...such people...

...such people...

…[R]eaching the counseling room I found a lady seated there and she asked for my history and I told them how I love and sleep with boys and the lady looked at me and she said, “we don't offer services to such people.”

And I was like “I’m a human being who is dying soon, can you please give me drugs and I go?” She told me to move out of the center and go somewhere else. Meanwhile she started calling people to come and see “this rotten person,” so I had to walk out the center and went back home.

I felt like committing suicide — so lost and confused.


~Adroa, a 26 year-old Ugandan who was denied access to HIV treatment because of his sexual orientation.  via 'And That's How I Survived Being Killed'

...we need to embrace them...

...we need to embrace them...

“Ke nako ya gore re amogele gore re na le batho ba mohuta oo mo Botswana. Go thola re ganetsa selo se re se itseng kgotsana re se bone ga gona go re thusa ka sepe.

[It is time we accept that we have these people in our lives. To continuously deny these facts would not help us in any way. We live with these people in our societies, we need to embrace them and create enabling and welcoming environment in our society and health facilities]"


City councillor Sesupo Jacobs from Bostwana  as the Gaborone City Council urged the national government to decriminalise same-sex sexual relationships

Homosexuals are around us, like it or not...

Homosexuals are around us, like it or not...

“Homosexuals are around us, like it or not, this is a fact that has been true since long ago and it is still true today. They might be those closest to us, our children, our siblings, our grandchildren, or our best friends, but sometimes we have no empathy for this issue. They are not people who have invaded from the West but rather they are part of us."

~ Hartoyo, an LGBT activist from Jakarta in an open letter to a newly-elected politician

...he has broken barriers many of us on the continent can only dream

...he has broken barriers many of us on the continent can only dream

We remember Joel Gustave Nana Ngongang, who passed away at the age of 33. A leading African LGBT and HIV activist born in Cameroon, Joel was the founding Executive Director of the African Men for Sexual Health and Rights (AMSHeR), chief executive officer at Partners for Rights and Development (Paridev), and co-founder of Alternatives Cameroun.

"Joel has changed face of HIV and MSM in Africa through his work with Amsher and he has broken barriers many of us on the continent can only dream. Today is a very sad day in Africa and West Africa in particular." ~ Nigerian activist Bisi Alimi

...there are places all over the county where young people are hurting...

...there are places all over the county where young people are hurting...

"I believe that my school isn't special. I believe that there are places like Hillsboro all over the county where young people are hurting, feeling alone, and being discriminated against because of who they are. And I believe it's important, now that I've been put in this position, for me to stay strong for all of those young people and for my community"

~ Trans teen Lila Perry on the controversy stirred in her town around her use of the girl's locker room.

Will I prioritize [rights] over finding money for food?

Will I prioritize [rights] over finding money for food?

Will I prioritize [rights] over finding money for food? Labor issues, issues of the workforce are issues of LGBT people. And the sooner we recognize that, then the sooner we can provide responses to the needs of members of our community who need proper attention”
~ Claire, a transgender woman, on the striking workforce at Tanduay Distillers Inc in the Philippines

...there can be no justification for attempts to ‘eliminate’ LGBTI from society...

...there can be no justification for attempts to ‘eliminate’ LGBTI from society...

"As variation in sexual identities and orientations has always been part of a normal society, there can be no justification for attempts to ‘eliminate’ LGBTI from society. Efforts should rather be focused on countering the belief systems that create hostile and even violent environments for those who are made to feel alienated within societies...

The study suggests that African health professionals and their associations should adopt affirmative stances towards LGBTI individuals."


excerpt from The Academy of Science South Africa report "Diversity in Human Sexuality: Implications for Policy in Africa"

Culture, tradition and religion can never justify the denial of basic rights...

Culture, tradition and religion can never justify the denial of basic rights...

I respect culture, tradition and religion, but they can never justify the denial of basic rights. My promise to the lesbian, homosexual, bisexual and transgender members of the human family is this: I’m with you. I promise that as Secretary-General of the United Nations I will denounce attacks against you and I will keep pressing leaders for progress.
~ UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon to the International Conference on Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

...in conflict with the principles of human dignity...

...in conflict with the principles of human dignity...

An interpretation of non-discrimination which excludes people based on their sexual orientation would be in conflict with the principles of human dignity, inclusiveness, equality, human rights, and non-discrimination.
~ excerpt from the High Court of Kenya ruling that despite anti-homosexuality laws, an LGBT group has the right to form. Signed by Justices Isaac Lenaola, Ngugi Grace Mumbi, George Vincent Odunga, and Isaac Lenaola

...poisonous consequences of these ill-informed and hateful bills...

 ...poisonous consequences of these ill-informed and hateful bills...

“By now we should all be aware of the poisonous consequences of these ill-informed and hateful bills: they produce hate and lead to impunity for violence and discrimination against minorities. This has no place in a country that has committed itself through its constitution to full protection of human and civil rights.

Daniele Viotti, Member of the European Parliament in regards to Kyrgyzstan's proposed anti-LGBT bill

This is a fight for human rights.

This is a fight for human rights.

This is a fight for human rights. Its does not pit African traditions against western traditions or the colonised against colonisers. Africa has the same universal values and belongs to humanity. It is not separate, and neither is Cameroon.
Alice Nkom, Cameroonian lawyer and longtime advocate for decriminalization of homosexuality @AliceNKom