A young transgender activist — attacked, wounded and taken to the hospital in 2016 in the province of South Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo — now urgently needs a temporary relocation for his security, the LGBTI rights group ALCIS (Action for the Fight Against Social Injustice) reports. Continue reading
Monthly Archives: June 2017
Ugandan trans woman flees to Kenya, finds ‘complete hell’
Abandoned and abused in Uganda, trans woman Alexis Sekamate fled to Kenya in 2015. At the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya, she endured a life of homophobic snubs, insults and violence from other refugees — “a complete hell,” she says. Then she escaped to Nairobi, where she is hiding out. Continue reading
Tanzania threatens to arrest all gay rights activists
Tanzania has expanded its anti-gay crackdown to include anyone working for gay rights or protecting “homosexual interests.” Government officials seem unaware or unconcerned that such repression, which includes denial of health services to LGBTI people, is likely to lead to a rebound of HIV/AIDS, as has occurred in Uganda. Continue reading
Kenyan ban on ‘gay’ cartoons extends to all of Africa
Millions of television viewers throughout Africa have lost access to LGBT-affirming animated programs because Kenyan officials declared that the shows were “promoting the deviant LGBT agenda.” Continue reading
Tunisia: Teen gets 4-month sentence for homosexuality
A Tunisian judge has sentenced a 16-year-old to four months in prison for homosexuality. The youth will serve the sentence at a reform school. Continue reading
In Bukavu, anti-LGBTI hate crimes are common, condoned
Threats, forced evictions, anti-LGBTI protests. The security situation of LGBTI people in the City of Bukavu in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo leaves much to be desired, according to the advocacy group Action for the Fight Against Social Injustice in Bukavu (ALCIS). Continue reading
Preparing to publish stories of older gay men in Nigeria
The Initiative for Equal Rights (TIERs), a leading human rights NGO in Nigeria, is working on a project to document the life histories and experiences of queer men in Nigeria. Continue reading
Anti-LGBTI murders, but optimism too? Q&A with a reporter
Which country will repeal its anti-gay law next? Why do your blog’s writers use pseudonyms? Were you attacked? Here are my answers to questions posed by a Brazilian journalist writing about LGBTI rights and the Erasing 76 Crimes blog. Continue reading
Will new Nigerian film change narrative about homosexuality?
Another venturesome LGBT-themed movie has emerged from homophobic Nigeria. Continue reading
Former British colonies inch toward LGBTI rights
The Commonwealth of Nations, most of them former British colonies, has granted legal recognition to an LGBTI group for the first time. Overall, the group has a poor record on LGBTI rights — of the 52 countries in the Commonwealth, 36 have laws against consensual same-sex intimacy. Continue reading