Political homophobia and the effect on GBMSM programmes in Kenya: The significance of a community-led rapid agency assessment

A recent Supreme Court ruling that permitted LGBTQ + rights organisations to officially register as non-governmental organisations has led to rises in political homophobia in Kenya. Community leaders initiated and led a rapid agency assessment to examine the effects of this rising political homophob...

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Published inGlobal public health Vol. 18; no. 1; p. 2271989
Main Authors Walimbwa, Jeffrey, Macharia, Pascal, Wambua, Solomon, Lazarus, Lisa, Lorway, Robert
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Abingdon Taylor & Francis 2023
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Informa UK Limited
Taylor & Francis Group
Subjects
Bisexuality
CBO
Community
community-led
Counties
Court decisions
Evaluation
GBMSM
Health needs
Health services
HIV
Homophobia
Human rights
Kenya
Legislation
Legislatures
LGBTQ people
Local government
Men who have sex with men
NGOs
Nongovernmental organizations
Public health
Respondents
Sexual health
Sexual health services
Shutdowns
STBBI
Supreme courts
Kenya
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Summary:A recent Supreme Court ruling that permitted LGBTQ + rights organisations to officially register as non-governmental organisations has led to rises in political homophobia in Kenya. Community leaders initiated and led a rapid agency assessment to examine the effects of this rising political homophobia on sexual health services access for gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM). This survey assessment engaged directors and programme managers running 20 community-based organisations (CBOs) representing 19 Kenyan counties, serving the sexual health needs of more than >25,000 GBMSM. In addition to prevalent shutdowns of health services, respondents reported growing religious tensions, fears and threats of attack, withdrawal of local county government support, and rising religious tensions. At a moment when highly oppressive anti-LGBTQ + legislation has been drafted and debated in parliament, in the name of 'family protection', this commentary makes an appeal to allied health officials and global funding partners to make more explicit statements that call attention to the negative consequences of political homophobia on the grounds of public health and human rights.
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USDOE
ISSN:1744-1692
1744-1706
DOI:10.1080/17441692.2023.2271989