[International]
UN head calls for more respect for gay, transgender ‘rights’
Speaking on the 62nd anniversary of the U.N.’s adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on Friday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for an end to laws criminalizing homosexuality and demanded greater respect for homosexual and “transgender” “rights.”

[UK]
Sex swap mechanic goes nuts at medics
A burly transsexual mechanic who attacked a doctor and nurse in hospital walked free from court yesterday.

[UK]
David (Sonia) Burgess 1947-2010
David Burgess, who co-founded the flagship legal aid firm Winstanley Burgess in 1975, was recognised as one of the most talented and fearless immigration lawyers of his generation. During the 1980s and 1990s, his work for Tamil and Turkish Kurd refugees helped to establish asylum work as a distinct legal specialism. He was responsible for a raft of trail-blazing cases, including Sivakumaran (1987), which served to highlight the inadequacy of judicial review as the sole ‘in-country’ right of appeal for asylum-seekers turned away at the UK border. Although, ultimately, he would lose the case when it reached the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in 1991 (by which time it was known as Vilvarajah) the case led indirectly to a change in the law: it gave asylum-seekers the right of appeal to the immigration courts, without having to return abroad.

[UK] [Commentary]
2010: the year of the clueless, privileged cis. Oh wait, wasn’t that last year too? Or is it next year?
I skimmed this piece, Bold Crossings of the Gender Line, in the NYTimes last week but was, perhaps unusually, left speechless at the number of ill-considered memes and tropes on which it was founded. I’ve just read it again and this time I’m finding words – although, as my opinion of it is still a long way from favourable, they’re pretty much only ranty words, so be warned…

[UK] [Commentary]
Transitioning prisoners and the Prison Service
It seems I may have been semi-gazumped on my own Freedom Of Information requests – yesterday, both The Sun and the Daily Mail published stories about Trans prisoners. As with much published by those papers, it’s not news as the policy has been around in draft form for a couple of years.

[South Africa] [Commentary]
Making the 'T' and 'I' in LGBTI visible
I thought I knew all about prejudices against sexual minorities. After all, I have self-identified as gay for more than 10 years. But I was wrong. I had, in fact, never fully acknowledged the existence, and unique needs, of the transgender community.

[Indonesia]
Primera mezquita para transexuales en Indonesia, el país con más musulmanes
La mezquita Senin-Kamis, en Yogyakarta, en la isla indonesia de Java, se ha convertido en la primera mezquita para transexuales del mundo islámico, precisamente en el país con mayor población musulmana. Su fundadora se llama Maryani, tiene 50 años y es una ex prostituta que se dio cuenta de que vivía en el cuerpo equivocado con tan sólo tres años.

[Canada] [Commentary]
Update on Bill C-389
An Act to amend the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Criminal Code (gender identity and gender expression)Bill C-389 passes report stage in the House of Commons 143-131

[USA]
NCAA Considers Transgender Policy
A working group of the National Collegiate Athletic Association has proposed an interpretation of existing policies to create paths for transgender athletes to compete on teams. This is the first time that the NCAA, in any capacity, has offered advice on this issue.

[USA]
Focus on the Transgender Community: Interview with Bamby Salcedo
As we've discussed in previous posts, the transgender community has been disproportionately affected by HIV, and often faces challenges finding and accessing appropriate services. The National HIV/AIDS Strategy addresses these disparities, starting with the vision that states: (Photo)

[TN, USA]
Jackson police dispute transgendered woman's bias claims
A fight over Black Friday bargains has turned into a battle over police bias.
Two people are claiming to be victims in the fight that started at a Kohl's in Jackson Tennessee, but police say there is only one victim, and one aggressor.
Transgender woman Akasha Adonis lost three teeth in the fight. She claims she is the victim, and police became biased against her, once they found out she is transgendered.
DA: Brawl That Injured Transgender Woman Was Self Defense

[TX, USA]
I-Team: Tax money paying for jailed illegal immigrants’ sex-change hormones
While Texas lawmakers overturned legislation in 2006 that allowed inmates to receive Viagra with tax money, some inmates –including illegal immigrants -- are still receiving prescribed sex hormones behind bars.

[Argentina]
GH, el transexual no logra integrarse con los hombres
Primer desafío, revelaciones íntimas y negociaciones de complot ya se viven en la casa más famosa del país. Gran Hermano 2011 está en el aire hace tres días pero ya la convivencia se pone áspera. Entrá a la nota y enteráte.

[Argentina]
Conocé el discurso de Flor de la V en La Rosada
Muchas veces me he sentido particularmente gratificada y hasta bendecida por algún hecho que, fruto del azar o del destino, se cruzó en el camino de mi compleja, ardua y hermosa vida. Pero hoy todas las expectativas que caben en mi alma han sido desbordadas, porque jamás soñé con que un hecho fundamental para la historia de mi vida, constituyera también un punto fundamental para la historia de mi amado país.