https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Spain in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed Spain consistently ranks among the most gay-friendly countries in the world according to international studies. But is this lack of prejudice in Spanish society real or just visible on paper? https://www.thelocal.es/20210707/is-spain-really-a-tolerant-country-when-it-comes-to-lgbtq-people Wed, 07 Jul 2021 14:57:50 +0200 is-spain-really-a-tolerant-country-when-it-comes-to-lgbtq-people In an announcement on Friday, the Spanish government said it would create specialised groups within the Interior Ministry and the police force to tackle the rising number of hate crimes that have shocked the country in recent months. https://www.thelocal.es/20210912/spain-lays-out-plans-to-fight-rising-number-of-hate-crimes Sun, 12 Sep 2021 14:37:21 +0200 spain-lays-out-plans-to-fight-rising-number-of-hate-crimes A young man who claimed eight masked assailants carved a homophobic slur on his buttocks in Madrid in broad daylight, sparking an outcry, has admitted he lied, Spain's Interior Ministry said Wednesday. https://www.thelocal.es/20210909/youth-admits-vicious-gay-attack-story-that-shocked-spain-was-a-lie Thu, 09 Sep 2021 11:17:28 +0200 youth-admits-vicious-gay-attack-story-that-shocked-spain-was-a-lie Spain's government on Tuesday strongly condemned a vicious attack in broad daylight on a young gay man in Madrid as police sought eight masked assailants. https://www.thelocal.es/20210907/vicious-madrid-attack-on-young-gay-man-shocks-spain Tue, 07 Sep 2021 19:38:02 +0200 vicious-madrid-attack-on-young-gay-man-shocks-spain A fresh wave of protests has swept across several cities in Spain over the weekend to demand justice for a young gay man who was beaten to death a week ago in a suspected homophobic attack. https://www.thelocal.es/20210712/protesters-take-to-streets-of-spain-again-over-killing-of-gay-man Mon, 12 Jul 2021 11:09:11 +0200 protesters-take-to-streets-of-spain-again-over-killing-of-gay-man Two more suspects, both minors, have been arrested in Spain over the weekend killing of a young gay man that sparked nationwide protests, police said Friday. https://www.thelocal.es/20210709/two-teens-added-to-list-of-arrests-over-killing-of-gay-man-in-spain Fri, 09 Jul 2021 18:13:20 +0200 two-teens-added-to-list-of-arrests-over-killing-of-gay-man-in-spain Preparations for Valencia’s emblematic Las Fallas festival have been marred by an act of vandalism with an apparent homophobic motive. https://www.thelocal.es/20180316/sculpture-of-two-boys-kissing-destroyed-ahead-of-spains-fallas-festival-homophobia Fri, 16 Mar 2018 11:40:01 +0100 sculpture-of-two-boys-kissing-destroyed-ahead-of-spains-fallas-festival-homophobia As Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo battles his own spate of homophobic attacks, Spain's first openly gay referee has opened up about his experiences working in a machismo sport. https://www.thelocal.es/20160405/im-the-only-referee-who-has-come-out-of-the-closet Tue, 05 Apr 2016 14:58:45 +0200 im-the-only-referee-who-has-come-out-of-the-closet An internal memo handed out to Madrid metro workers calls for "gays, musicians and beggars" to be more routinely checked for tickets than other passengers. https://www.thelocal.es/20150219/watch-out-for-gays-shocking-madrid-metro-memo Thu, 19 Feb 2015 10:27:00 +0100 watch-out-for-gays-shocking-madrid-metro-memo In a first ever for Spain, the Catalan Parliament approved on Thursday a law which will punish those who attack gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transsexuals with fines of up to €14,000 ($17,700). https://www.thelocal.es/20141003/catalonia-passes-divisive-anti-homophobia-law Fri, 03 Oct 2014 12:53:00 +0200 catalonia-passes-divisive-anti-homophobia-law A ruling party politician is facing calls to resign after she blamed Spain's record €1 trillion ($1.3 trillion) public deficit "on subsidies offered to homosexuals" by the previous socialist government. https://www.thelocal.es/20140820/gays-are-to-blame-for-spains-debt-politician Wed, 20 Aug 2014 11:05:00 +0200 gays-are-to-blame-for-spains-debt-politician A gay religion teacher from Spain's Canary Islands who recently wrote a letter to one of Spain's major newspapers praising local religious authorities for their tolerance has now been sacked from his job. https://www.thelocal.es/20140812/gay-religion-teacher-fired Tue, 12 Aug 2014 15:29:00 +0200 gay-religion-teacher-fired Spanish police have warned that the country's LGBT community have been the victim of more hate crimes than any other minority group, despite Spain being rated one of the world's most gay-friendly countries. https://www.thelocal.es/20140728/spains-gays-biggest-target-of-hate-crimes Mon, 28 Jul 2014 19:36:36 +0200 spains-gays-biggest-target-of-hate-crimes Many Spaniards are up in arms after the country's main department stores started stocking books geared towards "curing homosexuality" primarily in childhood. https://www.thelocal.es/20140617/how-to-stop-kids-being-gay-books-shock-spain Tue, 17 Jun 2014 13:55:12 +0200 how-to-stop-kids-being-gay-books-shock-spain A married couple has pressed charges against a village mayor in central Spain after she shouted out homophobic insults at them in a fit of rage they claim stems from their attempts at making the town hall accounts public. https://www.thelocal.es/20140512/homophobic-mayor-sued-gay-sanbartolome-spain Mon, 12 May 2014 13:37:00 +0200 homophobic-mayor-sued-gay-sanbartolome-spain Spanish prosecutors have opened an investigation into newly chosen Spanish Cardinal Fernando Sebastián Aguilar after a gay-rights group accused him of hate speech for calling homosexuality a "defect". https://www.thelocal.es/20140206/spains-new-cardinal-probed-for-inciting-anti-gay-hate Thu, 06 Feb 2014 10:48:00 +0100 spains-new-cardinal-probed-for-inciting-anti-gay-hate A Barcelona judge has sentenced a company executive to three and a half years in prison after he spied on two of his employees' emails and informed his superiors of their sexual orientation. https://www.thelocal.es/20140114/boss-jailed-for-spying-on-gay-mail Tue, 14 Jan 2014 15:01:33 +0100 boss-jailed-for-spying-on-gay-mail