LGBT rights in Sierra Leone
Encyclopedia
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in Sierra Leone face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT
residents. Male same-sex sexual activity is illegal in Sierra Leone
.
or gender identity
.
As a result, individual politicians, political parties and other political organizations in Sierra Leone avoid making public statements on LGBT-rights or come out in opposition to them on religious grounds.
Members of the LGBT community in Sierra Leone began to campaign for LGBT rights in 2002, with the creation of a the Dignity Association. While the government tolerated its existence, the organization and its members frequent targets of harassment, even murder.
In 2004, Fanny Ann Eddy, the founder of the first LGBT-rights organization in Sierra Leone, was brutally murdered. While working in her office, several men broken in, brutally raped and murdered her. Many human rights activists believed that she was targeted for being gay and her work on behalf of the rights of women and the LGBT community.http://www.globalgayz.com/country/Sierra%20Leone/view/SLE/gay-sierra-leone-news-and-reports#article3
The U.S. Department of State's 2010 Human Rights Report found that there were no organizations that supported LGBT persons and that “because such individuals were not culturally accepted, particularly among men, the groups had to remain underground and hidden for fear of discrimination or violence against their members." The report also found that "social discrimination based on sexual orientation occurs in nearly every facet of life for known gays and lesbians, and many choose to have heterosexual relationships and family units to shield them" and that LGBT persons are subjected to physical abuse.
In 2011, the government, through the National AIDS/HIV Control Program, conducted its first every study on Men who have sex with other Men as part of its public health response to the AIDS
-HIV
pandemic.
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
residents. Male same-sex sexual activity is illegal in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
.
Law regarding same-sex sexual activity
Male same-sex sexual activity is illegal with life imprisonment.Discrimination protections
There is no protection against discrimination based on sexual orientationSexual orientation
Sexual orientation describes a pattern of emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to the opposite sex, the same sex, both, or neither, and the genders that accompany them. By the convention of organized researchers, these attractions are subsumed under heterosexuality, homosexuality,...
or gender identity
Gender identity
A gender identity is the way in which an individual self-identifies with a gender category, for example, as being either a man or a woman, or in some cases being neither, which can be distinct from biological sex. Basic gender identity is usually formed by age three and is extremely difficult to...
.
Living conditions
Beyond the criminal prohibitions, social attitudes and mores tend to be hostile to homosexuality and cross-dressing on religious grounds, with most citizens affiliating with a Christian or Muslim sect that subscribes to traditional gender roles and abstaining from sexual activity outside of a traditional marriage.As a result, individual politicians, political parties and other political organizations in Sierra Leone avoid making public statements on LGBT-rights or come out in opposition to them on religious grounds.
Members of the LGBT community in Sierra Leone began to campaign for LGBT rights in 2002, with the creation of a the Dignity Association. While the government tolerated its existence, the organization and its members frequent targets of harassment, even murder.
In 2004, Fanny Ann Eddy, the founder of the first LGBT-rights organization in Sierra Leone, was brutally murdered. While working in her office, several men broken in, brutally raped and murdered her. Many human rights activists believed that she was targeted for being gay and her work on behalf of the rights of women and the LGBT community.http://www.globalgayz.com/country/Sierra%20Leone/view/SLE/gay-sierra-leone-news-and-reports#article3
The U.S. Department of State's 2010 Human Rights Report found that there were no organizations that supported LGBT persons and that “because such individuals were not culturally accepted, particularly among men, the groups had to remain underground and hidden for fear of discrimination or violence against their members." The report also found that "social discrimination based on sexual orientation occurs in nearly every facet of life for known gays and lesbians, and many choose to have heterosexual relationships and family units to shield them" and that LGBT persons are subjected to physical abuse.
In 2011, the government, through the National AIDS/HIV Control Program, conducted its first every study on Men who have sex with other Men as part of its public health response to the AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
-HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
pandemic.
See also
- LGBT rights in AfricaLGBT rights in AfricaLesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender rights in Africa are limited in comparison to other areas of the world, with the BBC estimating that homosexuality is outlawed in 38 African countries...
- Human rights in AfricaHuman rights in AfricaHuman rights as a legal concept is a relatively recent notion in Africa. The United Nations System, international law and the African Union have certainly all contributed to the establishment of a human rights system in Africa, which has positively and indispensably influenced the advancement of...