Time to consider decriminalising homosexuality in Ethiopia
Posted: 1 October, 2021 Filed under: Rehim Baharu Elala | Tags: anti-gay sentiment, child abusers, consensual same sex relations, conversation, decriminalise, Dr. Daniel Bekele, Ethiopia, Ethiopian values, federal legislation, freedom of expression, gender identity, harassment, homosexuality, Human Rights Watch, imprisonment, no study, political leaders, religion, religious influences, societal influences, societal norms, stigmatisation, violence, Zenebu Tadesse 1 Comment
Author: Rehim Baharu Elala
Intern, Ethiopian Community Development Council
LGBT data in Ethiopia
Ethiopia revised its Criminal Code in 2004 and criminalised homosexual or indecent acts both between men and women, with those convicted facing terms of imprisonment.[1] Same-sex acts will be punished with imprisonment of not less than a year, or in ‘grave’ cases, rigorous imprisonment of up to 15 years.[2] The justifications for criminalising the acts are mostly associated with the strict societal norms and religion.
There is no study or research conducted to know the exact number of LGBTQ people in Ethiopia. I interviewed two members of the LGBTQ in Ethiopia who are working in legal and health professions when I was writing a Seminar Paper for my LGBTQ Health Law and Policy class.[3] My informants told me that the estimate data shows that there are around 50,000-60,000 people who identify themselves as LGBTQ in the capital Addis Ababa alone.[4] They also stated that the major source of the anti-gay sentiment originates from the religious authorities.[5] This is because homosexuals are always portrayed in a dangerous manner by the religious institutions as child abusers and destroyers of Ethiopian values.[6] An Ethiopian law professor states the influence of religious groups in the following words:
“There is complete silence around LGBT experiences because there is no forum for stories about the violence meted out by the state and family members on a day-to-day basis… My biggest fear is that these religious organisations are monopolising the conversation and perpetuating a fear that is becoming impossible to combat.”[7]
In defence of these “disgusting and unnatural”
Posted: 10 March, 2014 Filed under: Benjamin Ng’aru | Tags: African (Banjul) Charter, all persons, Anti-Homosexuality Act, constitution, discrimination, equality of all persons, freedom from inhumane treatment, gays, homosexual acts, homosexuality, human rights, International Covenant for Civil and Political Rights, International Covenant on Economic, Kill the Gays Bill, lesbians, life sentence, morality, Museveni, right to dignity, right to privacy, sexual orientation, Social and Cultural Rights, stigmatisation, Toonen v Australia, transgender, Uganda, un-African, United Nations, Universal Declaration for Human Rights, violence 8 Comments
Author: Benjamin Ng’aru
Legal Assistant, Local Authorities Pensions Trust; Volunteer Programmes Assistant, Legal Exchange Centre, Nairobi, Kenya
On Monday 25 February 2014, Uganda’s long serving president Yoweri Museveni signed the Anti-Homosexuality Act of 2014 (previously referred to as Kill the Gays Bill”). The Long Title thereof provides that this “Act [is intended] to prohibit any form of sexual relations between persons of the same sex; prohibit the promotion or recognition of such relations and to provide for other related matters.” Museveni has also, on record, called homosexuals “disgusting and unnatural” persons. The legislation has since received widespread condemnation from human rights organisations and leaders across the globe.
Whereas homosexuality was, since the colonial era, outlawed with the introduction of the British colonial rule and justice system, the new legislation is an all time low. Section 2(2) of the Act provides for a mandatory life sentence for persons convicted of “homosexual acts”. Section 1 of the Act has a wide margin of what constitutes “homosexual acts” such as “the touching of another’s breast, vagina, penis or anus, … however slight …. with any part of the body or through anything”.
AfricLaw 