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A GLBTQ EDUCATION INTERNET RESOURCES Latin America, Caribbean & Africa: Africa

Index: Latin America & Africa -  - Middle East / Asia -  - Race/Ethic Minority Issues: U.S., Canada, Europe,  New Zealand & Australia -  - Homosexuality:  Biological  or  Learned ? -  -  Public School Issues -  - Transgender / Tranvestite / Transsexual -  - Lesbian  &  Bisexual Women -  - Homo-Negativity / Phobia -  - Identity Formation  &  Coming Out -  - Counseling  &  Therapy -  - Professional Education  -  - Bisexuality -  - Religion   &  Spirituality -  - Male  Youth Prostitution -  - HIV-AIDS -  - Gay & Bisexual Male Suicide Problems -  - Drug / Alcohol Use / Abuse / Addiction  -  - GLBT  History -  - Community Attributes  &  Problems -  -  Couples / Families / Children / Adoption / Spousal Violence -  - The Elderly

Latin America, The Caribbean  & Africa: Africa

Section Index

Part 2 - "Africa" (This Page): South Africa - Kenya - Zambia - Zimbabwe - Namibia - Nigeria - Uganda - Burkina Faso - Botswana - Ivory Coast - Senegal - Egypt - Algeria - Morocco - Tunesia --- Angola - Benin - Burundi - Cameroon - Cape Verde --- Central African Republic - Chad - Comoros - Republic of Congo - Democratic Republic of Congo --- Equatorial Guinea - Erithrea - Ethiopia - Gabon - Gambia -- Ghana - Guinea - Guinea Bissau - Lesotho - Liberia --- Ghana - Guinea - Guinea Bissau - Lesotho - Liberia --- Mauritius - Mozambique - Niger - Reunion - Rwanda --- Sao Tome and Principe - Seychelles - Sierra Leone - Somalia - Sudan - Swaziland - Tanzania - Togo --- General African Resources --- International Issues & Resources.

Part 1 - "Latin America" : Mexico - Cuba --- Caribbean: Jamaica - Trinidad / Tobago - Puerto Rico - Haiti - Martinique / Guadeloupe - Netherland Antilles - Cayman Islands - Bahamas - Bermuda - Saint Lucia --- Latin American / Caribbean Resources --- International Issues & Resources..

Part 2 - "Latin America": Central America: Panama - Honduras - Belize - Costa Rica - Nicaragua - Guatemala - El Salvador --- South America: Brazil - Peru - Chile - Columbia - Argentina - Ecuador - Venezuela - Uruguay - Bolivia - Guyana - Paraguay --- Latin American / Caribbean Resources --- International Issues & Resources.

AFRICA

Bateman, Chris (2011). Transgender patients sidelined by attitudes and labelling.  SAMJ: South African Medical Journal, 101(2). Full Text. In spite of an enlightened constitution and enabling legislation, South Africa's small transgender population continues to battle medical prejudice and ignorance in addition to huge societal pressure to conform to socially constructed sexual stereotypes. An Izindaba investigation showed that transgender people need precise information and deep pockets to access hormone treatment and/or gender-reassignment surgery, be it in the public or private sector.

Matebeni, Zethu (2011). Exploring Black Lesbian Sexualities and Identities In Johannesburg. PhD Dissertation, University of the Witwatersrand. PDF Download. Download Page. Exploring black lesbian sexualities and identities is a multifaceted in-­depth ethnographic study of black urban lesbian life in contemporary South Africa. This study, which focuses on lesbian women aged between 17 and 40 years, reads the term lesbian as both a political and a theoretical project. It speaks to current concerns, which raise questions related to the politics of inclusion/exclusion, love, sexuality, identity politics, violence, style and urban space while sensitively giving agency to women’s narratives. In many ways, it enriches and challenges conventional gay and lesbian studies and studies on sexuality in Africa by bringing meaning to the complex interplay between space, style, erotic practice and sexuality. It further illustrates the flexible practices and variable notions of sex, sexuality and gender categories. At the same time it tackles the precarious and painful position of black lesbian women whose lives are an ongoing maneuvering and negotiation between a potentially hostile or violent environment and a country with constitutional protections. The political and theoretical imperative of the study is evident in the representations of black lesbians as occupying subject positions in which they determine the structures and meanings of their lives. Their narratives show that they inhabit the world actively, not only as victims or in relation to others, but also as conscious subjects that make meanings of their lives: subjects who are actively and critically engaging with the world we inhabit. - Matebeni, Zethu (2009). Sexing Women: Young black lesbians' reflections on sex and responses to safe(r) sex. In: Vasu Reddy, Theo Sandfort & Laetitia Rispel (eds), From Social Silence to Social Science Same-sex sexuality, HIV & AIDS and Gender in South Africa. Book & Chapters Download Page. - Matebeni Z (2008). 'Vela bhambhentsele': Intimacies and complexities in researching within black lesbian groups in Johannesburg. Feminist Africa 11: 89–96. PDF Download.

Ntuli, Praisegod Mduduzi. (2009). IsiNgqumo : exploring origins, growth and sociolinguistics of an Nguni urban-township homosexual subculture. Master's Dissertation, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban. PDF Download. Download Page. PDF Download. Abstract. The emergence of gay subcultures in Africa can be attributed to the colonial entrenchment of homophobia and homophobic laws. This emergence of gay subcultures alongside the merciless homophobia necessitated the creation of secretive forms of linguistic communication amongst the sub cultured gays. Among the Nguni people of South Africa, isiNgqumo emerged as the lingua franca within the Nguni gay subculture. This study focuses on the Nguni gay subculture in Durban and the employment of isiNgqumo by township and city/urban Nguni gay men termed skesanas. 36 young Nguni homosexual men and one older Nguni man were the participants who were interviewed. The methodology that was used in this study was ethnography. The study also relied on a snowballing technique to access numerous of the 36 young Nguni homosexual men. The study found that the Nguni gay subculture of Durban is stratified throughout several places within Durban, it is not one geographical location. Two gay clubs and two gay salons were visited as they are some of the locations where the Nguni gay subculture is located.

Not all SA's gays enjoy greater freedom (2004): "South Africa's gays are enjoying a new era of freedom in cities 10 years after the end of apartheid, but black and coloured homosexuals in townships and villages are still victims of discrimination and hate attacks." - "Gay Apartheid" in South Africa N/A (2003): "She also said that many bars ask blacks for their "membership cards." When they can't produce these non-existent ID's, they are denied entrance. "There is still a lot of racism against blacks from whites," she says. "Black and white gays live in two different worlds. It's almost as if there is gay apartheid." Even white gay and lesbian activists acknowledge the divide. Evert Knoesen of the Gay and Lesbian Equality Project concedes that integrating whites and blacks in the community "remains a big issue."" - Gay community still facing many challenges (2004, Alternate Link): "Gays are enjoying a new era of freedom in cities 10 years after the end of apartheid, but black and coloured homosexuals in townships and villages are still victims of discrimination and hate attacks..." - 'Gay hate' website sparks fury (2004, Alternate Link): "South Africa's oldest lesbian and gay service organisation, the Triangle Project, on Friday reacted with outrage at a website that called for the "reclaiming of Cape Town from the homosexual plague"..."

The highest court in South Africa has overturned apartheid-era laws criminalizing homosexuality (Oct. 1998). - Adult gay sex is not a crime, court rules (1997). - A short history of South African Pride (1997). - South African Court Grants Same Sex Spousal Rights (2002). - Court Hears Challenge To South Africa Gay Marriage Ban (2004). - South Africa Anti-Gay Adoption Law Unconstitutional (2002). - South African Gays Gain Adoption Rights (Alternate Link). - L'adoption permise pour les homosexuels en Afrique du Sud (2002, Translation). - South Africa: Apartheid Military Forced Gay Troops Into Sex-Change Operations (2000). - Gays tell of mutilation by South African Military (2010). - South Africa OKs gays in its military N/A (Related Information: The Effect of Sodomy Laws on Lifting the Ban of Homosexual Personnel: 3 Case Studies) - A Gay Woman's Experience During her Career in the Department of Defence: Fleet of Hope: A Social Science Commentary - Part 2. (2003).

Gay and Lesbian Youth Experiences of Homophobia in South African Secondary Education (2003). - South African LGBT youth (2005). - South Africa: LGBT issues (2005). - South African Gay and Lesbian Youth Coming Out to Their Families: Analysing Various Decision-Making Pathways and Outcomes (2005). - The use of defence mechanisms as precursors to coming out in post-apartheid South Africa: a gay and lesbian youth perspective (2008). - IsiNgqumo - Introducing a gay Black South African linguistic variety (2008).

South African gays take centre stage (1999): "Conservative Christians have threatened to disrupt the Miss Gay South Africa beauty pageant which is scheduled to take place on Saturday." - Gays Reap Rewards Slowly in Post-Apartheid South Africa. - Gays neglected in HIV/AIDS campaigns (2004, Alternate Link). - Engendering gay and lesbian rights: the equality cluase in the South African Constitution (2003, PDF Download). - Lesbians targets of rape war: Lesbians are being raped, assaulted and victimised "every day" in the townships, in an attempt to force a change in their sexual orientation. Since January this year, 33 black lesbians have come forward with their stories of rape, assault, sexual assault and verbal abuse to organisations fighting hate crimes in Johannesburg townships.

Behind closed Doors: Gay and Married (2001). -  School boys: the player queen. (2001, Links to 7 other stories at the end of story) - Moffies, Artists, and Queens: Race and the Production of South African Gay Male Drag (2002 Draft; 2004, Published: Abstract). - South African lesbians fear rise of crime against them (2004). - Le mal de vivre des lesbiennes noires (2003, Translation): Les homosexuelles noires habitant dans les townships subissent de graves traumatismes, liés aux agressions verbales et physiques dont elles sont victimes quotidiennement. C’est ce qui ressort d’une étude de deux chercheuses sud-africaines. La première du genre à donner la parole à cette communauté humiliée. - Rape New Weapon Against South African Lesbians (2004).

The Lesbian and Gay Equality project: Special features (2004): A Religious Opinion on Same Sex Marriage. - For Same-sex Marriage. - Integration of the Human Rights of Women and the Gender Perspective Violence Against Women: "No woman can determine the direction of her own life without the ability to determine her sexuality. Sexuality is an integral, deeply ingrained part of every human being’s life and should not be subject to debate or coercion. Anyone who is truly committed to human rights must recognise that every woman has the right to determine her sexuality free of discrimination." - Unmasking our struggle: "When black lesbians and gay men turn to the lesbian and gay community, they are often met with racism from their white counterparts. They may be met with white lesbians and gay men who do not understand their cultural background, find them sexually "exotic", cannot be bothered to spell their names properly and have no understanding of how racism has affected their lives. In extreme cases, they are not made to feel welcome at cultural or political gatherings..."

Stop prison rape in South Africa (2007): Abstract: South Africa has some of the highest rates of rape in the world. Activists have drawn attention to the devastating effect this has on women and children. However, insufficient attention has been paid to rape - predominantly of men - in prisons. This article aims to educate gender activists about the phenomenon of prison rape in the context of South Africa. It hopes to make the case that prison rape reflects and reinforces rape culture in South Africa (and elsewhere). In so doing, it aims to galvanise action to prevent prison rape and all forms of rape. - Prisons slammed over male rapes (2004): "Prison psychological services director Dr Lorinda Bergh testified she found it startling that no policy had been developed to protect homo- and transsexual men in jail... She was testifying on claims by former inmate Louis Karp, who claims to have been raped and abused while awaiting trial for car theft in the Pretoria local prison in 2001 and 2002... Earlier on Tuesday, prison doctor Kobeli Khomari admitted that measures to deal with rape among inmates were inadequate, even though the phenomenon was "very common".Khomari also conceded that rape claims very rarely reached court and said rape victims were not referred for psychological help as a matter of course... She agreed with Barlow that "trauma upon trauma" was heaped on Karp, and that this was largely a result of a lack of understanding of male rape..." - Rape in Prison: An intervention by Rape Crisis at Pollsmoor Prison (2002).

Boy, 15, 'sold' for jail rape (2008). - South Africa: Rape Incidents At Correctional Disturbing, Says Commissioner (2008). - Sexual Violence Plagues South African Prisons (2009). - Jail rape: The sordid facts (2005). - Behind the bars of South African prisons: Gendered roles and vulnerability of male inmates to forced sex (2005, Alternate Link). - Inquiry documents ill-treatment of SA gays in prison (2004). - MPs Demand Action on Prison Rapes, 'Marriages' (2010): Shocked MPs have demanded a plan of action on prison rapes and "marriages" following a report from a civil society organisation that nothing had been done in recent years to address the sexual violation of inmates. Members of Parliament's correctional services committee were reacting to a report from the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation. The centre's Sasha Gear told them yesterday that it had been difficult to get the Department of Correctional Services to give the matter the attention it deserved.

Police-jail rapes of white SA men is a war crime pattern (2010): It’s a pattern: often white South African men are arrested on frivolous charges, dumped in holding cells with black criminals and raped – and then released without charges the next day… The writer of the following article, known only as Sybille*, says these race-targetted rapes are ‘war-crimes’ – ‘acts of aggression to humiliate and degrade members of the white conquered tribe’.. - Jail rape of white South African men a war crime (2010). - ‘Rape in jail’ ad too shocking for some (2010): The Civil Society Prison Reform Initiative has slammed an advertising campaign seeking to deter drunken-driving by warning male drivers they face the prospect of being raped in prison if arrested. - South African Lesbians Targeted for Rape and Violence (2011). - South African victory on lesbian rape (2011): Free Gender is a Black lesbian group from Khayelitsha in Cape Town.   The group organised a rally in protest against the lack of government and political  response to ” corrective rape”. - South Africans decry rapes of lesbians (2011): Rights activists are speaking out against rapes targeting lesbians in South Africa.

South African man charged with ‘correctional rape’ of lesbian (2010). - South Africa corrective rape (2009, Video). - Raped and killed for being a lesbian: South Africa ignores 'corrective' attacks (2009). - South Africa: 'Corrective Rape' Spreads To 'Fix' Lesbians (2009). - Lesbians subjected to "corrective rape" in South Africa  (2009): Lesbians living in South Africa are being subjected to "corrective rape" and severe violence by men trying to "cure" them of their sexual orientation, human rights groups have said.. - Female athletes often targets for rape (2010). - Tackling South Africa's rape epidemic (2009): The trial of three of the men accused of the rape and murder of one of South Africa's leading sportswomen, the openly gay football star Eudy Simelane, starts in South Africa on Wednesday. - Viols et meurtres de lesbiennes en Afrique du Sud : l’épidémie (2011, Translation). - Girl, 13, latest victim of ’corrective rape’ in South Africa (2011).

Perpetrators of corrective rape: Uncertainty and gender in the 21st century (2011): South Africa is “witnessing a backlash of crimes targeted specifically at lesbian women, who are perceived as representing a direct threat to a male dominated society” according to ActionAid, an international non-governmental organisation (NGO) backed by the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC). The most notable of these crimes against lesbian women is corrective rape. Perpetrators of corrective rape desire to show lesbians “how to be real women.” They manifestly believe that forcing heterosexual intercourse onto lesbians will somehow reinstate a ‘traditional’ hetero-normative sexual identity in their victims. Using violence to attain their ‘goal’ indicates an attitude of hatred towards lesbian women. Unfortunately, support groups report that corrective rape is on the rise in South African townships...

Mieses A (2009). Gender Inequality and Corrective Rape of Women Who Have Sex With Women. GMHC Treatment Issues. PDF Download. African women face a new epidemic, one that threatens their lives and creates additional barriers to HIV prevention.  South African lesbians and other women who have sex with women (WSW) challenge dominant South African ideas about gender identity. Some WSW are sexually and brutally punished by local men for being gay and violating traditional gender presentation. This punishment is referred to as “corrective rape.” Reported incidents of corrective rape have been growing, and many unreported cases remain uncounted. South African officials rarely declare these crimes as hate crimes, despite the fact that the victims are targeted for being WSW. In July 2007, two women were found in a Johannesburg township after being gang-raped, tortured, tied with their underwear and shot execution-style in the head... - 'These Women, They Force Us to Rape Them': Rape as Narrative of Social Control in Post-Apartheid South Africa (2006). - « Corrective rape » or how to set lesbians straight (2010). - Hate crimes: The rise of ‘corrective’ rape in South Africa (2009).

Krause, Kristina (2006). Being a Lesbian in South Africa.  Word Download. “In a country numbered by violence against women, lesbians are a target not just because they’re women, but because they love women”, (Gail Smith of Women Behind the Mask, 2003). Black women are the most underprivileged group in South Africa and when the title of lesbian is added, their status drops even further. For outsiders, a black lesbian woman has become something deeply offensive. Her homosexuality all at once, puts her against South African culture, religion, blackness, womanhood and her family. However, according to South Africa’s constitution this should not be the case...

van Dyk, Delene (2011). “Lesbian Lives Unlimited”; The psycho-social-sexual experiences of lesbian women in Tshwana (Pretoria): A qualitative analysis. In: Saskia E. Wieringa (ed), Women-Loving-Women in Africa and Asia, pp. 428-463. Amsterdam: TRANS/SIGN Report of Research Findings. PDF Download.  This report illustrates that, to really understand the lives of lesbian women, you should change the way you look at them and throw your heteronormative stereotyped lenses away, with no limiting beliefs. Not two women in this study presented with the exact same life experiences (like women in general), although there might be areas that resemble each other. This report highlights the need to find out more about lesbian women’s lives, not only to understand their lives and experiences better, but because it gives a voice to a very marginalized group of women. It gives a voice to both the women who are comfortably out and proud and then to those that, due to unfortunate circumstances, cannot be out and be who they really are and love who they really want, too afraid of the consequences, the discrimination, and rejection.

Klein, Thamar (2009). Intersex and transgender activism in South Africa. Liminalis: Journal for sex/gender emancipation and resistance, 3. PDF Download. Download Page. South Africa has come a long way concerning the legal treatment of trans* (in medical literature often categorised as transgenderism, transsexuality, gender dysphoria, or gender identity disorder) and intersexuality (also known as hermaphroditism or disorder of sex development). LGBTTIQ-activists consider the country to be, from a legal point of view, among the most progressive worldwide... South Africa is despite its progressive laws far from being a ‘dreamland’ for trans* and intersexed people. Instead they still face a vast array of obstacles, phobias, discrimination, and hate crimes. However the constitution and the progressive laws provide a legal basis from which they can fight for their rights.

MSM left out of media, prevention programmes (2010): Men who have sex with men (MSM) do not make headlines in South African media and HIV experts have warned that a lack of accurate coverage prevents targeted HIV prevention and care for these men... "MSM doesn't mean that you're gay – it just [means] a man who sleeps with other men ... but as soon as you say that a man sleeps with another man, people think that's 'gay'," Radebe told IRIN/PlusNews. "We have to get away from boxing people and come to an understanding." Reinforcing stereotypes that all MSM are gay – or that they have the same HIV prevention needs as gay men – may alienate this vulnerable group, which does not usually self-identify as being gay. It may also deter them from accessing target HIV services for fear of being labelled “gay”, he added... But same-sex relationships remain difficult terrain for media in South Africa. One of the most popular television soap operas, Generations, recently broke new ground with a gay kiss – and lost a substantial number of viewers in the process, according to Melissa Meyer, a project coordinator with the HIV/AIDS and the Media Project at Johannesburg’s University of the Witwatersrand...

HIV Prevalence and Risk Practices Among Men Who Have Sex With Men in Two South African Cities (2011): MSM aged 18 years or older were recruited using respondent-driven sampling. Participants completed a questionnaire and provided finger-prick blood specimens for anonymous HIV testing in a laboratory. From July to December 2008, 285 MSM were recruited in Johannesburg (n=204) and Durban (n=81). Participants had a median age of 22 years and were predominantly black Africans (88.3%). The HIV prevalence was 49.5% (95% confidence interval [CI], 42.5%-56.5% in Johannesburg and 27.5% (95% CI 17.0%-38.1%) in Durban. HIV infection was associated with gay identification (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 8.4; 95% CI, 3.7-19). Factors in the previous year that were associated with HIV infection included receptive unprotected anal intercourse (aOR 4.3; 95% CI 2.4-7.6); sex with a person known to be HIV positive (aOR 2.3; 95% CI 1.1-4.9); and a sexually transmitted infection diagnosis (aOR 2.4; 95% CI 1.1-5.2)..,

HIV and Sexual Risk in African MSM in South African Township (Study From 2008 to 2012): South African men who have sex with men (MSM) are an understudied population in HIV/AIDS epidemiological and social science research... The aims of the proposed study are (1) to assess the prevalence of HIV among African MSM living in South African townships and identify which behavioral, psychosocial, and network characteristics distinguish infected MSM from non-infected MSM; (2) to identify the structural and psychosocial correlates of sexual risk behavior in these men, with a particular focus on the role of alcohol use; and (3) to describe the social organization of same-sex sexual practices of these men and identify structural and psychosocial factors that affect how these practices are experienced. To accomplish these aims, the proposed study combines HIV testing, a survey, and ethnography. - HIV prevention and men who have sex with men: A South African experience (2010).

Boyce P. et al (2011). An Exploratory Study of the Social Contexts, Practices and Risks of Men Who Sell Sex in Southern and Eastern Africa. PDF Download. This report presents research conducted on behalf of Oxfam GB with funding from UNDP - an exploratory study of the social contexts, practices and risks of men who sell sex in Southern and Eastern Africa. The research was undertaken by the African Sex Worker Alliance in collaboration with Dr. Paul Boyce (UNDP) and Dr. Gordon Isaacs (SWEAT) as principle investigators... Conclusion: The data presented in this report combine to build-up a complex and nuanced account of the lives and life-worlds of male sex workers in the Southern and Eastern Africa region. A strength of the methodology adopted in the study (both in the formative workshop and in the follow-up activities) was a focus on sex workers' narratives amidst the creation of discursive spaces wherein intimate and personal views of male sex work could be shared. This added analytical depth to explorations of social vulnerability, sexual subjectivity, 'belonging', risk and so forth. The research consciously countered approaches to the study of sex work that focus on the classification of 'types' of sex worker or sex work, or which focus on the categorization and quantification of sexual risk practices. Whilst such research can certainly engender useful information, we were also concerned that in terms of analysis of sexualities and sex work as lived day-to-day practices such studies typically offer only a partial or limited perspective. In basing our research and analysis within first-order accounts of sex workers' lives we have sought to ground the research with a strong, experiential epistemology, which is also personally and emotionally sensitive. Personal developmental milestones [family background], language, vernacular, cultural and tribal affiliations, including inner city and peri-urban influences - and migrant sex work populations -have created mini-sub-cultures that often contain specific mores, codes of behaviour, class divisions and gender rivalry . This anthropological diversity must be addressed -sensitive to the needs, aspirations and participation of all concerned. This in turn can offer important insights into sex workers life experiences in a manner that can offer new and significant pathways for addressing social vulnerability, rights, risks, HIV prevention and health.

Disclosure decisions of HIV positive men who have sex with men (MSM) in Cape Town, South Africa (PPT Presentation as PDF): Sixty eight of the 92 MSM living with HIV reported anal sex with more than onepartner who were unaware of their HIV positive status. Almost 60% of the respondents indicated that it was difficult for them to tell other people about their HIV positive status. MSM did report experiencing discrimination (64%) resulting from being HIV positive, including loss of housing or employment (45%). Of interest is that 11% of the MSM reported that they were currently married. Whilst 36 of the 92 MSM indicated that they had unprotected vaginal sex more than once in the previous 3 months with partners who were unaware of their HIV positive status.

Researching MSM in South Africa: Some Preliminary Notes from the Frontlines of a Hidden Epidemic (2009, PDF Download. Reference): In South Africa, almost all medical and civil society-based research on HIV and AIDS has been focused on heterosexual transmission (or on mother-to-child transmission) (Abdool Karim & Abdool Karim, 2005). The near-erasure of homosexuals from the HIV/AIDS epidemiological picture in South Africa could be attributed to political exclusion (Fourie, 2006). It may also be due to a historical reluctance by policymakers to address HIV/ AIDS in same-sex practicing populations because such an engagement would require engaging with sexual practices and identities that are already steeped in prejudice and pathologization (Johnson, 2007). We would argue that the prevailing culture of denial vis á vis homosexuality in the South African context is in and of itself a hostile response towards homosexuality, and is something which warrants analysis in terms which include South Africa in other continental cultures of denial around homosexuality. These cultures tend to categorize homosexuality as a Euro-American perversion that has contaminated African “tradition”; despite increasing evidence of the existence of homosexuality in pre-colonial Africa2. The assumption that homosexuality is a sign of European and Western decadence is underpinned by homogenising discourses that view “tradition” as static, unchanging and fixed. Central to this discourse is the common and totalising argument that homosexuality is “unAfrican” with the argument often focused on homosexuality’s absence in pre-colonial Africa (Antonio, 1997)...

Call for MSM to Be on Aids Agenda (2010): As World AIDS Day approaches, activists and service providers in the non-governmental health sector have warned government that it will never turn the tide of AIDS if high risk groups such as men who have sex with other men are not brought into focus in efforts to prevent HIV spreading further. An online survey conducted by the OUT Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Inter-sex network in 2007 shows that 15 - 20% of men in South Africa, which translates to about 1.8 million men, have sex with other men. Non-governmental organizations and activists have cautioned that this is a high-risk group and its continued marginalization in national AIDS programmes poses a threat to making real progress in addressing AIDS. So far, programmes in South Africa, largely driven by the National Strategic Plan for HIV and AIDS, have been designed to respond to what has been described as a "general heterosexual epidemic". This is of concern to Dr Oscar Radebe, a medical officer with Health for Men, an NGO that offers health services to men...

Lane T, Raymond HF, Dladla S, Rasethe J, Struthers H, McFarland W, McIntyre J (2011). High HIV prevalence among men who have sex with men in Soweto, South Africa: results from the Soweto Men's Study. AIDS and Behavior, 15(3): 626-34. PDF Download. PubMed Abstract. The Soweto Men’s Study assessed HIV prevalence and associated risk factors among MSM in Soweto, South Africa. Using respondent driven sampling (RDS) recruitment methods, we recruited 378 MSM (including 15 seeds) over 30 weeks in 2008. All results were adjusted for RDS sampling design. Overall HIV prevalence was estimated at 13.2% (95% confidence interval 12.4–13.9%), with 33.9% among gay-identified men, 6.4% among bisexual-identified men, and 10.1% among straight-identified MSM... The results of the Soweto Men’s Study confirm that MSM are at high risk for HIV infection, with gay men at highest risk. HIV prevention and treatment for MSM are urgently needed..

Lane T, et al (2006). High-Risk Sex among Black MSM in Gauteng, South Africa. PDF Download. Despite high levels of HIV awareness, high-risk sexual behavior among the most sexually active suggest that Black South African MSM are highly vulnerable to HIV infection.  • A concentrated HIV epidemic among Black MSM may be linked to the generalized epidemic in South Africa through the
sexual behavior of men who have sex with both men and women. • Researchers, CBOs, and provincial and national departments of health can work together to address the HIV prevention needs of MSM.
• The feasibility of community-based strategies for HIV prevention should be systematically explored. This must include the development of specific strategies to encourage HIV prevention among bisexual and straight-identified men as well as among gay-identified men.  • The association of alcohol use and high-risk sexual behavior among Black South African MSM will be an important area of focus for HIV prevention efforts.  • Barriers to availability of and access to latex-compatible lubrication, particularly cost barriers, must be addressed.

Livingston L, et al. (2008). Prism Project: Needs Assessment Report: Resourced Gay Men in Tshwane aged 18-40, 2007/8. Pretoria: OUT Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender (LGBT) Well-Being. PDF Download. The NA was a first step in exploring determinants of casual sexual risk-taking among White resourced gay men in Tshwane. Three broad areas were explored, i.e. biographical data, views of health problems and solutions and lastly, sexual behaviour and the determinants thereof. It became clear that HIV and STIs are seen as serious health problems confronting gay men. Without a strong sense of community, they appear apathetic and disinterested in taking responsibility for their own sexual health and well-being. Casual sex seems to be occurring in a context where anal sex is a preference, where motivating and de-motivating factors are mediated by the type of venue, the time of day, the codes given and the substance used, where there is no regular testing and no one knows their recent status, where there is no condom use in steady relationships and inconsistent condom use in casual encounters, where there is no negotiated safety in steady relationships and casual encounters, and where monogamy is claimed but not carried out and secrecy surrounds the most recent casual encounter. It is clear that this situates these men as being at a high risk of contracting and transmitting an STI or HIV. An intervention is needed to deal with the developing problem.

Tucker, Andrew (2009). Framing exclusion in Cape Town's gay village: the discursive and material perpetration of inequitable queer subjects. Area, 41(2): 186-197. Abstract: Within and beyond geography, there has been a growing concern in understanding how and why exclusion can occur within ‘gay spaces’, with a specific focus on Western Europe and North America. Heidi Nast's (2002 Queer patriarchies, queer racisms, international Antipode 34 874–909) work on the ‘white queer patriarch’ has taken this work further by exploring the multiple, interrelated, historical and contemporary factors that can lead to exclusion and exploitation. Despite growing interest surrounding South Africa's new liberal queer agenda, issues of contemporary exclusion among queer groups as a direct result of race and racism have remained relatively unexplored. By incorporating elements of Nast's schema, this article will examine the power that exists in the creation and framing of essentialistic ‘white’ and ‘coloured’ queer male subjects in Cape Town's gay village. These subjects will be shown to simultaneously draw on historical inequalities while also re-imagining them in contemporary settings to re-inscribe perceptions of classed and gendered difference. The creation of such inequitable subjects helps us understand how exclusion can become real and normalised within a space such as Cape Town's gay village in a way that draws on a history of material inequalities and discursive perceptions of race.

Black like me? Gay hairstyling and the paradox of modernity in South Africa (2007 Dissertation): The starting point for this research project is hairstyling and "hair saloons". Hairstyles are an important marker of cultural identity and hair saloons frequently provide safe social spaces for gay men as well as a significant point of interaction with broader communities. Hair saloons are thus sites where same-sex identities can be developed and expressed as well as negotiated with the outside world. In the South African public imaginary, gay lifestyles are associated with "modernity", a term which has both negative and positive connotations. This is particularly apparent in the ambiguous response to hairstylists, as a source of what is both desirable and regrettable about "modernity". This research will explore the articulation between "modernity" and contemporary same-sex identities in South Africa. The nature of rural and urban, traditional and modern, will be explored through a network of stylists and their associates who live and work outside of the metropole, in the urban peripheries, small towns and rural areas of South Africa's Mpumalanga province.

Currier, Ashley McAllister (2007). The Visibility of Sexual Minority Movement Organizations in Namibia and South Africa. PhD Dissertation, Sociology, University of Pittsburgh. PDF Download. Download Page. Abstract: The South African state has responded favorably to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) social movement organizations’ (SMOs) efforts to protect and extend sexual and gender minority rights, whereas Namibian state leaders have verbally attacked LGBT organizing and threatened to arrest sexual and gender minorities... I engaged in intensive, continuous ethnographic observation of four Namibian and South African LGBT social movement organizations for approximately 800 hours and analyzed my ethnographic fieldnotes. I also analyzed more than 2,100 newspaper articles and LGBT SMO documents and conducted 56 in-depth interviews with staff, members, and leaders of LGBT SMOs. In this dissertation, I explore the varied strategic dilemmas of visibility and invisibility that Namibian and South African LGBT SMOs faced...

The Lesbian and Gay Equality project: Special features (2003): Expressions of Johannesburg pride (Alternate Link): "One can almost write a report on Pride before it takes place. South African Gay and Lesbian Pride (formerly Lesbian and Gay Pride - a more inclusive and less marginalizing title) is now firmly following the model set by Prides worldwide... so what are they partying after, you may ask? It is a far cry from the foundation of the Pride phenomenon in South Africa, now in its 14th year. There was a time - and Yusoof Abdullah, co-organiser of the Pride event this year is keen to remind people of his connection to those initial Pride marches - when Pride meant something... Well there is a good reason why some political sentiments need to be injected back into the Pride event - our most public expression of pride in ourselves and our community. Just because it says so in the constitution doesn't mean that people don't discriminate against lesbian and gay people and that homophobia is not still rife in South Africa... Few lesbian or gay people in the world have not heard of Matthew Shepard; a victim of a violent and brutal homophobic attack that led to his death hanging from a fence in the USA. But we have our own Matthew Shepards - we are just less willing to learn their names and honour their suffering with action... I have been marching in Pride marches in UK and South Africa since 1985. I have never missed a year. I even helped to organise one in South Africa in 2001. My commitment to the need for Pride and its meaning is total - so why was this the first year of my adult life that I couldn't march? Am I getting old? And why should that be such a sin in the gay world? No, none of this, I just could not find anything there to be proud of.

'I've got two men and one woman': ancestors, sexuality and identity among same-sex identified women traditional healers in South Africa (2003):  This paper presents preliminary insights into the complex nature of the same-sex orientation of seven women who are sangomas (traditional healers) in Soweto. Data was derived from an ethnographic study, used as the appropriate methodology because of the veiled and secret nature of same-sexuality amongst traditional healers... the belief system of the sangomas provides a window into different categories of sexuality in an African framework through which the interaction and intersection of their personal same-sex desire, and that of their male ancestors, can be viewed. Sangomas construction of identity and desire shifted between that of personal agency and that of a dominant male ancestor. This required constant negotiation and encompassed elements of both the 'modern' and 'traditional'. In the case of these sangomas, same-sexuality the basis of marginality assumes a social status and becomes a source of power.

(Un)Imagined Bodies and Identities (2008): I come from South Africa, a country that suffers in its postcolonial phase, like all other African countries do, from the past and present afflictions of European colonization and American imperialism that has including a white minority regime until 1990. Like all imperialist and other formerly colonized countries, South Africa is also still embedded within European heteropatriarchal values and queerphobia. However, I did not expect to be one of the unimagined and unvoiced bodies and identities in Canada, a country globally recognized for its advanced human rights and protections that includes the legal recognition of a person’s multi-layered identities... I would also like to preface this paper with the argument that theorizing about the lack of queer content in the MA Documentary Media program is about more than a silence about queer sexuality. It is about a racialized heteronormativity as it is reproduced within Canadian academia and the larger Canadian mainstream society...

Cloete A, Rispel L, Reddy V, Metcalf C (2010). Constructs of identity and HIV risk behaviours among men who have sex with men (MSM) in two South African cities. PPT Presentaton at the
Third Annual International Colloquium "Gender, Sexuality, History and Culture in Africa", University of Lagos, Nigeria. PDF Download. Comclusion: MSM identities are not only widespread but also
diverse in South Africa. - Understanding the social context of risk for MSM is important when designing HIV prevention programmes and services, in order to meet the needs of individuals with diverse sexual behaviours in a non-discriminatory and nonjudgmental manner. - More in-depth ethnographic type of research is needed to understand risk taking behaviour of MSM.

Arnott J, Crago A-L (2009). Rights Not rescue: A Report on Female, Male, and Trans Sex Workers’ Human Rights in Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa. Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa Sexual Health and Rights Project, Open Society Institute. PDF Download.

Sonnekus, Theo (2009). Invisible Queers: Investigating the 'other' Other in gay visual cultures. Master or Arts Dissertation, University of Pretoria. PDF Download. Download Page. The apparent ‘invisibility’, or lack of representation of black men in contemporary mainstream gay visual cultures is the primary critical issue that the study engages with. The study presupposes that the frequency with which white men appear in popular representations of ‘gayness’ prevails over that of black men. In order to substantiate this assumption, this study analyses selected issues of the South African queer men’s lifestyle magazine Gay Pages. Gay visual cultures appear to simultaneously conflate ‘whiteness’ and normative homosexuality, while marginalising black gay men by means of positioning ‘blackness’ and ‘gayness’ as irreconcilable identity constructs. Images of the gay male ‘community’ disseminated by queer and mainstream media constantly offer stereotypical, distorted and race-biased notions of gay men, which ingrain the exclusive cultural equation of white men and ideal homomasculinity. The disclosure of racist and selectively homophobic ideologies, which seem to inform gay visual representation, is therefore the chief concern of the dissertation...

Freeing South Africa: The "Modernization" of Male-Male Sexuality in Soweto (1998): Although engaged in another research project, in my free time with friends like Paul, I thus stumbled onto a series of questions that began to perplex me: Who was Linda? In the letter quoted above, I had unproblematically identified Linda as "gay." But in his context, was he? And if so, how did he come to see himself as so? And I quickly confronted questions of gender as well. Did Linda consider himself as male? And if so, had he always done so? As issues like these began to pose themselves, I soon realized that for black men in townships around Johannesburg, identifying as gay was both recent and tied up, in unexpectedly complex ways, with a much larger historical transformation: the end of apartheid and the creation of a modem nation; in a phrase, the "freeing" of South Africa... Certainly, in Soweto in the 1960s, hostels populated by rural men had become notorious sites for same-sex sexual relations. Township parents warned young sons not to go anywhere nearby, that they would be swept inside and smeared with Vaseline and raped (see also Mathabane 1986:68-74). To urbanraised skesanas like Linda, however, these stories apparently only aroused phantasy and desire. Linda described a "marriage ceremony" in which she took part in one of the hostels, as follows:...

Coetzee, Catherine Anne (2009). The development and evaluation of a programme to promote sensitive pscyhotherapeutic practice with gay men and lesbians. PhD Dissertation, Rhodes University. Abstract and Download Page. Clinical psychology’s relevance and future viability depend on its ability to render services that are relevant and sensitive to multicultural and minority issues. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people are one such group that professional psychology – both in South Africa and abroad - has identified as having unique treatment needs for which psychologists require specialised knowledge and skills in order to render appropriate treatment. Competence to treat non-heterosexual patients has been framed in terms of a gay affirmative paradigm which has as its basic tenet the recognition that same-gender orientation is not pathological but rather a healthy alternative to heterosexuality. From this perspective being “gay friendly” or “gay accepting” is not enough. To implement a gay affirmative approach in practice, practitioners must have resolved their possible prejudice and heterosexist bias and have the requisite knowledge of concerns unique to lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals to be able to apply their skills in a culturally sensitive manner. Although more American post-graduate psychology programmes are addressing sexual diversity, their failure to produce psychologists who feel competent to treat lesbian/gay or bisexual individuals has highlighted the need to develop effective training strategies based on empirical nvestigation. The dearth of comparable data about local South African psychology training prompted this inquiry which had four broad aims namely, (i) to establish to what extent trainees’ prior training had equipped them with the knowledge, awareness, and skills to approach their work with non-heterosexual patients in a gay affirmative manner, and (ii) to implement and (iii) to evaluate to what extent a brief structured training programme is effective in engaging the trainees; in increasing knowledge, in raising awareness, and in changing specific attitudes and imparting specific skills required for treating lesbian and gay patients.; and (iv) what, if any, recommendations should be made for the future with respect to training of sychologists in this area?...

Uit in die kuberruim: enkele waardetoevoegings en uitdagings ten opsigte van Gay@Litnet binne Suid-Afrikaanse konteks (2006): This article investigates the nature, role and contribution of Gay@Litnet as an electronic alternative for the publication of gay literature in South Africa. Attention will be given to the manner in which Gay@Litnet acts as a public forum for nurturing gay identity within the current socio-political context of South Africa. A brief summary of the current socio-political situation of South African gays will be given in order to place the discussion into the necessary context. Secondly, an evaluative description of the dynamics of Gay@Litnet will be given, where after a few value-adding properties and challenges concerning Gay@Litnet will be discussed.

The Lesbian and Gay Equality project: Special features (2001-04): Charity begins at… uhm… - Meds, Drugs and HIV. - How Sexuality is used to disempower women. - Homophobia and the Rights of Lesbians and Gays. - Recognise Same Sex Marriages. - Queer State funeral in Sebokeng.

History: South Africa: Apartheid Military Forced Gay Troops Into Sex-Change Operations. - Gays tell of mutilation by apartheid army. - Men who suffer in silence:  South African law does not recognise the existence of male rape..." - A leading light of gay and AIDS activism in SA (1998). - The official treatment of white, South African, homosexual men and the consequent reaction of gay liberation from the 1960s to 2000. PhD Dissertation. University of Jahannesburg. Download Page.- 'I've Got Two Men and One Woman': Ancestors, Sexuality and Identity among Same-Sex
Identified Women Traditional Healers in South Africa (2003). - State of Emergency: An exploration of attitudes towards homosexuality in the SADF, 1969-1994. Master's Dissertation, History Department, Stellenbosch University. Abstract and Download Page.

Mbali, Mandisa (2005). The Treatment Action Campaign and the History of Rights-Based, Patient-Driven HIV/AIDS Activism in South Africa: Research Report No. 29. University of Kwazulu-Natal Centre for Civil Society. PDF Download. Download Page. In asserting these continuities, it is not this Report’s aim to underplay the discontinuities between anti-apartheid, gay rights activism in the 1980s and early 1990s and TAC’s militant AIDS activism in post-apartheid South Africa. Conservative gay AIDS activists affiliated to Gay Activists of South Africa (GASA) tried and failed to gain access to the apartheid government’s AIDS committees during the 1980s. In the early 1990s, anti-apartheid gay AIDS activists used transition-era negotiating spaces such as the National Aids Convention of South Africa (NACOSA) to further their aims. However, the post-apartheid era brought much greater scope for AIDS activism as it brought with it a free press and the Constitutional Court, which were used to maximum potential by TAC activists, especially in advocating HIV treatment access for all, as the second and third sections of this Report argue. In using these democratic institutions, TAC defended and extended ‘first generation’ political rights.

Reddy, Vasu (2005). Moffies, stabanis and lesbos: the political construction of queer identities in southern Africa. PHD Dissertation, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban. PDF Download (Very large: 159 Megs). Download Page. This dissertation focuses on discursive constructions of sexuality (in particular homosexuality). This study is not a social history, nor does it explain and motivate the existence of homosexuality. Rather, the project explores the regulatory public discourses of homosexuality in Southern Africa in relation to historical events and archived texts. (Southern embraces primarily South Africa although one chapter foregrounds neighbouring African countries in the Southern region). Applying recent studies in queer theory to a number of events, issues and sources, I formulate a critical methodology that demonstrates the political construction of homosexuality. I argue that the emergence of political queer identity has its roots in the apartheid State, and show how these identities are politically grounded (and indeed) reinforced In the post-apartheid project. The study conceives homosexuality as a 'queer identity' that resists and subverts heteronormativity.

Rees, Jennifer (2010). Masculinity and sexuality in South African border war literature. Master's Dissertation, University of Stellenbosch. PDF Download. Download Page. This thesis explores masculinity and sexuality, hegemonic and “deviant” in the nation state of the old apartheid South Africa, by addressing aspects of fatherhood, boyhood and motherhood in white, predominantly Afrikaans family narratives... I explore what happens when this white-centred patriarchal hegemony is broken down, threatened or resisted when “deviance” in the form of homosexuality occurs. A second focus of this thesis is that of “deviance” in the army. I analyse “deviance” in three novels, moffie (2006) by André Carl van der Merwe, The Beautiful Screaming of Pigs (1991) by Damon Galgut and Kings of the Water (2009) by Mark Behr. These novels foreground “deviance” and I make use of them in exploring the punishment, or “consequences” of being homosexual or “deviant” in the highly masculine environs of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) army.

van Zyl M, et al. (1999). Human rights abuses of gays and lesbians in the South African Defence Force by health workers during the apartheid era. Cape Town, Sotuh Africa: Simply Said and Done
on behalf of Gay and Lesbian Archives, Health and Human Rights Project, Medical Research Council, and the National Coalition for Gay and Lesbian Equality. PDF Download. - Gays tell of mutilation by apartheid army (2000).

Forman, Ross G (2002). Randy on the Rand: Portuguese African Labor and the Discourse on "Unnatural Vice" in the Transvaal in the Early Twentieth Century. Journal of the History of Sexuality, 11(4): 570-609. PDF Download. Reference. Because the economic center of South Africa had shifted from the Cape Province to the Transvaal as a result of the development of the mines, the country was heavily indebted to these workers from Mozambique, who in 1907 comprised about 70 percent of the labor force officially hired by the Witwatersrand Native Labour Association (WNLA)and numbered more than seventy thousand... Their inquiry was prompted by and followed on the heels of an explosive 1906 investigation of "immorality" among the indentured Chinese laborers brought to the Transvaal after the conclusion of the Anglo- Boer War, for the earlier investigators had heard repeated testimony that the "Mozambique Natives" could teach the Chinese inore vice than the Chinese could teach them... For instance, although a number of "boys" - interviewed were named by other witnesses as being party to mine marriages, nearly all claimed linowledge of the practice but categorically denied their ou7n involvement in it...

Troubling Gender: Homosexuality in an African Society: "The aim of our study is to analyse the interrelationship between the stereotypes and my myths surrounding same-sex relationships/sexuality, sexual ransgression and gender-based violence.We will document the findings and place them in the context of the existing, but marginal research. What kind of myths and stereotypes are prevalent around homosexuality in African societies and especially in South Africa? Are there any intersections between these myths and gender-based violence and/or violence against lesbians – and if so,what are these myths? To understand these myths we will documen the history of same-sex relationships in differen African societies..." (Paper presented at the Sex & Secrecy Conference 2003, the 4th Conference of the International Association for the Study of Sexuality,Culture and Society (IASSCS) by Wendy Isaack and Henriette Gunkel: PDF Download).

Ratele, Kopano (2006). Ruling masculinity and sexuality. Feminist Africa, 6: 48-64. PDF Download. Full Text. Download Page. In a recent study on masculinity focusing on boys from several high schools around the Western Cape, similar thinking was evident. Firstly, in response to the question “What is a man?”, some of the boys answered that a man is “always considered … the head of the household while women are subordinate to men. Therefore a woman is not allowed to [be equal to] her husband when it comes to household decision-making.” In regard to the question of sexuality, a boy said “the problem with abstinence is that you might go crazy, if you are a man” (Ratele et al, in press). From discussion on gay and lesbian identities in that study, it was also clear that “a real man” does not behave in ways that are “unmanly” and does not have sex with another man. As a boy in one group said, “like some gays you can’t even tell that they’re gay ... among themselves they don’t parade around with it. I don’t mind if they’re like that, but I mean if they walk around going like ‘hello doll’ and that little kiss thingy…” [he doesn’t need to finish his idea]. Another boy at a different school, in reference to men looking after children, said “when you look after a child, you also have to put on an apron which makes you look like a moffie”[4] (Ratele et al, in press).

Theuninck AC (2000). The Traumatic Impact of Minority Stressors on Males Self-Identified as Homosexual or Bisexual. Master's Dissertation, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. Full Text & Summary N/A. (Archive Link) - Highlights: "In the present S.A.community sample of gay/bisexual men, 16.5% have made suicide attempts because of their sexuality... Of the South African gay/bi adolescents, 38.7% have attempted to commit suicide because of their sexuality." "The sample consists of 329 males from across South Africa... The majority of the sample were from 15 to 34 years of age (87.5%)... The majority were white (73.8%), with 16.7% being black and the rest (9.5%) either Indian, Coloured, or unspecified."  "When considering the influence of stressors and trauma on suicidal tendencies in gay/bi men, it was found that internalised homonegativity had the strongest influence. This is perhaps not surprising since loathing oneself because of one's sexuality, and seeing that sexuality as perverse, would be expected to be closely related to a severe self-hate that could lead to suicide. Having witnessed people being victimised for being gay was the next strongest factor related to suicidal tendencies. Witnessing others being harassed or bashed for being gay, places the gay/bi person in a catch 22 position..."

Wells H, Polders l (2004). Levels of Empowerment among Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender [LGBT] People in Gauteng, South Africa. Research initiative of the Joint Working Group conducted by OUT LGBT Well-being in collaboration with the UNISA Centre for Applied Psychology. PDF Download. PDF Download. "Suicide attempts: 17% of the sample (n=347) had made a past suicide attempt or attempts. Of those who had attempted suicide 24% had made multiple attempts. The youngest age at which suicide was attempted was 13 years. No significant differences were found between age groups for attempted suicide. Suicide attempts showed similar rates for men and women. Interestingly, although black individuals reported the highest frequency of “always” or “often” thinking about suicide, white respondents had a higher rate ofattempts (22%) than black (16%) or Indian (12%) respondents."

Can we Talk about Suicide in Africa? (2011): This morning, while reading an article from Behind the Mask about the suicide of a young South African LGBTI activist, Sabelo Zondo, I wondered how many lost lives were due to suicide in the queer communities in Africa. The practice of autopsies after a sudden death is not a systematic medical practice in Africa, except for some legal reasons. People do take their own life and we need to talk about depression and suicide in the society in general and in the LGBTQI communities in particular. In addition to dealing with the stressful transition from childhood to adulthood, LGBTQI youth face many other challenges in Africa. Among other issues, the lack of supportive, positive social structures that allow different gender expression contribute to make LGBTQI youth very vulnerable to depression and suicide attempts. But it does not have to be this way. Can we start by talking about suicide. We should not be ashamed to admit that we are going through depression. We should train and enable queer youth to assist their peers who are dealing with traumatic experiences...

Belkin A, Canaday M (2010). Assessing the integration of gays and lesbians: Into the South African National Defence Force. Scientia Militaria: South African Journal of Military Studies, 38(2): 1-21. PDF Download. The evidence suggests that the integration of gay and lesbian personnel has not had a negative impact on recruitment and retention, morale, unit cohesion or operational effectiveness in the SANDF.

Achmat, Zackie (2010). LGBTI Freedom and Equality in Africa: a Different South African Perspective. Newsletter: International AIDS Society (PDF, Must Scroll). In theory, we are equal as gay men. We can have sex without any fear of prosecution. The constitution and a myriad of laws guarantee us equal access to social services, employment benefits, fostering, adoption, marriage, divorce and inheritance. We can also serve in the South African National Defence Force and enjoy gay culture and freedom of expression. However, that young, Black gay man’s only rights include sex with a partner of his choice and to openly associate with LGBTI people. These rights are vital, but real equality is a chimera. Equality, privacy and freedom are privileges enjoyed by middle- and upper-class people, including gay men of all races. LGBTI people both consciously and unconsciously lay claim to their rights as human beings and they locate these rights as global citizens. These rights to freedom and equality correctly inspire and activate people everywhere. However, the uncritical adoption of the American, Australian and European rights–based strategies focused on the lobbying of parliaments, litigation and visibility through the media has led to an impasse. A rightsbased movement that looks only to parliaments and the courts must fail, since they are largely captured by corporations and the urban, middle- and upper-class elites...

Kraak, Gerald  (2002). Homosexuality and the South African left: the amibiguities of exile. On The Subject of Sex & The Body Seminar Series (in collaboration with the Graduate School for the Humanities and the School of Arts). Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research (WISER), The University of Witwatersrand. PDF Download. Download Page. This article is a contribution to a slim, but emerging body of work in gay South African historiography – the hidden, largely unacknowledged role played by gay menand lesbians in opposition politics and in the anti-apartheid and liberation movements..

Muholi, Zanele  (2009). Mapping Our Histories: A Visual History of Black Lesbians in Post-Apartheid South Africa.  PDF Download. Other Writings. Home Page.

Stobie C (2009). Postcolonial Pomosexuality: Queer/ Alternative Fiction after "Disgrace". Current Writing: Text and Reception in Southern Africa, 21(1/2). Full Text. The development of South African queer/alternative writing is illustrated by the shift from William Plomer's oblique re-working of homosexual desire into cross-racial erotics in Turbott Wolfe (1925), through occasional explorations of homosexuality under high apartheid by authors such as Stephen Gray (1988)--although such texts were vulnerable to banning by the censors to increasingly explicit material towards the end of the century, by such authors as Damon Galgut (1995), Ashraf Jamal (1996) and Tatamkhulu Afrika (1996). In addition to authors who are personally invested in queer issues, Nobel laureates Nadine Gordimer and J M Coetzee refer to these issues in works from their later periods such as Gordimer's The House Gun (1998) and Coetzee's Disgrace (1999). In view of the apartheid-era legislation declaring homosexuality illegal it is understandable that after the shift to democracy and the passing of legal safeguards for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people a number of authors have explored the painful self-acceptance of gay identities--mainly also white and male--during apartheid. This exploration forms part of the retrospective cartography of the previously occluded queer nation. An interesting turn in the post-apartheid era is the handling of the trope of bisexuality, which opens up a potentially useful domain for considering sexuality and national identifications beyond the constraints of binary models (see Stobie 2007). Since the publication of Disgrace a significant development in queer writing has been the shift to representing a more varied spectrum of sexuality--not necessarily viewed as a prime marker of identity; more awareness of gender issues; a consciousness of postcolonialism; and an exciting experimentation with form in the fictional narration which also visualises a future that can countenance new forms of gender performance and sexuality. This collective shift, more evident in the writing of women authors focusing on queer/ alternative themes, might be called postcolonial pomosexuality. The term "pomosexuality" refers to expressions of queer beyond separatist or essentialist notions of sexual orientation (Queen and Schimel 1997), and my addition of the adjective "postcolonial" sites this intimate domain within wider political power structures.

Mark Gevisser: In his new essay in the latest edition of Granta, Mark looks back at the lives of two older men from Soweto, and how they negotiated the double-jeopardy of being black and being gay in apartheid South Africa, from the perspective of his own same-sex marriage in February 2009. Extract. See: Recent Writings. - Gevisser, Mark (2000). Mandela's stepchildren: homosexual identity in post-apartheid South Africa. In: Different Rainbows: Same-Sex Sexualities and Popular Movements in the Third World - 2000 - edited by Peter Drucker.

Magnus Hirschfeld Archive for Sexology: Index Page: South Africa: - Homoerotic, Homosexual, and Ambisexual Behaviors. - Gender Conflicted Persons. - HIV/AIDS.

International Encyclopedia of Sexuality: South Africa. See: Homoerotic, Homosexual, and Bisexual Behaviors & Gender Diversity and Transgender Issues.

Simon and I: A film by Beverley Palesa Ditsie and Nicky Newman. A challenging, provocative, and unconventional film about life in Southern Africa in the presenceof HIV/AIDS. - Simon and I: Simon and I recounts the lives of two giants in the South African gay and lesbian liberation movement, Simon Nkoli and the film maker herself, Bev Ditsie. The story is narrated by Bev, both as a personal statement and a political history. Through good times and bad, their relationship is viewed against a backdrop of intense political activism and the HIV/AIDS crisis. Their converging and diverging lives, culminating in Simon s death, are revealed in this heartfelt testament using a mixed format of interviews and archive footage.

Resources: - GALA: Gay and Lesbian Memory in Action: GALA was established under the name The Gay and Lesbian Archives in 1997. - Gay and Lesbian Archives of South Africa (To 2009). (Old Site, to 2007) (Archive Link). GALA 2003 Report:  Established in 1997, GALA is an independent project of the South African History Archives Trust (SAHA) which forms part of the Historical Papers collection based at the William Cullen Library at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. For SAHA this was a valuable extension of its existing collections that echoed SAHA’s historic commitment to documenting human rights struggles in South Africa. GALA represents a unique resource of material relating to lesbian and gay experience in Southern Africa. It is appropriate that the only lesbian and gay archive on the continent should be located in South Africa, considering that this is the first country in the world to enshrine equality on the basis of sexual orientation in its constitution. In the light of the constitution making process and the ensuing legal reforms, South Africa has become a focus for international and local research attention.. - Gay and Lesbian Memory in Action (GALA): Strategic plan 2007-2011.

The Durban Lesbian & Gay Community & Health Centre. - GMax: gay and lesbian South Africa. - Gay South Africa. - The South African Gay Information Guide. - South African Lesbian and Gay Equality Project. - Grey Gay Guide. - Feminist Internet Resource Guide: Africa (To 2006). - Gay South Africa Lifestyle. - Gender DynamiX: African based organisation for the transgender community. The aim is to create awareness and visualize transgenderism. - Lesbians in South Africa: A forum for South Africa's Lesbian community (To 2006): - Jewish OutLook: the new South African Jewish Organisation catering for the Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual, Transgendered and Intersex Community. - Cape Town GLBT Links. - Exit online - stories from South Africa's LGBT newspaper. - South Africa Gay & Lesbian Issues News: Service for global professionals. Constantly updated news and information about South Africa..

Joburg Pride. - Cape Town Pride. - Videos, Gay Pride: Cape Town Pride Parade, 2011. - Cape Town Pride Parade After Party at Cape Town Stadium, 2011. - Cape Town Gay Pride 2010 - Bronx Boyz. - South Africa Gay Pride at Zoo Lake, 2009. - Gay Pride in Cape Town, 2008. - Cape Town Pride GoPink, 2008. - Homophobic Harassment During Gay Pride, 2009.

MSMGF News Articles & Documents Resources. By Region & Country:  - Sub-Saharan Africa: - South Africa. Zimbabwe.

Behind the Mask - A Web Site on Gay and Lesbian Affairs in Africa. - Africa by Country: South Africa Information News. - African Veil: Countries Covered: South Africa. - Queer afrol. - Afrol News; Gay/Lesbian Archives. - theGully.com news & Articles: Africa. - Mamba Online: Gay South Africa Lifestyle, News, Dating. - Human Rights Watch: Use Search Function. - Amnesty International: Use Search Function. - Pink News: Europe's Largest Gay News Service: Africa. - AsylumLaw.Org: Sexual Minorities & HIV Status: Documents / Reports / Website Links / Organizations. South Africa Individual Documents since 1999. - Links to News Sources for GLBT World.

Global Gayz: Africa: South Africa News Report 2000 to Present. - ILGA: Africa: South Africa. - LGBT rights in South Africa. - QRD. - Gayscape.

Arts & Culture Index: Africa N/A. (Archive Link, to 2003). - Botha MP (2003). Homosexuality and South African cinema. Kinema, 19, Spring 2003:39-64. Full Text.

Passion and pride at the gay film festival (2010). - Out in Africa, 2010. - Out in Africa Gay & Lesbian Film Festival Johannesburg (2011). April 2011 Out in Africa Film Fest (2011). - Out In Africa: South African Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. - SA Gay & Lesbian Film Festival (2008, Must Scroll): The Out In Africa SA Gay & Lesbian Film Festival (OIA) celebrated its 15th birthday this spring with over 100 screenings held at Nu Metro in Johannesburg and Cape Town, for 11 days in each city. - South Africa: Out in Africa: Gay & Lesbian Film Festival (2007). - Homosexuality and South African Cinema (Bibliography to 1991). - The Power of Culture Special: Cinema in Africa - South African Queer Cinema Exposes Double Standards: Ten years after the first democratic elections, black South African queer film has come out of the closet. - Queer cinema as a fifth cinema in South Africa and Australia (2005): In South Africa, the first major Queer film festival, The Out In Africa Gay and Lesbian Film Festival in 1994, was instrumental in developing and maintaining a post-Apartheid Queer public sphere which fostered further legal change. Given the significant histories of activism through Queer Cinematic Cultures in both Australia and South Africa, I propose in this thesis the existence of a new genus of cinema, which I term Fifth Cinema. Fifth Cinema includes Feminist Cinema, Queer Cinema and Immigrant/Multicultural Cinema and deals with the oppressions which cultures engage with within their own cultural boundaries. It can be informed by First Cinema (classical, Hollywood), Second Cinema (Art House or dual national cinemas), Third and Fourth Cinema (cinemas dealing with the decolonisation of Third World and Fourth World people), but it develops its unique characteristics by countering internal cultural colonisation. Fifth Cinema functions as a heterognosis, where multi-dimensional representations around sexuality, race and gender are used to assist in broader cultural liberation.

Branton, Heather (2002). Feminist Visions: Lesbian and Gay in Southern Africa: Activists, Lovers. and Healers. Feminist Collections, 24(1): 6-9. PDF Download. Download Page. Films Reviewed: Forbidden Fruit. Tina Mchida in Zimbabwe (Rainmakers, Series 2). Everything Must Com to Light.

Review (2010): Reading Zanele Muholi’s Faces and Phases (Book) and Difficult Love (Film). Zanele Muholi is very clear about the objectives of her work as a black lesbian South African visual activist. In the introduction to her 2010 book, Faces and Phases, she states: In the face of all the challenges our community encounters daily, I embarked on a journey of visual activism to ensure that there is black queer visibility. It is important to mark, map and preserve our mo(ve)ments through visual histories for reference and posterity so that future generations will note that we were here" (2010: 6). - Difficult Love wins an award at Bilbao (2011). - World renowned lesbian photographer and visual activist Zanele Muholi has once again been recognised for her work as her award winning film Difficult Love is being screened in local and international film festivals.The film was commissioned by the SABC and is co-directed by Peter Goldsmid and Zanele Muholi.

Books: - Defiant Desire: Gay and Lesbian Lives in South Africa - 1995 - edited by Mark Gevisser, Edwin Cameron (Google Books) (Review). - Different Rainbows: Same-Sex Sexualities and Popular Movements in the Third World - 2000 - edited by Peter Drucker (Review by Gary Kinsmans: "Third World 'Queer' Liberation "A revolution within the revolution." Contains: "Mandela's stepchildren: homosexual identity in post-apartheid South Africa" (P. 111-36, Alternate Link for Review) "Mark Gevisser, co-editor of the South African anthology Defiant desire (1994), discusses the development of homosexual identity in post-apartheid South Africa." Plus: "Awakenings: dreams and delusions of an incipient lesbian and gay movement in Kenya" (P. 179-92) "John Mburu writes from the embattled movements in southern Africa, where a spate of dictatorial presidents have made anti-homosexual pronouncements and embarked on campaigns of anti-gay and lesbian harassment. Mburu specifically deals with the movement in Kenya." - Moffies: gay life in Southern Africa - 2000 - by Bart Luirink (Review) (Abstract) (Amazon). - Sex and politics in South Africa - 2005 - by Neville Wallace Hoad, Karen Martin, Graeme Reid (Abstract & Author Information) (Google Books). - Queer visibilities: space, identity and interaction in Cape Town - 2009 - by Andrew Tucker (Google Books) (Review & Author Interview) (Black Bull, Ancestors and Me: My Life as a Lesbian Sangoma is one of four books granted Honor Status for the Stonewall Book Award-Israel Fishman Non-Fiction Award 2010).

Books: - Ethnic and Cultural Diversity Among Lesbians and Gay Men (Psychological Perspectives on Lesbian and Gay Issues, Volume 3) - 1997 - edited by Beverly Greene (Abstract). Contains: "From Apartheid to Mandela's Constitution" by Cheryl Potgieter. - The Greatest Taboo: Homosexuality in Black Communities - 2001 - by Delroy Constantine-Simms (Excerpt) (Interview with author) (Review: Black Gay / Gay Black) (We are soliciting essays on Black homosexuality for the "The Greatest Taboo: Volume 2) Contains: "Institutionalizing Sexuality: Theorizing Queer in Post-Apartheid South Africa" by Vasu Reddy. - The Invisible Ghetto: Lesbian & Gay Writing from South Africa - 1995 - edited by Matthew Krouse. - Gayle: The Language of Kinks and Queens, A History and Dictionary of Gay Language in South Africa - 2005 - by Ken Cage. - Hungochani: the history of a dissident sexuality in southern Africa - 2004 - by Marc Epprecht (Google Books) (Review) (Review) (Related Article: homosexuality taboo in africa. - The Cultural Politics of Female Sexuality in South Africa - 2010 - by Henriette Gunkel (Contents & Introduction) (New NAI Book on Homophobia in Africa). - Black Bull, Ancestors and Me: My life as a Lesbian Sangoma - 2009 - by Nkunzi Zandile Nkabinde (Review)  (Blessing ceremony for book launch) (Video: Nkunzi Zandile Nkabinde prays/performs at the launch).

From Social Silence to Social Science: Same-sex sexuality, HIV & AIDS and Gender in South Africa - 2009 - edited by Vasu Reddy, Theo Sandfort & Laetitia Rispel (Amazon) (Review) (Podcast Package: Same-sex sexuality, HIV & AIDS and Gender in South Africa) (Free Download. Download Page). Contents: Foreword. - Introduction. - - Theory, methodology, context: 1 Researching same-sex sexuality and HIV.  2 Sexuality research in South Africa: The policy context.  3 Same-sex sexuality and health: Current psychosocial scientific research in South Africa.  4 Homosexual and bisexual labels: The need for clear conceptualisations, operationalisations and appropriate methodological designs.  5 Gender, same-sex sexuality and HIV/AIDS in South Africa: Practical research challenges and solutions.  6 From social silence to social science: HIV research among township MSM in South Africa. -- History, memory, archive:  7 Gay AIDS activism in South Africa prior to 1994.  8 Sexing women: Young black lesbian women’s reflections on sex and responses to safe(r) sex in Johannesburg.  9 Creating memory: Documenting and disseminating life stories of LGBTI people living with HIV
Ruth Morgan, Busi Kheswa, John Meletse.  10. Perspectives from sub-Saharan and southern Africa 10 What we know about same-sex practicing people and HIV in Africa.  11 Same-sex sexuality and HIV/AIDS: A perspective from Malawi.  12 A bird’s eye view of HIV and gay and lesbian issues in Zimbabwe. 13 Epidemiological disjunctures: A review of same-sex sexuality and HIV research in sub-Saharan Africa. -- Needs, programming, policy and direction for future research:  14 Mobilising gay and lesbian organisations to respond to the political challenges of the South African HIV epidemic.  15 Are South African HIV policies and programmes meeting the needs of samesex practising individuals?  16 Lessons learned from current South African HIV/AIDS research among lesbian/gay/bisexual populations.  17 Observations on HIV and AIDS in Cape Town’s LGBT population.  18 Some personal and political perspectives on HIV/AIDS in Ethekwini.  19 Health for all? Women who have sex with women (WSW) health needs and issues. -- Conclusions:  20 Taking research-based prevention forward.

The Prize and the Price: Shaping sexualities in South Africa (Free Download) - 2009 - edited by Melissa Steyn, Mikki van Zyl (Amazon). - Some Sections with Homosexuality Related Issues: Foreword. - 1. The Prize And The Price. - 5. Renegotiating masculinity in the Lowveld: narratives of male-male sex in compounds, prisons and at home. - 7. Are blind people better lovers? - 8. Sexuality in later life. - 13. Heterosex among young South Africans: Research reflections. - 17. Queer marriage: Sexualising citizenship and the development of freedoms in South Africa. - 18. Beyond the Constitution: from sexual rights to belonging. - Conclusion: Shaping sexualities.  See also the Index.

The country we want to live in Hate crimes and homophobia in the lives of black lesbian South Africans (Free Download) - 2010 - by Nonhlanhla Mkhize, Jane Bennett, Vasu Reddy, Relebohile Moletsane (Full Text) (HSRC Seminar: The Country We Want to Live In - Hate Crimes and Homophobia in the Lives of Black Lesbian South Africans). Contents: Foreword. - Preface. - - Part I: Context and History:  Context and socio-political background. - Language and vocabulary. - The delimitations of this report. - -  Part II: Perspective and Profile: Roundtable Seminar on Gender-Based Violence, Black Lesbians, Hate Speech and Homophobia. - - Part III: Current and Future Prospects: Legally-focused campaigning. - Conclusions and Recommendations: a way forward?

KENYA: - Gay Kenya publishes its first 2011’s newsletter: Security is one of the issues of the first newsletter published by Gay Kenya this year. (2011). - Security initiative for Kenyan LGBTI Launched (2011). - Kenyan gays celebrate new constitution (2010). - Kenya gay activist criticises Odinga crackdown threat (2010): A gay rights activist has criticised Kenya's prime minister for threatening a crackdown on homosexual people.. - Coming out in Kenya (2009): Pauline Kimani is one of Kenya’s few openly lesbian women. - Being Gay in Africa (2010, Alternate Link): As in much of Africa, sex between men is illegal in Kenya, a legacy of British colonial rule. “I simply don’t understand what the problem is,” says Steven, a peer educator from Mtwapa, near Mombasa. “Why can’t they leave us alone to be what we want to be?” But this simple wish seems a long way from coming true. Men who have sex with men (MSM) face discrimination in employment, lack of freedom of association, hate speech and arbitrary arrest... - Kenyan Gays Battle Prejudice (2011).

Kenya: Halt Anti-Gay Campaign: Protect Health Workers, Activists; Condemn Mob Violence, Incitements to Hate (2010).  - Kenyan Gays in State of Panic (2010): A recent call for the arrest of all gay and lesbian people by Kenyan prime minister Raila Odinga has confused and worried the LGBT community of the African country. Odinga spoke Sunday at a rally in Kibera and told listeners that all gay men and lesbians would be subject to laws in the new constitution that criminalize homosexuality. The new bill of rights in Kenya prohibits discrimination on any grounds, according to Voice of America, and the remarks have vexed and worried activists like Nguru Karugu of the Gay and Lesbian Coalition of Kenya.  - Anti-transsexual discrimination in Kenyan medical services (2009). - Social context, sexual risk perceptions and stigma: HIV vulnerability among male sex workers in Mombasa, Kenya (2009). 

Being gay in Kenya (2006): (Alternate Link) Though rarely enforced, punishment in Kenya for gay sex is five to 14 years in jail. Sex between women is not mentioned in the law. The gay Kenyan men interviewed by Reuters asked to have their names changed, citing potential family and work problems. - Being gay, Christian and African (2006): A 32-year-old Kenyan student, angered by a campaign in Cameroon "outing" top personalities for their alleged homosexuality, speaks anonymously to the BBC News website about his struggle to accept his sexuality. - Homosexuality debate in Kenya un-muted as key figures start questioning homophobia N/A (2005): During the first week of July, a lawyer in the western Kenya town of Eldoret was reported in a national newspaper as calling for a debate on homosexuality. The lawyer, Alfred Nyairo Momanyi, issued a statement in which he urged the Anglican Church of Kenya to lead the debate. - Homosexual Tourists Get Hostile Reception from African Muslims (2003).

Where the Gay Community Hangs Out (2005): In Nairobi, the homosexual community is a close-knit one that often operates in private homes and behind closed doors, unwilling to come out of the closet at least until recently when representatives of the gay community in Kenya have began appearing on radio shows and showing a more visible face of an invisible world. - Life slowly gets easier for gay people in Kenya. - Rants and raves of a Kenyan gay man: Homophobia and Racism. - Being gay, Christian and African: A 32-year-old Kenyan student, angered by a campaign in Cameroon "outing" top personalities for their alleged homosexuality, speaks anonymously to the BBC News website about his struggle to accept his sexuality. - Male sex worker in Kenya with ‘important’ clients.

Mumbi Machera, Mumbi (2003). Opening a Can of Worms: A Debate on Female Sexuality in the Lecture Theatre. In: Signe Arnfred, ed., Re-Thinking Sexualities in Africa, 157-170. PDF Download. In the course of writing this paper, the Daily Nation, a daily newspaper published in Kenya, put out an article entitled: "Bi-curious: An emerging trend." The article (published on November 17, 2001) addressed an "emerging breed of young Kenyan women who are choosing a different kind of sexual relationship - they love occasional dalliances with other women, which is considered a bit of fun". What I found very curious about the bi-curious girls is the difficulty they face in self-defining their new sexual identities. The girls interviewed reiterated that they are not lesbians; so what are they? They admitted having sexual intimacies with their girlfriends "but they do not consider these trysts as cheating on their boyfriends." The girls interviewed also said that they are not bisexual.

Editorial: Men Who Have Sex With Men and Their HIV Epidemics in Africa (AIDS, Frits van Griensven, 2007. Access via Google Search): "In this issue of the Journal, Geibel et al. report a capture-recapture study to estimate the number of men who have sex with men (MSM) who sell sex in Mombasa, Kenya. The authors surveyed 77 venues and estimated the number of MSM selling sex at these venues to be 739... the investigators were able to identify and enroll hundreds of MSM selling sex in the African country of Kenya. This number also indicates that there must be a fairly large population of male clients willing to pay for the sexual services of these MSM, as well as a larger community of other MSM, since most MSM do not sell sex. Indeed, an earlier snowball-survey conducted in Nairobi in 2004 enrolled 500 MSM in a needs-assessment within 2 months. That the HIV prevalence among Kenyan MSM may be high can be derived from data from an ongoing cohort study among MSM in Kilifi, a town located on the northern coastline of Kenya between Mombasa and Malindi: 38% (23/60) of men were HIV-infected at baseline.[3] Additional evidence for an elevated HIV prevalence among MSM in Kenya comes from HIV voluntary counseling and testing data from sites throughout the country, where of the 780 MSM tested between 2002 and 2005, 10.6% were HIV-infected.

Homosexuals come out in Kenya: (2007, Alternate Link)  Luzau Basambombo spent six months in a Kinshasa prison, abused over and over again. The Congolese human rights activist suspects that he was put behind bars because he openly admitted being homosexual. 'If you are gay in Congo, you become an outlaw,' he says. After being released from prison, he left Congo for Uganda where he was granted asylum. 'When the authorities found out that I was gay, I was asked to leave the country,' he says. Today, the 38-year-old Congolese lives in Nairobi and he feels comfortable there. 'Things are changing here in Kenya - in favour of us.' Gays and Lesbians are prosecuted in most African countries. In some Nigerian federal states, where the Muslim sharia law is in force, homosexuals are stoned to death. - Kampala homo pubs: The Ugandan Minister of Ethics and Integrity, Miria Matembe recently outed a bar, according to a report in New Vision, a Ugandan newspaper... There is too much immorality all around us. Homosexuality, lesbianism, name it."

Anglicans defect to Kenya over gay priests: On Thursday, two U.S. priests were consecrated as Anglican bishops in Kenya, the latest in a string of priests who are defecting to African congregations because of the American church’s liberal stance on gays. - United Nations Human Rights Committee Pushes Kenya to Legalize Abortion and Homosexuality: With regard to homosexuality, Roman Wieruszewski, the UN ‘expert’  from Poland, expressed concern that the country considered homosexuality an unnatural act and had enacted laws to that effect.  He asked, “Does the country consider this to be inconsistent with the Covenant’s non-discrimination clauses?”. - Pro-gay church community established in Kenya, Uganda: (Alternate Link) The church community of St Sebastian, based in the Spanish Canary Islands, has announced the establishment of its first fellowships in Africa, being prepared in Uganda and Kenya. The all-inclusive church community is especially known for its outreach to homosexuals. In Kenya and Uganda, both the government and local church communities are strongly homophobic.

Statement from the LGBTI coalition in Kenya (2006): The Gay and Lesbian Coalition of Kenya is a recently formed umbrella body consisting of eight Kenyan groups of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex (LGBTI) people, representing the interests and concerns of all LGBTI Kenyans... All members of the Kenyan family cannot be said to have equal rights as long as paragraph 162 and 165 of the Kenyan Penal code exist. Whilst these draconian laws remain on our statutes, LGBTI people will continue to be the target of verbal and physical injury, sexual violence and social marginalization. Further to this, these laws inhibit the delivery of effective HIV prevention and treatment services to LGBTI people in Kenya, recognised by our own National AIDS Control Council in the Kenya Country Position Statement to UNGASS, 2006. Enough is enough. It is time to scrap the laws that the British imposed upon us and left us with, laws that the colonizers themselves scrapped long ago. Let Kenya move out from the shadows of her colonial past and recognise the rights of her gay and lesbian citizens. - Rich LGBT program at the World Social Forum 2007 in Nairobi, a milestone for the Kenyan LGBT movement (2007). - Cabinet to Discuss Homosexuality in Kenya (2006): I am the type of person who totally ignores anything a politician says but this article on Ngilu just goes to show how Kenyan politicians have their heads buried in the sand.

Kenya: issue of homosexuality among Coastal youths (2006): Speaking in Mombasa during a leaders meeting, Ngilu said she was shocked by revelations that homosexuality among teenagers was rampant in Coastal towns... “We cannot allow sex between man and man. Men should have sexual relationships with women only,” she said. She urged the provincial administration to crack down on tycoons who, she said, lured youths into homosexuality. Coast General Hospital chief administrator, Dr Khadija Shikelly, said schoolgirls engaged in anal sex to avoid getting pregnant. “There is need for parents to educate their children on the dangers of this vice,” she said. - Human Rights Commissioner Confronts Homophobic Statements by Council of Imams in Mombasa (2007): Recently the Council of Imams and Preachers of Coastal Kenya, along with Muslim youth groups, have launched a campaign to eradicate homosexuality and prostitution from Kenya's second city, Mombasa. The groups claim that homosexuality and immorality are on the rise in Kenya. "The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights is always deeply concerned when those in positions of authority and responsibility make comments that might be understood as some in the community to be a call to violence against another community or group of people - in his case homosexual people. Whilst the law in Kenya criminalizes homosexual acts between men, the law does not criminalize a community or an individual because of his or her sexual or gender identity.

The "Myth" of Homosexuality in Kenya Society N/A (1998, Alternate Link). - Kenyan Bisexual Myths (2009). - Homosexuality and HIV/AIDS in Kenyan Society - A series of articles from Kenya's Daily Nation newspaper. - AIDS services for gay men slowly grows (2006). -  Understanding the HIV Prevention Needs of Men Who Have Sex with Men in Nairobi.  - Kenya’s President Jumps on Anti-gay Bandwagon (1999). - Homoerotic, Homosexual, and Ambisexual Behaviors: Adolescents and Adults. - Gays, lesbians fight conservative governments and an unkind society (2003). - Kenya Gays See End To Repression (2003). - Kenyan Gay Rights Activists Optimistic. (2004, Alternate Link)

Gay bashing the new national pasttime in Kenya (2003): When people use the term "gay bashing", they are often referring to gay people being physically attacked by bigots and the like. But as any counsellor will tell you, physical attack is not the only way to cause hurt. Well-aimed and badly intentioned words can be just as vicious as a fist or a kick in the ribs. - The gay underground (2004): In Kenya, a clause on sexual freedom in the draft constitution raised a storm when it came up for debate at Bomas of Kenya last year. That the clause was included is in itself telling as it suggested the existence of a gay ‘community’ in the country. Acting on this assumption, Society’s Tony Mochama went behind the veil of secrecy under which homosexual relations are conducted and discovered a vibrant world of same-sex romance.. - Amin Shamji: Kenya's George Michael (2000) - LGB Support in Peace Corps Kenya (2003).

AIDS Kenya: Where Are Kenya's Homosexuals?  (2000, Alternate Link) "Daniel Arap Moi, the current Kenyan president, agrees. ''Kenya has no room or time for homosexuals and lesbians. Homosexuality is against African norms and traditions, and even in religion it is considered a great sin,'' Arap Moi has been quoted saying i n Kenya's Daily Nation newspaper. But networks of men who have sex with men can be found across the continent. And in Kenya, where homosexuality is a criminal offence, their voices are beginning to be heard. Statistics on the number of such men are hard to come by." - Kenya: Gay and positive (2003, Alternate Link): Some clients would infect your behind with sexually transmitted diseases and you would suffer silently because how do you explain to the doctor how you got the infection? - HIV positive and gay in Kenya; double stigma. - Support Survive AIDS Kenya (2001).

Homosexuality and Aids: A double-edged sword (1998). - HIV and Kenya's homosexuals (1998). - ‘Yan Daudu’ and Proud - Same-Sex Bonds Take Many Forms In Africa Today (1999): Not only do there appear to be more gay couples in Mombasa, but there is a tradition of "marriage" between men. As older women, known as mkungus, educate young girls in the duties of marriage, young homosexual men learn from male mkungus. Ahmed, 36, gives his pupils cooking lessons, advises them on perfumes that will please the "husband," and demonstrates how to wear a khanga(flowered cloth) in the house. At the end of the month's training he receives cloth and kitchen utensils as payment. Three hundred miles away, in Nairobi, men come to a bar in a well-known public building for their "sun-downer"— the drink at the end of the day. Some are flamboyant, wearing makeup and jewelry. Jack, almost seven feet tall, is a 23-year-old hairstylist who has been blackmailed and arrested several times by the police. Others are more discreet, such as Odongo, 42, a gas station attendant from near the Ugandan border who left his wife in his hometown and regularly pays for the company of young men...

Mke-si-mume: Neocolonialism and Sexual Practice in Kenya (2002): Most men who have homosexual intercourse still tend to lead traditional Kenyan lives with a wife and children. Some men who prefer sex with men claim that they are pressured into marriage. Several wives know of their husband's sexual and emotional relationships with other men, while others remain ignorant. . - Gay men on the agenda (2003): "For many veterans of conferences on the HIV/Aids scourge on the African continent, the recent ICASA conference in Nairobi was remarkable for being the first such high-profile gathering in Africa that made a space for gays and lesbians on the official programme..." - In Fight Against AIDS, Kenya Confronts Gay Taboo (2009).  - In the life of a Kenyan gay sex worker (2010).

Challenges in addressing counselling needs of MSM in highly stigmatized contexts: results of a qualitative study from Kenya(2009): Participants expressed a range of attitudes to MSM from affirmation through tolerance to negative and stigmatizing, with some expressing that gayness was a disease that good counselling could change. All said that they lacked skills to conduct effective risk- reduction counselling. Most had learned all they knew about MSM from male sex workers and mentioned triggers such as poverty, alcohol and drugs. Few linked risk taking behaviour with life issues, self worth and stigma. As a result counsellors knew about the complex issues faced by high risk MSM but few described this impacting on their approaches to risk-reduction counselling. Similarly, counsellors said they were non-judgemental yet our data reveal many had strong social constructs and were unable to ‘put aside their values’..

Arap Moi joins the club (2000): Kenyan President Moi has echoed the anti-lesbigay sentiments of Uganda's Museveni, but is it a matter of conviction or a method of distraction? Planet Out news staff reported on 30 September 1999.... The staggering claims, that there are no homosexuals among Gikuyus, is shattered by Stephen O. Murray's interview with a young Gikuyu man called Kamau, who is a student in London. Kamau states that he had been aware of his attraction to other men from a very young age and that he met and knew of other young men who, just like himself, showed interest in men."

Lesbianism sweeps through female soccer in Kenya (1998): Leading Kenyan psychiatrist says closeness between people of the same gender results in homosexuality. - Chronology of Protest And Destruction in Schools: "Devil worship, homosexuality and drug abuse are rampant in schools in Central Province, a new report says... Homosexuality was particularly common in Kiambu and Thika districts, a fact attributed to their proximity to Nairobi, a city going through socio-cultural turbulence."

Kenya Rules Out Condoms For Prisoners (2000, Alternate Link): "He admitted that sodomy and homosexuality are rampant in Kenya's prisons. Dr. G.M. Baltazar, a Nairobi  epidemiologist, also admitted that homosexuality is rampant in the prisons. "Prisoners, because they are confined together, will continue having abnormal sexual relations, whether we like it or not," he said." - Kenya: Homosexuality Major Cause of Aids Spread in Prisons (2008): So it came as a shock last week when the man in charge of health services in Kenya's jails admitted that homosexuality is rampant in the facilities and is fuelling the Aids spread, both inside and outside when inmates are freed to rejoin the society. - Une réponse trop lente face une séroprévalence très élevée en milieu carcéral.

Magnus Hirschfeld Archive for Sexology: Index Page: Kenya: - Homoerotic, Homosexual, and Ambisexual Behaviors. - Gender Conflicted Persons. - HIV/AIDS.

International Encyclopedia of Sexuality: Kenya. See: Homoerotic, Homosexual, and Bisexual Behaviors & Gender Diversity and Transgender Issues.

Books: - Different Rainbows: Same-Sex Sexualities and Popular Movements in the Third World - 2000 - edited by Peter Drucker (Table of Contents). Contains: "Awakenings: dreams and delusions of an incipient lesbian and gay movement in Kenya" (P. 179-92) "John Mburu writes from the embattled movements in southern Africa, where a spate of dictatorial presidents have made anti-homosexual pronouncements and embarked on campaigns of anti-gay and lesbian harassment. Mburu specifically deals with the movement in Kenya."

Resources: - Behind the Mask - A Web Site on Gay and Lesbian Affairs in Africa. - Africa by Country: Kenya Information News. Kenya Archives. - African Veil: Countries Covered: Kenya. - Queer afrol. - Afrol News; Gay/Lesbian Archives. - theGully.com news & Articles: Africa. 

Global Gayz: Africa: Kenya News Reports from 1998 to the Present. - ILGA: Africa: Kenya. - LGBT rights in Kenya. - Sodomy Laws. - Gay Activist Alliance.

Gay Kenya. - The Gay and Lesbian Coalition of Kenya. - Diary of a Gay Kenyan. - The Fight for LGBT Rights in Kenya (2010, Video). - Human Rights Watch: Use Search Function. - Amnesty International: Use Search Function. - Pink News: Europe's Largest Gay News Service: Africa. - AsylumLaw.Org: Sexual Minorities & HIV Status: Documents / Reports / Website Links / Organizations. Kenya Individual Documents Since 2000. - Links to News Sources for GLBT World.

MSMGF News Articles & Documents Resources. By Region & Country:  - Sub-Saharan Africa: - Kenya.

ZAMBIA: - `No vote for pro-gay politicians’ (2011): The church says it will campaign against political leaders advocating gay rights and has embarked on sensitising and educating members of the public on dangers of voting for such candidates. The stance follows Patriotic Front (PF) president Michael Sata’s statement that homosexuals have rights in Zambia. - Should gay men be openly accepted in Zambia? (2010, Includes Video): This is a sensitive issue that many do not even like the sound of and later on even read about or watch (watch video below of openly Zambian gay guy) anything associated with gay men. However if you are going to war, it is often said you need to put your best soldiers forward which could also translate as a metaphor for addressing all Zambian under-laying issues if Zambia is ever going to move forward and develop in any way. - Zambia's New Constitution Forbids Same Sex Marriages (2010). - Zambia moves against criminalization of homosexuality (2010): Former president of Botswana Festus Mogae has urged President Rupiah Banda’s government not to criminalise homosexuality and sex work because that would make the fight against HIV/AIDS difficult.And President Rupiah Banda said he understood the need not to criminalise homosexuals..

Church slams Sata’s gay rights stance (2011): The Church has strongly condemned the stance taken by Patriotic Front (PF) leader Michael Sata regarding gay and lesbian rights, saying such acts should not be entertained in a Christian nation like Zambia. Correspondent Cleopatra spoke to Kitizo, a 22 years old gay man from Lusaka. - 'Advocating gay rights and lesbianism is an abomination' (2011): Mr Kafumbo said advocating gay rights and lesbianism in Zambia is an abomination. He called on church mother bodies, especially the Zambia Episcopal Conference to exert pressure on Mr Sata to step down.. - Zambia's Vice-President Using Homosexuality as Wedge Issue in 2011 Elections (2011).- More condemn Sata in gay rights (2011, Alternate Link). - Life in gay Lusaka (2008).

Being openly gay Zambia (2009, Video, Alternate Link): Eventhough it's forbidden by law in the christian nation of Zambia, there are gays who are more or less open about their homosexuality. - Priest wants homosexuality legalised (2009): A Jesuit priest and former university of Zambia lecturer has called upon the Zambian government to make homosexuality legal. - Zambia under fire for anti-gay sentiment (2010): As a gay couple in Malawi began serving a 14-year jail term for conducting an open relationship, another southern African country came under fire over its treatment of gays. New York-based rights watchdog Human Rights Watch warned that recent homophobic statements by religious leaders and government authorities in Zambia, Malawi's neighbour to the west, was undermining that country's fight against the HIV/AIDS pandemic. - Zambian VP Kunda: Report Homosexuals to the Police (2009): In parliament this week, Zambian VP George Kunda told officials  that the government knew of people who had married to hide their homosexuality, and instructed people to report those people to the police, according to a Zambian news outlet..

The love that whispers (2009): Homosexuality is still illegal in Zambia, and it's possible to be prosecuted and jailed for sodomy. So although it would be a bit too extreme to say that it's underground or hidden, it does take a little luck or effort to find. I recently had the good fortune to meet a couple who agreed to give me some insights into gay Lusaka. Joshua Banda (35) and his partner Greg Mbewe (28)* have been together for eight years, having met in 2000 through mutual friends. Judging by what they say, they are at the hub of a vibrant and lively gay community in Lusaka. Their stories and experiences make it clear how ridiculous it is to claim, as some still do, that homosexuality is "un-African". Both Banda and Mbewe realised at a fairly young age that they were different from other boys and, beginning in their teens, each slowly began to find others like themselves. Around 1998 Banda saw an advertisement in a newspaper for a new organisation called Lesbians, Gays and Transgenders, or Legatra. He contacted it and became a member. Through a friend he made at Legatra he met Mbewe. "It was love at first sight," Banda says...

Zambian gays gather to look into the future of their sexuality (2006, PDF Download). - Hope for Zambian MSM (2007): For the first time in Zambia, men having sex with other men (MSM) will have a government endorsed assessment aimed at identifying their existence and sexual behaviours in relation to HIV and Aids. This is done to draw the government’s attention to health issues faced by MSM in that country. Spearheaded by US-based Centre for Disease Control (CDC) together with the Zambian Ministry of Health and the Society for Family Health International, the assessment “is exciting and will give some sort of identity for MSM in Zambia” according to Riva Ukwimi, who is the project coordinator of Friends of Rainka (FORP) at the Society for Family Health...

Zambian lesbian speaks out (2006):  Cindy aged 28 speaks out about her sexuality after being called a tomboy for years. Living in one of Zambia’s cities located in the heart of copper-belts in Ndola. Cindy talks about what she’s been through and how she’s trying by all means to leave the city because her community can not accept that sort of sickness... From that time I have had threat within the community and I have since moved to Lusaka where I’m not very much free, easier to make friends who are like. I wish there more news and activities involving lesbian in some organisations that way there would be more us coming out to contribute or participate. I’m very please to discover that there is a website that’s dedicated to Zambian LGBT “Africanveil”. I’m also please to be amongst the contributors of Africanveil, this will help in having to open the site to all Zambian lesbian that feel left out, I’m please to have had a chance to speak to ndanji regarding our contribution as women.

Zambian activists have vowed to fight for their rights, despite official pronouncements that organizing would be a felony N/A (1998, Alternate Link). - Homosexuality situation in Zambia. (2000, Alternate Link) - Homosexuality in Zambia (1998). -  Zambian Homosexuals Elect Leaders (1998). - Fear of arrest: Harassment of activists (1998). - Zambian Gays Hold Meeting In Defiance Of Ban (1998). - Police in Lusaka have begun a clamp-down on the gay movement and their supporters N/A (Must Scroll). - Africa's gays seek swift end to legal bans (Must Scroll) N/A. - Zambia Angered by Norwegian Support of Gays (1999). - Homosexuals prowl Zambian Streets (1998).

Gay Group Struggles for Life in Zambia N/A. (Related Information N/A: Government treatment of homosexuals in Zambia, and its attitudes towards gay organisations; protection or support available from human rights groups)  - Conflict over Gay organizing spreading north to Zambia N/A. - No Legal Organizing in Zambia (1998). - Zambia's Registrar of Societies continues to refuse to register the gay organization Legatra (Lesbian, Gay and Transgender Association), according to the Gay and Lesbian Times (2001). - Legatra's foundation was not a wise step (2001). - Zambia gets 'tough on corruption and gays' (2003). - Makaveli: The Story Of An African Gay Bar N/A.

African Gays Encouraged by South African Decision N/A: "The London Times reports gay men and women across the African continent have been heartened by the South African Supreme Court's recent repeal of the country's sodomy laws and are hoping that the tolerance evidenced by the decision will spill into the minds of other African leaders. This week Kenneth Kaunda, Zambia's former President, called on Zambians to "cool down" after months of often vicious debate and controversy surrounding efforts by the Lesbians, Gays, Bisexual and Transgender Persons Association (Legatra) to gain official status as a non governmental organization. The Zambian government has repeatedly warned anyone agitating for gay civil rights risks arrest and imprisonment."  - Zulu defends homosexual.

'My name is Pelekani Luwenji, I am a homosexual': "Please don't insult me for this letter. It wasn't just Mercy who made me become homosexual, it was an arrogancy of many other girls and the hatred of certain people. I still have dreams of getting back to girls. I can even consider becoming a bi-sexual. I will take my chances of homosexual. At least being gay will satisfy my everyday need for enjoyment and everlasting comfort and passion. In TIME magazine a woman wrote that gays and lesbians should have fair and equal treatment. I know that many Zambians are against homosexuality. I know some can stupidly say that homosexuals are a threat to Zambian society. Can I please enlighten on some truthful and interesting insights on this whole issue? ..."

The Violations of the Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Persons in Zambia (PDF Download) (Word Download): The retention of codes that criminalize sexual relationships between same-sex consenting adults has a devastating impact on same-sex practicing people in Zambia.  Gays, lesbians, and bisexuals in Zambia live in constant fear of arbitrary detention, discrimination in education, employment, housing, and access to services, and extortion—all buttressed by the existence of sections 155 - 157 and lack of specific legal protections for LGBT under Zambian law... On 23 September 1998 in a statement to parliament, published in the Times of Zambia, Zambian Vice President Christon Tempo vowed that, "If anybody promotes gay rights after this statement, the law will take its course... When LGBT organizers appeared in the newspaper to announce their wishes to register the organization, government officials warned that any attempt to register the group or hold public meetings would be met with arrests. The then Home Affairs Minister Peter Machungwa ordered police to arrest anyone who attempted to register a group advocating for homosexual rights... Extortion of gay men remains a major problem, and is often conducted with police participation.  Gay men interviewed for this note all reported that blackmail of men believed to be gay was a regular occurrence and often led its victims to financial ruin, depression and ostracism from family and community.  A recent report on a Zambian human rights website included an report by a police officer in which he described the targeting of gay men—both Zambian and foreigners—for police-instigated extortion attempts...

African prisons' refusal to provide condoms exposes prisoners to HIV (2001): "The report claims that, "Malawi and Zambia show that at least one in eight men has sex in prison."" - Sexual practices and HIV infection in some Zambian prisons (1989). - Zambian Prisoners routinely raped by prison warders (2006). - Responding to the challenge of HIV/AIDS behind bars (2005). - HIV/AIDS in Zambia (2003). - The history of HIV and AIDS in Zambia. - Discussions of Homosexuality in Zambia: PDF Documents (2011).

Resources: - Behind the Mask - A Web Site on Gay and Lesbian Affairs in Africa. - Africa by Country: Zambia Information News. Zambia Archive. - African Veil: Countries Covered: Zambia. - Queer afrol. - Afrol News; Gay/Lesbian Archives. - theGully.com news & Articles: Africa. - Amnesty International 1999 Annual Report on Zambia.

Global Gayz: Africa: Zambia News Report. - ILGA: Africa: Zambia. - LGBT rights in Zambia. - Zambia Gay Rights News (To the Present). - Human Rights Watch: Use Search Function. - Amnesty International: Use Search Function. - Pink News: Europe's Largest Gay News Service: Africa. - AsylumLaw.Org: Sexual Minorities & HIV Status: Documents / Reports / Website Links / Organizations. Zambia Individual Documents since 2000. - Links to News Sources for GLBT World.

MSMGF News Articles & Documents Resources. By Region & Country:  - Sub-Saharan Africa:  - Zambia. 

ZIMBABWE: - Zimbabwe's Mugabe condemns gay 'filth'  (2011). - Zimbabwe’s Mugabe blasts Western gay “filth” (2011). - Zimbabwe Queers Hit Back (2011): Zimbabwean gay rights activists have hit back at the ranting by President Robert Mugabe that their “unnatural activities” would never be allowed in the southern African country, accusing the veteran leader of failing to provide leadership to tackle more pressing challenges bedevilling Zimbabwe. - Detention, Harassment and Intimidation of Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ) members (2011). - Police in Zimbabwe arrest gay right activists (2010). - Zimbabwe Police Raid Gay Group (2010, Video). - Gay workers freed by Zimbabwe court (2010). - Zimbabwe gay rights workers released after alleged torture (2010). - Zimbabwe Shrugs Off Gay Rights (2010). 

US report paints grim picture of gay life in Zimbabwe (2010): The US State Department's 2009 report on human rights in Zimbabwe paints a grim picture: a broad definition of sodomy carrying a $5,000 fine or up to a year in prison, government censorship and confiscation of any queer materials, lack of treatment for HIV/AIDS for gay men and disturbing reports of "corrective" rape. - Lesbians and Gay Men in Zimbabwe Face Brutal “Corrective” Rape (2010): In a country long plagued by violence, corruption, and an authoritarian government, Zimbabwe’s President Mugabe is known as one of the worst anti-gay autocrats in Africa. Mugabe has repeatedly located blame for the country’s ills on lesbians and gay men, cultivating widespread bigotry and violence. His virulent homophobia has given rise to the rape of lesbian and gay male Zimbabweans, under the guise of “correcting” them into heterosexuality.

Zimbabwe rules out Gay rights in new Constitution (2010). - Mugabe condemns churches that allow gay marriages (2010). - Family throws out gay son (2010). - "Worse than dogs and pigs?" Attitudes toward homosexual practice in Zimbabwe (2010). - South African Lesbian and Gay Community Concerned About Democracy Crisis in Zimbabwe (2008). - Gay in Zimbabwe: Arrests, Limited Access to Health Care. - A Bird's Eye View of HIV and Gay and Lesbian Issues in Zimbabwe (2009). - Zimbabwe: Juveniles to Be Flogged for Homosexual Act (2009).

Living in fear: a lesbian in Zimbabwe shares her story(2010: Although my friends, my true friends are aware of my sexuality, I am still afraid that my family will find out one day and reject me. The fear is always there as I listen to comments made about homosexuality at home and in public places.I listen hoping that no one will notice how silent I am or see the raw fear in my eyes.. - Twenty Schoolgirls Arrested in Zimbabwe Homosexuality Crackdown (2010): While Americans celebrate a major victory in the battle for LGBT rights, news from Zimbabwe shows how much work still has to be done. According to the ZimDiaspora.com, police in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe's second-largest city, have arrested some 20 schoolgirls for allegedly engaging in "lesbian relationships.”

South Africa Gay Marriages Spark Homophobic Outcry In Zimbabwe (2006). - Zambia will never legalise gay marriages-gov’t (2006).  - Zimbabwe Latest: Gay Bashing in Parliament, Mugabe Prez for Life (2006): Another week, another unfortunate report from Zimbabwe. The latest are gay-baiting remarks made by the country's leading opposition figure and a homophobic "joke" by its top minister...- Zimbabwe gay group wins international award (2005). - Kelvin Ncube: I'm gay: ZBC radio and TV presenter Kelvin Ncube has sensationally revealed that he is gay. In an exclusive interview with New Zimbabwe.com last night, Ncube said: "I have always wanted to share this with everyone but the situation in Zimbabwe did not allow it." - Zimbabwean drag queen reveals all (2006): This in-your-face attitude put him on a collision course with Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe, who regards homosexuality as un-African. Mr Mugabe infamously described gays as "worse than pigs and dogs" at the opening of the Zimbabwe's International Book Fair in 1995. "That changed the world, just those words," says Kudah, who after subsequent harassment fled into exile to the UK.  

New Blow for Gay Rights in Zimbabwe (2006): Activists struggle on as legal clampdown on same-sex relationships comes into force... Until recently, homosexuality was not illegal in Zimbabwe, although the statutes outlawed sodomy. However, a new law that came into force in August makes "physical contact between males that would be regarded by a reasonable person as an indecent act" a criminal offence. In a terse response to the new law, Keith Goddard, programme manager for the group Gays and Lesbians in Zimbabwe, GALZ, said, "Lesbians and gays are there and have a right to their sexual preference. Sexual preference is a human right." Geoff Feltoe, a professor of law at the University of Zimbabwe, said the amendments represented a hardening of attitudes towards same sex-relationships. "A seemingly intimate embrace or hug between two men would presumably be construed as a crime now," said Feltoe. "It would seem the impetus for such legal transformation was the sensational sodomy trial of the late Banana."  - L'Église anglicane du Zimbabwe radicalise sa position sur l'homosexualité (2007, Translation). - Activists struggle on despite new legal clampdown on same-sex relationships (2006).

Gay activist goes into hiding (2007, Alternate Link): The dreaded Zimbabwe state security agency the Central Intelligence Organization (CIO) has launched a manhunt for gay activist Dumisani Dube after the activist made a stunning disclosure to ZimDaily last week that he had a love affair with cabinet minister and Mugabe loyalist Stan Mudenge who infected him with the deadly HIV virus five years ago... The hunted gay activist who fears for his life has gone into hiding and says he is making arrangements to flee the country before he is captured. The CIO is well known in Zimbabwe for their rank brutality and savagery when dealing with suspected culprits. Dube, a member of a fringe association Gays And Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ) has threatened to expose names of six well known cabinet ministers, priests and several ZANU PF bigwigs who he claims are gay and have solicited sex from his friends and other GALZ members over the past ten years... - Zimbabwe Hunting Gay Activist, Claims Affair With Mugabe Loyalist.

Homosexual and hated in Zimbabwe (1998). - Zimbabwe Church Council Condemns Homosexuality (1996). - Zimbabwe's Gays & Lesbians Critique Former President (1999). - Zimbabwe: Gay Activist Arrested, Faces Prison Under Sodomy Law (1998). - GALZ leader charged with sodomy (1998). - Totally unacceptable to cultural norms: Gays in Zimbabwe fight institutionalized homophobia, see slow gains in social acceptance (2000). - Gay Zimbabwe (2000): Black Gay Life in Zimbabwe. - Gay Advocates Brace for WCC Showdown in Zimbabwe N/A. - Black skin, 'cowboy' masculinity: A genealogy of homophobia in the African nationalist movement in Zimbabwe to 1983 (2005).

Mugabe says homosexuals should be 'cured' by church (1998). - Police raids Zimbabwe gay organisation's office (2001). - Statement from the Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe: Under The Cloak of Marriage (2002). - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, who is currently in South Africa for the opening of the African Union, "has ordered a witch hunt to flush out gays and lesbians in his government."N/A - Lesbianism rife at school (2002, Must Scroll). - Fighting Fear - most well-known lesbian in Zimbabwe N/A (2000). - Zimbabwean lesbian tells tales of her struggle (2001).

Homophobia and Postcolonialism By Mica A. Hilson (1996). - Robert Mugabe challenged to 'take the test': Research shows that most homophobes are repressed homosexuals (1997). - The Apartheid of Homosexuality (1999). (PDF Download) - Zimbabwe's Gays Go 'Out' at Great Risk N/A. - In and Out of the Zimbabwe Closet (1997). - Zimbabwe gay rights face dim future (1999). - Zimbabwe's GALZ Issues Statement on Presidential Election (2002). - Exemples de persécution motivée par la préférence sexuelle de la personne: Zimbabwe N/A. - Homophobic Dictator Mugabe Hunted and Haunted in Rome (2002). - Our day of shame over Zimbabwe: While Mugabe butchers his way to another stolen term, the commonwealth does.... nothing. - The Gay Oral History Project in Zimbabwe: Black Empowerment, Human Rights, and the Research Process (1999).

Zimbabwe Gays: 'Dogs and Pigs' No More? (2004, Alternate Link) - Mugabe fuels 'Reformation' against gays (2004). - Zimbabwe gays soldier on (2003). - Reports in various Zimbabwean newspapers claim that members of GALZ were beaten and chased from their stand at the Zimbabwe International Book Fair last week. This year's scandal has led to the resignation of honorary trustee, the Midlands provincial governor, Cephas Msipa from the board of the fair (2004). - Gay leader detained (2004): "Gay leader Keith Goddard was detained at State House for several hours and later spent two days at Harare Central Prison for breaching security regulations at State House recently..." - Gay bashing in Zimbabwe: I - Mugabe's unholy war (1996). - Gay bashing in Zimbabwe: II - Outing the gay debate (1996). - Mugabe fuels 'Reformation' against gays (2004).

Gays move closer to recognition in Zimbabwe. "Yet, in subtle ways, things are also changing. Intolerance, particularly at the official level, seems to have mellowed into indifference. The random and all too frequent arrest of gays appears to have ceased, while the police’s last raid of the Gays and Lesbians Association of Zimbabwe (GALZ) office was in 1996. "We have a good relationship with our local station," says Keith Goddard, who heads the 400-member organisation. "They treat us with great professionalism." Furthermore last July, after years of fighting, gays were allowed to set up their own stand at the annual Zimbabwe International Book Fair – no small feat, considering that their presence at the 1995 event caused a fiasco. "We thought it was a positive development and we can now put that whole campaign to rest," Goddard told IPS. Buoyed by a new-found confidence, the gay community is now pushing for greater recognition by society..."  - Zimbabwe gay group wins court victory, but mob attacks exhibit (2005). - Gays Flee Zimbabwe Mob (2004). - Zimbabwe clamps down on male hookers.

Engelke, Matthew  (1999). ‘We Wondered what Human Rights He Was Talking About.’ Human rights, homosexuality and the Zimbabwe International Book Fair. Critique of Anthropology, 19(3): 289-314. PDF Download.  This article addresses the recent debates on homosexuality and human  rights in Zimbabwe, particularly as they relate to the controversy surrounding the Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ) participating in the Zimbabwe International Book Fair. These debates highlight the problems inherent in talking about universal human rights when appeals to ‘cultural difference’ are made. In Zimbabwe, for example, critics of GALZ and homosexuality have tried to argue that ‘homosex is not in African culture’.

The 'Unsaying' of Indigenous Homosexualities in Zimbabwe: Mapping a Blindspot in an African Masculinity - 1998 - by Marc Epprecht, Department of History, University of Zimbabwe (Journal of Southern African Studies 24: 631-51): PDF Download. - Fear and loathing of homosexuality in Zimbabwe: settler origins and African transitions, 1890-present (2003).

Maunze, Rumbidzai (2009). A history of debates on sexuality in Zimbabwe. Master's Dissertation, Historisch-Kulturwissenschaftliche Fakultät, Universität Wien. Download Page. When talking about sexuality in Zimbabwe, the influence of colonialism cannot be ignored as it comes to the forefront of much debate. Sexual orientations such as homosexuality are claimed to have been a colonial invention and not a Zimbabwean phenomenon hence debates on this tend to place blame on colonialism. Prostitution is believed to have increased a lot during colonialism due to the high influx of European settlers into present day Zimbabwe. Gendered sexuality is also said to have been influenced a lot by colonialism in Zimbabwe. This thesis brings the debate on sexuality to not only focus on the colonial aspects of sexuality in Zimbabwe but to bring it closer to home and find out how the government, media, families and religious institutions are debating sexuality.

Gunda, Masiiwa Ragies (2010). The Bible and Homosexuality in Zimbabwe: A Socio-historical analysis of the political, cultural and Christian arguments in the homosexual public debate with special reference to the use of the Bible.  PDF Download. - The attitude of the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe to homosexuality: towards a socio-sexological theological investigation (2010).

Blackmail in Zimbabwe: Troubling Narratives of Sexuality and Human Rights (2009): Abstract: Through analysis of a challenging scenario of homosexual blackmail in Zimbabwe, this article highlights the significance of the discursive and rhetorical realm in which law operates. Drawing on historical and contemporary sexual politics in Zimbabwe, it situates the practice of blackmail within its local context and considers how the victims' respective racial and sexual identities combined with their active sexual agency to pre-empt their representation as 'innocent', and to restrict their access to legal or discursive exculpation. It shows how the ascendant narratives that emerge from the blackmail scenario obscure the victims' 'truth', render them perpetually 'guilty', and reinscribe conventional sexual hierarchies. The article uses this analysis of blackmail to illustrate how the advance of sexual rights is inhibited by a tension between our idealisation of innocence in making rights claims, and our aspiration to agency in developing sexual equality.

Writing Still: New Stories from Zimbabwe - 2003 - edited by Irene Staunton (The African Review of Books): "Two stories dealing with gay rights tell of love lost, or never grasped. 'When Samora Died', by Annie Holmes, is more than a mere 'gay rights' story though. It is about the entrenched prejudices of white Zimbabweans, not just against blacks and communists, but 'homos' too. 'Mea Culpa' by Rory Kilalea, tells of a gay university student beginning to understand, and deny, his sexuality in a world of racism. He finds a voice to fight the racism and in doing so has to deal with the so many other remnants hiding in his closet. -  Writing Still - New stories from Zimbabwe (2003).

Male Rape in Zimbabwe: The depravity of Mugabe’s regime knows no bounds (2003). - Reports of rape and torture inside Zimbabwean militia (2003): " Ms. Siyangapi is one of the few women to speak publicly about the prevalence of rape and other sexual atrocities in the Zimbabwe military. But a growing number of human rights groups have charged in recent months that forced sex and sexual torture are routine elements of life for men and women alike in the Youth Service, used as both a reward and a punishment..." - Let's turn off Mugabe's lights: the best way to bring Zimbabwe's regime to its knees is for South Africa to cut its electricity supply - Features - related article: Male rape, the latest weapon for Robert Mugabe's men (2003).

Zimbabwe TV chief faces inquiry (2002): "The powerful head of the Zimbabwe state broadcaster is to be investigated by the government after allegations of homosexuality were made against him, according to newspaper reports. Alum Mpofu, the chief executive of the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corp, has been accused of causing a disturbance at a Harare nightclub after being caught "in a compromising situation" with a man, according to the state newspaper the Herald..." - Zim TV chief faces inquiry over alleged homosexuality (2002). - Zimbabwe Media Chief Quits Before Probe (2002).

Carlos Mpofu, from Bulowayo, Zimbabwe (2000), was twenty years old when our researcher spoke to him in 2000: Meanwhile, in high school I had just begun inching toward acting on my feelings. I had started dating my O-level teacher. I never had real sexual contact, just small stuff; and we never even discussed the fact that we were both gay. But we knew that we enjoyed each other's company. He was much older. We broke off for a while, because we were frightened. But in December 1998, we reconciled. One night early in the next year we went out; we were holding hands and cuddling, sort of, at a movie house. One of my workmates was in the theater, a fellow teacher at the church school. On Monday, I went back to work and Pastor Bismarck called me in. He said, "I have heard a very disturbing thing and I want to discuss it with you." I was fired on the spot for being gay. They "preaccused" me of things they thought I would do to schoolkids-molest them or corrupt them... I was suicidal for about a month. I attempted to commit suicide; but my friends found me and revived me... In June I fell in love. We made the mistake of being too careless. We did the kinds of crazy things you do when you are in love. Bulawayo is a small city and my mother was well known. My elder brother's girlfriend saw us kissing in town. This was the beginning of the biggest family problems at home...

Totally unacceptable to cultural norms (2000): Gays in Zimbabwe fight institutionalized homophobia, see slow gains in social acceptance (First of four parts): "These are some of the responses government-appointed commissioners recorded just last summer when they surveyed half a million Zimbabweans about what they want included in the country's new constitution. In each of their reports, the verdict on whether or not "freedom of sexual orientation" would be a fundamental right is clear. "Homosexuality and lesbianism were rejected and condemned as they were regarded as totally unacceptable to cultural norms and values of Zimbabwean society," one report sums up. In another report, 98 percent of those surveyed answer no to the question, "Should gays and lesbians be allowed in Zimbabwe?" The invectives go as far as blaming Gays for natural disasters "such as drought, locusts, worms and diseases.""

Gay group supports condom provision in Zimbabwe's prisons: The statement said: "Due to the fact that men generally have a high sex drive, they are bound to have sex regardless of circumstances. By making condoms unavailable and by not acknowledging that men have sex with men in prisons, the government and prison authorities are encouraging the spread of sexually transmitted diseases like HIV/AIDS and putting pressure on the national health budget." It adds that gender roles and identities in prison are defined primarily by the ability to exercise power. It is important that those less able to stand up for themselves are not bullied into unwanted sex and can protect themselves. - GALZ's Statement on the provision of condoms to prisoners (2010). - Zimbabwe plans to give condoms to prisoners (2010). - Prison AIDS rates high without condoms (2011): A doctor at a government referral hospital, Blessing Mukumba, was quoted as saying: "Out of all the prisoners that we attend to on a daily basis, about 60 to 70 percent of them admit to have had sex with other males at one time or the other."Research shows that around 60 percent of all prisoners in Zimbabwe are currently living with HIV/AIDS..

Phillips, Oliver (2011). Blackmail in Zimbabwe: Troubling Narratives of Sexuality and Human Rights. In: Ryan Thoreson & Sam Cook, Eds.. Nowhere to Turn: Blackmail and Extortion of LGBT People in Sub-Saharan Africa, pp. 19-45. Brooklyn, NY: International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission. PDF Download. Download Page. PDF Download.

Film: Tina Machida in Zimbabwe (2000, Harare, Zimbabwe - Gays and Lesbians): A young woman fights for the rights of gays and lesbians against the odds. 26 minutes, Color, Closed Captioned. - Zimbabwe: Gays talk straight: SPARK is a regular series of features that gives young people a chance to talk openly about sex and drugs and other teenage topics. All SPARK features are designed to provoke and carry a wide range of views. In Zimbabwe, young gay men break taboos to talk candidly to Craig Hamilton about their sexuality.

Resources: - Amnesty International On-line, Zimbabwe. - gayZIM: Zimbabwe's only online, interactive magazine. - Gays & lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ: Basic Information) GALZ Web Site. - Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ Web Site). - Gays et Lesbiennes du Zimbabwe (Translation). - Gays et Lesbiennes du Zimbabwe (Translation).

Resources: - Behind the Mask - A Web Site on Gay and Lesbian Affairs in Africa. - Africa by Country: Zimbabwe Information News. Zimbabwe Archive. - African Veil: Countries Covered: Zimbabwe. - Queer afrol. - Afrol News; Gay/Lesbian Archives. - theGully.com news & Articles: Africa. - Human Rights Watch: Use Search Function. - Amnesty International: Use Search Function. - Pink News: Europe's Largest Gay News Service: Africa. - AsylumLaw.Org: Sexual Minorities & HIV Status: Documents / Reports / Website Links / Organizations. Zimbabwe Individual Documents since 2000. - Links to News Sources for GLBT World.

Global Gayz: Africa: Zimbabwe News Reports from 1998 to the Present. - ILGA: Africa: Zimbabwe. - LGBT rights in Zimbabwe. - Sodomy Laws.- Lesbian and Gay Rights in Zimbabwe (1998). - QRD.

MSMGF News Articles & Documents Resources. By Region & Country:  - Sub-Saharan Africa: - Zimbabwe.

NAMIBIA - OUTRIGHT Namibia to amplify voices of Namibian LGBTI people (2011). - Documenting LGBT Discrimination in Namibia (2011). - Namibia city hosts first gay rights march (2010): About 40 people are expected to march in Keetmanshoop’s first-ever march for gay and lesbian rights on Saturday. Keetmanshoop, in the southern part of Namibia, near the gay-friendly South Africa, is marking the inauguration of Ada Ma/Hao (We stand together), a new project advocating for equal rights for gender minorities in southern Namibia.- Response To 'Gay Excess' Criticism (2010). - Transgender Inclusion in the Namibian and South African LGBT Movements (2007): I examine the implications for few activists claiming transgender as a personal identity and the Namibian and South African movement’s embrace of transgender as an inclusive political strategy as activists participate in creating an African LGBT movement.

Gay week set to attract 'straight' community (2007): The Namibian lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) organisation – trp – endevours to raise awareness and educate the public about diversity. “We want to increase tolerance and acceptance of all people who are different in society”, Carol Millward, the project coordinator of the LGBTI Week celebrations said. - Namibia Law Banning Male-to-Male Sex Is Hindering Condom Distribution, HIV Prevention in Prisons, Advocates Say (Alternate Link) (2006). - Jail condoms draw fire in U.S., Namibia (2006). - Namibia's prisons sit on AIDS 'time bomb' (2006, Alternate Link). - Dispelling “heterosexual African AIDS” in Namibia: Same‐sex sexuality in the township of Katutura (2006). - Constructing Namibian queer selfhood in the era of HIV/AIDS (2003, Word Download).

Homosexuality Not An Import (2006): The question at hand is, did white people teach innocent black Namibians how to practise homosexuality as has been alleged before? The answer to this myth might be difficult to obtain, but the following might give an overview of the situation at hand and whether this should be blamed on the small number of whites of homosexual orientation.Take the Wernhil Park public toilet in the Windhoek's city centre for example.It is mainly frequented by blacks, with a few whites who make use of it.Go to the Windhoek city centre on a Saturday morning or any day of the week during lunch hour and you will see them, young black male Namibians, most of them professionals, who appear to be macho.They will show no outward sign of having anything to do with homosexual activities, and most of them have girlfriends, perhaps as way of covering up or just to fit in with others, but come night time they will find excuses to get to their same-sex partners.Among adults there are those who have taken advantage of their positions, enticing young boys for sex in exchange for job offers..

Being Gay In Namibia (2005): But in Namibia, a growing national debate about homosexuality has followed a period of harsh condemnation, and gay rights groups now operate openly in the capital, Windhoek. One of them is the Rainbow Project, where Gurirab works as a suicide prevention counselor. The organization has interviewed gay Africans from across the continent, and its leaders say they believe the time is right to challenge prejudices and start a wider discussion on what being gay really means. "The only answer is education," said Linda Baumann, 21, who grew up in a tribal community and was expelled from it when she revealed she was a lesbian. She now lives in Windhoek and hosts a radio program about gay issues. "We have to have courage and stick up for ourselves."" ... In Namibia, gays said there was a relatively relaxed climate in large cities in the years before and after independence from South Africa in 1990, and gay couples in Windhoek could hold hands in the street. But in the mid-'90s, they said, a chilling change occurred. "The first five years after independence it was like a utopia," Swartz said. "People were proud to be gay. But when Namibian leaders' promises fell through and poverty did not improve, the government became increasingly unpopular. . . . The leaders were looking for a smokescreen and someone to blame."In 1996, the public campaign against homosexuals began...

Lorway, Robert (2007). Health Silence: HIV Risk and Male-Male Sexual Practices in the Windhoek Urban Area. In: Suzanne LaFont and Dianne Hubbard, Eds., Unravelling Taboos: Gender and Sexuality in Namibia. Windhoek, Namibi: Gender Research & Advocacy Project, Legal Assistance Centre. PDF Download. - "Most of the men I know who have girlfriends are saying that they

prefer to have sex with us moffies [effeminate males] because they don’t want to catch STDs cheating on them, or HIV, or get someone pregnant. Most of them think they can even have sex with men without a condom because they think it is less risky than sex with a woman." (Jason, 21-year-old male from Katutura). Question: What is such a male sexuality? - Dispelling "Heterosexual African AIDS" in Namibia: Same-Sex Sexuality in the Township of Katutura (2006).

Bisexual concurrency, bisexual partnerships, and HIV among Southern African men who have sex with men (2010, Abstract): The sexual behaviour of men who have sex with men (MSM) in southern Africa has been little studied. We present here the first data on bisexual partnerships and bisexual concurrency among MSM in Malawi, Namibia and Botswana... 34.1% of MSM were married or had a stable female partner, and 53.7% reported both male and female sexual partners in the past 6 months. Bisexual concurrency was common, with 16.6% of MSM having concurrent relationships with both a man and a woman... The majority of MSM in this study report some bisexual partnerships in the previous 6 months. Concurrency with sexual partners of both genders is common. Encouragingly, men reporting any concurrent bisexual activity were more likely to report condom use with sexual partners, and these men were not more likely to have HIV infection than men reporting only male partners. HIV-prevention programmes focussing on decreasing concurrent sexual partners in the African context should also target bisexual concurrency among MSM. Decriminalisation of same-sex practices will potentiate evidence-based HIV-prevention programmes targeting MSM.

HIV prevalence, risks for HIV infection, and human rights among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Malawi, Namibia, and Botswana (2009, Abstract): The HIV prevalence among those between the ages of 18 and 23 was 8.3% (20/241); 20.0% (42/210) among those 24-29; and 35.7% (30/84) among those older than 30 for an overall prevalence of 17.4% (95% CI 14.4-20.8). In multivariate logistic regressions, being older than 25 (aOR 4.0, 95% CI 2.0-8.0), and not always wearing condoms during sex (aOR 2.6, 95% CI 1.3-4.9) were significantly associated with being HIV-positive. Sexual concurrency was common with 16.6% having ongoing concurrent stable relationships with a man and a woman and 53.7% had both male and female sexual partners in proceeding 6 months. Unprotected anal intercourse was common and the use of petroleum-based lubricants was also common when using condoms. Human rights abuses, including blackmail and denial of housing and health care was prevalent with 42.1% (222/527) reporting at least one abuse. MSM are a high-risk group for HIV infection and human rights abuses in Malawi, Namibia, and Botswana.

Khaxas, E, Wieringa S (2007). Same-Sex Sexuality among Damara Women. In: Suzanne LaFont and Dianne Hubbard, Eds., Unravelling Taboos: Gender and Sexuality in Namibia. Windhoek, Namibi: Gender Research & Advocacy Project, Legal Assistance Centre. PDF Download. -When our former president, Sam Nujoma, said that homosexuality is un-African and that people engaged in same-sex relations must be deported, one of my interviewees responded by saying: “… It’s only people in Windhoek and parents of people here in Windhoek who see this thing as a big issue. But people like me who came from smaller towns, [we know] there are gay people. Parents with children like that accept that it is their children … he was born that way, there is nothing I can do about it, I cannot
re-create him, thus, the problem is only in the city.” My research reveals that in Damara culture same-sex relations have existed for a long time. This chapter will examine the same-sex practices of Damara female-bodied persons and explores how Damara culture plays a role in the fact that many women in same-sex relationships among the Damara live their lives more openly than women of other ethnic groups in Namibia...

Namibia Chips Away at African Taboos on Homosexuality (2005): (Alternate Link) "She also apparently gossiped with colleagues. Other teachers started teasing Gurirab, asking him why he didn't play soccer and why he spent so much time around his mother. Then one morning, he said, the gym teacher invited him into his office, locked the door and forced him onto the desk for sex. Let's see how good you are at it," the teacher said, according to Gurirab, now 25, who recounted the story through tears. The ordeal left his legs and arms with red bruises. The next day, distraught and confused, he had sex with a female classmate. "I wanted to change so badly and not be gay . . . but I couldn't," he said. "I knew I liked men. I decided I would kill myself. . . . I was so desperate I called a lifeline in London. They saved my life... From Uganda, where homosexuality is punishable by life imprisonment, to Sierra Leone, where a lesbian activist was raped and stabbed to death at her desk last year, homophobia has long trapped gays in a dangerous, closeted life. With no places to meet openly, no groups to join, it seems sometimes that gay men and lesbians in Africa don't exist at all. But in Namibia, a growing national debate about homosexuality has followed a period of harsh condemnation, and gay rights groups now operate openly in the capital, Windhoek. One of them is the Rainbow Project, where Gurirab works as a suicide prevention counselor..." (Related Blog) - Namibia's Rainbow Project votes for change (2003). - The Rainbow Project: a lesson in pride (2006). - African AIDS Awareness Campaign: The Rainbow Project (To 2007).

Currier, Ashley McAllister (2007). The Visibility of Sexual Minority Movement Organizations in Namibia and South Africa. PhD Dissertation, Sociology, University of Pittsburgh. PDF Download. Download Page. Abstract: The South African state has responded favorably to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) social movement organizations’ (SMOs) efforts to protect and extend sexual and gender minority rights, whereas Namibian state leaders have verbally attacked LGBT organizing and threatened to arrest sexual and gender minorities... I engaged in intensive, continuous ethnographic observation of four Namibian and South African LGBT social movement organizations for approximately 800 hours and analyzed my ethnographic fieldnotes. I also analyzed more than 2,100 newspaper articles and LGBT SMO documents and conducted 56 in-depth interviews with staff, members, and leaders of LGBT SMOs. In this dissertation, I explore the varied strategic dilemmas of visibility and invisibility that Namibian and South African LGBT SMOs faced...

Namibian leader in new attack on queers (2005): “Gay and lesbian Namibians are being scapegoated for the country’s problems and demonised as the enemies of the state,” according to Peter Tatchell of the UK-based LGBT human rights group OutRage! ”The homophobic slurs by Namibia’s Deputy Minister of Home Affairs and Immigration, Ms Theopolina Mushelenga, are the latest in a long series of attacks on Namibian lesbians and gay men by senior government officials. “We echo the condemnation of this vilification made by Gays & Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ). See their statement below. “The Namibian President, Sam Nujoma, has for years echoed the anti-gay hate speech of neighbouring leader, President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe. He has denounced and threatened queers, encouraging a climate of prejudice, discrimination and violence.

A Crisis Corps Assignment in Namibia (2003):  Gay Life in Namibia: Through the gaydar web site, I’d met a handful of gay men in Windhoek, all colors, and the unanimity of opinion was total: gay life in Namibia sucked. It’s not completely non-existent, even though there’s no gay bar; it’s just weak, fearful, and fragmented. Only a handful of gay men are “out” in any sense of the word. Namibia’s semi-hidden gay organization is called The Rainbow Project, known among gays as TRP. The name expresses the hopeless desire to unite Namibia’s races under the banner of gay pride. There’s precious little pride and even less racial tolerance. If the whites ever participated, they pulled out long ago, retreating to private parties and social cliques. The Rainbow Project is now a Black and Coloured organization. I’m told that there are tribal differences in the acceptance of homosexuality. Among the Ovambo and the Herero, it’s absolutely verboten; the Coloured and Damara communities are much more tolerant. One Saturday, The Rainbow Project sponsored an HIV/AIDS fundraising dance in Khomasdal, the formerly Coloured township where I lived. That I wasn’t going to miss! As it ended up, I was pretty invisible, but it was an interesting anthropological experience: a slice of pre-Stonewall gay life. About 40 young Black and Coloured men and women pitched up at a plain room that was sparingly decorated with red hearts and red balloons. There were a fair number of cross-dressers, tall young men in spiked heels and bare midriffs, and flapping wrists everywhere. Nobody was older than mid-30...

Nujoma attacks homosexuals (1998, Must Scroll). - A small Namibian gay group, the Rainbow Project, challenged Nujoma on the remarks. - Namibian Court Grants Partner Rights (1999). - Court rebukes government over gay rights (1999). - Court knocks down Namibia gay victory (1998). - Namibia: Prime Minister Blasts Plan for Gay Castrations (1998). - Namibia gay rights row (2000). - Nujoma's "gay purges" cause international outrage (2001). - Namibia, The Bermuda Triangle of African Homophobia (2001). - Homosexuality is all-african: (2000, Alternate Link) "September 1999: Thanks to the efforts of a group of Norwegian researchers homosexual behaviour amongst members of a tribe in the north of Namibia, a tribe that has not been influenced by Christianity, has been recorded."  

Namibian president announces purges against gays (2001). - Namibia: Gays and lesbians under attack (2001). - Namibia-homosexuals: Arrest, deport and imprison gays and lesbians: Namibia's Nujoma (2001). - Namibia’s homosexual detection teams (2001): "Following the banning not only of homosexuality but homosexual persons in Namibia, the government there have decided on a Deportation-on-entry policy at state borders. This has prompted the forming of a special task team to spot homosexuals from ‘normal’ people in the passport queue..." - ILGA's Open Letter to President Sam Nujoma (2001). - Statement by The Rainbow Project, April 2001. - Namibia and EU in dispute over gay rights (2002, Alternate Link) - Namibian President backs down on gay attacks (2002). - Politicians Accused Of Failing Gay Community (2003, Alternate Link). - Sexual Health and Rights in Namibia (2003).

Men, HIV & AIDS: (2003, Alternate Link) "The wall of silence is finally crumbling around the last taboo topics in Africa - male rape and male-to-male sex. Some political and religious leaders have denounced gay men and women as un-African although 19th century ethnographic research documents sex between men in Africa. Politically constructed homophobia has a negative impact on public health because it excludes homosexuals from prevention and awareness campaigns, making them vulnerable to HIV infection... Regional Conference 2003 Report: "With HIV prevalence of 27-30% in its crowded prisons, Namibia offers counselling to prisoners but not condoms because it could be seen as encouraging sodomy, which is a criminal offence. Male rape, possibly the last frontier in public debate, was brought into the conference by Men United, a South African group dedicated to breaking the silence about male rape, providing support and care for survivors and their families, and educating youth to speak out against all sexual abuse."

Nujoma's war on gays and lesbians is nothing new (2001): "The Republic of Namibia does not allow homosexuality or lesbianism here. Police are ordered to arrest you and deport you and imprison you," Nujoma told students during a speech at the University of Namibia on Monday, as reported by state television.  Nujoma's comments follow similar statements made by Home Affairs Minister Jerry Ekandjo last year, when he told new Police recruits at Ondangwa to "eliminate" gays and lesbians - whose conduct he equated to "unnatural acts" such as murder - "from the face of Namibia"." - Homosexuals 'To Be Barred From Entering Namibia (2001, Alternate Link). - Gays 'fearful' in Namibia (2001). - Threatening Homosexuals in Namibia (2001): Violence and oppression of the others/of those who are different - a comment on the newly risen harassment against gays and lesbians. - Gay-Bashers Run Riot in Parliament (2000. Alternate Link). - Nujoma afirma que los extranjeros extienden la homosexualidad por Namibia (2002, Translation). - International confidence in Namibia damaged by anti-gay attacks (2001). - Nujoma's "gay purges" cause international outrage (2001).

Gay al bando in Namibia: Secondo il presidente Nujoma, i comportamenti omosessuali sono vietati dalla Costituzione. Ecco perché ha ordinato di arrestare e deportare dal Paese gay e lesbiche (2001, Translation). - Homosexuality: dimensions of the issue in church and society in Namibia - Homosexuality: Some Elements for an Ecumenical Discussion (1998). - Namibia:  Gay rights (cont'd): II - Namibia (1997).

People in Namibia's slums: Lesbian love. - The lesbian men: "The ostracising of homosexuals leads to secret lives, but in the Namibian township of Katatura, a lesbian football team - the Rainbow Warriors - has been formed. Members wear men's clothes, openly try to pick up women and visit gay-friendly shebeens. They call themselves the "lesbian men", their partners are "the ladies". - Becoming visible in Namibia (1999). - Being a public lesbian in Namibia. (2001, Alternate Link)

Challenging heteronormativity in the post-colonial nation building of Namibia (2009): Abstract: Examined in this thesis is how heteronormativity is challenged in a country recently independent from colonial power. By making focus group studies with black LGBT-people in Namibia around effects of heteronormativity as well as activities of change, the study examines how social, legal and civil citizenship of LGBT people is affected. The results show that LGBT-people in Namibia are limited in their civil, political and social citizenship, as post colonial nation building has excluded LGBT from the identity of Africans and Namibians. However, using queer feminist and post colonial ideas, it is possible to see that LGBT-people do have agency and actively do perform resistance, which in one way give them a social citizenship. To participate in societal change and demanding acceptance from the community is a way of reaching social citizenship before a civil or political one is there. Further on, the thesis shows how high reflexivity in methodology has an impact of the results when using focus groups interviews.

Political Homophobia in Postcolonial Namibia (2010): The South West African People’s Organisation (SWAPO) delivered Namibia from South African apartheid rule in 1990. Namibia’s democratic future began with the promise of equality. In 1995, however, SWAPO initiated a campaign of political homophobia. In this article, I make a case for viewing SWAPO leaders’ deployment of political homophobia as a gendered political strategy. I draw on a qualitative analysis of 194 articles from Namibian newspapers published between 1995 and 2006. My analysis illustrates two features of political homophobia. First, I demonstrate how political homophobia stifled political dissent and enhanced SWAPO leaders’ masculinist position and legacy as liberators. Second, I show how SWAPO leaders used political homophobia to expel gender and sexual dissidents from official accounts of history..

Namibia's prisons sit on AIDS 'time bomb' (2006, Alternate Link).

Arnott J, Crago A-L (2009). Rights Not rescue: A Report on Female, Male, and Trans Sex Workers’ Human Rights in Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa. Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa Sexual Health and Rights Project, Open Society Institute. PDF Download.

Resources: - Behind the Mask - A Web Site on Gay and Lesbian Affairs in Africa. - Africa by Country: Namibia Information. Namibia Archive. - African Veil: Countries Covered: Namibia. - Queer afrol. - Afrol News; Gay/Lesbian Archives. - theGully.com news & Articles: Africa. - Human Rights Watch: Use Search Function. - Amnesty International: Use Search Function. - Pink News: Europe's Largest Gay News Service: Africa. - AsylumLaw.Org: Sexual Minorities & HIV Status: Documents / Reports / Website Links / Organizations. Namibia Individual Documents Since 2000. - Links to News Sources for GLBT World.

Global Gayz: Africa: Namibia News Reports from 2000 to the Present. - ILGA: Africa: Namibia. - LGBT rights in Namibia. - Sodomy Laws. - Sister Namibia. - Sister Namibia: Fighting for all human rights for all women.

MSMGF News Articles & Documents Resources. By Region & Country:  - Sub-Saharan Africa: - Namibia. 

NIGERIA -  Nigeria's gay church is reborn amid a climate of fear (2011): House of Rainbow church offers underground prayer and preaching to Christians ostracised by rampant homophobia. - A Lesbian in Nigeria: Disowned By My Family. - Gay Nigerian activist Bisi Alimi shares his compelling story (2010): Bisi Alimi was born in Nigeria in 1975, grew up and went on to attend the University of Lagos (Nigeria) pursuing a degree in theater. While as a student in 2003, he was outed by the university's student newspaper during student government elections. - Gay Nigerian Footballer Deported from Austria Now in Hiding (2010): LGBT Asylum reports on the case of a Nigerian footballer who was deported to his home country by Austrian authorities and now lives in hiding in fear for his life. - Homosexuals Storm National Assembly (2009). - Nigeria's attack on human rights has no virtue: Gay people in Nigeria are having their human rights violated, and this will ultimately damage morality and national wellbeing (2009). - Men And Homosexuality (2010): Our society has gotten so infiltrated that we have suddenly accepted the things we used to see as madness in the western world... Whatever your defence is for getting involved in such a barbaric relationship, homosexuality, be it lesbianism or gay (as we call it for men), is foreign to the African culture. We shouldn’t let civilisation destroy us and our good moral heritage.

The constitutionality of criminalising homosexuality in Nigeria (2010): The Director of Strategic Alliance for Minority Equality Nigeria, Gbenga Asawaj, presents the argument that contrary to popular opinion based on notions of morality, the Nigerian constitution did not make any provision for “banning homosexuality”. - Gay and God Fearing in Nigeria (2009, Video). - Sexuality vs. Spirituality: Can Nigerian Gay Church Stand? (2008, Video). - Homosexual priest to 'marry' Nigerian male model (2010): A homosexual Church of England priest has announced plans to "marry" his Nigerian male model boyfriend, who is 40 years his junior. - Anglican Primate Vows to Fight Homosexuality (2010). - Homosexuality is totally unacceptable -Clerics (2008). 

Nigeria gay activists speak out (2009): Nigerian gay rights activists have told the country's lawmakers that a new bill to outlaw same sex marriage would lead to widespread human rights abuses. - Gay Nigerian tells of death threats (2008): Davis Mac-Iyalla is an Anglican from Nigeria - nothing unusual about that - but he is also gay and the death threats he has received since being open about his sexuality led him to seek asylum in the UK. - Deportation of Nigerian woman temporarily deferred: But bisexual still facing return to country where she says she was persecuted (2008).

Homosexuality And The Nigerian Society (2009): Until sometimes in late 2003 right after my youth service in Port Harcourt, the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender/Transsexual) or the so called alternative lifestyle is something I only hear about in passing comments, whispers from the dark closets of society.  Until this new guy joined our company, I forgot dude’s name but I remember he’s an Ekpeye guy from Rivers State. I just couldn’t figure why this guy in my office walked, talked or stare the way he does, until someone unintentionally ‘outed’ him to the entire office one afternoon after lunch (I guess it was the okasi soup!). I still remember how from that afternoon everything changed for my Ekpeye guy; we all just thought he was weird before, now we all mostly avoided him totally. In hindsight, I thought we could have been more tolerant and accommodating, but in my defence I haven’t met a gay person until then! The whole LGBT worldview was strange to me, not to talk of very awkward. The mere thought of a man ramming it into another man’s behind, I found (and still find) not only disgusting, but also very outrageous! I ultimately spent 2 and half years in Port Harcourt before relocating to Lagos, and as it turned out, it was during those years that I came into the reality of homosexuality in Nigeria...The test for the Nigerian society, as it is for every society is in how well it engages those outside its mainstream. It is also in the interest of those outside society’s mainstream to understand that, right or wrong, societal cultural evolution takes time and not force change. The homophobic mainstream can disapprove of homosexuality without resorting to hate and verbal or physical attacks. The latest bill as everyone knows, will not spell the end of homosexuality in Nigeria, but it is our society’s way of saying, “we just are not comfortable with this yet” .

Confronting misconceptions about homosexuality in northern Nigeria (2009): However, the “homosexuality” in northern Nigeria does not square with contemporary Western conceptions of the term. Northern Nigerian “homosexuality,” that is, the kind that is uncritically celebrated as evidence of the presence of a “homosexual culture” among the Hausa, is not the consequence of some inescapable, biochemically predetermined homo-erotic predisposition, as Western homosexuals describe their sexuality; it is mostly spiritual, even occultic, and is undertaken, majoritarily, by people at the upper end of the social scale because it is believed to bestow power, prosperity, symbolic capital, and influence on people who partake in it. The lowly yan daudus with whom the rich, big guys consummate homosexual liaisons, often for a price, were and are not primarily male prostitutes; they are, historically, merely male cross dressers and intercessors between female prostitutes (karuwai) and their prospective clients. Studies have documented that the yan daudu are first and foremost an occupational category of transvestites who entertain(ed) people with their weird and wildly funny ways (“wasa” or “iskanci”). In a culturally conservative northern Nigeria, the yan daudu/bori subculture provides a “safe space” for (nonthreatening) cultural transgression... Again, because northern Nigerian “homosexuality” is NOT the product of a homoerotic libidinal indulgence in the sense in which it is in the West, most male “homosexuals” in northern Nigeria are not only often married to more than one wife (Islam allows men to marry up to four wives); most of them, in fact, have concubines. So men who engage in same-sex liaisons in northern Nigeria can at best be described as “bisexuals” or, more properly, ritualistic bisexuals... So homosexuality is not a self-contained sexual identity in northern Nigeria the way it is in the West, although homosexual lobby groups in the West are aggressively encouraging some desperate Africans to lie that they are exclusively homosexual.

Denying Rights in Nigeria (2007): Homosexual acts between consenting adults are already illegal in Nigeria under a penal code that dates to the colonial period. This new legislation would impose five-year sentences on same-sex couples who have wedding ceremonies — as well as on those who perform such services and on all who attend. The bill’s vague and dangerous prohibition on any public or private show of a “same sex amorous relationship” — which could be construed to cover having dinner with someone of the same sex — would open any known or suspected gay man or lesbian to the threat of arrest at almost any time. The bill also criminalizes all political organizing on behalf of gay rights... - Gay Nigeria Christian Leader Narrowly Escapes Death in Brutal Attack (2008): A shocking story of mob violence has emerged which almost culminated in the death of one of the leaders of the Changing Attitude Nigeria (CAN) group in Port Harcourt..- Nigerian blogger tackles taboos (2005).

Nigeria's anti-gay bill causes protests (2007): Human rights and gay activists until now have kept a low profile regarding the attempt by Nigerian lawmakers to promote Africa's most draconic bill limiting the rights of sexual minorities. They did not want to give the promoters publicity. But now, as lawmakers are getting serious on the bill, a wave of protests is reaching Nigeria. - Nigeria's anti-gay witch-hunt: This African country claims to be a democracy but its persecution of gay people is pure tyranny (2007). - Nigeria Bans Same Sex Relationships (2006). - Nigerian laws that have banned same-sex marriages and dictate five-year jail sentences for anyone who has a gay wedding (2006). - Homosexuality blamed for rising HIV rates (2006). - Many Nigerian Pastors Are Gay - Bishop Ighele (2010, Alternate Link). - The Constitutionality of Anti-Gay Laws in Nigeria (2010).

Nigeria- Integrated MSM HIV Prevention Program (IMHIPP) (2009): Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights launched the Integrated MSM (men who have sex with men) HIV Prevention Program (IMHIPP) in Nigeria in November 2009, a five-year, USAID-funded initiative to reduce the impact of HIV/AIDS among MSM and their sexual partners... To date, many MSM HIV efforts in Africa have worked through, rather than with grassroots MSM organizations, using these organizations to access MSM networks, but rarely investing in the capacity of those organizations to design, manage and evaluate HIV programs. IMHIPP will mobilize MSM in Nigeria at the grassroots, investing in local capacity (individual and organizational) to develop a meaningful and sustainable response to HIV among MSM. IMHIPP is both a service delivery and multiple-level capacity development program, simultaneously responding to unmet needs for prevention, care and support programming for MSM in Nigeria and developing grassroots and policy-level change to create an enabling environment for sustainable MSM HIV programming. - Promoting HIV/Aids Intervention Programs for The MSM Community in Nigeria (2008). - MSM and the Internet in Nigeria (2010). - HIV prevalence and risk behaviours among men having sex with men in Nigeria (2011).

Nigerian Closet (Produced by Eric Beauchemin): As in many countries homosexuality remains an enormous taboo in Nigeria. Many gay men face intense social and family pressure. Homosexuality is regarded as a Western import but activists point out that it has always been an integral part of the culture. There are no laws regarding same sex relations between women, but lesbians have also suffered persecution. Producer Eric Beauchemin reports on the perils of being gay in Africa's most populous nation. - Listen to Nigerian Closet. - Challenges for the sexual health and social acceptance of men who have sex with men in Nigeria (2007): Little research exists regarding men who have sex with men and sexual risk in Nigeria... Five focus groups were conducted with a total of 58 men... Same-sex community networks were hidden, with social activities taking place in non-commercial, private venues. Socially ostracized by culture, religion, and political will, the risks embodied within same-sex activity are high...

18 gay Nigerians remanded (2007): A Sharia judge in Nigeria’s north-eastern state of Bauchi, Malam Tanimu, ordered the remand in prison of 18 suspected gay Nigerians. The men will be stoned to death if they are found guilty by the Shariah courts. The men reportedly hailed from a neighbouring state. Dressed like women, they stormed Bauchi to celebrate a gay wedding. The State Prosecutor, Tadius Boboi, said the men acted against Sharia, a system governing Bauchi and other Muslim-dominated northern Nigerian states. Since the introduction of Sharia in Nigeria seven years back, a dozen of Muslims have been sentenced to death by stoning for committing adultery or sodomy. However, no single person was stoned to death... - Gay Anglican accuses Africans of slave language (2007): The homosexual Bishop Robinson of the Episcopal Church of the US says his African critics use language used in his country to justify slavery. Nigerian archishop Akinola reportedly refers to homosexuals as worse than animals.

Death sentence for homosexual act in Nigeria (2005): A Shari'a court in northern Nigeria has handed down a death by stoning sentence for a man admitting to have engaged in homosexual acts. The middle-aged man has been on death row for several months, awaiting his execution. A human rights spokesman of the UN today urged Nigerian courts to give the man a milder sentence...  - Homosexual - 18 Accused Persons Escape Death (2007). - New law and old prejudices threaten Nigeria's gay community (2006): In the Muslim north of Nigeria, Bisi Alimi could be stoned to death for having gay sex. In the south, he could face three years in prison. Now, a proposed law would make it illegal just to share a meal at a cafe with gay friends... - Anglican Church in Nigeria Welcomes Ban on Homosexuality. - Nigeria's anti-gay witch-hunt: This African country claims to be a democracy but its persecution of gay people is pure tyranny. - Nigeria gay law 'risks democracy'. - Members Of Congress Protest Nigeria Gay Death Sentences (2005): Twenty-two Democratic members of Congress have protested death sentences handed out to men convicted of "sodomy" in Nigeria.

Historic first meeting for gay Nigerian Christians (2005): The first general meeting of a new network of lesbian and gay Christians took place in Nigeria this past weekend - defying harassment from the authorities and condemnation from church leaders like the outspoken Nigerian Anglican primate, Archbishop Peter Akinola. Around a thousand delegates were due to attend the gathering at the National Art Council in Abuja including 100 lesbian and 900 gay members of Anglican churches from every part of Nigeria. The meeting from 25-27 November 2005 constituted the largest gathering of lesbian and gay people ever held in Nigeria and the first gathering of gay Anglicans. - Homosexuality Does Exist in Nigeria  (2003): My name is Rowland Jide Macaulay. I was born to Nigerian parents. I have a good understanding of our culture and traditional values -- the expectation of an African child and the African family. Tolerance remained at an angle to cultural expectations, and homosexuality is not one that is accepted in Africa, especially in Nigeria. I spent my teenage years in Nigeria, where I first experienced my sexuality, although in great fear: the fear of being caught, the fear of sin, of commitment of an abomination. I grew up with a lot of guilt in my heart, I often prayed for forgiveness, sanctification and purification..

Anti-lesbian rapes in Nigeria (1997, Alternate Link). - Gay Nigerian Sentenced to Death by Stoning (2001). - The Nigerian Closet. (2002, Alternate Link, Alternate Link) - Natural gestures: How women get together in Nigeria. A personal view by Buchi (1989): Young girls growing up in Nigeria easily engage in forms of physical contact that might be labelled ‘lesbian’ in the West. Yet African society is deeply hostile to homosexuality, says Buchi Emecheta. She gives a personal view." - Gay murder in Jigawa (2002). - Nigerian Anglicans denounce gay bishop (2003). - La Iglesia Anglicana de Nigeria ataca a sus compañeros del Sur de África (2003, Translation). - Nigeria leads anti-gay protest (2007): A proposed Nigerian law banning same-sex marriages is a threat to democracy, says Human Rights Watch..

In Africa, homophobia goes beyond church (2004): (Alternate Link) "I think homosexuality is becoming more rampant here," said Bisi Tugbobo, deputy country director of Pathfinder International in Lagos, a non-governmental organization working to combat HIV/AIDS. "You hear about it. You read about it in the papers. But people don't want to talk about it. Not in the churches. Not in the mosques. Even some NGOs are reluctant to discuss homosexuality." There is little outward evidence of Nigeria's gay community. Not on crowded city streets, or in public schools, where memories linger of the 2002 killing of a gay university student in northern Jigawa state. Alliance Rights Nigeria, a fledgling gay rights group, advertises no office address. Efforts to reach members by phone proved impossible. Those giving rare interviews to the media use pseudonyms. Gays are certainly not welcome in Nigeria's 17-million-member Anglican church, the world's largest Anglican "province." Nigeria's Anglican primate, Archbishop Peter Akinola, has condemned Robinson's consecration as a "satanic attack on the church of God." ...In the north, where a dozen states have adopted Islamic Sharia law, Sharia council head Hakeem Baba-Ahmed said accepting homosexuality "will lead to a further erosion of our accepted principles of morality." ...  Out of sight, African homosexuals are unable to shed new light on the virus -- as did their counterparts in the West. "By pushing these people underground, African countries lose the chance to learn from homosexuals," Kahramanoglu, of the international gay association said. "And in the case of AIDS, ignorance equals death.""

Persecuted gay community cautiously seeks voice (2004): "Homosexuality is a criminal offence in Nigeria, but gay rights groups made their first ever appearance at the country's fourth national AIDS conference in the capital Abuja this week. They called on their fellow countrymen to recognise and protect Nigeria's gay community, pointing out that it has been hit hard by the AIDS pandemic. In Nigeria, homosexual practice can carry a 14-year jail sentence under federal law. In 12 northern states that have adopted Islamic Shari'ah law, adults who are found to have engaged in homosexual intercourse can be stoned to death. However, most of the time, people deny the existence of "MSM's" - men who have sex with men - as male homosexuals are generally known in Nigeria..." - UN cautiously seeks a voice for gays in Nigeria (2004). - Nigeria: Persecuted Gay Community Cautiously Seeks a Voice (2004).

Nation's Homosexuals (2002, Alternate Link): "Homosexuals who used to hide their faces, have of late, become more brazen in their acts. Their influence pervades the public and private sectors in Nigeria... The recent trend is that homosexuality, which used to be a carefully guarded secret by the practitioner, is graduating into an open level. Gays abound in the armed forces, in the bureaucracy, among politicians and the private sector... Homosexuality also abounds in Abuja, Kaduna, Kano and other cities in the country... Low class gay brothels can be found along Abedi, Freetown, and Sani streets, all inside Sabon Gari... The high-class gays, incorporating Nigerians and some of their Lebanese friends do their own at guesthouses where they keep their lovers. Such guesthouses are along Sultan Road, Nassarawa, G.R.A, Kundila Estate and Maiduguri Road. They are also found at Hausawa quarters and Sabongari. Among the top gays in Kano is the Galadima Kano, Alhaji Tijanni Ashim. Although, he has several wives, at the same time he has sexual peccadillo for his gender. Ibrahim Dan Kabo, who died last week, was also reputed for being a bi-sexual... Meanwhile, just as environmentalists and human rights activists have their own pressure groups, so also are Nigerian homosexuals. They now have an NGO known as "Alliance Rights" to fight for gays and lesbians in Nigeria..." - Nigeria: Gays of Nation Unite! (2002).

Nigeria Country Report (2004, PDF Download): "Homosexuals: Nigerian law prohibits male homosexual conduct, and homosexuals can be subject to prosecution. The penalty for convicted homosexual behaviour varies from 3 months to 14 years imprisonment or a fine and/or corporal punishment. [82a] 6.118 Homosexual males in Nigeria are likely to face discrimination and occasional violence if they are overt about their sexual orientation, but not on an organised or systematic scale. Society is not openly hostile but homosexuals can be subject to ridicule. There are some areas in Nigeria where it is possible to live openly as a homosexual - such as in a large city like Lagos. There have been instances of homosexuals being subjected to violence, but they usually keep themselves to themselves and are usually left alone. [82b] 6.119 In February 2002, the Shari'a code in Gusau, Zamfara State, was used to sentence a man to one hundred strokes of the cane and one year imprisonment for sodomy. The Shari'a code, as applied in some Nigerian states, has specifically proscribed homosexuality, both male and female. It is possible that these laws will be strictly applied, as other laws governing personal conduct are being enforced in states with a Shari'a code. [84]"

Preliminary Survey of Homosexuality in Nigeria (2000, PDF Download, PDF Download): Informal presentation at “Obstacles to Organizing for Sexual Rights” panel at the Commission of the Status of Women March 7, 2000. Given by Cesnabmihilo Dorothy Aken 'Ova. "Some people -- including some government officials -- argue that homosexuality was brought into Nigeria through colonialism. But this idea is easily challenged. As one of my respondents said, the fact that there is a name for it in various languages in Nigeria indicates that the practice existed well before colonialism... The environment is very homophobic or at least appears to be. There is an outward expression of homophobia in the dominant culture, although among the general population, there is greater tolerance and understanding that the practices exist. It is difficult for gays and lesbians to come out and admit to others that they are gay or lesbian or bisexual. They are therefore forced into heterosexual relationships. They marry to give a semblance of belonging to the widely accepted sexual orientation - heterosexuality - while they continue to meet their same-sex partners secretly." - A Primer on Homosexuality in Nigeria (1999).

Natural gestures (1989): Young girls growing up in Nigeria easily engage in forms of  physical contact that might be labelled ‘lesbian’ in the West. Yet African society is deeply hostile to homosexuality, says Buchi Emecheta. She gives a personal view. "Most of us remained sexually virgins but we knew how to play with each other as young girls. To us it was nothing. To us it was one human being comforting another. For instance in my culture, we do not kiss, but we do hug each other, we hold hands openly, all natural gestures for us. Nobody ever made it into a ‘problem’ - lesbianism - as you do in the West." - The Emerging Lesbian Voice in Nigerian Feminist Literature (2002).

Friends Unite Nigeria: For the rights of Young gay Nigerians: "FUN is a gay organisation set up by the Nigeria young Gay community with the sole aim of fighting HIV/AIDS, Discrimination. Criminalisation of Gays in Nigeria. FUN tends to create this awareness through the use of fun and education with entainment, this will include lectures, seminars, workshops, and even party and social engagement like beauty pagaent etc. Fun desires to work vigorously to eradicate the stigma attached to gay person in Nigeria through education of the masses most espcially our parents and friends who are straight and also members of our immediate society like friends in school, at home and even in the club. FUN also sets to encourage open living where it is possibly as this will boost the morale of young gays in Nigeria. Presently FUN has a membership base of 150 young gay men in Lagos and works with organisation like Alliance Rights Nigeria the foremost gay rights organisation in Nigeria. - Changing Attitude Nigeria holds successful first General Meeting (2005). 

Words By Bisi ,LGBT activist. Alliance Rights Nigeria (2003): " The gay issue in Nigerian, I will be very frank with you. No matter what you had heard about the Nigerian situation I think it is more horrible than what people think ---- some people try to illustrate a very sweet story but in real life the fact is that the nigerian gay experience is for those who care to have the courage to survive. In 2003 a student of the university of Lagos was set up to be beaten and almost killed by fellow student for being gay -he managed to break away  and had to run away from school. His friend staying in the same room with him was beaten up and greatly molested, the case got to the school authority and and the school constituted a panel to look into the case but despite the innonce of the two gay boys, the school withold justice on the ground that the gay guys are immoral and so the school can not prosecute the violent students. In early january, a young boy of 20 was locked up by his parents in a police cell in Lagos for being gay and he was kept behind bars for 4 days without food or water and was constantly beaten up to confess that hes gay so they can prosecute him, he was so emanciated when he was brought to me and was almost losing his head and was in a state of great depression because of the fact that he was ripped off his rights as a citizen of his country. 3 weeks ago a group of boys in a bid to "cleaned" their environment almost set ablaze a house that accommodate a gay boy .The boy  was eventually picked up and locked up and beaten  up by the police for being gay. I  have also had problems for  being gay and on sereval occasion the parents of the gay boys have thretened my life for protetcting their children and giving them support both morally and financially when they have been sent out of their house for being gay..."

'Sagba's organise in Nigeria Alliance Rights N/A (2004): "Nigeria is a gay welfarist association and was formally launched on the 2nd of July, 1999 in Lagos, Nigeria. Since inception last year, ARN have been engaged in organising seminars and lectures in various high schools within the Lagos metropolitan area which is their present base of operations. Their lectures focus mainly on AIDS, STD's and safer sex. They also encourage LGBT pride as a means of achieving freedom within their society."

Alternative Lifestyles Foundation of Nigeria (2000, ALFON): Nigerians Organize and Vocalize. (By Joe Murnan, Co-Chair, Lesbigay SIG): "Under the fear of imprisonment and legal persecution, gays and lesbians in Nigeria have been prevented from seeking equality. With the installation of a civilian government this past spring, gay and lesbian activists have formed ALFON to push for recognition and equality for gays and lesbians. ALFON's mission is to organize gays and lesbians into a formidable pressure group; to engage in activities that would enhance, promote, protect, advance the interest and integrity of its members to expand membership to include the continent of Africa; and to break the social taboo associated with being gay or lesbian...."

Azuah, Unoma (2011). Extortion and Blackmail of Nigerian Lesbians and Bisexual Women. In: Ryan Thoreson & Sam Cook, Eds.. Nowhere to Turn: Blackmail and Extortion of LGBT People in Sub-Saharan Africa, pp. 46-59. Brooklyn, NY: International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission. PDF Download. Download Page. PDF Download.

Magnus Hirschfeld Archive for Sexology: Index Page: Nigeria: - Homoerotic, Homosexual, and Ambisexual Behaviors. - Gender Conflicted Persons. - HIV/AIDS.

E-mail scam targets gays: Appeal offers new twist on Nigerian ‘419’ scheme (2004, Alternate Link).

Resources: - Behind the Mask - A Web Site on Gay and Lesbian Affairs in Africa. - Africa by Country: Nigeria Information. Nigeria Archive. - African Veil: Countries Covered: Nigeria. - Queer afrol. - Afrol News; Gay/Lesbian Archives. - theGully.com news & Articles: Africa. - Gay Nigeria. 

Global Gayz: Africa: Nigeria News Reports from 2002 to the Present. - ILGA: Africa: Nigeria. - LGBT rights in Nigeria. - Sodomy Laws.- Friends Unite Nigeria: For the rights of Young gay Nigerians. - Human Rights Watch: Use Search Function. - Amnesty International: Use Search Function. - Pink News: Europe's Largest Gay News Service: Africa. - AsylumLaw.Org: Sexual Minorities & HIV Status: Documents / Reports / Website Links / Organizations. Nigeria Individual Documents since 2004. - Links to News Sources for GLBT World.

MSMGF News Articles & Documents Resources. By Region & Country:  - Sub-Saharan Africa: - Nigeria. 

UGANDA  - Scott Mills: ‘Gay hatred is everywhere in Uganda’ (2011).- Uganda gay rights activist killed (2011). - Uganda gay rights activist David Kato killed (2011). - Gay Activist Murder Part of Trend of Deteriorating Rights (2011). - Ugandan gay activist was killed by sex partner (2011). - Uganda: Murdered gay activist insulted at his own funeral (2011). - Ugandan lesbian wins temporary reprieve from deportation (2011): MPs and MEPs demand urgent review for Brenda Namigadde after the killing of gay rights activist David Kato. - Fear grows among Uganda’s gay community over death penalty draft law (2010). - Uganda anti-gay bill likely to drop death penalty (2011). - Zimbabwe police arrest gay rights activists (2010). - Anti-Homosexual Bill In Uganda Causes Global Uproar (2010). - Uganda drops anti-gay bill (2011).

Uganda Ruling Small Victory in Gay Struggle (2011): Gay people in Uganda continue to face threats and discrimination despite a court ruling banning local media from publishing the personal details of alleged homosexuals, rights activists and lawyers say. - My life as a gay Ugandan (2011): In January a judge ruled in favour of a group of gay individuals stating that all Ugandans, regardless of their sexual orientation, have a right to privacy and dignity. One of the plaintiffs recounts her story. - Even Lesbian Youths or Those Presumed to be Lesbians Are Protected by the Constitution of Uganda—But to a Limited Extent: Rules the High Court (2009). - Orombi: a child of empire? (2008): The Bishop of Uganda's dismally homophobic views must not be viewed as anti-colonialist: in fact they come from a deeply colonised mindset.

Anti Gay Conference In Uganda (2010, Video) - Amidst International Pressure, Anti-Gay Ugandan Pastor Resigns from College Board (2010): For several weeks now, there's been a stepped up effort to call attention to the fact that Oral Roberts University, the stalwart Christian college in Oklahoma, has an anti-gay pastor from Uganda on its prominent Board of Reference. That pastor? Martin Ssempa, a leading anti-gay minister in Uganda who has traveled the country showing graphic pornography to people in attempts to whip up violent anti-gay sentiment. - Gay activists attack Ugandan preacher's porn slideshow (2010). - Americans' Role seen in uganda Anti-Gay push (2010, Alternate Link).

Gay in Uganda (2011): Not long after a Ugandan tabloid newspaper demanded that he be hanged for being homosexual, activist David Kato was found beaten to death at his home last week. Kato, who served as advocacy officer for the country’s most prominent gay-rights group, Sexual Minorities Uganda, had complained of intense harassment after a tabloid called The Rolling Stone (no relation to the American magazine) published the names, addresses, and photos of Ugandans whom it had identified as gay. The words “Hang Them” were on the front page, and the article alleged both that gay Ugandans were infected with a deadly disease and that they were “recruiting” children. Though a high court had issued an injunction against the newspaper, forbidding it from publishing more articles that targeted gays, activists and gay Ugandans have received an onslaught of intimidation since late last year. And while police are investigating the murder, officials claim that it was only the result of a robbery, despite the death threats against Kato.

Inside Out 2010: The Kuchus of Uganda - Documentary - A sobering peek into one of the most homophobic places on earth (2010). - YouTube: Kuchus of Uganda pt 1 of 5. Part 2 of 5. Part 3 of 5. Part 4 of 5. Part 5 of 5.- Being Gay in Uganda: One Couple's Story (2010). - The fear of being gay and Ugandan (2010): Despite the latest calls in Uganda for gays to be hanged, we have come through the fire and are tougher because of it. - Uganda's Bishop Christopher on gay suicide, gay genocide and Article 13 (2010). - Uganda tabloid urges "hanging of homos" (2010). - IFSW Statement - Human Rights and Social Work in Uganda (2010): ‘The proposals before the Ugandan Parliament concerning homosexuality and gay rights are a violation of international human rights conventions and should be withdrawn’, said Dr David N Jones, President of the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW), as he prepared for the annual United Nations Social Work Day in New York. He was supporting statements already made by UN global leaders and eminent human rights spokespeople...

Ugandans hold anti-gay sex rally (2007). - Ugandans defend gay sex ban: Thousands of Ugandans took part in anti-gay rally in the capital Kampala, asking the government to sustain the ban on gay sex, despite immense pressure from the international community. - Anti-Gay Group Hits Back At Rights Activists (2007): A COALITION of religious groups has lashed at the Human Rights Watch (HRW), accusing it of promoting homosexuality. The anti-gay group said the letter the HRW's director of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights programme, Scott Long, wrote to President Museveni was based on a false assumption that homosexuals were 'born that way'. In the August 23 letter, Long called for the reform of existing laws against homosexuality and an end to what was described as 'a long record of harassing' lesbians, gays, bisexual and trans-gender people. However, the Interfaith Rainbow Coalition against Homosexuality in Uganda (TIRCHU) insisted that homosexuality is illegal and against Ugandan family values...  - Uganda rejects a gay rights call (2007). - Ugandan gays demand freedom (2007): The quest for gay rights is a challenge to Uganda's increasingly authoritarian church and state. - Sexual minorities Uganda condemns Homophobic threats (2006).

Activist: "Uganda is the new Zimbabwe" (2006). - Ugandan government accused of "state homophobia" (2007). - Uganda's anti-gay witch hunt escalates (2006). - Gay rights group OutRage! exposes the 'outing' of 45 gays by a Ugandan newspaper (Red Pepper) in a witch-hunt against lgbt people. arrests have followed (2006). - Uganda gay-baiting raises persecution fears (2006).- Ugandan gays in email row with minister (2007). - Ugandan Rights Group Slams Gay Ban Law (2007). - Uganda's gay community demands equality (2007). - Ugandans seek deportation for writings on gays (2007): Protesters in conservative nation call U.S. journalist’s articles ‘immoral’: Hundreds of people held an anti-gay protest in Uganda’s capital Tuesday, denouncing what they called an “immoral” lifestyle and demanding the deportation of an American journalist writing about gay rights in the deeply conservative country. - Ugandan Gays, Lesbians Launch Campaign: “Let Us Live in Peace” (2007): “We have had enough of the abuse, neglect, and violence”.

Why the fuss about homosexuality in Uganda? (2007) Everyday i wake up to a different story about homosexuality on the Ugandan air waves. I don’t know if this has got anything to do with the fourthcoming common wealth heads of state meeting slated for kampala come November this year. The Queen of England is expected here, and like you and me know, most of these common wealth countries are positive about gays back home.So this confrerence,or CHOGM as it is known locally here, may have a hand in this All of a sudden, gay people are out to claim for their rights “openly”and with vigour. On the other hand society is threatening to go all the way even if it means helping the police in identifying and helping arrest these so called homosexuals. I heard on radio this morning that the muslim tabliq sect is ready to help police on this (arresting gay people) in all ways.

Lesbians Want Protection (2007): Two Ugandan lesbians are suing the government for trespassing, theft of property, illegal arrest, and inhuman and degrading treatment. The case has been in court since December 2006 and a verdict is expected when the court session resumes in August. Victor Mukasa, a 31-year-old gay rights activist and Yvonne Ooyo, a 24-year-old Kenyan, claim that on July 20, 2005, LC1 Chairman John Lubega from Kireka Kamuli zone illegally raided and searched and their home without a warrant and proceeded to arbitrarily arrest Ms Ooyo who was alone in the house at the time.

Intimidation of lesbian and gay activists (2005). - Same-Sex Marriage Ban Deepens Repression (2005). - Gay and lesbian rights activists intimidated, and same sex marriage criminalised (2005). - On the road to legalizing homosexuality in Uganda (2006). - Being Gay in Uganda (2004-06):  There is a very hidden underground community of gay people in Uganda now; mostly in the capital. I have even heard of many young men engaging in sex (even when they are not gay) because they heard that there is money to be made there. So the lines continue to be blurry. I can only wish the best for the few gay people I met there. It is such a sad situation because there are not a lot of places where they can go for support. - Ugandan churches demonstrate against gay acceptance (2005). - Ugandan LGBT community speaks out against gay hate (2007). 

Uganda Homosexuals Ordered Arrested (1999, Max Penalty is life in prison) - Arrests of gay men have begun in Uganda (1999). - Unafrican? Why The Hunting Season Has Been Reopened? (1999  President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda recently ordered his secret service to arrest all homosexuals in his country. Uganda Criminalizing Homosexuality - A Licence to Torture: "Look for homosexuals, lock them up and charge them...” President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, 1999 (PDF Download N/A). - Church Backs Museveni Against Homosexuality (1999). - Ugandan Church attacks gay community. - Uganda Bishops Condemn Integrity/Uganda. - Integrity/Uganda. - Integrity Uganda: Prophets or Profit? (2001) - Gay doctor flees Uganda (1999). - Homosexuality in Uganda (Radio). - How Uganda's President Museveni Created Kill-The-Gays Mentality (2011).

Uganda queer activists write the president (2003): "The Gay And Lesbian Association (Gala) of Uganda have sent a letter to President Museveni demanding rights and threatening to form a political party and it has caused a rash of debate in the east African press...  After years of homophobic rhetoric from President Museveni and a life lived under the shadow of prosecution for being gay, the letter is putting the message and the issue on the agenda following the cabinet's non-inclusion of sexual orientation in the Constitutional review process...The boldness of the letter is striking, it calls for the decriminalisation of homosexuality, the redefinition of marriage to include same-sex couples and advises the president to read a selection of books which will help disprove the theories that homosexuality is unnatural and unAfrican. The letter also emphasises that gay rights are human rights and that homophobic legislation is contrary to Uganda's own constitution. Whether the call will be successful in changing the minds and attitudes of Uganda's parliamentarians is debatable..." -  Uganda Gays To Gov't: Give Us Civil Rights Or We Form Our Own Party (2003).

John's story: "It wasn't easy trying to set up a meeting with John. He was very worried about his own security as well as the safety of the other gays and lesbians he was going to bring along. Fear has been a constant factor in John's life ever since he was detained and tortured in October 1999..." Homosexuality in Uganda (Radio Netherlands, 2004). - 'My life as a gay Ugandan Christian' (2003). - Interview with Ugandan Lesbian wins Award (2004).

Uganda Has Many Homos (2002): "Mukasa said failure to acknowledge that homosexuality is a reality would deny Ugandans an opportunity to solve a major problem in mono-sex schools." - Uganda has no gays, says president (2002, Alternate Link): "After accepting an award for his government's successful campaign against AIDS, Uganda's president declared Sunday that his country has no homosexuals, one of the groups most threatened by the global epidemic." - African Scholar Opposes Ugandan Stance on Homosexuality (2001). - Mazrui Attacks Museveni Over Homo Arrests (1999). - Prejudice in Uganda (2004): "Nonetheless, gays and lesbians in Uganda are fighting to obtain recognition and acceptance..."

Tamale, Sylvia (2003). Out of the Closet: Unveiling Sexuality Discourses in Uganda. Feminist Africa, 2. Full Text.  The issue of homosexuality took centre stage in Uganda during the month of February 2003, with the media being dominated by emotive views and opinions from the public. This wave of homophobia was triggered by a recommendation emanating from a section of the women's movement that urged the proposed Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) to address the rights of homosexuals as members of the category of marginalised social groups in Uganda. [1] The newspaper report that activated much of the homophobic furore was entitled "Makerere [University] Don Defends Gays." [2] I had come out strongly in support of homosexuals and articulated my position in the national and international media. For this reason, I was caught in the eye of the homophobic storm, and became a "punching bag" for the public to relieve its pent-up rage. It is impossible to describe the depth of the ugliness, rage, revulsion, disgust and malevolence exhibited by the vocal homophobic public. The few voices in support of homosexual rights were drowned out by deafening homophobic outcries...

The Flames of Namugongo: Postcoloniality Meets Queer on African Soil? by Kenneth Hamilton: Presented to the American Academy of Religion, "Gay Men's Issues," Toronto, Canada, November 22, 2002: "The story of the 1886 martyrdom of Charles Lwanga and his companions takes me to the intersection of diaspora studies, queer theory, critical race theory, performance studies, and radical Catholic historiography. It is the founding missionary narrative of Christianity in Uganda, East Africa which equates that founding with the uprooting of same sex practice on the "Dark Continent." It raises suspicions around the demonization of "darkness", which includes "Africa", African male same sex, African traditional religions and Islam, African masculinity, and the feminized African land. Moreover, the sublimation of this narrative into Roman Catholic canonization further defines same sex desire as that which is not Christian and not Ugandan..."

Kajubi P, Kamya MR, Raymond HF, Chen S, Rutherford GW, Mandel JS, McFarland W (2008). Gay and bisexual men in Kampala, Uganda. AIDS and Behavior, 12(3): 492-504. PDF Download. PDF Download. Abstract. HIV/AIDS disproportionately affects gay and bisexual men around the world; however, little is known about this population in sub-Saharan Africa. We conducted a respondent-driven sampling survey of gay and bisexual men in Kampala, Uganda (N = 224). Overall, 61% reported themselves as "gay" and 39% as "bisexual". Gay and bisexual men were 92% Ugandan; 37% had unprotected receptive anal sex in the last six months, 27% were paid for sex, 18% paid for sex, 11% had history of urethral discharge. Perception that gay and bisexual men are at risk for HIV infection was low.

Hollander, Michael (2009). Gay Rights in Uganda: Seeking to Overturn Uganda’s Anti-Sodomy Laws. Virginia Journal of International Law Association, 50(1): 219-266. PDF Download. This Note presents a comprehensive legal argument for overturning these anti-sodomy laws using both a national constitutional framework and an international framework that includes treaties, other international agreements, and a developing international consensus that persecution of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or intersex (LGBTI) individuals is a human rights violation. Like their statutory counterparts in the United States prior to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Lawrence v. Texas, the Ugandan antisodomy laws are rarely, if ever, enforced. In fact, they are enforced so rarely that interviews with activists in the LGBTI community reveal that a constitutional challenge to such a law is not a current priority of the movement. As Victor Mukasa, an outspoken gay rights activist and transgender Ugandan, said, these laws are “not even on the radar right now; we just want to live in peace.”6 Why, then, attack these laws? What purpose will it serve to attack a set of laws that are never enforced and therefore not used to directly harass or to violate the rights of the LGBTI community? ...

Nyanzi, Stella (2010). Politicising 'the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah': Examining Christian Rightists' war against homosexuality in Uganda. Draft Concept Paper prepared for the The Makerere Institute of Social Research (MISR), Uganda. PDF Download. The Anti-Homosexuality Bill (2009) proposes to re-criminalise same-sex relations in Uganda with punishments ranging from monetary fines, to periods of detention, mandatory testing for HIV and even the death penalty for "aggravated homosexuality". The main proponents of this bill are fundamental conservative Christians including clergy, politicians and elite professionals. Their strategies are initiated, informed, and influenced by American Christian Right authorities and ideologies based on interpretations of biblical scripture against same-sex practices. This research will critically examine the effects of the politicisation of the literary construction of homosexuality as 'the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah' based on biblical scriptures, upon local individuals who identify as sexual minorities in Uganda...

ScotMUN 2011: Human Rights Council: Position Papers: The Rights to Asylum for Homosexuals: Uganda: Over the past years, the topic of homosexuality and whether asylum should be offered to those suffering from it has become a top priority for human rights activists, especially regarding Uganda's laws and procedures towards it. It is Uganda's belief that this should not be the case and that we should be allowed to proceed as we wish to as a sovereign country. As it is, Section 40 of the Ugandan penal code penalizes the "carnal knowledge of any person against the order of nature" with imprisonment of up to 14 years. We believe this to be right because homosexuality should be punished - it is not natural and therefore should not be condoned. ... By following Section 40 of the penal code and trying to introduce the Anti-Homosexuality Bill (otherwise known as the Bahati Bill), Uganda is simply trying to make the country safer for its population. The Anti-Homosexuality Bill, proposed in October 2009, is attempting to introduce the death penalty for people suspected of aggravated homosexuality - that is, homosexuality that has proved to be a threat to society. This means homosexuals would be tested for HIV, and if they were positive and still proved to be a threat, they would be prosecuted. The bills main aim is to provide a 'comprehensive and enhanced legislation to protect the cherished culture of [our] people... legal, religious and traditional family values of [our] people... against the attempts of sexual rights activists seeking to impose their values on sexual promiscuity..." Homosexuals are a threat to Ugandan society, especially as it has been proven that they are more likely to be criminals or paedophiles.

The Rape of Men (2011): I've come to Kampala to hear the stories of the few brave men who have agreed to speak to me: a rare opportunity to find out about a controversial and deeply taboo issue. In Uganda, survivors are at risk of arrest by police, as they are likely to assume that they're gay – a crime in this country and in 38 of the 53 African nations. They will probably be ostracised by friends, rejected by family and turned away by the UN and the myriad international NGOs that are equipped, trained and ready to help women. They are wounded, isolated and in danger. In the words of Owiny: "They are despised." But they are willing to talk, thanks largely to the RLP's British director, Dr Chris Dolan. Dolan first heard of wartime sexual violence against men in the late 1990s while researching his PhD in northern Uganda, and he sensed that the problem might be dramatically underestimated. Keen to gain a fuller grasp of its depth and nature, he put up posters throughout Kampala in June 2009 announcing a "workshop" on the issue in a local school. On the day, 150 men arrived. In a burst of candour, one attendee admitted: "It's happened to all of us here." It soon became known among Uganda's 200,000-strong refugee population that the RLP were helping men who had been raped during conflict. Slowly, more victims began to come forward..

Behind the Mask - A Web Site on Gay and Lesbian Affairs in Africa. - Africa by Country: Uganda Information. Uganda Archive. - African Veil: Countries Covered: Uganda. - Queer afrol. - Afrol News; Gay/Lesbian Archives. - theGully.com news & Articles: Africa. 

Global Gayz: Africa: Uganda News Reports from 2002 to the Present. - ILGA: Africa: Uganda. - LGBT rights in Uganda. - Sodomy Laws. - Gay Rights Uganda. - Gay Uganda.- Gay Uganda Forum. - Human Rights Watch: Use Search Function. - Amnesty International: Use Search Function. - Pink News: Europe's Largest Gay News Service: Africa. - AsylumLaw.Org: Sexual Minorities & HIV Status: Documents / Reports / Website Links / Organizations. Uganda Individual Documents since 2000. - Links to News Sources for GLBT World.

MSMGF News Articles & Documents Resources. By Region & Country:  - Sub-Saharan Africa: - Uganda.

BURKINA FASO - Coming Out in Burkina Faso: "Eventually, he introduced me to the entire Gay community of Burkina Faso: about twelve guys." - The (Unexpected) Men in My Life (2001, Peace Corps Volunteer, Burkina Faso): "As all the brochures promised, people here do, at least verbally, abhor the very notion of homosexuality. And yet, homosexual acts are taking place in mud huts (and health centers) across the country at this very moment. Boys will be boys. Shame on me for every doubting, eh? Intriguingly enough, each ethnic group has a unique, mostly unspoken code dictating which acts fall short of the feared homosexual dividing line. Draga  boys indulge in mutual masturbation, while the Bissa have a strict above-the-waist rule. Men in the Gulimance district are very hands-oriented and prone to kissing, and pretty much anything goes for the chancy, lucky Mossi, the nation’s ferocious, predominant ethnicity (Related Information). - Gay Burkina - Le Burkina Gay (2010, Video). - «Le retour d'Abdou», ou la difficulté d'être gay au Burkina Faso (2010, Translation).

HRBA and the Rights  LGBT Persons in Burkina Faso (2011): This brief aims at providing Sida country teams with brief information on the situation of LGBT persons in Burkina Faso as well as concrete advice on how LGBT issues can be included in dialogue and programming...  During the last few years, LGBT persons in Burkina Faso have begun to come out publicly in the media. This has created debates on the topic that have shown a reluctant and homophobic attitude among the public. However, the media space that the question has received has by some been interpreted as a sign of a loosening of the taboo surrounding the issue of homosexuality. Aggressive statements against homosexuality in Burkina Faso come mostly from religious leaders. Statements in public media forums opposing the human rights of LGBT persons have been based on religious motivations and the idea of homosexuality being “unafrican”... In countries where the legislation does not recognise LGBT rights, people usually live and act in secrecy, which is an obstacle to organised human rights work. In Burkina Faso there is an LGBT group called LAMBDA. Due to fear of persecution from the authorities it is not registered as an LGBT organisation, but as an organisation that works ‘for protection of marginalised and estranged individuals’. LAMBDA’s activities include work against HIV/Aids and support to marginalised and discriminated people such as homosexuals and transgender persons. The main challenge for the LGBT community in Burkina Faso is the attitudes of the general public. LAMBDA is primarily working with counselling and support, helping people to deal with senses of guilt (caused by the stigma from the rest of the society)...

Homosexuality now debated all over Africa (2006, Alternate Link): The South African decision to legalise same-sex marriages has caught much of Africa by surprise.... In Burkina Faso, far, far away from South Africa, the nation's first encounter with the issue was more accidental. A Burkinabe living in France told about his homosexuality on 'TV5', criticising double moral standards in his home country. The interview got picked up by the press in Burkina Faso, advising that the issue was loosing from its inherent taboos. In the latest issue of 'Bendré', Burkina Faso's leading independent weekly, journalist Jean-Paul Bamogo goes into a larger discussion about homosexuality based on the new South African legislation. In his article "Homosexuality - evolution or regression", he presents - in decent manners of course - the history of homosexuality from male sex preferring Socrates to the "at least 800,000" homosexuals killed in Nazi Germany's concentration camps. Recognising that homosexuality is a reality in Burkina Faso, he however warns that many gays, means society will not reproduce. Also 'Le Pays', a leading privately-owned Burkinabe daily, last week philosophised whether South Africa's gay marriage law was "luxury or a necessity" and whether one could still call South Africa an African country. The rather balanced article brought few conclusions, except one: "One thing is sure, Africa cannot anymore close its eyes on the phenomenon of homosexuality." While calling the new marriage law "superfluous and premature," 'Le Pays' demonstrated admiration of South Africa's development and indignation over a recent "homophobia campaign" in Cameroon.

Niang CI, et al. Edited by Kees Kostermans and Aissatou Diack (2004). Targeting Vulnerable Groups in National HIV/AIDS Programs: The Case of Men Who Have Sex with Men: Senegal, Burkina Faso, The Gambia. Africa Region Human Development Working Paper Series. PDF Download. All local languages differentiate between "penetrating" and "receptive" MSM identities ("tops" and "bottoms"); ... The terms most frequently used to identify MSM describe those men who are perceived to occupy the receptive position in sexual relations. Those terms usually designate parts of the body, physical traits or mannerisms usually associated with the female gender... Terms used to designate receptive males usually do not apply to penetrating males. In Wolof. the term goor jigen would not describe the penetrating partner. He may sometimes be called faaru goor jigen, literally meaning “lover of a man-woman.” That term refers more to the relationship than to his ontological identity. The receptive goor jigen is defined essentially as a man-woman, whereas his partner is characterized viewed as masculine. The researchers did not find terms that encompassed both the concept of receptive and penetrating partner in any of the local languages. Understanding the distinction between these identities is essential in formulating messages that specifically target each identity... In several communities in Senegal, the Gambia and Burkina Faso, a male-to-male sexual relationship is considered a highly personal and private affair that requires the highest level of protection, privacy, discretion and "veil." ... "Everyone knows that such person has sexual relationship with another person of the same sex but no one would openly mention it." ... In Burkina Faso and the Gambia, data suggest in most cases that families tend to ignore an MSM family member. Even when family members heard about incidents, they would continue to feign ignorance until confronted by tangible and irrefutable proof. But, when such proof surfaces, the MSM’s family becomes the first source of homophobic violence. The level of violence is equated with the degree to which the family views its honor as having been disgraced by the behavior of one of its members. In Burkina Faso, reports exist of MSM having been beaten, publicly disrobed or otherwise humiliated by members of their own families. One informant revealed: "Someone sent an anonymous letter to my mother telling her that I was prostituting myself to men. My own mother threatened to kill me with her own hands to preserve the  honor of the family if it turned out to be true."

Burkina Faso : Key actors against Hiv sensitized on MSM issues (2011): Aware of the lack of knowledge and understanding of the rights of men who have sex with other men (MSM) regarding access to health care, Reseau Africain de Formations sur le VIH/SIDA (the African Network of Training on HIV and Aids) RAF-VIH, conducted a workshop on 14 to 18 April 2011 in Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso, to sensitize key actors in the fight against the disease and to improve their involvement and skills to better work with MSM..

Thee Dagara tribe of Burkina Faso (east of Nigeria and north of Ghana): The "gatekeeper" 'gay' concept embodying a "save the world" role- an interview with Malidoma Somé, author of the book, Ritual: Power Healing and Community. - Homosexuality: The Gatekeepers. - (Related Information 1, 2) - Information about female homosexuality in the Dagara tribe obtained from the book, The Spirit of Intimacy by Sobanfu Somé. - Information about the Dagara tribes.-   Welcome to The Great Debate on Homosexuality in The Black Community. - Stolen Heritage: Reclaiming Our Birthright. - Wisdom from West Africa.

La question de l'homosexualité chez les Lyéla (1997, Translation). - The Africa Question: Did They or Didn't They? - Philippe Gosselin hides his sexual identity to serve as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Burkina Faso. (Alternate Link). - Situation analysis of prostitution in Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso and vulnerability of the sex workers in the context of the HIV epidemic (1998). - Men who have sex with men in Burkina Faso, Senegal, and The Gambia: The multi-country HIV/AIDS program approach. (2004).

Homosexuality now debated all over Africa: (3006, Alternate Link) In Burkina Faso, far, far away from South Africa, the nation's first encounter with the issue was more accidental. A Burkinabe living in France told about his homosexuality on 'TV5', criticising double moral standards in his home country. The interview got picked up by the press in Burkina Faso, advising that the issue was loosing from its inherent taboos. In the latest issue of 'Bendré', Burkina Faso's leading independent weekly, journalist Jean-Paul Bamogo goes into a larger discussion about homosexuality based on the new South African legislation... Also 'Le Pays', a leading privately-owned Burkinabe daily, last week philosophised whether South Africa's gay marriage law was "luxury or a necessity" and whether one could still call South Africa an African country. The rather balanced article brought few conclusions, except one: "One thing is sure, Africa cannot anymore close its eyes on the phenomenon of homosexuality." While calling the new marriage law "superfluous and premature," 'Le Pays' demonstrated admiration of South Africa's development and indignation over a recent "homophobia campaign" in Cameroon.

Men who have sex with men in Burkina Faso, Senegal, and The Gambia: The multi-country HIVAIDS program approach: (2004, Alternate Link) "This paper summarizes issues involved in reaching MSM, and recommends strategies for meeting the needs of this target group in the three countries. The paper outlines knowledge gaps about HIV/AIDS and VCT services among MSM, and provides suggestions on how to address these problems. The paper also describes the main features and lessons learned from prevention and treatment programs serving MSM, and lists experts and institutions in the public and private sectors working or interested in the target group. Conclusions: MAP increased access to HIV/AIDS prevention, care, support, and treatment programs with vulnerable and at risk groups, especially MSM and boys and men who have sex with men in exchange for money or gifts."

Pas facile d'être homosexuel au Burkina Faso (2010, Translation): La réalisatrice du court-métrage "Le retour d'Abdou" raconte ses difficultés depuis le tournage du film. Il s'appelle Abdou et revient voir sa famille au Burkina Faso. Mais chez lui, quelque chose a changé: Abdou arbore maintenant maquillage, vernis à ongles et vêtements de femmes. Son père, imam, ne l'entend pas de cette oreille. - «Le retour d'Abdou», ou la difficulté d'être gay au Burkina Faso (2010, Translation): Lorsqu'Abdou revient au Burkina Faso après une longue absence, il porte un top et un jean moulants, des bijoux, du maquillage, du vernis à ongles… Ce qui rend fou de rage son père, qui est imam. Zi-Yaanbo («se donner un surplus de liberté», en mooré), sous-titré Le retour d'Abdou, est le premier film de Sophie Kaboré. Elle veut montrer à travers ce court-métrage la difficulté d'être gay dans ce pays d'Afrique de l'Ouest. Pour le réaliser, cette réalisatrice autodidacte de 29 ans installée à Ouagadougou, la capitale burkinabè, a pris elle-même un risque. Faute de financement, le court-métrage n'est diffusé que sur Dailymotion et YouTube, en attendant de trouver des moyens supplémentaires. Elle raconte à TÊTU ses difficultés pour monter son film et faire connaître le calvaire de ses compatriotes homosexuels. Car si elle n'est pas pénalement réprimée, l'homosexualité est très stigmatisée au Burkina Faso, comme on le voit dans son film...

Behind the Mask - A Web Site on Gay and Lesbian Affairs in Africa. - Africa by Country: Burkina Faso Information. Burkina Faso Archive. - African Veil: Countries Covered: Burkina Faso. - Queer afrol. - Afrol News; Gay/Lesbian Archives. - theGully.com news & Articles: Africa. 

Global Gayz: Africa: Burkina Faso News Reports from 2002 to the Present. - ILGA: Africa: Burkina Faso. - LGBT rights in Burkina Faso. - Sodomy Laws. - Human Rights Watch: Use Search Function. - Amnesty International: Use Search Function. - Pink News: Europe's Largest Gay News Service: Africa. - AsylumLaw.Org: Sexual Minorities & HIV Status: Documents / Reports / Website Links / Organizations. Burkina Faso Individual Documents since 2005. - Links to News Sources for GLBT World.

MSMGF News Articles & Documents Resources. By Region & Country:  - Sub-Saharan Africa: - Burkina Faso. 

BOTSWANA - Gay activist sues Botswana over anti-Gay law (2011). - Justice Makhwade to hear gay case (2011). - Lawsuit stirs gay debate in Botswana (2011).- Gay issue finally brings Botswana together (2011): It has one of the fastest growing economies and a high Hiv/Aids prevalence rates in the world but that is not all. Today, in a bid to tackle what is seen as a growing issue, Botswana is increasingly getting more open about gay issues. On the streets, public transport even media, you hear a country speaking with itself, on these issues, and this has attracted a lot of attention- approval and criticisms in equal measures. Gays and lesbians in Botswana appear surprisingly emboldened, coming out to announce their sexual preferences in public. More liberal views about gay and lesbian rights have been heard from some of the top religious and political figures in Botswana. To crown it all, Botswana gays and lesbians have mustered the courage to challenge laws outlawing same sex relationships in court... - Botswana's Laws Criminalising Homosexuality Offend Bill of Rights Enshrined in Constitution (2011). - Botswana's Landmark Decriminalisation of Homosexuality Case Begins (2011).

Botswana Politician Defends Anti-gay Comments: Botswana Politician Defends His Comments That Homosexuality Is 'culture Away From Our Culture' (2011). - Botswana Inmate Advocates for Gay Rights Before Members of Parliament (2011): The Deputy Speaker of the Botswana National Assembly, Mr. Pono Moatlhodi, replied that "if he had power, he would have those who practise homosexuality killed." He defended his statements today in the Associated Press. - Botswana Goes Anti-Gay (2011). - Lesbian Couple Comes Out in Botswana (2010, Alternate Link): Marriage is the next social hurdle the two have plans to take on in the near future. “It’s simply a matter of going to Jozi and signing the document. Early next year we intend to move in and live together, and later in the year get legally married.“It will be a marriage made in heaven,” they say with a giggle and cuddle of contentment.

Botswana Lesbian and Gay Community Celebrate their Pride (2008): Locked iron gates, entry by invitation, absence of the media and controlled noise behind one of Gaborone's town houses appeared to be an illustration of innate fear by Batswana lesbians, gay and bisexuals to be outed and recognised as homosexuals during a pride party hosted by the Lesbians, Gay and Bisexuals of Botswana (LeGaBiBo) recently. This second annual pride party by LeGaBiBo, a first Botswana lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex project run by Botswana Network on Ethics Law and HIV /AIDS (BONELA), attracted almost 200 members of the gay community to celebrate their existence with pride and to strengthen trust between them and LeGaBiBo. - Growing Up Gay In Botswana (2008). - There's nothing gay about 'gays' - Miss Botswana (2009): New 'Miss Botswana' queen, Sumaiyah Marope, 20, on her crowning night attacked same-sex relationships describing them as 'unnatural acts'.

The Violations of the Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Persons in Botswana: A Shadow Report (2008).

Arnott J, Crago A-L (2009). Rights Not rescue: A Report on Female, Male, and Trans Sex Workers’ Human Rights in Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa. Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa Sexual Health and Rights Project, Open Society Institute. PDF Download.

Botswana's Church leaders denounce gay Bishop (2003): The Anglican Church in Botswana has joined a growing list of African Anglican dioceses that have refused to recognise the consecration of Revd Gene Robinson as Bishop-Coadjutor of the Diocese of New Hampshire in the United States, because of his sexual orientation.. - Bishop Mwamba looks to 'breakthrough' on homosexuality row (2007, Alternate Link): Anglican churches will soon return to their mission to alleviate poverty, disease and injustice and abandon a "fixation" with homosexuality, says Anglican Bishop Trevor Mwamba of Botswana, the recently-appointed dean of the Anglican Church of the Province of Central Africa. "Very few of us take the homosexual debate as a top priority issue because there are more pressing issues facing the African church," Mwamba told Ecumenical News International in a telephone interview from his office in the Botswana capital, Gaborone.

LeGaBiBo fights for welfare and voice (2007): Mothers Union – a Christian faith-based movement caring for welfares of families globally, at least will receive a letter of grievances from Lesbians, Gays and Bisexuals of Botswana (LeGaBiBo) of how the organisation was being ill-treated during a recent dialogue on homosexuality that took place in Botswana... LeGaBiBo was there to take part, and its representative – Skipper Mogapi – complained that she was gagged from talking positively about homosexuality. She further complained that the dialogue was one-sided as all panelists incessantly quoted the bible to reinforce their views condemning homosexuality... - Still oblivious battle after many years for Botswana gays (2006): Gays in Botswana – who founded Lesbians, Gays and Bisexuals of Botswana (LeGaBiBo), are being continuously frustrated by government in that country. - Botswana refuses to register gay advocacy group (2007).

Botswana Gays Rejoice As Opponents See Red (2006):  Early this week the South African parliament made history and passed a bill that ushers in a law that recognizes same sex marriages. This development, the first of its kind in Africa has generated a lot of excitement amongst the gay community and human rights organizations in Botswana. LEGABIBO, an organization of Gays and lesbians in Botswana has applauded South Africans for passing the law despite the fact that homosexuality and lesbianism remains a taboo in the country... "This is frustrating as homosexuality has always existed in Botswana. We suppressed it because we are such a secretive society," she said. She lamented that they cannot register LEGABIBO because the Constitution does not recognise them. " It is even difficult for homosexuals to access medical facilities as they are discriminated," she said. Moepi's sentiments have been echoed by the director of Botswana Network of Ethics, Law and AIDS (BONELA), Christine Stegling who emphasised the necessity of passing out a law that recognise gay and lesbian marriages. She said this would be an indication of Botswana's commitment to human rights and fighting discrimination.

Is there hope in vision 2016? (2004, Alternate Link) The government of Botswana has issued a bold vision statement for the nation called Vision 2016. It promises all citizens safety, security, freedom of expression and a tolerant nation, but how will this help LGBT people if they don't lobby around their rights within the framework of the vision...  These bold words of inclusivity would seem to be opening the doors for LGBT lobbying; laying the ground for successful change in legislation that outlaws homosexuality in Botswana. However, Legabibo, the country's LGBT group are dispersed and virtually none functioning. "It is very hard to get hold of them," one activist told me. "Because they have no office space and no permanent staff. The law prevents them from registering as an organisation, which has left them pretty helpless." At the All Africa conference in Johannesburg earlier this year, representatives from Botswana admitted that the registration issue was just one part of the problem. "Lesbian and gay people in Botswana are not really interested in organising. If we throw a party then they will all turn up, but try to stage a rally or a meeting to discuss serious issues and there will be no more than a handful." Activists working in the field of HIV/Aids in Botswana admit that accessing MSMs (men who have sex with men) is a big problem. "The government do not include same sex behaviour in their information. But how can they when homosexuality is outlawed - it is a catch 22 situation. They know there is a problem but there is no-one to deal with, not the government nor the LGBT community." One of the reasons sited for the lack of an effective LGBT lobby is insidiously personal according to another activist in Gaborone. "The gay scene is young, young as in not long established, but also young as in, populated by mostly young people - there is a lot of gossip, bitchiness and in fighting, usually caused by the fact that many of them have been in relationships with each other. It is a very small community."

Botswana: Homosexuality under Fire (1998): Church groups in Botswana last week launched a vicious attack on gays and lesbians, labelling homosexuality "animalistic and satanic." The attack came just weeks after an amendment to the Penal Code which makes lesbianism a crime. - Botswana Debates The Relaxation of Anti-Gay Laws (Alternate Link): Reverend Dan Hoffman made an appeal in a panel discussion at the University of Botswana recently for the SADC country’s anti-gay laws to be reviewed, but student bodies oppose his call for Christian compassion, the Botswana Gazette reports. All the panel lists called for a relaxation of legislation, but the mostly student audience opposed any changes and rejected homosexuality in Botswana society.. - The well-being of gays, lesbians and bisexuals in Botswana (Journal of Advanced Nursing: 2001 35(6): 848-56): "Results indicated that varying degrees of distress were experienced by 64% of the GLBs in this study. The GLBs identified a need for human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) education and had concerns about their general health, discrimination against them and vulnerability to violence including sexual assaults." - Botswana human rights centre gets gay award (2000).

Ministers in Botswana Plead for Gay Tolerance (1999): The Johannesburg Daily Mail & Guardian reports an appeal made by the Botswana Christian Council for a relaxation of social and legal prohibitions against homosexuality was greeted with outright hostility by an audience of mostly students at the University of Botswana. In a panel discussion at the University, Reverend Dan Hoffman made a broad-based appeal calling for greater Christian compassion towards men and women who feel emotional affinity for members of the same sex.- Botswana president: 'Don't be judgmental on homosexuals (2000): President Festus Mogae of Botswana has urged that the people of his country may soon have to change their strong held views about certain members of the society in order for the nation to effectively stop any future HIV infections...The report urges the nation not to be judgmental of prisoners, homosexuals and commercial sex workers. Mogae informed his audience that if Botswana had no way of protecting the groups mentioned above, it would ultimately fail to protect the broader society in general. - Anti-Gay Laws Challenged in Botswana (2001). -  Alleged Gay Challenges Homosexual Laws (2001). - Botswana Wrestles with Implications of Gay Case (2001). - The well-being of gays, lesbians and bisexuals in Botswana (2001).

Gays, Lesbians, and Bisexuals of Botswana (2003): Currently the laws, and general societal attitudes, within Botswana prohibit ones' choice of sexual orientation. The Centre is actively involved in calls for national awareness-raising regarding the legalisation of same sex relations between consenting adults. - "Unnatural practises" law stands in Botswana (2003): In its ruling, The High Court in Botswana said that, "Gay men and women do not represent a group or class which at this stage has been shown to require protection under the constitution." Therefore the laws that forbid same-sex relations in Botswana, for both men and women, are constitutional and would remain unchanged. This just after the USA Supreme Court ruled the exact opposite, decriminalising same-sex sex in the USA.

Setuke, Lorraine (2011). Report on the factors contributing to the marginalization of lesbian, bisexual and women who have sex with women (LBWSW) community in Botswana. In: Saskia E. Wieringa (ed), Women-Loving-Women in Africa and Asia, pp. 29-91. Amsterdam: TRANS/SIGN Report of Research Findings. PDF Download. The majority of the respondents ranged between the ages of 18 and30 - undergraduates, students and employed, with a majority being lesbians followed by bisexuals. They are not out to family and colleagues due to homophobia, fear of disapproval, and the withdrawal of financial and emotional support, being disowned and viewed as disgusting. Yet, a majority felt comfortable in disclosing their sexual identity to friends. The majority felt homophobia exists, especially amongst religious groups, traditionalists, elderly people and heterosexual men. Religion, culture and familial acceptance play a very important role in how respondents view themselves and how they are perceived by society. Respondents do not feel physically threatened, yet they perceive negativity as a result of their sexuality. Although they feel comfortable and secure within their environment, they limit interactions within LBWSW communities. They feel free to express their feelings and attraction towards same sex partners, although not publicly due to fear of discrimination, stigmatization and labeling. Most of the respondents have the desire to marry in the future, even though they recognize that the law of Botswana does not allow for same sex marriages. The needs of this particular population are for the government to address healthcare needs - of particular importance is STIs, HIV/AIDS and mental health services...

Homosexuality is  forbidden, says Orebotse (2001, Must Scroll): Since the laws of Botswana forbid homosexuality, no prisoners have been given condoms and they would not be given any as that would be tantamount to encouraging homosexuality, says Commissioner of Prisons Joseph Orebotse.

Inside prisons’ dirty secrets (2011): “It is true that men have sex with other men in prison. These things do happen.” This is the reality in Botswana prisons, according to revelations by a former inmate. Lesego Matlhape only spent a year and three months behind bars, but he has seen it all. Consensual and non-consensual sex and prostitution – apparently all these happen behind the barred doors of Botswana’s prisons.  Matlhape was making a testimony at a workshop about HIV and AIDS in prisons. Another former inmate, who would like to remain anonymous, corroborates his story.. - Botswana: Condoms in prison debate rages (2010).

Dynamics of the HIV & AIDS epidemic in Botswana (2000, Chapter 2, Part 6: PDF Download): "Although HIV is transmitted mainly through heterosexual intercourse in Botswana, men having sex with men is a reality and a factor, albeit an apparently minor one, in the spread of the virus. How minor a factor it is remains unknown, thanks to homophobic laws and sentiments, as well as a shortage of reliable research. A 1998 study elicited mixed responses from young men on the topic of male homosexuality. Some were appalled at the idea of a man having sex with another man, but others admitted that it does happen in Botswana society, hence the noun "matanyola". Tswana culture abhors matanyola as an act of sexual perversion." - To be legal or not to be legal: Illegality of homosexuality in Botswana and the spread of HIV in prisions and the general community (2004). - Country Situation Analysis, Botswana, UNAIDS Global Report 2006 Data: In addition, the situation of marginalized groups like men who have sex with men and sex workers needs to be further addressed.

Bisexual concurrency, bisexual partnerships, and HIV among Southern African men who have sex with men (2010, Abstract): The sexual behaviour of men who have sex with men (MSM) in southern Africa has been little studied. We present here the first data on bisexual partnerships and bisexual concurrency among MSM in Malawi, Namibia and Botswana... 34.1% of MSM were married or had a stable female partner, and 53.7% reported both male and female sexual partners in the past 6 months. Bisexual concurrency was common, with 16.6% of MSM having concurrent relationships with both a man and a woman... The majority of MSM in this study report some bisexual partnerships in the previous 6 months. Concurrency with sexual partners of both genders is common. Encouragingly, men reporting any concurrent bisexual activity were more likely to report condom use with sexual partners, and these men were not more likely to have HIV infection than men reporting only male partners. HIV-prevention programmes focussing on decreasing concurrent sexual partners in the African context should also target bisexual concurrency among MSM. Decriminalisation of same-sex practices will potentiate evidence-based HIV-prevention programmes targeting MSM.

HIV prevalence, risks for HIV infection, and human rights among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Malawi, Namibia, and Botswana (2009, Abstract): The HIV prevalence among those between the ages of 18 and 23 was 8.3% (20/241); 20.0% (42/210) among those 24-29; and 35.7% (30/84) among those older than 30 for an overall prevalence of 17.4% (95% CI 14.4-20.8). In multivariate logistic regressions, being older than 25 (aOR 4.0, 95% CI 2.0-8.0), and not always wearing condoms during sex (aOR 2.6, 95% CI 1.3-4.9) were significantly associated with being HIV-positive. Sexual concurrency was common with 16.6% having ongoing concurrent stable relationships with a man and a woman and 53.7% had both male and female sexual partners in proceeding 6 months. Unprotected anal intercourse was common and the use of petroleum-based lubricants was also common when using condoms. Human rights abuses, including blackmail and denial of housing and health care was prevalent with 42.1% (222/527) reporting at least one abuse. MSM are a high-risk group for HIV infection and human rights abuses in Malawi, Namibia, and Botswana.

Magnus Hirschfeld Archive for Sexology: Index Page: Botswana: - Homoerotic, Homosexual, and Ambisexual Behaviors. - Gender Conflicted Persons. - HIV/AIDS.

International Encyclopedia of Sexuality: Botswana. See: Homoerotic, Homosexual, and Bisexual Behaviors & Gender Diversity and Transgender Issues.

Resources: - Behind the Mask - A Web Site on Gay and Lesbian Affairs in Africa. - Africa by Country: Botswana Information. Botswana Archive. - African Veil: Countries Covered: Botswana. - Queer afrol. - Afrol News; Gay/Lesbian Archives. - theGully.com news & Articles: Africa. - Gay Botswana: Life Stories of Gays Living in Botswana.

Global Gayz: Africa: Botswana News Reports from 2004 to the Present. - ILGA: Africa: Botswana. - LGBT rights in Botswana. - Sodomy Laws. - DITSHWANELO, The Botswana Centre for Human Rights: Gays, Lesbians, and Bisexuals of Botswana. - Human Rights Watch: Use Search Function. - Amnesty International: Use Search Function. - Pink News: Europe's Largest Gay News Service: Africa. - AsylumLaw.Org: Sexual Minorities & HIV Status: Documents / Reports / Website Links / Organizations. Botswana Individual Documents Since 2005. - Links to News Sources for GLBT World.

MSMGF News Articles & Documents Resources. By Region & Country:  - Sub-Saharan Africa: - Botswana. 

IVORY COAST / CÔTE D'IVOIRE -  Reportage de Camille Chardon: Abidjan, la capitale gay d’Afrique de l’Ouest: (2010, Translation) Toutes les extravagances nocturnes semblent permises à Abidjan, figure de proue ultralibérale de la sous région ouest-africaine. Malgré que l’homosexualité demeure taboue dans la société ivoirienne, les gays y ont trouvé leur place : trois night-clubs sont spécialement dédiés à cette clientèle. - L'homosexualité : un tabou en Côte d'Ivoire (2010, Translation). - Homosexualité en Côte d'Ivoire: Doit-on Bannir, tolérer ou légaliser l’Homosexualité en Côte d’Ivoire ? (2009, Translation): Néanmoins, la pratique homosexuelle, de son côté, poursuit son chemin en Côte d’ivoire. Le phénomène qui, il y a seulement moins d’une décennie, n’était que l’apanage de la bourgeoisie, s’est repandu dans tous les rayons des grandes cités ivoiriennes. A Abidjan, San Pédro, Yamoussoukro, Bouaké, etc, on les voit partout, ces personnes surnommées " pédé", "bèèh"," woubi"," lélé", ou encore " bodacourou" ou "club rouge". Des homme-femmes, femme-hommes, qui assument leur choix et prétendent même parfois que cette tendance fait partie intégrante de leurs gènes (pour donner une explication scientifique à leur pratique), c’est-à-dire qu’ils ont été conçus comme-ça , c'est leur naturel!

Les coiffeurs africains sont-ils homos? Un journaliste ivoirien s'en inquiète (2009, Translation). - Mlle S.X. (lesbienne) - "L'amour entre femmes ne se raconte pas" (2008, Translation): Très détendue, presque provocatrice, Mlle S est une jeune fille qui ne cache plus sa préférence pour les femmes après avoir eu deux enfants d'aventures qui ont tourné court. En attendant de convoler prochainement en justes noces avec un homme qui accepte son statut, elle trouve son plaisir avec les femmes. Contraste !Comment êtes-vous devenue homosexuelle alors que vous avez 2 enfants ?. - Al Moustapha : Il en veut ! (2008, Translation): Une information qui nous est parvenue fait état du fait que Al Moustapha voudrait empêcher la tenue du concert de Fally Ipupa, ici en Côte d'Ivoire. Les raisons ? Je ne veux pas interdire le concert de Fally en tant que tel. Mais, j'ai décidé d'interdire désormais, le concert de tous les homosexuels en Côte d'Ivoire. Parce que notre pays n'est pas un pays de pédérastes. C'est une pratique qui est interdite en Côte d’Ivoire, alors, je ne vois pas pourquoi ce dernier viendra faire un concert ici. Ayant donc appris que Fally fait partie de ce cercle de vices, chose que je ne confirme pas pour autant. Mais, s'il s'avère qu’il est effectivement homosexuel, il ne se produira guère Côte d’Ivoire. Car nous ferons tout notre possible pour boycotter ce concert...

Rapport Pour L’examen Periodique Universel de Côte D’Ivoire (2009, Translaton): La liberté de pensée et d’expression dans les sujets liés à la sexualité - 28. En Côte d’Ivoire, les sujets liés à la sexualité ne sont pas encore totalement sortis de l’ornière du tabou. Ils sont traités avec beaucoup de prudence, de retenu, et surtout dans des cadres qui garantissent à la fois la discrétion et la pudeur. La liberté de pensée et d’expression dans les sujets liés à la sexualité n’est pas garantie pas les moeurs qui tiennent pour outrage tout propos sexuel iconoclaste. 29. Entre Décembre 2003 et Juin 2004, les éditeurs de ‘Heat’, ‘Réalités’ et ‘Journal Intime’, des journaux locaux spécialisés, dont les sujets principaux sont le sexe et l’éducation sexuelle, ont été traduit en justice pour attentat à la morale publique par des associations religieuses (catholiques et musulmanes) et le collectif de lutte contre le SIDA, cela, par le biais d’une plainte‐pétition qui a recueillit 3000 signatures. Ces journaux ont vu leur lectorat discret dépérir et ont fini dans leur grand ensemble à disparaître des étals des vendeurs de journaux. - 30. Pour avoir affirmé ouvertement son homosexualité lors d’une interview accordée au Journal ‘Top Visage’, le célèbre artiste chanteur et Disc Joker ivoirien LINO VERSACE, a essuyé le courroux des lecteurs et des mélomanes ivoiriens. Ses parents l’ont renié suite à ses déclarations. Il a dû fuir le pays pour se prémunir d’une éventuelle agression. - L’orientation sexuelle et la discrimination envers les minorités sexuelles (Lesbiennes, Gays, Bisexuels et Transsexuels) - 31. En Côte d’Ivoire, l’orientation sexuelle admise est celle de l’union d’un homme et d’une femme. Bien qu’il n’existe pas, dans le contexte ivoirien, des lois qui criminalisent la conduite homosexuelle et des sanctions pénales contre les personnes accusées de tels actes, toute ‘déviation sexuelle’ n’est ni admise par la société, encore est‐elle moins acceptée par les moeurs. Les minorités sexuelles (Lesbiennes, Gays, Bisexuels et Transsexuels) essuient du reste les diatribes de la population et sont constamment confrontées à une menace d’agression, de brimades, de marginalisation et au déni de leurs droits les plus élémentaires, la liberté d’association notamment et partant, tout droit d’existence légal. A titre d’exemple, en 2006 l’AIL (Association Ivoirienne des Lesbiennes Gays, Bisexuels et Transsexuels), présidé par Issouf Diomandé s’est vu refusé un récépissé de déclaration d’existence par le Ministère de l’Intérieur. Depuis, cette association mène de manière discrète et efficace un combat pour sa reconnaissance, en vain. Quoique très nombreux, les membres des minorités sexuelles, dans leur grande majorité, vivent leur sexualité dans la clandestinité et la peur de subir le courroux du reste de la population.

Jean-Hervé : "Une loi pour protéger et défendre les homosexuels" (2008, Translation) (Alternate Link, Translation): Jean-Hervé milite à Arc en Ciel + (AEC+) en Côte-d’Ivoire depuis 2003. L’idée de créer l’association est venue d’un groupe d’amis qui a constaté un "vide social" dans la vie des gays. Les membres d’AEC+ ont commencé par l’organisation de soirées festives, puis très vite, ils ont eu la volonté de répondre aux besoins de nombreux amis malades qui redoutaient de se rendre dans les centres de santé. Interview... L’homosexualité est-elle réprimée en Côte-d'Ivoire ? Non, la loi est muette sur l’homosexualité, mais ce vide juridique est ouvert à toutes les interprétations, surtout de la part des forces de l’ordre... Ta famille est donc au courant ? Est-ce un cas exceptionnel ? Oui, mes parents sont au courant. Ils ont accepté mon ami comme un membre de la famille. À vrai dire, quand ils l’ont appris, ils ont été plus indignés par le fait qu’un proche m’ait trahi que par la nouvelle en elle-même. J’ai de la chance qu’ils aient bien réagi, mais ce n’est pas si rare chez nous en Côte-d’Ivoire. Je dirais que dans un tiers des cas, la famille proche est au courant et l’accepte. Cependant, il demeure encore beaucoup d’incompréhension sur l’homosexualité de la part du grand public. Par exemple, l’idée qu’elle vient des blancs reste assez largement admise...

Ivorian gay community fights for right to life and love: (2006, Alternate Link) The tiny bar in Abidjan's Marcory neighbourhood... But for one young man, who prefers to be known only as Yann, this place serves as a kind of lifeline. 'I can feel completely at ease here,' he says. 'It is one of the only places.' ... Yann came to Abidjan from one of Ivory Coast's smaller cities 14 years ago to study at the university and live his sexuality more freely. 'In the village, there are pressures from family. Society is small. They say being homosexual is against religion, against nature,' he says. 'People are more educated here. In Abidjan, you can be anonymous.' Ivory Coast, unlike some of its more conservative neighbours, has no laws banning homosexuality. The country even boasts a gay and lesbian association, Arc-en-Ciel Plus, that has gained official recognition from the interior ministry. - L'homosexualite: Expression de la liberté, ou fléau social? (2004, Translation)

Interview - Après le rejet de leur demande de récépissé par le ministre Dja Blé (2006, Translation). Issouf Diomandé, porte- parole de l’Association des homosexuels de Côte d’Ivoire: « Nous avons le droit de nous associer comme tout citoyen ». Je viens au nom de l’Association ivoirienne des lesbiennes, gays, bisexuels et transexuels, ( AIL ), pour dénoncer le refus du ministre de l’Intérieur de nous autoriser à former une association, au motif que notre sexualité est contraire aux bonnes mœurs. Nous sommes des citoyens ivoiriens comme les autres, nous ne comprenons pas les raisons de ce refus, nous nous élevons contre cette forme d’exclusion. - Pour l'acceptation des différences sexuelles en côte d'ivoire (2003, Translation).

Lino Versace (2007, Translation): " Je Suis Homosexuel " - La Jet Set, Fally Ipupa, Douk Saga et Plus .... Si on dit que je suis un homosexuel. Moi, je suis fier d’être homosexuel. Pourquoi pas ? Aujourd’hui on est dans un monde où tout est possible. On est au XXe siècle où chacun vit sa vie. Je suis homosexuel. Je suis fier de l’être. Oui, je sors avec un garçon. Et puis quoi ? Ce n’est pas la fin du monde. - Rapport: Les droits sexuels en Côte d’Ivoire (2009, Translation).

Jimmy Leon Interviews Carlos (2005, Alternate Link): Carlos Idibouo. works as the association chairman of"Arc-en-Ciel" (Rainbow in English). Arc-en-Ciel is Ivory Coast's first association dealing with sexually transmisble diseases (STD) such as HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis. They also fight against homophobia in the country... Personally, I've been living openly my homosexuality because I've been able to get myself through in Abidjan  society. I do not have serious problems with my parents because we clearly discussed once thereabout and they were very comprehensive to me - but my situation is not so usual for most homosexuals who are persecuted by parents, friends and workmates. I've to say, I'm mostly very satisfied with my life, excepting my professionnal career that's not so solid... Homosexuals discrimination happens in every part of social life. But these are the police forces who are the first and hardest discriminators in assaulting homosexuals. They also excercise sexual abuses on travesties. For homosexuals living in such circumstances, this discriminations have demolishing consequences on psychological life. Many homosexuals are keeping themselves hidden from society in getthoising together and having unprotected sex with each other... - Côte d'Ivoire: Situation of homosexuals, particularly their treatment by government authorities and the general public (September 2005).

A l’occasion de la Gay Pride, la chaîne de toutes les cultures a prévu une soirée thématique, "Le Monde selon Gay", consacrée aux homos. Au programme, "Woobi Chérie" (Translation), le génial documentaire sur les gays ivoiriens réalisé par Christophe Brooks et Laurent Bocahut. - Woubi Chéri: the first film to give African homosexuals a chance to describe their world in their own words. Often funny, sometimes ribald, but always real, this documentary introduces us to gender pioneers demanding their right to construct a distinct African homosexuality...  The film introduces us to a cross-section of Abidjan's woubi community. Vincent, an immigrant from Burkina Faso, is a traditional griot and sage. Laurent defied his father's wishes that he become an auto mechanic to open a patisserie in Abidjan. Bibiche and Tatiana are cross-dressing prostitutes. Barbara, a glamorous more mature transvestite, is the leader of the tight-knit group and President of the Ivory Coast Transvestites Association. Laurent recalls this community was like a new family. "Your real family was the one you created. Nobody had to hide anything."... - Woubi Cheri: the first film to give African homosexuals a chance to describe their world in their own words. Often funny, sometimes ribald, but always real, this documentary introduces us to gender pioneers demanding their right to construct a distinct African homosexuality. One needs a new language to create a new world; therefore this film begins with a vocabulary lesson. The main characters explain for us that a woubi is a male who chooses to play the role of "wife" in a relationship with another man. A yossi, is a bisexual man, perhaps married, who accepts the role of a woubi's husband. A toussou bakari is a lesbian. Controus are homophobes who oppose the woubia lifestyle... - Homo d’Afrique / Homo Africains en France : le film et le débat (En attendant le festival Chéri-Chéries...) (2009, Translation).

Shadows and eye shadow: Abidjan, Ivory Coast...  am about to give up, when I notice two figures in skirts sitting on a concrete block a few yards away. I am not certain they are what I am looking for, but one of them has made an encouraging noise and I reckon that no respectable Ivoirienne would sit in semi-darkness and call to strangers. I walk over. “Bon soir, les filles,” I say, respecting the wigs and stuffed bosoms and ignoring the masculine arms and faces...As we talk, they are pulling on and adjusting clothes, wigs, make-up. A transformation is taking place in these shadows that I can barely see. What clients do they get, I ask. Both Ivoiriens and foreigners, some white, mostly African. And do the girls protect themselves? Of course, they always use a capote. The worst customers are Nigerians, although whether this is because they are most demanding, refuse to use condoms or are poor payers is not clear. As everywhere else in the world, the price of the service depends on how much the customer is willing to pay. Tina always asks for at least 10,000; sometimes she asks that amount and is rewarded with 20,000 or 30,000...

Intervention by Martine Ago, Ivory Coast (2007): The United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS:  am Martine Ago, representative of sex professionals, from the Ivory Coast... I am a peer educator and president of a group of HIV-positive sex workers, called Blety. We work with Clinique de Confiance, which is dedicated solely to male, female and transgender sex workers, and which offers prevention services, testing for sexually transmitted infections and HIV, as well as ARV treatment...

MSM law in francophone Africa and the fight against AIDS: the hypocrisy of certain countries (2010 Abstract. PDF Download): Hypocritically, some countries have pledged to fight discrimination while continuing to support legislation  that criminalizes homosexuality. Drawing on the testimony of local MSM organizations, this analysis of criminal legislation concerning MSM and priorities related to MSM in four francophone sub-Saharan African countries (Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali and Senegal) seeks to show the disconnect of government health strategies directed toward MSM incountries where homosexuality isillegal. The aim is to help develop an strategy that highlights the of criminal laws against homosexuality and to fight more effectively against them, especially in countries that receive foreign aid. We will also consider the relationship between religion, homosexuality and criminalization, since these appear to be key factors in understanding the policies of countries that criminalize homosexuality.

Libéralisme et vécus sexuels a Abidjan (Translation), par Marc LE PAPE et Claudine Vidal, Cahiers internationaux de Sociologie, vol. LXXVI, 1984.

Resources: - Behind the Mask - A Web Site on Gay and Lesbian Affairs in Africa. - Africa by Country: Ivory Coast Information. Ivory Coast Archive. - African Veil: Countries Covered: Ivory Coast. - Queer afrol. - Afrol News; Gay/Lesbian Archives. - theGully.com news & Articles: Africa. 

Global Gayz: Africa: Ivory Coast News Reports from 1998 to the Present. - ILGA: Africa: Ivory Coast. - LGBT rights in Côte d'Ivoire. - Sodomy Laws. - Human Rights Watch: Use Search Function. - Amnesty International: Use Search Function. - Pink News: Europe's Largest Gay News Service: Africa. - AsylumLaw.Org: Sexual Minorities & HIV Status: Documents / Reports / Website Links / Organizations. Ivory Coast Individual Documents. - Links to News Sources for GLBT World.

MSMGF News Articles & Documents Resources. By Region & Country:  - Sub-Saharan Africa: - Côte d'Ivoire. 

SENEGAL / SÉNÉGAL - Fatou Kiné Camara, la femme qui demande la légalisation de l'homosexualité au Sénégal (2010, Translation) (Alternate Link, Translation). - Homosexualité au Sénégal: Homosexualité : Le Sénégal face au dilemme de la dépénalisation (2009, Translation).- Sénégal : les homosexuels traqués (2008, Translation): Plusieurs personnes ont été entendues, lundi, par la police sénégalaise après que des menaces de morts ont été proférées contre Mansour Dieng, le directeur de publication du magazine people « Icône ». Lors d’un précédent numéro, le journal avait dénoncé la pratique de l’homosexualité. - Sénégal: "Homophobie et manipulation politique de l’Islam" (2008, Translation).- Sénégal : libération des 24 hommes interpellés pour « activités homosexuelles » (2009, Translation): La police sénégalaise a relâché, vendredi, les 24 personnes dont deux Français, arrêtées pour « activités homosexuelles » après une descente dans une villa privée de Saly Niax-Niaxal (80 km au sud de Dakar), a appris AfriSCOOP de sources policières dans la capitale sénégalaise. Une enquête est, cependant, ouverte par la justice.  - Dossier Vidéo : L'homosexualité au Sénégal (2009). - Dakar from Africa’s gay capital to centre of homophobia: Senegalese gay couple Baba and Baidy had to flee the country after a local newspaper printed their photo (2010, Alternate Link). - Senegal's Gay Men Suffer Violence  (2010, Audio).

A mort les gays! (2010, Translation): Craindre pour sa vie, violence contre les hommes gays ou perçus comme tels au Sénégal. C’est le titre d’un rapport de Human Rigths Watch présenté de façon restreinte du 30 novembre au 4 décembre 2010 à quelques organisations non gouvernementales œuvrant dans la réponse au VIH SIDA et la défense des droits humains. (2010).- Gay Men's Bodies Desecrated In Senegal (2010): Even death cannot stop the violence against gays in this corner of the world any more. Madieye Diallo's body had only been in the ground for a few hours when the mob descended on the weedy cemetery with shovels. They yanked out the corpse, spit on its torso, dragged it away and dumped it in front of the home of his elderly parents. - Activists Criticize Senegal for Anti-Gay Persecution (2010). - Anti-Gay Violence on the Rise in Senegal, Rights Group Says (2010). - Dakar, Senegal: Gay Capital Becomes Repression Capital  (2010). - Anti-Gay Violence in Senegal and Throughout Africa (2010). - The once happily pro-gay atmosphere of Senegal.... Homophobia came with colonialism (2010). - Homosexualité à Dakar : la peur d’être découvert (2009, Translation): D. est sénégalais, musulman et homosexuel. Entre la crainte d’être lynché par la population et celle d’être interpellé par la police, quand on est gay à Dakar, mieux vaut se faire oublier.

Homosexualité au féminin: dans l'intimité des lesbiennes (2011, Translation): Aujourd'hui, les pratiques lesbiennes atteignent des proportions insoupçonnées dans la société sénégalaise en pleine mutation. Ce phénomène est devenu monnaie courante dans des milieux jusque là non atteints. Même, certaines femmes mariées n'y échappent pas. Elles s'adonnent à cette pratique durant les séances de retrouvailles périodiques qu'elles organisent dans des milieux clos. Même le monde estudiantin voire professionnel est touché de pleins fouets par ce phénomène passé sous silence. La nommée Fanta B. Samaké est responsable dans un magasin qui vend des produits cosmétiques américains au Sénégal. Divorcée, mère de deux enfants, elle est lesbienne. Elle se laisse aller à des confidences « Je le suis devenue depuis le collège. A l'époque, j'étais dans un établissement exclusivement réservé aux jeunes filles. Je faisais également partie d'une équipe de basketteuses..

Shock at Senegal gay jail terms (2009) - Senegal gay convictions quashed (2009). - Neuf homosexuels sénégalais condamnés à huit ans de prison par un tribunal de Dakar  (2009, Translation): Neuf hommes sénégalais ont été arretés le 19 décembre 2008, à Mbao, une ville située dans la banlieue de Dakar. La police a fait une rafle dans l'habitation du président de AIDES Sénégal, une organisation de prévention du VIH auprès des hommes ayant des relations sexuelles avec d'autres hommes. Le 7 janvier 2009, ils ont été condamnés à huit ans de prison par le tribunal de Dakar pour homosexualité. Il s'agit de la plus lourde peine jamais infligée au Sénégal contre des homosexuels. - Sénégal : des gays, militants de la lutte contre le sida, condamnés (2009, Translation): Condamnés à 8 ans de prison pour "homosexualité" le 6 janvier, neuf Sénégalais, dont certains sont des militants de la lutte contre le sida dans leur pays, ont décidé de faire appel du jugement. Cette condamnation, la plus lourde peine jamais infligée au Sénégal contre des homosexuels, mobilise les associations des droits de l'Homme et de lutte contre le sida. Retour sur cette affaire.

Dépénaliser l’homosexualité au Sénégal est une insulte monumentale au peuple ! (2011, Translation) (Alternate Link, Translation). - Sénégal: la torture pour obtenir les «aveux» des gays présumés (2010), Translation). - Gays under threat in Senegal (2009): Senegal — A mob gathered near a mosque outside Dakar. They were there to hunt down and kill nine men accused of homosexual acts. Earlier this week the nine Senegalese AIDS activists were freed from eight-year-prison terms for alleged homosexual acts, but they went into hiding because of death threats from Muslim religious leaders and the general population. “The homosexuals will not escape lynching. They will be fish food,” Dakar newspaper L'Observateur quoted a local youth leader as saying. “Gay men will never be free in Senegal. They expose us all to danger,” said Imam Mbaye Niang, a prominent religious leader and member of parliament. “The judges should understand that Senegalese people need to protect their children, their families from homosexuality.”

The Seeking Asylum Project collects the stories of LGBT Africans who left their home countries to seek asylum or refuge due to persecution because of sexual orientation or gender identity (2007, Audio):  “The president in Gambia said, ‘I know the gay is in my country. I give them 24hours to leave’. He said he would slaughter us like lamb.” Pape Mbaye talks about being outed in the Senegalese newspapers and the countrywide manhunt that ensued. Pape Mbaye is a popular singer from Senegal. In 2007, he was outed by a gossip magazine in Dakar, Senegal. He currently has refugee status in the United States. He lives and performs in New York City. - Persecuted in Africa, Finding Refuge in New York (2008).

Le mal de vivre des lesbiennes noires N/A. (Alternate Link) (Translation) (Alternate Link) (Translation). - Confidences d’un homosexuel de Saly Portudal: « Mon copain que je partage avec sa femme » (2006, Translation). - En prison, on devient facilement un homosexuel: La face cachée de la prison de Rebeuss (2006, Translation). - Dossier homosexualite au Senegal et en Afrique (2004, Translation): - Regroupement des homosexuels : Le refus de la marginalisation (2004, Translation). - Témoignage d’Eléonore : «Je suis bien dans ma peau» (2004, Translation).  - Dispositions juridiques au Sénégal: Parlez plutôt d’acte impudique ou contre nature! (2004, Translation). - El Hadj Abdoulaye Niang, sociologue : «L’homosexualité se définit avant l’adolescence» (2004, Translation). - La plaidoirie d’Amnesty international (2004, Translation). -