We can be heterosexual (attracted to the opposite gender), homosexual (attracted to our own gender – “gay”, “lesbian”), bisexual (attracted to both male and female) and transgender (meaning someone whose psychological gender does not match the sex of the body into which s/he was born).

The rights of homosexuals have till now recieved little attention from the UN. But people are punished for the sexual orientation with which they were born. Gay men have been put in gaol or killed in the Middle East, Jamaica, Colombia and other countries. UN debate has been stifled by Moslem countries or the Vatican.

"…in too many countries, lesbians, gays, transgender and bisexual people continue to face discrimination at many levels, including in employment and access to services, inequality in criminal and civil law, violence and harassment, other threats to life, failure to recognize relationships and families and lack of support for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth”.

If you want to claim your right to know more about your own identity, go to Avert's gay/lesbian section.

Go to Human Rights Internet and type “homosexuality” into the “search” strip. They have reports of problems in e.g. Brazil and Uganda.

GLAAD has training materials for dealing with prejudice in the media.

If you are working in the field of HIV/AIDS or working with Men who have Sex with Men (MSM), visit the AIDSMap website to ensure you know about the risk factors and prevention for this group.