February 09, 2008
Woman who refused to sell puppy to lesbian fined in Sweden
STOCKHOLM (AFP) - Stockholm's appeals court on Monday found a kennel owner who had refused to sell a puppy to a lesbian woman guilty of discrimination, slapping her with a 20,000-kronor (2,300-euro, 3,100-dollar) fine.
The kennel owner, 51-year-old Anette Sjoeholm, was guilty of "discrimination in the form of harassment," the court said in its ruling, which echoed a lower-court finding in 2006.
Smila Bergstroem had contacted Sjoeholm to purchase one of the puppies she had advertised for sale, but when she let it slip that she lived with another woman, Sjoeholm had refused to go through with the sale, according to the TT news agency.
The kennel owner reportedly made it clear to Bergstroem that she did not trust homosexuals, telling her she had read that transvestites sexually abused animals.
Posted by ronnie at 07:41 AM | Comments (0)
November 24, 2006
China opens first lesbian hotline
BEIJING (Reuters) - China, where homosexuality was listed as a mental disorder until 2001, has opened its first hotline for lesbians following the success of a service for gay men, state media reported on Wednesday.
The free hotline, launched this week, operates in Shanghai, the free-wheeling financial centre where social change has outpaced the rest of China.
The new line, staffed by trained counsellors, would provide "real help" for lesbians, Xinhua news agency said.
"Many lesbians in China are pressured into marrying men and end up living miserable lives," sociologist Li Yinhe was quoted as saying.
More understanding and tolerance from lesbians' families and friends were needed, she added.
During the Mao era, homosexuals were persecuted, especially during the Cultural Revolution when they risked prison terms and even death sentences. Even today homosexuals still face stigma and discrimination.
China has no official statistics on homosexuality. The health authority estimated there were five to 10 million gays at the end of 2004, but some experts put the number at least 30 million.
Posted by ronnie at 05:08 PM | Comments (0)