April 14, 2023
Dear Advocate,
Our latest podcast,
LGBTQIA+ Advocacy in Uganda: Facing down fear and fighting for justice, is available now!
This episode looks at Uganda’s just-passed anti-homosexuality bill, that now awaits final action from President Museveni. The broad-reaching
legislation further criminalizes LGBTQIA+ people and is part of a wave of anti-gay hate laws and actions by authorities that are
sweeping across the region with recent crackdowns in
Ghana,
Kenya,
Rwanda,
Tanzania and
Zambia.
The Ugandan bill would make it a crime to even identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer, with sentences up to life imprisonment. It gives authorities wide powers to crackdown on anyone who does not report on same-sex couples or who promote gay rights, including prohibitions on news coverage and media. And the law could impose death sentences in some cases, including for the transmission of HIV. Uganda’s President Museveni has the power to stop the bill. But so far he is issuing statements for other African countries to follow Uganda down this path.
This podcast episode features several leading Ugandan advocates, whose fierce and imperiled voices are readying to fight for LGBTQIA + people in Uganda, but at AVAC, we know they are fighting for all of us. Listen as they dig into the specifics of how these attacks have gained momentum and their ties to US-based religious extremists. For the full podcast episode, resources to learn more on the issue, and the archive of previous episodes, visit
avac.org/px-pulse. And subscribe on
Apple Podcasts,
Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts!
Uganda-based advocates are urgently organizing and raising money to challenge this law. You can donate to
SMUG and
Chapter Four Uganda.
Best,
AVAC
