LGBTQ+ Nigerians Are Celebratg Pri Month Defiance of Anti-Gay Law

Contents:

• GAY NIGERIA: 'EVERYBODY SE ME AS AN ABOMATN'
• THE NEW ANTI-GAY BILL PROPOSED GHANA WILL DTROY LIV
• NIGERIAN STUNT US MAGS TO 'PROVE' GAY MARRIAGE IS WRONG
• LGBTQ+ NIGERIANS ARE CELEBRATG PRI MONTH DEFIANCE OF ANTI-GAY LAW

GAY NIGERIA: 'EVERYBODY SE ME AS AN ABOMATN'

” The SSMPA impos a 10-year prison sentence on anyone who “registers, operat or participat gay clubs, societi and anizatn” or “supports” the activi of such anizatns. Such provisns build on existg legislatn Nigeria, but go much further: while the lonial-era crimal and penal s outlawed sexual acts between members of the same sex, the SSMPA effectively crimaliz lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr (LGBT) persons based on sexual orientatn and genr inty.

The heated public bate and heightened media tert the law have ma homosexualy more visible and LGBT people even more vulnerable than they already were. Many LGBT dividuals terviewed by Human Rights Watch said that prr to the enactment of the SSMPA January 2014, the general public objected to homosexualy primarily on the basis of relig beliefs and perceptns of what nstut Ain culture and tradn. For stance, Febary 2014 Gishiri village, Abuja, a group of approximately 50 people armed wh machet, clubs, whips, and metal wir dragged people om their hom and severely beat at least 14 men whom they spected of beg gay.

They told Human Rights Watch that members of the public rmed the police that gay men were gathered together and when police arrived and found a bag of ndoms that belonged to an HIV peer tor, they were all arrted. Interviewe, cludg reprentativ of mastream human rights anizatns, said the SSMPA has created opportuni for people to act out their homophobia wh btaly and whout fear of legal nsequenc.

THE NEW ANTI-GAY BILL PROPOSED GHANA WILL DTROY LIV

For example, shortly after the SSMPA passed January 2014, police raid an HIV awarens meetg Abuja and arrted 12 participants on spicn of “promotg homosexualy. Punive legal environments, stigma, and discrimatn based on sexual orientatn and genr inty, together wh high levels of physil, psychologil, or sexual vlence agast gay men and other men who have sex wh men (MSM), impes staable natnal rpons to HIV.

When acts of vlence are mted or ndoned by officials or natnal thori, cludg law enforcement officials, this leads to a climate of fear that fuels human rights vlatns and ters gay men and other MSM om seekg and adherg to HIV preventn, treatment, re, and support servic. Gay: Synonym many parts of the world for homosexual; ed here to refer to the sexual orientatn of a man whose primary sexual and romantic attractn is toward other men.

Human Rights Watch terviewed 73 Nigerians who intify as lbian, gay, bisexual, or transgenr (LGBT) as well as reprentativ of 15 Nigeria-based non-ernmental anizatns. A June 2013 poll nducted by NOIPolls, prr to the enactment of the SSMPA, found that for moral and relig reasons, approximately 92 percent of Nigerians supported the proposed law, and did not see as gg on the human rights of the lbian, gay, and bisexual muny. [18] In 2015, NOIPolls, partnership wh The Iniative for Equal Rights (TIERs), [19] a Nigeria-based non-ernmental anizatn workg to protect and promote the human rights of sexual mori, and Bisi Alimi Foundatn, [20] an enty that works to enurage the acceptance of LGBT people Nigeria, nducted a send poll followg plats that the SSMPA enabl law enforcement agenci to vlate the human rights of lbian, gay, and bisexual dividuals.

NIGERIAN STUNT US MAGS TO 'PROVE' GAY MARRIAGE IS WRONG

[22] Further, 15 percent believed homosexuals should have equal rights and 30 percent believed lbian, gay, and bisexual people should have the same accs to public servic such as health re, hog, and tn. [23] While the general public ntu to support the prohibn and crimalizatn of same-sex marriage and civil unns Nigeria, is signifint that nearly a third of Nigerians do not agree wh discrimatn accs to socenomic rights for lbian, gay, and bisexual persons.

The law forbids any habatn between same-sex sexual partners; bans any “public show of same sex amoro relatnship;” and prohibs anyone om formg, operatg, or supportg “gay clubs, societi and anizatns.

The report fds that while the SSMPA was troduced to a legal ntext that already crimalized nsensual same-sex nduct and an already pervasive homophobic climate, has had profoundly negative human rights impact on LGBT people Nigeria. Before [the law], I thk there was a nsc effort on the part of the attacker to thk, where do I stand–If I beat up a gay person and get arrted, what is the law gog to say?

LGBTQ+ NIGERIANS ARE CELEBRATG PRI MONTH DEFIANCE OF ANTI-GAY LAW

LGBT dividuals and reprentativ of LGBT anizatns told Human Rights Watch that the one mon misnceptn sce the passage of the SSMPA is that homosexual inty is now a crimal offence, that members of the public have a duty to report any person they know or spect to be homosexual, and that failure to do so is also a crime.

Durg a rad terview March 2016, the producer of the show said that we should not say anythg that hts at or is specifilly related to sexual orientatn, not to monstrate any support for sexual orientatn issu or sympathy to homosexualy, particular male homosexualy.

[46] The report, “Legal Environment Asssment for HIV/AIDS Rponse Nigeria, ” nclus that there is limed unrstandg of the provisns of the SSMPA, statg, “apart om the fact that they have not read the law, the Police have also given the imprsn that the law is aimed at arrtg homosexuals.