Take a stand with LGBT Voice Tanzania

As the year draws to an end, I would like to sincerely thank you for your support of LGBT Voice Tanzania; our organization has counted on your generosity to support our work toward LGBT rights for in 2015. We are extremely grateful for your support of our programs, and we hope that you will continue to show your compassion for LGBT people in Tanzania.

A few achievements in 2014

2015 was a historical year for both the organization and the LGBT community in Tanzania regardless of the political environment in the country.  We have documented  many  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  and for the first time we were 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. The submission focused on three areas identified by LGBT Tanzanians that require the Tanzanian Government’s immediate attention: (a) police treatment of LGBT Tanzanians, (b) access to health care, (c) and the right of LGBT youth to education

Secondly we also managed to train 20 LGBT activists on organizational, informational and personal security and then formed an LGBT reference group track developments and provide frequent updates on the status of implementation of the proposed anti-homosexuality bill and the support it was receiving in parliament. Unfortunately the bill was kept pending.

Thirdly we managed to serve more than 200 LGBT in all our programs which include emergency support, counseling and guidance, referral for HIV testing and treatment and relocation to those who were forced to flee persecution.

Through your generous support, for the first time we were able to hire some good lawyers and file a ligation against the media that continually perpetuate Homophobia and Transphobia by publishing  false, malicious and defamatory articles to damage the reputation of LGBT groups and activists who spearhead the good work in  the opinion of right thinking members of our  society.  It is our hope that we win.

Lastly we managed to hold advocacy meetings with leaders from 33 non-governmental organizations and discussed the need to unite in the fight for equality, 18 leaders promised to stand with us in the fight but they still need to learn more about homosexuality.

Future Plans and need for funding

Our plan for the year 2015 was to  prevent the passing of the new legislation entitled ‘The Bill to Prohibit and Control any form of Sexual Relations between Persons of the Same Sex, 2014’, but the legislation was   not discussed and voted for in parliament.  We still plan to continue creating awareness about the negative implications of such legislation.

Kindly continue supporting our work so that we can implement all the planned activities that were not implemented this year.  We cannot rest till we see #EqualityinTanzania.

Comments from beneficiaries:

A comment from Baina

My religion taught me to hate gay people because they are sinners, one day I read an article about the LGBT movement in one of the western countries and thought that was western, but meeting LGBT people who are educated and learning from them during this training,  I was totally wrong about you guys and now understand that we are all equal regardless of our sex orientation, I promise to work hand in hand with you and make sure there is no discriminative law that will suppress the rights of LGBT in this country, please print books and reports and I personally will distribute them to my network

A comment from 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

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.