It’s not Facebook’s fault. Don’t blame the drag queens.

But Latin America is becoming gayer.

Gay, bi and trans communities in Latin America have always existed, albeit quietly. With gay rights issues gaining prominence around the world, LGBT communities in Latin America are making themselves known to their neighbors, politicians and the world.

‘It’s not that there are more gays and lesbians living in Latin America,’ wrote Javier Corrales, political science professor at Amherst College and editor of the book The Politics of Sexuality in Latin America.

‘Rather, the region is becoming more gay-friendly.’ 

The region has been historically gay-unfriendly partly because of the inherent macho culture, deep-rooted Catholic beliefs, taboos surrounding HIV and AIDS, and anti-gay policies from conservative politicians.

The violent acts of homophobia that continue to make international headlines even in Latin American countries where laws are created to protect gay, bi and trans individuals show that there is still much work to be done.

Employment law in many parts of the world protects employees against discrimination based on their actual or perceived sexual orientation.  

This legal obligation has been enhanced in many workplaces, where companies have implemented robust policies and initiatives to support LGBT employees and raise awareness by heterosexual colleagues of LGBT issues in the workplace.

While, in many countries, employers have been able to demonstrate real progress in building the visibility and confidence of gay and lesbian employees, a general lack of understanding and knowledge about bisexuality seems to have resulted in bisexual people remaining largely invisible within these workplace initiatives.

According to Stonewall’s James Lawrence, the UK equality campaigner’s latest Workplace Equality Index survey found that bisexual men and women are seven times more likely to disguise their sexual orientation in the workplace.

‘The experiences of bisexual employees show that the discrimination they often face can prevent them achieving their full potential at work,’ he told Gay Star News. ‘These experiences are often quite distinct from those of their lesbian and gay colleagues.’

The first study into LGBT inclusion at work in Hong Kong has found closeting stifles productivity.

The majority, 60%, of the LGBT people who filled in the anonymous online survey are not out at work and 44% are not out to their parents.

Only 13% of LGBT employees said they have personally experienced negative treatment at work because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, but 34% said it was hard to tell.

‘In the West we see discrimination in violence, bullying or insults, but in Hong Kong discrimination seems to be more indirect, more subtle… but it doesn’t mean the environment is friendly for LGBT employees,’ Amanda Yik, co-author of the study told Gay Star News.

Malawi’s new president, Joyce Banda, has said she will repeal her country’s law which bans homosexual acts.

The announcement in her first state of the nation address today (18 May) was trailed last December when Justice Minister Ephraim Chiume promised a review of the law in response to public opinion.

Malawi attracted international pressure when a gay couple was sentenced to 14 years jail in 2010 for ‘unnatural acts and gross indecency’ before being pardoned.

The rejection of laws against gay sex is just one of the ways Banda is breaking from the administration of her predecessor, Bingu wa Mutharika, who died in office. She has only been in power since 7 April.

Echoing Martin Luther King’s famous ‘I have a dream’ speech, Banda also used her address today to promise freedom for Malawi’s citizens, equal opportunities, better education, healthcare, clean water, access to computers and more industry.

She has pledged to remove censorship so opposition leaders can appear in the media.

In the 2010 case, the two men were convicted after they held an engagement ceremony in the city of Blantyre.

Former president Mutharika, who died on 5 April, spoke out during the trial saying homosexuality was ‘evil and very bad before the eyes of God’. Later he allowed them a pardoned for ‘humanitarian’ reasons only but still insisted they had ‘committed a crime against our culture, against our religion, and against our laws’.

Dozens of LGBT rights campaigners in the Philippines visited the House of Representatives yesterday to ask them to pass an anti-discrimination bill.

The activists had been invited by Congressman Teddy Casino who introduced a bill last year that askes the Philippines officially declare 17 May as National Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (NADAHO).

‘The government must take a proactive struggle against homophobia and transphobia by including LGBTs, not only in legislation, but actual everyday government planning and project implementation,’ said Casino. ‘This is the first step, but not the only step, if the Philippines wants to achieve zero level homophobia and transphobia according to global standards.’

A report that rights group ProGay Philippines submitted to the UN Human Rights Council included a long list of human rights violations suffered by LGBT people in the Philippines. These included police raids and arrests on gay saunas and transgender women being abused by doctors.

Following US President Obama’s historic announcement of his support for gay marriage, Filipino lawmakers responded that their pro-dominantly Catholic ‘conservative’ country was ‘not yet ready’ for same-sex marriage legislation.

ProGay Philippines said: ‘We are not asking for wedding bells soon, we are merely requesting the government to face up to the reports ProGay gave the United Nations Human Rights Council.’

The UN Human Rights Council will review the report given to them by ProGay Philippines on 28 May. The report includes a complaint that an anti-discrimination bill has been pending in congress for 12 years.

Rangoon and Mandalay, the two largest cities in Burma, will host public LGBT rights events for the first time on Thursday.

‘This year there have been some changes in Burma,’ one of the organisers of the events, Aung Myo Min from Human Rights Education Institute Burma (HREIB), told Gay Star News. ‘Whether the change is cosmetic or true, it’s better to test the water.’

Since 2010 in Burma there have been some momentous shifts away from years of political repression. Pro-gay rights events are the latest, even if they will be held indoors.

‘We’re not going to out on the street for a parade,’ says Aung Myo Min. ‘It will be an indoor event because of the situation in Burma. But we hope that we will have a gay parade in the future.’

HREIB have held events for IDAHO (International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia) on 17 May for the last three years for Burmese nationals in Thailand. This year they decided to hold them in Burma.

Aung Myo Min is not worried about the authorities because, he says ‘this is just a celebration of a historic event, when homosexuality was removed from the list of mental diseases. It’s not about human rights. It’s just about the dignity of the LGBT people. Our message is just to end homophobia - this is not a political issue.’

The organisers have permission from the local authorities for the event in Mandalay and they are inviting UN officials, NGOs, artists and writers. Writer Atta Kyaw will talk about LGBT rights and LGBT people in the entertainment industry will talk about their experiences of violence and harassment.

Aung Myo Min says violence against LGBT people is not as bad in Burma as it is in other places such as Africa and in the West but there is ‘silent homophobia’.

‘We published our poster on Facebook,’ said Aung Myo Min. ‘We had hundreds of comments. Some are very supportive but some are very homophobic. We still have a long way to go.’