SHARA Organisation

05/10/2023

The Mauritius Supreme Court said that the law did not reflect indigenous Mauritian values but was inherited as part of its colonial history with BritainImage caption: The Mauritius Supreme Court said that the law did not reflect indigenous Mauritian values but was inherited as part of its colonial history with Britain
Mauritius has reversed a colonial-era law that criminalised same-sex relations.

On Wednesday, the country’s Supreme Court declared that Section 250 of the Mauritian Criminal Code, which dates back to 1898, was unconstitutional.

Under the law, individuals found guilty of engaging in same-sex relations were at risk of being jailed for up to five years.

In its ruling, the Supreme Court stated that the abolished law did not “reflect any indigenous Mauritian values but was inherited as part of our colonial history from Britain”.

The decision to repeal the anti-homosexuality law goes back to October 2019, when four young Mauritians from the rights group Young Q***r Alliance filed a legal challenge against the anti-homosexuality law for “violating their fundamental rights and freedom”.

The United Nations and several human rights groups have commended the ruling.

“The UN welcomes the decision of Mauritius to join the growing list of African countries protecting the human rights of everyone, including LGBTQI+ people,” UNAids said in a statement.

With the ruling, Mauritius joins the growing list of African countries that have either decriminalised or legalised same-sex relationships, including Angola, Botswana, Seychelles and Mozambique.

28/09/2023

President Museveni signed into law a strict anti-gay bill that includes the death penalty for "aggravated homosexuality" - and more.

07/09/2023

Happy Bisexual Visibility Month everybody!
September is Bisexual Visibility month, and we're putting our beloved bi community front and center ❤
Too often, bisexuality is misunderstood and those in the bi community are marginalized, even within the greater LGBTQ+ community. This can be a challenge, too, in faith communities! is necessary so that we can combat stereotypes and foster understanding in all of our interconnected communities.

25/08/2023

In Brazil, the use of homophobic slurs is now punishable by up to 5 years on prison.

The country's Supreme Court ruled on August 21 to elevate homophobic hate speech to the level of racist hate speech, which is punishable by 2-5 years in prison. The decision was 9-1.

According to France 24, the court ruled to criminalize homophobia in 2019, but that reportedly only applied to slurs against the LGBTQIA+ community overall rather than individuals. The new ruling further expands legal protections for LGBTQIA+ individuals.

The lead judge in this case, Justice Edson Fachin, stated in his ruling that providing equal legal protection to LGBTQIA+ citizens was a ‘constitutional imperative.’

24/08/2023

Brazil's Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that homophobic slurs are now punishable by prison, in a decision applauded by rights activists in a country with rampant violence against the LGBTQ+ community.

16/08/2023

𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐊𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 𝐂𝐀𝐍 𝐁𝐄 𝐂𝐀𝐔𝐒𝐄𝐃 𝐁𝐘 𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐀𝐋 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐋𝐓𝐇 𝐈𝐒𝐒𝐔𝐄𝐒

The sharp rise in the number of passion killings that have shrouded the country of late, have been linked to deteriorating mental health by the Regional Psycho-Social Support Initiative (REPSSI) Botswana country Representative David Kanje.

Speaking recently at a media briefing, Kanje said it's very rare for one to just go for counselling and that alone is one of the reasons why the country has skyrocketing cases of passion killings. Kanje further emphasized on the importance of counselling as he said that it can help an individual to positively react to issues.

"Of late, I saw an article on WhatsApp of a man said to have killed a lady and most people were blaming the devil. Let's for once stop blaming the devil and for once take responsibility and say there is something we are doing wrong as a country. All these things will not go away because we keep on blaming the devil, we need to introspect to say what are we doing wrong? Let's make it a habit to go for counselling and this will help avoid adversely reacting to issues resulting in passion killings," said Kanje.

The country Rep revealed that REPSSI offers platforms like National Mental Health & Psycho-Social Support (MHPSS) forums to share skills and talk about such issues to try to help those with mental health issues. "We have divided our upcoming forum (MHPSS) into regions because different people from different regions have different problems and we need to address them adequately," he added.

The first forum will be in Shakawe hosted by Okavango District Council from 19 to 22 August this year. It will be followed by another forum which will be hosted in Goodhope by Goodhope District Council from 26-29 August 2023. All these forums including the National MHPSS Forum in Francistown from 2-5 October, will be live streamed on different social media platforms.

10/08/2023

Recently, Ethiopian LGBTI+ groups have shared that there has been an increase in attacks on individuals based on their perceived sexual orientation and gender identity. In the country, social media platforms such as TikTok have been inundated with anti-LGBTQI+ and anti-rights content, inciting violence and encouraging harm towards those who might identify as part of the community. Concerningly, these are then being shared to other platforms like Telegram. Language barriers in moderation of content has been a barrier to addressing these videos quickly.

The situation escalated in May when videos of perceived LGBTQI+ people from a public event circulated, leading to threats, assaults, and even evictions. Recent live broadcasts on TikTok sparked public demonstrations, with plans for an anti-LGBTI+ rally in the works. Government endorsements of targeting businesses allegedly supporting LGBTI+ individuals have escalated the issue further.

This distressing trend mirrors global Anti-LGBTQI+ and Anti-Rights movements, with Ethiopia's political climate worsening the situation as the fight for LGBTI+ rights in Ethiopia has become a focal point, with much opposition and hostility.

Ethiopian LGBTI+ organizations are working hard to address this crisis, but international attention is crucial. We at GIN-SSOGIE ask you to stand in solidarity and raise awareness of the issue with us.

11/07/2023

11/07/2023

10/07/2023

BREAKING: After a landmark Supreme Court ruling, makes history as the first South Asian country to recognize same-sex marriage 🇳🇵

07/06/2023

Marriage is not defined in the Marriage Act and I could not find anything in the law that states that according to Botswana law marriage is between a man and a woman, this means that there is nothing in law that prohibits marriage between people of the same gender. Happy pride month 🏳️‍🌈