LAST YEAR OTN saw a large rise in requests for support from around the world, particularly from Uganda, where the President has rejected a new hardline ‘anti-gay’ bill as not tough enough.

OTN trustee Neil Rees, who has more than 30 years’ experience in international mission, has taken the lead on responding to these enquiries. Following a recent online meeting with several people across Uganda, he shares this reflection:

Although there is still a good way to go, here in the UK we have decades of progress in LGBTQ+ rights behind us. It’s easy to think that the same must be true in other parts of the world too, but sadly, the reality is somewhat different.

 Uganda is one of 67 countries in which same-sex consensual sexual acts are illegal. At the end of March this year, however, the Ugandan parliament unanimously passed a further ‘anti-homosexuality bill’ that looks to strengthen existing legislation. The outspoken support of Archbishop Stephen Kaziimba, from the Anglican Church of Uganda, is typical of the almost universal approval that this measure has received from the country’s many Christians and churches.

The situation for LGBTQ+ people in Uganda was already difficult: if discovered, they risk being threatened, beaten, or disowned and thrown out of their homes, meaning most are living in fear of being outed. Access to public places can be limited, making normal activities such as shopping difficult, and they are generally barred from receiving any healthcare. Violence and discrimination is considered justifiable at any level, with the result that few have stable employment, leaving them to face the challenge of poverty with no support from family, much less government.

The bill builds on this background of hostility, justifying and institutionalising existing prejudice. Although it is yet to be signed into law by the President, the impact on the everyday lives of LGBTQ+ people and those who seek to defend their rights has been immediate and harsh. We have been able to talk to some of those affected, and their stories are heart-rending, their courage, inspiring.

Individuals have immediately found themselves in a much more precarious position. Blackmail is rife, with suspected gay men being threatened with being reported to the police. Some have been attacked by mobs, with apparent impunity or tacit support from government authorities.  One local human rights lawyer told us: “The passing of the Bill has already started to bite even before the President signs it into law; the police have arrested several LGBTQ people and charged them in courts of law which has made many LGBTQ people to live in fear.”

Under the new legislation, places used “for purposes of homosexuality” are prohibited, with the result that police raids on shelters - safe venues set up to house those who have been chased away from their homes and villages - have become more frequent. The fear and mistrust that this has created within the LGBTQ+ community prevents many from seeking or receiving the help that they need, leaving them living on the streets. The overall climate of insecurity makes relocating those affected to other safe places problematic, not to mention financial limitations.

In outlawing “the promotion of homosexuality” and “aiding and abetting homosexuality”, the bill in practice also targets organisations that support the LGBTQ+ community or vulnerable individuals. Offering advice on HIV prevention, basic healthcare, vocational training or support for daily living can all lead to arrest, as the director of one support organisation explained to us from his own recent personal experience.

Additionally, the bill strikes at the heart of a person’s identity, making it a crime to “hold out as a lesbian, gay, transgender, a queer or any other sexual or gender identity that is contrary to the binary categories of male and female” — a crime punishable by ten years in jail, or life imprisonment if the bill’s as yet unpublished amendments are taken into account. Ugandans who have fled to other countries may still not be safe as those living abroad suspected of homosexuality could also be extradited to face trial in Uganda.

The Bible exhorts us to “continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering” (Hebrews 13:3). Now is a time when our support for those in Uganda suffering because of their sexual orientation or gender identity can make a real difference.

At our national gathering in June, we will suggest practical ways in which this support can be expressed. But now we would ask you to join us in prayer for the nation of Uganda. If you wish, you could use the words of this prayer adapted from a QSpirit prayer for International day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia on May 17th:

Loving God, thank you for creating us in your own image, with a wide range of genders and sexualities that reflect your sacred diversities.

We pray for an end to hatred and violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex people in the nation of Uganda. Change the minds and hearts of the country’s legislators. Teach your church and your people to lay down their hatred and rejection and instead show love and acceptance for all. Bring strength and comfort to all LGBTQ+ people who experience violence, poverty, job loss, homelessness and other forms of discrimination because of who they love and who they are.

Help us to stand alongside those in Uganda and elsewhere who suffer, as we seek to build a world where love means love, a world where justice and peace kiss each other. In Uganda, may love triumph over hatred. Amen.