NewsWrap for the week ending July 13, 2002 (As broadcast on This Way Out program #746, distributed 7-15-02) [Written this week by Lucia Chappelle, with thanks to Graham Underhill, Chris Ambidge, Brian Nunes, Jason Lin, Rex Wockner, Cindy Friedman & Greg Gordon] Anchored by Dean Elzinga and Lucia Chappelle The vast majority of HIV-positive young gay and bisexual men in the U.S. are unaware of their status -- and either ignorant or apathetic about safer sex practices -- according to a report presented at the 14th International AIDS Conference. Centers for Disease Control researchers told the participants at the July 7th-12th gathering in Barcelona that more than three-quarters of the over 5,000 men interviewed for the study did not know they were infected with the virus. Most of those infected men considered themselves to be at low risk, despite engaging in high-risk activities such as unprotected anal intercourse. The findings become even more disturbing when broken down by ethnicity: 90 percent of infected black men and 70 percent of infected Latinos were unaware of their HIV-positive status, compared to 60 percent of the infected white men. The presenters and others at the conference called for a revival of the passion that fueled the early movement to fight the AIDS pandemic, and some of that passion was on tap during the event. Scores of demonstrators calling for increased funding and decisive action to combat the disease marched outside the hall on the opening day. U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson was drowned out by ACT-UP activists yelling "Shame, shame, shame" as he tried to address the conference. They accused the U.S. of neglecting people with AIDS at home and of sabotaging efforts to supply low-cost medications to people in developing nations. There was some optimistic news coming out of the conference, including the prospect of an AIDS vaccine and more effective treatment methods. Speaking at the closing ceremonies, former U.S. President and International AIDS Trust advisory board chair Bill Clinton joined former South African President and honorary Trust co-chair Nelson Mandela in encouraging hope and a new determination to confront the disease. The 15th International AIDS Conference will be held in 2004 in Bangkok, Thailand. Transsexuals in the U.K. won a landmark victory for legal recognition from the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg on July 11th. A panel of judges ruled unanimously that the failure to recognize transsexuals' new gender and their right to marry constituted violations of the European Convention on Human Rights. Christine Goodwin had complained that, because she was still a man under U.K. law, she had to pay national insurance contributions until the age of 65 -- contributions that women only have to pay until the age of 60. Goodwin was joined by an anonymous transwoman who could not register for nursing school because she refused to submit the birth certificate that identified her as male. Their case was the last in a series of similar complaints brought before the EuroCourt in recent years, and the judges criticized the British government for not taking their previous advice regarding the treatment of transsexuals. "Despite the court's reiteration since 1986 and most recently in 1998 of the importance of keeping the need for appropriate legal measures under review having regard to scientific and societal developments," they said, "nothing has effectively been done by the respondent Government." The Court's earlier admonitions had already led to the establishment of a working group made up of officials from various Government departments, but that group has said that real reform is up to Parliament. Transsexual activists believe the ruling will finally force Parliament to take action. That ruling is also expected to have repercussions in Ireland, where a transwoman lost her battle to have her birth certificate changed just two days earlier. Dr. Lydia Foy had asked Dublin's High Court to find that the information describing her as male at birth had been incorrectly registered. While sympathetic, Justice Liam McKechnie was not inclined to overrule the country's century-old system of birth registration. Foy intends to appeal to the Irish Supreme Court, and will likely use elements of the EuroCourt decision in the Goodwin case to support her cause. Although the Irish court is not obliged to follow that ruling, the probability that Britain will be changing its birth registration system will add to the pressure for reform. Another legal battle is brewing in the U.K., this one involving three gay Zimbabweans seeking asylum. All three had their applications rejected by the Court of Appeal in London on July 9th, with the court ruling that the fact that consensual gay sex is against the law in Zimbabwe does not equal "inhuman and degrading treatment" or violate the right to privacy. However the following day a three-judge panel ordered British immigration officials to review the cases of two of the men. After hearing testimony about the political situation for gays in Zimbabwe and the notorious homophobic remarks of President Robert Mugabe, the panel told the Immigration Appeals Tribunal to reconsider whether the two men would face persecution if they returned home. The third man's case was again rejected because he was not deemed to be a credible witness. Dubbing it a crackdown on illicit sex and prostitution, the government of Bahrain has sent closure notices to some 500 businesses and is threatening to deport their gay Filipino employees. As many as 2,000 gay migrant workers could be affected by the action of the Islamic island state in the Persian Gulf. Beauty salons, massage parlors, flower and tailoring shops are among the businesses being targeted. Philippine Labor and Employment officials were surprised by the action, and the Philippine embassy in Bahrain is working to delay any deportations for at least six months. The desire to become a member of the European Union has finally outweighed opposition to age of consent reform in Cyprus. On July 11th the parliament there approved a compromise measure to make the age of consent 17 for both heterosexuals and homosexuals. Previously the consent age was 16 and 18 respectively. Equality in age of consent laws is required for EU membership. Spokespeople for the International Lesbian and Gay Association applauded the elimination of the discriminatory age of consent law, while urging the EU to monitor the enforcement of the amended law. A gay Idaho father is appealing the ultimatum of a county magistrate that he either stop living with his partner or lose visitation rights with his children. Theron McGriff has asked the Idaho Supreme Court to examine the ruling of Bonneville County Magistrate Mark Riddoch, which would bring the rights of lesbian and gay parents before that state’s court for the first time. The children's mother is arguing that McGriff is not sensitive to the conservative community in which they live. McGriff and his partner recently purchased a home together, but because of the magistrate's ruling the other man has moved into a mobile home in front of the house. Pride season continues in cities around the world. Nearly 1,000 people braved the threat of persecution to march in Peru's first Gay and Lesbian Pride Parade on July 7th in Lima. The 12th annual commemoration of the St onewall Riots in Cologne, Germany drew a million participants and spectators and 150 multicolored floats on July 8th. Professional homophobe Fred Phelps attempted to disrupt Boise, Idaho's pride week kick-off, but was rebuffed by more than 200 counter-demonstrators. A handbag and high heel-hurling contest in Dunedin, New Zealand had a rocky start July 10th when the competing drag queens got into a fight and began using the bags and shoes as weapons against each other. The violence was far more serious in Tampa, Florida, where about a dozen Pride partyers were taunted and attacked. Two gays were beaten. Two suspects are in custody and a third is being sought. And finally... gay pop singer George Michael says he thinks his life would be in danger if he came back to the U.S. to live -- and it's not because of his highly publicized misadventure with an undercover police officer in a Beverly Hills restroom a few years ago. [about :10 of the song fades up full here, then down and out under:] Michael's new video was denounced as anti-American in the "New York Post", which headlined the article "Pop Perv's 9/11 Slur." He described as "disastrous" an interview with CNN in which he hoped to explain the song he wrote in response to the terrorist attack. "Shoot the Dog", which is not being released in the U.S. because Michael has no recording contract in the country, satirizes the response to the attacks and Britain's role in it. The video depicts Prime Minister Tony Blair as a poodle being petted on the White House lawn by President George W. Bush.