The human rights violations of Uganda’s LGBTQ community is on the rise, with over 1,000 cases recorded in the last nine months, according to a report by the Convening for Equality (CFE) pressure group. Rights violations began to rise early last year, following Ugandan parliament’s announcement that it was considering an anti-homosexuality act. The law, which was eventually enacted last May, imposes severe penalties, including life imprisonment for same-sex intercourse and the death penalty for what it tags “aggravated homosexuality.” CFE reported that, following the law’s enactment, there was a surge in human rights violations of sexual minorities with 1,253 recorded cases between last September and May, up from 306 between January and August. Violations include torture, evictions, physical assaults, arbitrary arrests, and extortion, perpetrated by both state and non-state actors, fed by a sustained campaign of false news that paints LGBTQ+ persons as individuals out to recruit children into homosexuality.
SOURCE: REUTERS