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Cooma jail's dark past includes being world's only 'gay prison', podcast reveals
As celebrations ramp up ahead of Sydney's annual Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras this week, a dim part of Australia's LGBTQI+ history is being explored by a new podcast.
Key points:
- The Greatest Menace podcast explores the dark past of Cooma's jail
- The site reopened in the s as a "gay jail"
- Podcast maker says it was the world's only "gay prison"
Podcast The Greatest Menace has unearthed the truth behind the world's only "gay prison," which operated in the regional New South Wales town of Cooma from to home men convicted of homosexual offences.
The historic jail and one-time asylum closed in the early s before its reopening.
Investigative journalist Patrick Abboud uncovered the revelation after spending three years investigating the town's history.
"This story, in particular, had such a profound impact on me from the beginning," Abboud said.
"When someone tells you that there was a gay prison desi
Ghana passes bill making identifying as LGBTQ+ illegal
BBC News, Accra
Ghana's parliament has passed a tough new bill that imposes a prison sentence of up to three years for anyone convicted of identifying as LGBTQ+.
It also imposes a maximum five-year jail term for forming or funding LGBTQ+ groups.
Lawmakers heckled down attempts to replace prison sentences with community service and counselling.
It is the latest signal of growing opposition to LGBTQ+ rights in the conservative West African nation.
The bill, which had the backing of Ghana's two major political parties, will come into effect only if President Nana Akufo-Addo signs it into law.
He previously said that he would do so if the majority of Ghanaians desire him to.
Gay sex is already against the law in Ghana - it carries a three-year prison sentence.
Last month Amnesty International warned that the bill "poses significant threats to the fundamental rights and freedoms" of LGBTQ+ people.
Activists fear there will now be witch-hunts against members of
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Former prisoners share their experiences of sex in prison
The Commission on Sex in Prison’s final inform , published today (Tuesday 17 March), features accounts from former prisoners speaking for the first day about their experiences of sex behind bars.
Sex in prison: Experiences of former prisoners is the fifth and closing briefing paper published by the Commission, which was established by the Howard League for Penal Reform and includes eminent academics, former prison governors and health experts.
Recommendations from the Commission’s two-year inquiry will be presented today (Tuesday 17 March) at a conference in London.
The Commission sought permission to interview current prisoners about their experiences of sex in prison, but this approach was blocked by the Ministry of Justice.
However, Dr Alisa Stevens, Lecturer in Criminology at the University of Southampton, was able to interview 26 former prisoners during the summer of – 24 men and two women.
Her announce concludes that a national survey of both the serving prison population and former prisoners, fully supported b