5 THINGS TO KNOW

Sexual orientation to be a part of the patient information for the NHS.

Gay rights campaigners have backed an NHS policy demanding that doctors and nurses start asking all patients from the age of 16 about their sexual orientation. NHS England has issued a new standard requiring staff to “record sexual orientation at every face to face contact with the patient, where no record of this data already exists”.

HEALTH

Switching sides, sexual fluidity in the lesbian community.

In recent years, celebrities like Cynthia Nixon and Maria Bello have made headlines for dating or marrying women after spending years in heterosexual relationships. These Hollywood stars may have helped make it more socially acceptable—or perhaps even fashionable—to “switch sides” well into adulthood. Turns out the phenomenon has been going on for quite some time.

5 THINGS TO KNOW

Nigerian lesbian asylum seeker attempts suicide instead of certain death if deported.

Nneka Obazee, a lesbian asylum seeker in the U.K., recently attempted suicide after finding out that she would be returned to her home country of Nigeria, the Independent reports. Obazee, 34, was set to be flown on a charter flight to Nigeria along with her 19-year-old stepson, but she was hospitalized after overdosing on pain medication. Her stepson was ultimately deported.

5 THINGS TO KNOW

A more inclusive environment is healthier for straight allies.

A leading researcher of vulnerable and marginalized adolescents including LGBTQ students said more inclusive school climates — including Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs) — reduced suicides and suicide attempts by 50 per cent for straight males in B.C. last year.

HEALTH

The rules of the game have changed with gay dating apps.

A new PhD project has analysed how the dating app Grindr has affected dating culture among gay men. The study shows that Grindr has led to new ways for gay men to make themselves visible to one another and let each other know that they are available for intimate encounters.

GayARP

The Elder LGBT Long Term Care Bill of Rights to fight against discrimination in Philadelphia.

Gigi Nikpour needs conversations about the city’s LGBTQ community to focus more on its aging population. People’s lives depend on it. Through the Mayor’s Commission on LGBT Affairs’ LGBTQ Elders Committee, the Community Legal Services paralegal is creating an Elder LGBT Long Term Care Bill of Rights to fight against discrimination older queer and trans adults face in the surrounding area.

5 THINGS TO KNOW

HIV spreading among gay Hispanic men under 30.

HIV is spreading among gay Hispanic men — particularly those under the age of 30, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Researchers say young Hispanics are acquiring HIV at greater rates than other groups, putting them “on the leading edge of transmission.”