New World Health Organisation HIV Programming Guidelines Praised by Activists

The new guidelines on HIV programming for men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender persons released by the World Health Organisation are being praised by HIV and LGBTI human rights activists. Not only will the new guidelines improve access to prevention and treatment services, but they will provide an advocacy tool for advancing the human rights of LGBTI persons.

HIV and gay rights activists say new guidelines released by the UN World Health Organization (WHO) [ http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2011/9789241501750_eng.pdf ] on HIV programming for men who have sex with men (MSM) will not only improve health service provision for MSM, but will also act as an advocacy tool in the fight for the rights of this marginalized population.

"The document provides well-researched and evidence-based recommendations for HIV prevention and treatment of MSM, which will be useful for clinicians," said Kevin Rebe, a doctor with Health4Men, [ http://www.health4men.co.za ] a South African health service provider which caters specifically for MSM. "The language of the paper is couched in human rights, and makes a strong call for decriminalization of same sex sexual activity, so it will also be useful for activists seeking to end discrimination."...

In countries like Uganda, where homophobia is deeply entrenched [ http://www.plusnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=86620 ] both within society and the law, gay rights groups hope the new guidelines will serve as a wake-up call to the government about the need to include MSM in HIV programming.

"I hope the new guidelines will be an eye-opener to the government, who have so far ignored MSM within HIV prevention, treatment and support; it should show them that MSM exist in Uganda and are at high risk," said Frank Mugisha, executive director of NGO Sexual Minorities Uganda. [ http://www.sexualminoritiesuganda.org ] "They therefore cannot be ignored and urgently require HIV interventions."

Mugisha noted that the WHO document added to growing pressure from other international organizations calling for MSM to be included in HIV programmes - including UNAIDS and the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria - and would hopefully persuade the Ugandan government to change its policies.

According to WHO, criminalization of same-sex sexual activity plays a key role in the vulnerability of MSM and transgender people to HIV; more than 75 countries currently criminalize same-gender sexual activity.

Rebe noted that even in countries like South Africa, where MSM had their human rights enshrined in the law, widespread stigma and ignorance about their needs existed, even within the medical fraternity.

The report, Prevention and Treatment of HIV and Other Sexually Transmitted Infections Among Men Who Have Sex With Men and Transgender People: Recommendations for a public health approach 2011, has been added to African Activist's resource area under HIV/AIDS.

The US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) recently issued new funding policy guidelines that call for measures to be put in place to address human rights, legal barriers and homophobia in HIV response. PEPFAR is a major contributor of funds to the fight against HIV in 15 countries in sub-Saharan Africa (Kenya receives $510 million).

David Belongs to All of Us Now

David Kato

The Law, Gender & Sexuality Research Project at the Makerere University School of Law in Uganda is putting together a book on the life, work and legacy of David Kisule Kato. David was murdered in his home in January and is considered a founder of Uganda's LGBTI human rights movement. The project is calling for submissions of essays, fiction, poetry, web blogs, art, crafts, photographs, film, documentaries, speeches, diaries, letters and other correspondence, music, academic publications, etc. that reflect any aspect of the life and work of David Kato.

Submissions on the life and times of Ugandan activist

This is a call for materials for a biographical book on the life, work and legacy of David Kisule Kato – the deceased Ugandan human rights defender for sexual (and other) minorities.  The biography is being developed and written by researchers in the Law, Gender and Sexuality Research Project of the Faculty of Law at Makerere University – Kampala.

We are interested in a range of materials including essays, fiction, poetry, web blogs, art, crafts, photographs, film, documentaries, speeches, diaries, letters and other correspondence, music, academic publications, etc. that reflect any aspect of the life and work of David Kato. We invite materials from family, friends, lovers, partners, colleagues, allies, students, other human rights defenders and advocates, social justice activists, sexual minorities, academics, clerics, parliamentarians, journalists and anyone else with something (whether positive or negative) to say about David Kato’s life, work and legacy. Materials about the different commemoration activities and memorial events held after David’s death are also welcome.

The materials will be collected alongside interviews and focus group discussions conducted in rural and urban Uganda among those who knew David Kato. Although the main language of the biography will be English, relevant materials written in Luganda, Kiswahili, French, Portugese, Spanish and any other African tongue will be translated for inclusion. The deadline for submission is 16th December 2011. All received materials will be duly acknowledged.

Please send material to:

Stella Nyanzi,
Law, Gender and Sexuality Research Project,
Faculty of Law,
P. O. Box 7062, Kampala – Uganda.
Email: snyanzi@law.mak.ac.ug or stellanyanzibah@googlemail.com

The Law, Gender & Sexuality Research Project at the Makerere University School of Law was founded by Dr. Sylvia R. Tamale. Dr. Tamale just published African Sexualities: A Reader with Pambazuka Press. African Sexualities: A Reader looks at African sexualities through the lens of history, feminism, law, sociology, anthropology, spirituality, poetry, fiction, life stories, rhetoric, song, art, and public health. The volume is written by a large group of authors who live their own sexualities across the diverse possibilities of desire, attraction, family creation, political activism and identity in 16 of Africa's 54 countries. African Sexualities adopts a feminist approach that analyses sexuality within patriarchal structures of oppression while also highlighting its emancipatory potential.

Following the murder David Kato, Ugandan poet Musa Okwonga dedicated his poem "My Love" to David Kato and Eudy Simelane. Nigerian author Wole Soyinka, the winner of The Nobel Prize in Literature 1986, was one of the African writers and academics to sign a petition condemning homophobia and the murder of David Kato. Activists around the world held vigils in David's honor.

David belongs to all of us now.

Zimbabwe Police Investigate Possible Gay Festival in Harare

According to Bulawayo24 News, Zimbabwe police are investigating Book Café in Harare after a group of LGBTI persons showed up for a 4 June concert by afro-pop artiste John Pfumojena. Some members of the group were dressed in drag and showed public signs of affection. Criminal Investigation Department (CID) spokesperson Inspector Zimbili said, "The law is very clear on that matter; if there was a gay parade or festival at that mall, we are going to carry a full investigation."

A GROUP of about 40 gays and lesbians recently "invaded" the popular music joint, Book Café in Harare at Five Avenue Shopping Centre, where they paraded their acts in front of patrons who had gone to the joint to see afro-pop artiste John Pfumojena performing.

Police are now investigating Pamberi Trust, the owners of Mannenberg and Book Café, following this incident which happened early this month.

Investigations carried by a local daily newspaper have revealed that on June 4, at least 40 suspected gays and lesbians converged at Book Café during a live performance by afro-pop artiste John Pfumojena...

Ian White, the operations manager for Pamberi Trust, confirmed that on the said day a group of white Zimbabweans arrived for an early evening show at the Book Café with some of the men dressed like women.

"We had a booking, a normal booking and we allowed the group to come through and watch the performance by John (Pfumojena). We did not know who they were or what they were up to, they asked for a service which we offer and we agreed on terms.

"You need to know that we do not do background checks on anyone. We were just as surprised as everyone else upon realisation that some of the people we had allowed to come for the show were gay, but there was nothing we could do about it," said White.

White's boss Paul Brickhill dissociated himself from the gays and lesbians, saying he is a decent family man. Brickhill went on to water down the incident saying his organisation holds 950 events a year and does not think that "this one little skirmish should be taken to mean that we are all like that".

Staff members at the Book Café who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution said they were shocked when they saw men dressed like women and openly kissing in full view of other patrons, some of whom had to leave the place.

"Most of us just left the place. We could not take it, it was just horrible and nauseating, in fact, one of our colleagues vomited when he saw a gay couple kiss. Not all of them though were gay, some were ‘normal' but a sizeable number of them, especially the men, were acting quite bizarrely.

"They were dressed in miniskirts, wigs, bras and they were wearing make-up. They just stayed for the duration of John's performance and immediately left after he was done saying that they were going to a 70s party somewhere in the capital," said one of the staff members.

Criminal Investigation Department (CID) spokesperson Inspector Zimbili said following these reports the police were going to institute full investigations into the matter.

"The law is very clear on that matter; if there was a gay parade or festival at that mall, we are going to carry a full investigation.

"According to law gay festivals or parades are not allowed as stated in the Codification and Reform Act; what they did is considered as sodomy and as police all parties who were involved will be dealt with," said Inspector Zimbili...

This incident, however, did not come as surprise as rumours of bizarre activities including homosexuality at the Book Café and Mannenberg have long been circulating.

According to a BBC News article from 2007, Book Café is Harare's counter-cultural cafe and is no stranger to police intimidation.