This week sees the launch of Equaldex, a remarkable new resource that seeks to be the ultimate resource for laws affecting LGBT populations.
Want to know where LGBT adoption is legal? Okay. How about military service? Sure. Employment discrimination, age of consent, and of course marriage are all there. And it’s all presented on pretty maps, color-coded for your pleasure.
“A lot of people were surprised by Russia and how it’s legal for gay people to serve in the military,” said site creator Dan Leveille. Also: “The Pew Research Survey is pretty interesting. I’m hoping to add more surveys like that.
A few other surprising findings:
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Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
Brazil was the first place to make conversion therapy illegal. Germany is surprisingly LGBT friendly, both in the law and in the public opinion. They ranked number two in the Pew survey on public attitudes towards gay people. And there are quite a few countries where homosexual activity is legal for lesbians, but not for gay men: Singapore, Zimbabwe, Turkmenistan, Lesotho and Tuvalu, just to name a few.
For now, direct comparisons between regions is a little tricky, since there are a lot of countries that still need data. (What’s the law about conversion therapy in Macedonia? Errr, that hasn’t been filled in yet.) Equaldex takes a wiki-like approach to its content: the laws are being filled in gradually by users. So if you have knowledge about, say, blood donation policies in Tennessee, don’t hesitate to sign up and fill in the blanks.
