Human Rights and Gay Rights

The European football championship was played in Poland and Ukraine a couple of weeks ago, inevitably focusing attention on those two countries.  Ukraine was in the news during the tournament, for failing to curb racist incidents directed at footballers, and it has remained in the news for further unfortunate reasons. Firstly there have been clashes between police and protesters angry at the “russification” of the language after the Parliament’s elevation of Russian to the status of a regional language, with the use of the Ukrainian language a statement of autonomy after years of Soviet rule. Secondly, the Ukrainian Parliament was, last week, debating draft law number 8711, that would make it an offence to talk about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) issues in the media. This threatens education and advice about sexuality, or sexually transmitted infections such as HIV; it threatens public gatherings where LGBT issues are discussed. There has been anti-gay violence in Ukraine, and the country is following the trend set by parts of Russia, which passed laws banning literature about homosexuality, making it illegal to hold film festivals, pride marches or exhibitions where LBGT people were expressing their identity and issues. 

Not so long ago, Britain had its own legislation, passed under Margaret Thatcher’s government and known as “Clause 28”, which made it an offence to ‘promote’ being gay as a ‘normal lifestyle’. Teachers and schools interpreted it as meaning that they could not talk about homosexuality. This law was finally repealed. The comparison is not an especially good one, as the laws currently being debated in Eastern Europe go further than this in terms of being much more punitive. The UN has come out to say that the laws proposed in the Ukraine would violate rights protected under treaties that the Ukraine has itself signed.

The Ukraine is not the only country currently to be debating gay rights. The Global Journal (theglobaljournal.net) featured the Ugandan gay rights activist Kasha Nabagesera in its May 2012 edition, with the headline, “Being gay in Uganda could soon attract the death penalty. Knowing and not reporting that your sister is a lesbian could soon be punishable with a prison sentence”. (p31) Kasha comments, “Uganda… (is)committed to uphold all human rights with no distinction, no exception…My government is proposing too kill me. What is the UN doing about it?” (p33). The ex-prime minister of the UK, Tony Blair, recently ran into a sticky moment in a meeting with the president of Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, where gay rights were alluded to.  She stated, “We like ourselves just the way we are”, defending a law that criminalises homosexual acts (Ford and Allen 2011:19). Other African countries appear to be strengthening anti-gay legislation and homosexuality remains illegal in 37 African countries.

Despite this, there is a lot of LGBT rights activity in Africa, which often only comes into public view when a crisis occurs, such as the murder of the Ugandan gay rights activist, David Kato. The extent of this grassroots activity in Africa is shown by Epprecht’s (2011) useful paper (see reference below). He also suggests that possibly, men who have sex with men (msm) is one of the overlooked factors which might help to explain why sub-Saharan Africa has such high rates of HIV. He reports that in one study in Uganda, for example, 90% of the respondents (msm) had (female) wives as did over 60% in a Kenyan study. Homosexuality is clearly present, and the fact that it is not acknowledged means that health education and promotion are compromised. In Lusaka central prison in Zambia, for example, a well-conducted study found HIV rates of 42% among male inmates. (In the general popualtion it is 14%). Condoms are not distributed in prison as msm is not felt to exist by those who would have the authority to provide condoms. The whole issue is too political, and meanwhile men’s health, and that of the women they go on to have sex with on release, is fundamentally compromised.

Under international law, criminalising homosexuality is illegal, but in many countries, homosexuality is indeed illegal. Wilkipedia provides a useful overview of LGBT rights by country:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_by_country_or_territory

The Human Dignity Trust has recently launched a campaign to combat homophobic legislation globally, and it includes activists from all over the world, including Africa:

http://www.humandignitytrust.org/

Homosexuality is illegal in 78 countries around the world. The maximum penalty in five of those countries is death. There is no clear reason for this extreme response; in Japan, homosexuality has been legal since 1880. What causes some countries to have no problems with respecting the rights of gay people and others to have major difficulties with it?  The Human Dignity Trust is campaigning on the single issue of decriminalising same-sex between consenting adults.

Even in a country such as the UK, where homosexuality is legal, and civil partnerships are available, there are effects on health due to the stigma still existing in some circles.  Stonewall, the gay rights campaigning organization posted this recently on its website:

“5 July 2012

Homophobic bullying ‘a daily nightmare’ for over half of Britain’s school pupils

Pioneering research reveals serious concerns about homophobic language
Nearly a quarter of gay young people attempt suicide

New research carried out by the University of Cambridge for Stonewall’s School Report 2012 has found that 55 per cent of lesbian, gay and bisexual pupils in Britain’s secondary schools experience homophobic bullying. The research, based on a national survey of 1,614 young people, also found that nearly a quarter (23 per cent) of gay young people have attempted to take their own life, and more than half (56 per cent) deliberately harm themselves.”

The report can be found at:

http://www.stonewall.org.uk/at_school/education_for_all/quick_links/education_resources/7956.asp

Gay people are humans like everyone else and thus should come under the same protection under international law, just like everyone else; gay rights are human rights and human rights are gay rights. An attack on gay people is an attack on human rights. And of course, human rights are fundamental to achieving health for all.

References:

Epprecht, M. (2011) Sexual Minorities, Human Rights and Public Health Strategies in Africa. African Affairs, 111/443, 223-243

Ford, T. & Allen, B. (2011) An awkward silence: Liberia’s President defends anti-gay laws – as Blair squirms. The Guardian, 20 March 2012.