The Human Dignity Trust

18/08/2026

🏳️‍🌈 YOUTH DECRIM DEBATE WORKSHOP — LET’S GET READY! 📣

Brown Girl Woke’s Alofa Initiative is bringing our youth and Ballroom Houses together for an important night of learning, discussion and debate preparation.

📅 Wednesday, 19 August 2026
⏰ 7:00 PM — Samoa Time
📍 Brown Girl Woke

We’ll unpack decriminalisation, strengthen debating and rebuttal skills, and break into PRO & CON teams to prepare for the upcoming Youth Decrim Debate.

🔥 BALLROOM HOUSES — JOIN US!
Each participating house will receive $250 WST to participate and prepare for the debate.

Come ready to learn, challenge ideas, strengthen your arguments and prepare your team!

🌈 ALL VOICES. FACTS. RESPECT. CHANGE.

12/08/2026

We’ve updated our country profile following recent events on the criminalisation of people in the country:

👉 In August, it was reported that the Indonesian Ulema Council issued a warning against men wearing women’s clothing for Independence Day celebrations, condemning this as a violation of Sharia and social norms.

👉 In July, a video depicting the persecution of transgender women in Bogor City, West Java went viral on social media. At least 10 trans women were targeted by being beaten and doused with urine.

👉 In June, during Pride Month celebrations, harassment and attacks against LGBT university students in Indonesia escalated, Human Rights Watch reported.

👉 In May, Human Rights Watch reported that Padang State University staff in West Sumatra expelled a student suspected of being gay after a video was circulated online, saying that the university would not tolerate any form of “s*xual deviation.”

For more information, visit our Indonesia country profile

Two provinces of Indonesia criminalise same-s*x s*xual activity between men and between women. The gender expression of trans people is criminalised under the federal law. Sentences include a maximum…

10/08/2026

In 2010 Caleb Orozco, a Belizean gay man and a prominent human rights defender, filed a challenge to Section 53 in the Supreme Court of Belize. The Human Dignity Trust joined the litigation as an Interested Party in April 2011.

Section 53 of Belize’s Criminal Code criminalised “carnal in*******se against the order of nature” which included consensual same-s*x s*xual activity in private. The case was heard in May 2013 and the first instance judgment was delivered by Chief Justice Kenneth Benjamin on 10 August 2016, finding in favour of Mr Orozco on all grounds, namely that Section 53 was unconstitutional, effectively decriminalising consensual same-s*x activity conducted in private.

The Attorney General appealed the Supreme Court’s judgment and in 2019, the Court of Appeal upheld the decision.

Today marks 10 years since this groundbreaking decision, a landmark moment in the fight for LGBT rights and equality in Belize. Read more about the case and its significance:

CASE NAME Attorney General of Belize v. Caleb Orozco COUNTRY Belize COURT/ TRIBUNAL The Court of Appeal of Belize STATUS Judgment delivered on 30 December 2019 Summary Section 53 of Belize’s Criminal…

07/08/2026

In July, Senior Lawyer Anushka Gunawardena and Senior Associate Glenroy Murray led legal workshops in Kiribati on strategic litigation, legislative reform and communications with our partners and local LGBT organisation BIMBA Families, Friends, Allies and Members.

Currently, six Pacific countries - Samoa, Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Tuvalu, Papua New Guinea and Tonga - continue to criminalise consensual same-s*x s*xual conduct.

06/08/2026

This week, our Development Manager, Clémence Hamiti, is at Pride Amsterdam 2026, a global event that raises visibility and awareness of LGBTQIA+ issues worldwide.

'66 countries still criminalise + people. Yet here in Amsterdam, hundreds of lawyers, activists, leaders and advocates have come together in one room, working together, refusing to give up. This is what collective hope looks like!' - Clémence

03/08/2026

Anti-LGBTQ+ laws are on the rise across west Africa, campaigners warn.

'What I see in all of them is a political opportunism' Anthony Oluoch, Pan Africa ILGA

Rachel Savage writing in The Guardian on why African activists say politicians regard + people as ‘the easiest scapegoats to maintain their power’. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/02/anti-lgbtq-laws-are-on-the-rise-across-west-africa-campaigners-warn

This crucial piece of journalism cites our and country profiles. Learn more about criminalisation of same-s*x intimacy in west African countries at our online map of criminalisation https://www.humandignitytrust.org/lgbt-the-law/map-of-criminalisation/

Activists in the region say politicians regard LGBTQ+ people as ‘the easiest scapegoats to maintain their power’

28/07/2026

At the Human Dignity Trust, we're the only organisation working internationally using strategic litigation to challenge and overturn laws that criminalise LGBT+ people.

Did you know that 66 countries still criminalise LGBT+ people?

Our interactive Map of Criminalisation reveals where these laws remain in force and provides detailed country profiles explaining how LGBT+ people are criminalised in each jurisdiction.

LGBT people are criminalised in 66 jurisdictions worldwide. Find out where with our map.

23/07/2026

As the kick off in Glasgow today, 3,000 athletes from 74 nations and territories are coming together in the spirit of unity and inclusion. Yet across the Commonwealth, 29 jurisdictions still criminalise private, consensual same-s*x relationships - more than half of the Commonwealth's 56 member states are affected by these laws.

To learn more about the Commonwealth jurisdictions which criminalise communities, visit our map:

LGBT people are criminalised in 66 jurisdictions worldwide. Find out where with our map.

20/07/2026

At the 62nd United Nations Human Rights Council, the Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity presented a landmark report on the violence and discrimination faced by le***an, bis*xual and q***r women.

The report highlights that the international human rights framework can help advance the rights and well-being of le***an, bis*xual, and q***r women. It points to the Rosanna Flamer-Caldera v. Sri Lanka case as a landmark decision, in which CEDAW found that the criminalisation of same-s*x conduct constitutes discrimination. The decision recognised that laws and practices regulating women’s s*xuality form a relevant part of broader systems of gender inequality. https://ilga.org/news/le***an-bis*xual-q***r-women-un-report-takeaways/

👉 To read the full decision, visit https://humandignitytrust.org/what-we-do/cases/sri-lanka-case-before-un-committee-on-the-elimination-of-discrimination-against-women-cedaw/

👉 The report also references our report, Breaking the Silence 2, which considers the history, extent and nature of laws criminalising consensual s*xual intimacy between women. https://humandignitytrust.org/resources/breaking-the-silence-criminalisation-of-le***ans-and-bis*xual-women-and-its-impacts-summary/

17/07/2026

This week marked the close of our matched-giving campaign. Our Chief Executive, Téa Braun, extends a heartfelt thank you to everyone who donated so generously.

Thanks to your incredible support, we raised more than £50,000! Every contribution, no matter the size, has made a meaningful difference. We simply couldn't continue our vital work without you.