“Even if they spit at you, don’t be surprised”
Although health service providers are required by Ugandan law to attend to the medical needs of all Ugandans, sexual and gender minorities are commonly denied health service and face intense discrimination whilst trying to receive medical attention. This report contains direct quotes from LGBTI Ugandans who were discriminated against in the face of health service providers. Due to this discrimination, many LGBTI persons do not return to general hospitals in Uganda out of fear of facing prejudice and potential physical violence. This exacerbates other issues such as the transmission of HIV as these individuals do not get tested.
And That’s How I Survived Being Killed
The report is intended to document the many forms of persecution that LGBT identifying individuals in Uganda face. In this report, based on first-hand testimonies, Sexual Minorities Uganda documented from May 2014 until December 2015 the physical threats, violent attacks, torture, arrest, blackmail, non-physical threats, press intrusion, state prosecution, termination of employment, loss of physical property, harassment, eviction, mob justice, and family banishment that are all too often apart of the lived experience for sexual and gender minorities in Uganda.
From Torment to Tyranny
This report details how LGBTI Ugandans’ human rights were severely abused following the passage of the Anti-Homosexuality Act in December 2013. Over 100 individuals reported discrimination following the passage of the AHA, and, subsequently, following the release of many supposed LGBTI individuals’ identities by the press, including physical attacks, intimidation, and threats of violence. The report also notes that support for Ugandan LGBTI organisations was lost following the AHA, including the shutting down of an AIDS foundation that provided anti-retroviral medication and condoms. Although the AHA has since been repealed, the actions of the Ugandan government in December 2013 sent lasting shockwaves throughout the LGBTI community, and aided the preservation of anti-LGBTI feelings in Uganda.
Expanded Criminalisation of Homosexuality in Uganda: A Flawed Narrative
This report is a response to the misconceptions about homosexuality presented in the Anti-Homosexuality Act of 2013. It contains questions based on these misconceptions and subsequent factual answers, primarily in a Ugandan and wider African context. Furthermore, political and legislative recommendations are provided in an effort to address the actual causes and risk factors for the issues that are blamed on homosexuality.