As anti-gay sentiment grows, more LGBTQ people seek to flee Uganda -
, who wished to be identified by her chosen name out of concern for her safety, fled the country in 2019 after police arrested 150 people at a gay club and paraded them in front of the media before charging them with public nuisance.
Still, the new law prescribes the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality,” which is defined as cases of sexual relations involving people infected with HIV, as well as with minors and other categories of vulnerable people. A suspect convicted of “attempted aggravated homosexuality” can be imprisoned for up to 14 years.
While a legal challenge to the new law is mounted by activists and academics seeking to stop its enforcement, LGBTQ+ people in Uganda have been chilled by the growing anti-gay sentiment there. The new bill was introduced in the national assembly in February, days after the Church of England announced its decision to bless civil marriages of same-sex couples, outraging religious leaders in many African countries. Homosexuality is criminalized in more than 30 of Africa’s 54 countries. Some Africans see it as behavior imported from abroad and not a sexual orientation.
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As anti-gay sentiment grows, more LGBTQ+ people seek to flee UgandaFrightened LGBTQ+ Ugandans are searching for a way to escape a new law prescribing the death penalty for ‘aggravated homosexuality.’ Homosexuality has long been illegal in Uganda under a colonial-era law criminalizing sexual activity ‘against the order of nature.’ The punishment for that offense is life imprisonment. The new law targets ‘aggravated homosexuality,’ which is defined as sexual relations involving people infected with HIV, as well as with minors and other categories of vulnerable people. A suspect convicted of ‘attempted aggravated homosexuality’ can be imprisoned for up to 14 years. And there’s a 20-year prison term for a suspect convicted of ‘promoting’ homosexuality, a broad category affecting everyone from journalists to rights activists.
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