By James Wandera | Executive Director
We are excited to bring to you these updates, thanks to all of you for your continued support that made it possible for LGBT Voice to continue running.
The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender individuals in Tanzania continually face significant challenges especially interacting with the law enforcers. Because homosexuality is criminalized, the law enforcers harass and demean LGBT people with impunity. In order to charge a person with violating the law criminalizing homosexual conduct, the police must catch an individual in (or attempting) the sex act a rare occurrence. Due to this obstacle to formal prosecution, police harass LGBT individuals as an informal means of punishment.
We have collected many similar stories of harassment including: forcibly detaining individuals without charge, blackmailing LGBT individuals for release, corrective rape/and or sexual violence, beating LGBT individuals while in custody, and dismissing or disregarding complaints brought by LGBT people about harassment from others.
A transgender man was arrested in his own home and then required him to pay US$300 to be released after extensive physical torture over the course of three days, all the while telling him that he needed to “live like women. A gay man in Dar es Salaam reported that he was arrested and the police requested a bribe of 600,000 Tshs for his release.
Due to the current situation in the country Lesbian, Gay Bisexual Transgender and Queer individuals continue to decline seeking health care due to fear of revealing criminal conduct to health care providers. Similarly, health care providers cite the criminalization of same-sex sexual conduct as a basis for denying services to LGBT people. Moreover, criminalization perpetuates stigma, and stigmatization prevents lawmakers from addressing LGBT-specific health needs.
Our volunteers on the ground are working hard creating awareness, challenging the bad laws and policies to end homophobia and Transphobia and also providing emergency assistance to the LGBT who urgently need assistance.
The media is also is used to damage the reputation of LGBT organizations and activists by publishing negative and misleading information about Homosexuality in Tanzania to lower the reputation of people who spearhead the good work in the opinion of right thinking members of our society.
For the first time LGBT Voice was able to make a UPR submission that identifies shortcomings in Tanzania’s human rights laws and practices related to its treatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people with recommendations to improve the lives of LGBT Tanzanians. Though LGBT Tanzanians face widespread discrimination. The submission focuses on three areas identified by LGBT Tanzanians that require the Tanzanian Government’s immediate attention: police treatment of LGBT Tanzanians, access to health care, and the right of LGBT youth to education
Kindly continue supporting our work because we still have a long way to go and all what we need to implement needs a ot of resources.
A comment by Alan
I believe that the work of LGBT Voice has brought light to most of us and but also has created a platform where LGBT people can stand and air their needs.
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
