June is Pride Month — and while it's certainly a time to celebrate and reflect on the progress made in LGBTQ rights and visibility over the last several decades, it's also a time to raise awareness about how greatly LGBTQ people are still threatened the world over. And unfortunately, 2017 hasn't exactly been a banner year for LGBTQ rights thus far. While Taiwan's forthcoming legalization of same-sex marriage marks a watershed moment for LGBTQ rights in Asia, there is a climate of rising oppression elsewhere. While greater LGBTQ representation in media and vigorous activism around the world may make many of us believe that LGBTQ rights are a settled issue, that's actually quite far from the truth — and threats to rights and wellbeing vary greatly depending on where in the world you're standing.

The world remains, on the whole, a place where LGBTQ people must fight constantly for personal rights, freedoms and acceptance. Even many highly publicized progressive moments don't actually yield much fruit when it comes to real advances in rights; for instance, while Pope Francis said in 2016 that gay people should be "accepted and embraced" by Catholics, he has still continued to advocate against teaching about LGBTQ issues in schools. Elsewhere in the world, religious beliefs and personal prejudice continue to make living life openly as an LGBTQ person difficult, and, in some cases, extremely dangerous. It's important that as we celebrate at Pride marches and drape ourselves in our best rainbow finery, we also take in the worldwide picture and make ourselves into activists as well as partiers.

So how can you help? Spread the word, stay aware, and donate to organizations that do work to help LGBTQ activists worldwide. The Human Rights Campaign often focuses on the US, while Amnesty International, the ILGA, Human Rights Watch and specific national organizations work in other countries to help fight discrimination and protect vulnerable LGBTQ people.

Indonesia: Raids On Gay Men Are Legally Permitted In Some Regions Sky News on Twitter As CNN reported, Indonesia has seen a rapid change in its attitudes towards LGBT people in the past 18 months, with a sudden rise in imprisonments and anti-gay violence. One of the most upsetting and widely reported incidents involved the public caning of two men allegedly caught having sex; the caning was staged in front of a crowd and filmed. The province of Aceh, in which the caning occurred, is one of the biggest flashpoints for violence in the area, with vigilantes empowered by the police to "raid" areas looking for gay men; these kinds of actions are permitted by local law. However, the capital of Jakarta is also seeing a big shift, with a recent raid arresting 114 men at a gay sauna.

China: An LGBTQ Event Was Cancelled, With Organizers Detained Under Questionable Circumstances PinkNews on Twitter In China, the news of Taiwan's LGBT rights victory brought hope to activists, and there have been some small triumphs — but it remains a problematic place for LGBTQ people in many ways. Homosexuality was only removed from the nation's official list of psychological conditions in 2001, and he "conversion industry," where Chinese families pay for their children and relatives to be "converted to straightness" using occasionally brutal methods including beatings and electroshock therapy, is a huge business. However, in the past decade or so, there have been some moves forward; some transgender celebrities have managed to make a splash in the media, and there's a rise in the number of LGBTQ discrimination cases being heard by courts, even if they don't win. However, all is not well; a big LGBTQ event due to be held in Xi'an in May was cancelled and the nine organizers arrested under spurious charges. They were only let go after they gave up their mobile phones and the contact details of all the speakers at the event.