Despite gains made in many parts of the world, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) people are, in some regions, increasingly persecuted and denied basic human rights. Because bigotry thrives where we are silenced by fear, we've created this space for people to share stories of discrimination and survival. Read these stories, share them, and contribute your own. Let the world know that we will not be silent.

Zosya2

Zosya/

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“My father and I almost cried when we saw the Ukrainian checkpoint, it was great happiness. We were just lucky. It was very scary – cars all around were burned to the ground, crushed by tanks.”

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Witold

Witold/

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“At first she didn’t accept it, but as I grew up she decided to focus her love on who I really am and not on my orientation.”

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Valeriia

Valeriia/

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“There was a situation in Kyiv when a girl with a rainbow flag was attacked; after that we realized that we had to be ready for anything and carried pepper spray with us.”

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Taras

Taras/

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“I actually recently received some homophobic comments from my friend in Donetsk when I posted a story on my IG with a flagpole of three flags: Ukrainian, LGBTQ+ and European Union.”

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DJALIL

Djalil/

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“It’s like a knot in your stomach, as if you were burning from the inside, as if you feel your heart blazing, and you say to yourself, what is happening?”

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HILMA

Hilma/

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“I think that to believe in something, even if you don’t necessarily believe in God, but you believe in an entity, it’s a kind of pillar and allows you to have hope in the world.”

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RIZLAINE

Rizlaine Quran/

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“I thank God everyday that I’m not straight. When you love someone outside of a norm, you step out of that norm. You love the person.”

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Kacim

Kacim/

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“My family perceived femininity in me, so they tried to contain it, to repress and expel it. Why do I dance? A boy doesn’t dance. He’s supposed to love football. I did not like football”

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wlii-c-220406-Canada-Justin

Justin Anantawan/

“I challenge Christians who are attacking the LGBTQIA2S community to think about the harms you are committing and ask yourself if that is something an all loving God would want.”

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RAMZIYA

Ramziya/

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“I am a transgender and Muslim woman, and this changes nothing about my relationship with Islam. Not with Ramadan, not with Allah, and not with my worship. There is not a single thing that has changed in this regard. I am who I am because of religion. I don’t care about the opinions from people … READ THE STORY

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RIZLAINE

Rizlaine/

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I thank God everyday that I’m not straight. When you love someone outside of a norm, you step out of that norm. It’s a relationship to love that goes beyond something. You love the person.

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WLII-Fellowship-WLIIWebsite

Fellowship Winners/

We are very proud and excited to announce the winners of the first Where Love is Illegal Fellowship! They are Camille Farrah Lenain, Kwasi Darko, and Anton Shebetko! The Where Love Is Illegal Fellowship is designed to support LGBTQI+ identifying photographers to contribute to the narratives that define queer communities. Three photographers have been awarded … READ THE STORY

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wlii-c-220210-Afghanistan-RamizSA

Ramiz S/

“On day of August even Taliban get control of Afghanistan I am trying to be hide and that time also I need immediately money for myself because I need to get passport and something else For that I was gonna to my office to get my salary that I haved on office before of Taliban … READ THE STORY

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David

David Contreras/

“The man told us that if we brought a girl he could rent us only one room, otherwise we had to rent two separately. We got really upset and left there.”

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Kenya-Njiriru

Njiriru/

“My story is a story of hope, that the 17-year old me is gonna get through the trauma, the stigma, the hate, the name-calling, the anxiety of not knowing what turn my life would take…”

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Venezuela-Khinverly

Khinverly Marrero/

“When she arrived, she greeted me with a kiss on the cheek and hugged me. A military man who was at the fair, I think high-ranking, saw us and immediately grabbed her phone to make a call.”

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alpha

Alpha/

“The society expects us to fit into the sex and or gender binary created by it, if it is neither male of female, then it’s an abomination.”

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Venezuela-Fernando

Fernando Azpurua/

“Between 2010 and 2014 I studied communications at the Monteavila University (a private institution in Caracas founded by members of Opus Dei), where I was taught homosexuality in anthropology classes as a mental illness…”

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JessicaEva

Jessica "Jessie" Eva/

“They took me to a nearby door that seemed to lead to a warehouse, and they told me they had to do a ‘body search.’”

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Drew_Kenya

Drew Gachagua/

“I discovered writing when I was 14. It began with a couple random notebooks where I would pour everything that went through my mind onto the pages, and go on to burn them or tear the paper to shreds. It was euphoric.”

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Black Virus

Black Virus/

“It is difficult to live here because it is illegal to be gay. If you are caught you will be beaten by a mob or the community. If your family finds out, they will not identify you as their kin.”

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MundiaPeter

Mundia Peter/

“Slowly, I started to conceptualize we are all divine beings and that the divine is within all of us. I came to believe that the divine has no gender, it is neither male or female, it just is. If I am a part of the divine, then why should I limit myself to an expression of only the male gender.”

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Pinky_Kenya

Pinky/

“In high school, I attempted suicide 48 times, using pills, jumping from a bridge, cutting and carbon monoxide. I wanted to change myself but I couldn’t and that made me depressed. So, I thought I should not go on living.”

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Nigeria-EdafeOkporo

Edafe Okporo/

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“In the wider community, I am Black, to the blacks, I am African, to the community, I am gay, to the gay community, I am a refugee.”

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Kamau

Kamau Njoroge/

“Realization that who you are is an illegal unnatural crime…punishable by law..an abomination in the eyes of religious people was just overwhelming…”

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EM

EM/

“I grew up in a very religious environment and I felt very guilty and I always denied myself. It was night after night asking God to change me.”

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Jazmine_Kris

Jazmine and Kristopher/

“Me and Kris like to remind the next generation that there is indeed someone out there who will look at you as the most beautiful/handsome person in the world, someone who will share with you all their friends and family, someone who will understand you and your past without holding it against you.”

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wlii-c-210831-Brazil-Ni

Ni/

“Brazil is one of the Most deAdly places yo be if youre Lgbtqai+, even if its not against the law.”

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wlii-Ntwari

Ntwari/

“Am finally out to both of my parents and I should say that wasn’t easy.”

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SardarSingh

Sardar Singh/

“After being outed in 2013 all I heard was ‘if you want to be gay, go do it somewhere else.’ So, I did just that…”

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Ryan Tran

Ryan Tran/

“Now it doesn’t matter if I am too Asian or too feminine. I am comforted to know that attraction is not rigid, but expansive.”

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Sahira Q

Sahira Q/

“As an adult, I’ve come to the realization that I no longer have time to put on masks that make other people comfortable.”

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Canada-Abby

Abby Schmetterling/

“Once my egg cracked (when I realized that I was trans), it hit me so hard that it was truly a matter of life and death, of transition or die.”

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Canada-Jazmine

Jazmine Carter/

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“It is important for me to thank the trans people that fought before my time so that young trans kids like me could live in a more inclusive world.”

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Canada-NudePacifico

Nude Pacifico/

“Explain to me how the vanguard of the queer movement were black and brown, trans souls, yet we ended up with cis, white homosexual impositions of queer culture.”

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Canada-Vernon

Vernon/LOLA/

“My birth name is Vernon, my performer name is LOLA, my birth city is Calgary, my home is Toronto, my heritage is Filipinx, my pronouns are they/them, for now I’m non-binary, and as for tomorrow, who knows and honestly, who cares?”

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Sebastian Yue

Sebastian Yūe/

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“I am no closer to understanding what gender actually is, or what it means, but I have realised that I don’t actually need to know what it is. I know who I am and that is enough for me.”

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MM8709_190306_1793

Spirit/

“The first time I bought ‘man shoes’ I was terrified to wear them, I think they’re the light blue bowling shoes I have; the first time someone asked me what my pronouns were, I think it might have been @ a BreakOUT! event.”

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wlii-c-210122-Jordan-Aziz

Aziz/

“Back in 2015, I came across Where Love is Illegal. I decided to share my story then…During the years after, I became involved in queer rights activism and became more open about who I am with those I love.”

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wlii-c-200613-Spain-N

N/

“This is not a violent or unbelievable sorry, but it is sad that even in the progressive countries which are supposed to accept diversity, coming out is too scary FOR many teenagers.”

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Julian/

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“Manhattan College refused to refund one penny. I am now thousands of dollars in debt for credits I didn’t receive and housing I couldn’t access.”

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