LGBTQ+ asylum seekers face extreme violence in Kenyan refugee camp, report finds
LGBTQ+ asylum seekers living in one of Kenya’s largest refugee camps routinely face extreme violence and human rights abuses, Amnesty International and the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (NGLHRC) said in a joint report.
Content warning: This story includes topics that could make some readers feel uncomfortable and/or upset. The 54-page report, titled Kenya: “Just Like Any Other Person”, details the discrimination LGBTQ+ people face at the Kakuma camp.
This included hate crimes, rape and other serious human rights abuses which perpetrators were able to commit “with almost total impunity” given the inaction of authorities there. READ MORE: LGBTQ+ Kenyans and Ugandans hide from wave of homophobic abuse Victor Nyamori, Amnesty Kenya’s Researcher and Advisor on Refugee and Migrants Rights, said: “LGBTI individuals in Kakuma camp have suffered physical and sexual violence and other serious human rights abuses, including violations of their right to be free from torture and ill-treatment, because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. “Such hate crimes are a criminal manifestation of the discrimination LGBTI refugees and asylum seekers face.” Kakuma is home to more than 200,000 refugees and asylum seekers, including hundreds of LGBTQ+ people.
Esther, a 41-year-old lesbian woman, reported being raped twice in Kakuma camp during two violent ordeals in 2018. READ MORE: Nadia Whittome MP: ‘The Illegal Migration Bill is an attack on the right to seek asylum in the UK’ Winnie, a lesbian woman, had a business in the market where LGBTQ+ friends used to buy things from her.
