinez, 35, is the second officer accused of engaging in sexual transgressions this year while in uniform.

[Puerto Rico]
Soraya defiende el cambio de sexo de Verona
Para Soraya, una reconocida empresaria de Carolina que hace 37 años se sometió a una operación de reasignación de sexo, “es preferible una vagina funcional a un miembro viril que se desperdicia”.
Por tal razón, defendió en entrevista radial (WKAQ) el paso que dio la diseñadora de moda, Verona Disdier, para convertirse en toda una mujer.

[Mexico]
Neonazis en Puebla buscan terminar con homosexuales
En diversos estados ya se conoce de jóvenes que se hacen llamar nacionalsocialistas mexicanos que reclaman para sí un país libre de gays, pero como son pocos y carecen de poder, recurren a palizas esporádicas en zonas donde existen antros de ambiente.

[Cuba]
Cuba once persecuted homosexuals, transsexuals, now quietly pays for sex-change operations
Looking in the mirror used to make Yiliam Gonzalez sick to her stomach.
"I would see myself, and my body didn't match who I was," said the 28-year-old wedding pianist, who went by William before receiving a sex change under Cuba's universal health care system. (Photo: The Associated Press/Javier Galeano - Yiliam Gonzalez, left, speaks with her mother Janeth Anchia as they clean dishes in a friend's home in Havana. Gonzalez is one of eight transsexuals to undergo a sex change under Cuba's universal health care system.)

[Argentina]
El Partido Socialista crea un espacio para gays, lesbianas, bisexuales y trans
Con la creación del Espacio Nacional LGBT durante su 3er. Congreso Nacional Ordinario, 2° Época, el Partido Socialista se convirtió en el primer partido político que en el nivel nacional institucionalizó la participación de lesbianas, gays, bisexuales y trans en su seno.

[Argentina]
Juez otorga custodia de dos niños a un travesti en Argentina
Se trata de dos hermanos que el hombre cuidaba desde bebés, en la localidad de Holmberg.
El travesti María Belén Ochoa tenía desde 2006 la custodia de los hermanos, una niña y un niño ahora de 4 y 7 años, debido a los malos tratos que recibían de sus padres, y el juez José Varela Geuma le otorgó el cuidado definitivo.