victims of abuse

Singer and actress Queen Latifah opened up in Essence magazine about sexual abuse she suffered as a child. Latifah, who has long been the object of speculation as to whether or not she is a lesbian, spoke candidly to the magazine about a teenaged babysitter who sexually abused her and how it subsequently affected her, including her ability to get commit and get married.

The Vatican has expanded the statute of limitations for people seeking to report sexual abuse by a priest amid accusations that the Catholic Church has done little to protect victims of abuse. Officials doubled the statute of limitations in abuse cases to 20 years following the victim's 18th birthday, Vatican sex crimes prosecutor Monsignor Charles Scicluna and spokesman Federico Lombardi announced on Thursday.

On a recent visit to Guatemala, the reining Miss Universe Ximena Navarrete met with transgender women who have been victims of abuse and discrimination.

The House of Representatives approved reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, but did not approve of the portion that would have explicitly included LGBT victims of violence. The bill passed 222-205 on Wednesday. According to the Human Rights Campaign, Republican representative Judy Biggert wanted to add an amendment to increase specific protections for LGBT victims of domestic violence, but House leadership blocked her from introducing the amendment. Earlier this month, the Senate passed VAWA with a bipartisan 68-31 vote.

The U.S. House of Representatives today reauthorized the LGBT-inclusive Senate version of Violence Against Women Act, despite objections from some Republicans about language protecting LGBT, Native American, and undocumented victims of domestic violence. The bill now heads to President Obama's desk, where he has promised to sign it into law.

It matters that Diana Nyad is a lesbian and an activist, even if some just want to focus on her swimming.

Lawyers for Children, an organization that offers free legal and social work advocacy to abused children, is one of the organizations in the running for Lady Gaga’s $1 Million grant. Lady Gaga is working with the Robin Hood Foundation to aid the homeless youth of the Big Apple. The other organizations competing for the grant are SCO Family of Services, The Door, Safe Horizon and the Hetrick-Martin Institute.

The server has been cut off after scrawling an offensive sign.

Cynthia Nicole, a leading Honduras transgender rights defender, was murdered on January 9, 2009 in Barrio Guaserique in Comayaguela, a town just outside the Honduran capital, Tegucigalpa.  The most recent attack in a rash of murders against transgender people.

The sultry “Queen of Funk”, R&B Diva, iconic music legend, Chaka Khan will headline Club Skirts’ “The Dinah Goes To Rio” themed-soiree and monumental dance party on Saturday, March 31, 2012.

The Southern Poverty Law Center has filed a federal lawsuit alleging that a Mississippi school district repeatedly ignored a student's pleas for help combating the bullying to which she was routinely subjected.