Budapest’s historic, 100,000-strong Pride march

HUNGARY — More than 100,000 people celebrated Budapest Pride in Hungary on 28 June, defying a ban imposed by prime minister Viktor Orbán’s government. Organisers say the rally was the largest ever held in the country. In April, the Hungarian parliament passed a ban on all LGBTQIA+ demonstrations, with fines of up to 500 euros. The bill also allows for the use of facial recognition technology to identify organisers and attendees. The anti-Pride law was the latest attack on the queer community by Orbán’s government. But this didn’t stop people from celebrating, in a major blow to the prime minister’s anti-LGBTQIA+ agenda.

CHILE — The Parliament passed a Comprehensive Reform to the Adoption System in Chile that facilitates adoption procedures for same-sex families. The bill, which had already received preliminary approval from the Senate, eliminates from Article 11 the phrase stating that « if the child or adolescent expresses their desire to have both a father and a mother, the judge must give preferential consideration. » Although filiation through adoption or assisted reproduction was recognised when same-sex marriage was passed in 2021, same-sex families were disadvantaged by the adoption system. The comprehensive reform not only solves this failure, but also reinforces the child or adolescent interest as the guiding principle of the adoption process, and reduces the waiting time from eight to two years.

INDIA — The high court of Andhra Pradesh, India, ruled on June 28 that trans women must be legally recognised as women, regardless of their ability to give birth. Otherwise, the court found, it would violate the Indian Constitution’s articles on dignity, equality, and personal identity. The court also said that trans women should have the same legal protections as cisgender women under the section 498A of penal code, which punishes cruelty or abuse to a married woman by her husband or his relatives. Activists hope the ruling helps to open the door to more progressive laws and policies on LGBTQIA+ rights in a country where same-sex marriage is still illegal.

PUERTO RICO —  In a landmark decision, the US District court of Puerto Rico ruled that the country’s birth certificate policy violates the 14th Amendment of the constitution by not allowing non-binary and gender-nonconforming people to change their gender marker to an X on their birth certificates. The lawsuit was filed by six non-binary individuals, who claimed that the current policy arbitrarily discriminated against those who did not identify as male or female. From now on, the Demographic Registry must include the X as a third choice in the gender marker, ordered the judge María Antongiorgi Jordán. As an unincorporated territory of the United States, Puerto Rico joins 17 states and the District of Columbia where gender-neutral or non-binary markers are allowed on birth certificates.

UK — The British parliament has voted in favour of an amendment to the Abortion Act of 1967, protecting women from being prosecuted for having an abortion in England and Wales after the 24 weeks of pregnancy. The Abortion Act of 1967 allows abortion up to 24 weeks of pregnancy and provides exceptions in cases of risk to the patient’s life or foetal abnormality. But with the amendment, pregnancies ended outside of these conditions won’t result in criminal charges. Abortion practitioners who violate these legal guidelines may still be prosecuted. The existing abortion process remains unchanged, and women still need two doctors’ approval to end a pregnancy. The bill will become law if it passes the House of Commons and House of Lords and receives royal assent, which is considered likely.

US — Donald Trump has rescinded federal guidance from his predecessor, Joe Biden, that required hospitals to provide emergency abortions when a patient’s health was at risk, even in states with strict abortion bans. The guidance on the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act was issued in 2022, after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the decision that had previously protected abortion rights in the country for nearly half a century. As a result, thousands of women could be denied critical care in states with abortion restrictions. Nineteen US states ban abortion or restrict the procedure. Additionally, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has struck down an 1849 law banning access to abortion. The law punished doctors who performed the procedure with up to six years in prison except in cases of risk to the patient’s life. But according to the judges, the law had already been repealed de facto by legislation passed after the ruling, including laws allowing abortion up to 20 weeks or requiring 24-hour waiting periods.

NORWAY — On June 6, Norwegian lawmakers passed a bill making the absence of explicit consent a criminal offense, strengthing the definition of rape. Perpetrators could face up to six years of imprisonment where consent was not given. Under the previous legislation, prosecutors had to prove that the perpetrator used violence, threats, or took advantage of a vulnerable person to secure a rape conviction. The law is inspired by the Only Yes Means Yes law in neighbouring Sweden, adopted in 2018.

SYRIA — The government of the Islamic rebels, who took control of Syria after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, has announced a new conservative dress code requiring women to wear burkinis or full-coverage swimsuits on public beaches and pools, in order to defend the « public interest. » Both locals and tourists must wear dresses over their swimsuits outside the bathing area, covering their shoulders and ankles, and avoid tight or transparent clothing. The measures are supposedly only for vacation areas. Although penalties were not announced, the tourism minister said on social media that there will be lifeguards and beach supervisors to ensure that the guidelines are followed.

JAPAN — The Japanese National Diet passed a revision to the Basic Act on Sport (2011) requiring national and local government to take measures to protect athletes from any form of physical, verbal or sexual abuse. Specifically, article 29 states that athletes must not be subjected to violence, verbal or physical actions that are based on superior-subordinate relationships or verbal or physical sexual actions, including taking explicit images without consent or harassment online. The country, which hosted the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games during the pandemic, had received a warning from the International Olympic Committee to end abuse and harassment in Japanese sports after the report of several cases of abuse denounced by Human Rights Watch.

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