Africa Anti-Homosexuality Act anti-LGBTQ+ Articles Homophobia LGBTQIA+ community Life Long Reads News Originals Transphobia Uganda UK

Why anti-LGBTQ legislation in Africa is a western problem

A year on from the passing of Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act, journalist Desmond Vincent reflects on the UK’s role in promoting homophobia and transphobia internationally. WORDS BY DESMOND VINCENT HEADER DESIGN YOSEF PHELAN Queer media representation is down while transphobic legislation and scaremongering are on the up – across the west, recent years have seen a regression in terms of queer and trans equality. In times like these, it’s important to look to history in an effort to understand the political and cultural history of the LGBTQIA+ community.  But while the…

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Africa Articles Explainer LGBTQ+ News Life Namibia News Openly Uganda

LGBTQ+ rights in Africa 2023: Progress and setbacks

Across Africa, while court verdicts ensured rights for LGBTQIA+ people in Kenya and Namibia, countries such as Uganda and Ghana doubled down on anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation. The year began with 32 of 54 African countries criminalising LGBTQIA+ people, according to rights group Human Dignity Trust. Going into 2024, that number is down to 31. Here are the significant updates from 2023. Mauritius: The island country’s highest court decriminalised same-sex relations, striking down a colonial-era law dating back to 1898. Kenya: The east African country’s Supreme Court in February affirmed the right…

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Africa Articles Explainer LGBTQ+ News Life News Openly

The colonial legacy of anti-LGBTQ+ laws in Africa

Namibia’s High Court will rule next May in a case that could see the southern African country overturn a colonial-era ban on same-sex relations. Friedel Dausab, who is gay, is challenging the compatibility of the common law offence of sodomy and related offences with his rights under the constitution. Sexual contact between men is a criminal offence in Namibia but the law is seldom enforced. Like many anti-LGBTQIA+ statutes across Africa, the Namibian law dates back to colonisation and was retained on the books after independence in 1990. In October,…

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Africa Articles Elon Musk LGBTQ+ News Life News Openly Twitter

LGBTQ+ Africans fight Twitter hate speech after Elon Musk’s takeover

LGBTQ+ rights groups across Africa said they are offering online safety training and trauma counselling to users after seeing a rise in hate speech since Elon Musk took over the platform. Campaigners from Ghana to Nigeria and Uganda fear the recent increase in anti-gay posts on Twitter – which included people being outed, vilified, blackmailed and even threatened with death – will drive LGBTQ+ Africans off the microblogging site. “Twitter has become a really important forum for the LGBTQ community in many African countries. Even with all the increasing hate,…

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