ДО
НАРОДНОТО СЪБРАНИЕ
ДО
ПРЕЗИДЕНТСТВОТО НА РЕПУБЛИКА БЪЛГАРИЯ
ДО
МИНИСТЕРСКИ СЪВЕТ
ДО
СРЕДСТВАТА ЗА МАСОВА ИНФОРМАЦИЯ


ДЕКЛАРАЦИЯ

от
ГЛБТ „ИДЕА-БГ”, съдебна регистрация: № 1/18.03.2010-СГС – ФО,
Седалище и адрес на управление: гр. София, кв. „Суха река”, бл. 41, ап. 3
представлявано от Христо Петров Христов - Председател на УС
телефон +359885975963, E-mail: ideаpress@abv.bg


ОТНОСНО:
Злонамерени действия на служители от Министерство на образованието, младежта и науката в Република България, на Регионален инспекторат по образованието София – град и Министерство на вътрешните работи на Република България по време на управлението на партия ГЕРБ 2010-2013 г.


УВАЖАЕМИ ДАМИ И ГОСПОДА,

Сдружение ГЛБТ „ИДЕЯ-БГ” е организация имаща за цел да защитава правата на хора с различна сексуална ориентация, да спазва и опазва демократичните процеси в Република България. Да извършва контрол и информира властите за извършени нарушения.
За съжаление от 2010 г. насам се забелязва сериозно увеличаване на нарушения спрямо правата на хора с различна сексуална ориентация. Такива действия има и срещу граждани, които подкрепят тези членове или групи от обществото ни.
В доклад на международната неправителствена организация за защита на човешките права „Амнести Интернешънъл” се сочи, че България се възприема като страна с висок процент на дискриминация на малцинства, лош стандарт в затворите и хомофобия. Нашата организация е убедена в истинността на тези факти (можем да ги подкрепим с конкретни случаи).
Най-фрапиращ е случая срещу член на нашата организация и защитаващ го директор – работодател на потърпевшия, започнал от началото на 2010 год. и продължаващ до този момент. През месец юли 2010 год. Министерство на образованието, младежта и науката провежда конкурс за директори. За едно от столичните училища участват Христо Светославов Птухин и Верка Николова Русинова. От този момент нататък започват и техните проблеми. Председателят на комисията по конкурса г-н Лазар Додев след събеседването с Христо Птухин пред цялата комисия му задава въпроса дали го познава. Птухин в момента не успява да се досети за какво му се задава този въпрос. В последствие разбира, че някой се е опитал да го дискредитира, като му е приписал интимни отношения с г-н Додев. След спечелването на конкурса от г-жа Верка Русинова, която е назначена за директор на Първо помощно
училище – София, г-жа Латинка Борисова Ковачева тогава експерт „Интегрирано обучение и специални училища в Регионалния инспекторат по образование София – град, я кани на разговор при началника на РИО София - град Ваня Фердинандова Кастрева. Същата уведомява директор Верка Русинова, че нейния служител, старши учител Христо Птухин е хомосексуалист и има досие в СДВР. Г-жа Кастрева изисква от директор Верка Русинова да уволни незабавно старши учителя Христо Птухин. Русинова отказва с претекста, че няма законово основание за такова действие. Ваня Кастрева и отговаря, че ако Птухин не си отиде то Русинова ще си отиде.
В началото на 2011 г. се засилват атаките срещу директор Верка Русинова. От нея се изисква да отстрани от работа нашият член. Провеждани са събирания в МОМН, на които директорката е канена. На тези срещи са присъствали още представители на Синдиката на българските учители към КНСБ, тогава зам. министър Милена Дамянова, Пенка Иванова – директор на Дирекция „Достъп до образование и подкрепа на развитието” от МОМН, както и представител на СДВР от дирекция „Детска престъпност”. Полицаят най-обстойно е представил всички данни за старши учителя Христо Птухин, които били съхранявани в СДВР, независимо от факта, че сме изискали от министър Цветан Цветанов след лична среща с него и с писмо да бъдат унищожени досиетата на хората с различна сексуална ориентация от масивите на полицията. Представителя на СДВР е настоявал члена на нашата организация г-н Христо Птухин да бъде уволнен, защото бил „опасен”. След като директора на Първо помощно училище г-жа Верка Русинова на една от поредните срещи отказва да го уволни е заплашена, че ще бъде отстранена, като я уволнят дисциплинарно и на нейно място ще бъде назначен друг директор, който да извърши този акт. Тъй като не помагат заплахите, през месец септември се изпраща проверка от МОМН и на базата на същата се иска дисциплинарно уволнение на директорката г-жа Верка Русинова. Тя се разболява и излиза в отпуск по болест. На нейно място е назначена за временно изпълняващ длъжността директор Латинка Борисова Ковачева. На 20 февруари 2012г. същата вика полиция от СДВР дирекция „Детска престъпност”. Девет човека начело с Виолета Аланджийска (директор на дирекция „Детска престъпност“ - СДВР) нахлуват в часа по география воден от старши учителя г-н Птухин, без да представят заповед и без да присъства временно изпълняващия длъжността директор на училището Латинка Ковачева. Учителя е отстранен от бюрото, на което има настолен служебен компютър, и една жена от полицаите започва да търси в компютъра, без да даде обяснение какво. Това действие трае около час и половина. През това време учениците, които са с умствени увреждания, предимно момчета, са разпитвани от полицаите - без присъствие на педагог, психолог или родител. На разпитите не е присъствала и временно изпълняващия длъжността директор на училището г-жа Латинка Ковачева, което е грубо нарушение на законовите разпоредби. Учениците са разпитвани дали г-н Птухин им прожектирал порно, пускал ли им е такова на компютъра, знаят ли къде живее, идвали ли са му на гости, опипвал ли ги е, дали ги е бил или заплашвал. На всички въпроси децата са отговорили отрицателно. Докато трае проверката на полицията на нашият член г-н Христо Птухин му е прилошало и сам е извикал „Бърза помощ“ на тел. 112. След идването на „Бърза помощ“ го откарват в УМБАЛ „Царица Йоана”. По същото време временно изпълняващия длъжността директор Латинка Ковачева провежда неправомерно Общо събрание, на което предлага мястото, на което е назначен старши учителя Христо Птухин, да бъде преобразувано на такова за бременни или за инвалиди. За това той не е и уведомен. През следващите дни в медиите се пускат заглавия и статии, в които г-н Птухин е представен като гей и педофил, уронват му авторитета и достойнството. Училището се посещава от журналисти от в. „Телеграф” и „Монитор”. Временно изпълняващата длъжността директор Латинка Ковачева вместо да се погрижи да успокои децата и да ги закриля, дава с охота интервюта. Многократно е молена от г-н Христо Птухин да спре допускането на журналисти в сградата и да обърне внимание върху провеждането на учебния процес, но отговорите и са били: да си влиза в час, да не се занимава с неща, които не са негова работа. По телевизиите ТВ7 в Новините и предаването „Бодилник”, по БТВ Action и БТВ Новините са излъчени репортажи с участието на директора на дирекция „Детска престъпност” Виолета Аланджийска, която го нарича гей, педофил и престъпник.
Г-н Министър-Председател, от всички тези действия срещу старши учителя Христо Птухин достигаме до извода, че през цялото време се е се целяло неговото дискредитиране, оклеветяване и унижаване пред обществото. Набеждават го за да бъде отстранен от работа и в бъдеще същият да не може да бъде преподавател в системата на образование.
Същевременно здравословното състояние на г-н Птухин се влошава и той излиза в болнични от 27 февруари 2012г. В деня на неговото излизане в отпуск по болест временно изпълняващия длъжността директор Латинка Ковачева обявява мястото му в сайта на РИО за свободно и при завръщането му на работа пред всички колеги връчва заповед за освобождаването му. Неговото място е заето от студент по това време, който е с 100% инвалидност. Този човек е неправоспособен съгласно Инструкция № 2 от 29.07.1994 г. за изискванията за заемане на длъжността “учител” или “възпитател” съобразно придобитото образование, професионална квалификация и правоспособност.
С тези действия, ние членовете на ГЛБТ „ИДЕЯ-БГ” се убедихме, че старши учителя Христо Птухин е преследван и дискриминиран от служителите на МОМН - зам. министър Милена Дамянова, Пенка Иванова - директор на дирекция „Достъп до образование и подкрепа на развитието” - МОМН, Ваня Фердинандова Кастрева - началник на РИО София-град, временно изпълняващ длъжността директор Латинка Борисова Ковачева и от Виолета Тодорова Аланджийска - директор на дирекция „Детска престъпност” при СДВР.
Дами и господа, за съжаление сговористите от МОМН и РИО подкрепящи политиката на партия ГЕРБ не спират до тук. След отстраняването на нашия член Христо Птухин е издадена заповед за дисциплинарно уволнение на човека, който е защитавал законно от преследване старшия учител, директора на Първо помощно училище „Проф. дпн Георги Ангушев” – гр. София, Верка Николова Русинова. Един честен и достоен човек попада под ударите на хора, узурпирали властта в образованието, смятащи се за незаменими и извършващи „лов на вещици”. Ето защо, се обръщаме към Вас с искрена молба за следното:
1. Изискваме от новия министър на образованието на Република България г-жа Анелия Клисарска да анулира заповедта за дисциплинарно уволнение на директор Верка Николова Русинова и да я възстанови на предишната и длъжност в Първо помощно училище „Проф. дпн Георги Ангушев” – гр. София.
2. Да бъде отменена заповедта за отстраняване от работа, като Старши учител и и да се възстанови на работа г-н Христо Светославов Птухин.
3. Поради хомофобско отношение и омраза към учители с различна полова ориентация и подкрепящите ги хора преследвани заради това ние изискваме отстраняването от длъжност на началник на РИО Сфия-град, Ваня Фердинандова Кастрева.
4. Настояваме министър Цветелин Йовчев да отстрани от длъжност директор на дирекция „Детска престъпност” при СДВР Виолета Аланджийска за хомофобия и злоупотреба със служебна информация.
5. Изискваме да се предприемат действия, с които да се прекрати дискриминирането на хора с различна сексуална ориентация или с различна партийна принадлежност, както и преследването на техните поддръжници в Република България. Настояваме Народното събрание да внесе промени в НК, с които да се инкриминира хомофобията и действията и последствията свързани с нея, като бъде налагано наказание подобно за престъпление срещу личността.
6. Ако държавните органи не изпълнят нашите искания ще бъдем принудени с всички законни средства да изразим своя протест включително сезиране на международни организации в ЕС и ООН за правата на човека и изискване спрямо Република България да бъдат наложени санкции.


12.06.2013г. Председател на ЛГБТ „ИДЕЯ-БГ”
София / Христо Петров /

hello ,, i'm gay and i live in Saudi Arabia ,, i hate living in saudi Arabia because all of them are ignorant fucks. they misunderstood gay with bi , they think that we decide to be gays and it's a choice and we can change it ... anyway i really really need some gay friends here
not to made out with , just it feels so good for me to find a gay best friend that i can trust and understands me :'( hit me up with my twitter account to talk and stuff , i'd love to have some extra friends :D https://twitter.com/s3od22217645

Protecting Transgender Rights in Hong Kong: Equal Marriage Rights

This morning Hong Kong took a giant leap forward in protecting transgender rights in a judgment of the Court of Final Appeal which will allow a trans* woman to marry her partner. In a judgment that some Irish politicians could do well to take note of the Court concluded that in multicultural jurisdiction such as Hong Kong, the nature of marriage as a social institution had undergone many alterations in that the importance of procreation as an essential constituent “has much diminished”. In a 4-1 running, the Court held that it is “contrary to principle to focus merely on biological features fixed at the time of birth and regarded as immutable” and held in favour of the Appellant.

Full Article: http://humanrights.ie/gender-sexuality-and-the-law/protecting-transgender-rights-in-hong-kong-equal-marriage-rights/

Very interesting film depicting the passing of same-sex marriage legislation within London and the UK in 2013. Worth a look!! http://youtu.be/NZaBse2hrQU

Ethiopian LGBTs need help to halt abuses

Posted on April 27, 2013 by Rainbow Ethiopia

Ethiopia has one of the world’s most restrictive laws governing attempts to protect the rights and health of women, children, LGBT people, the sick and the disabled.

As a result, those people’s rights and health are endangered, and too little is being done to change that.

A law called the Charities and Societies Proclamation (CSP) 621/2009 bans any advocacy and human rights work seeking to end violence against women and children or to promote the rights of people with disabilities, people living with HIV, or other marginalized populations.

Further, grassroots organizations and front-line activists working for the rights and sexual health of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Ethiopia are in danger both because of CSP 621/2009 and because of anti-homosexuality Proclamation No. 414/2004.2012, which provides for prison sentences of up to 15 years for consensual same-sex sexual activity.

As a result, little progress has been made in suppressing violence against LGBT individuals, which is inflicted both by police and by mobs. LGBT people tend to keep their sexual orientation a secret to avoid arrest and social stigma. LGBT activists fear for their safety, because a number of them have been detained, interrogated and tortured.

The U.S. and other countries don’t do enough to push for an end to such violations. Although they know that change is needed, they don’t make it a priority. Every year the U.S. State Department copies and pastes the same two paragraphs in its Ethiopian Human Rights Report under the heading “Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.” This is the wording from the newly released 2012 report:

Consensual same-sex sexual activity is illegal and punishable by imprisonment under the law. There were some reports of violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals; reporting was limited due to fear of retribution, discrimination, or stigmatization. Persons did not identify themselves as LGBT persons due to severe societal stigma and the illegality of consensual same-sex sexual activity. Activists in the LGBT community stated they were followed and at times feared for their safety. There were periodic detainments of some in the LGBT community, combined with interrogation and alleged physical abuse.

The AIDS Resource Center in Addis Ababa reported the majority of self-identified gay and lesbian callers, the majority of whom were male, requested assistance in changing their behavior to avoid discrimination. Many gay men reported anxiety, confusion, identity crises, depression, self-ostracism, religious conflict, and suicide attempts.


Ethiopia’s location in East Africa

A first step toward would be for the U.S. embassy and U.S. human rights missions in the country to work closely with local LGBT activists and community leaders to flesh out the 2013 report. It’s important to record the specifics about the degrading and so-far-unreported human rights violations that Ethiopian people experience on the basis of their sexual identity and gender orientation.

A similar shortcoming applies to the U.K.’s 2012 Human Rights and Democracy Report, which mentions nothing about the human rights abuses targeted at LGBT people in Ethiopia.

Along the same lines, a conference of African Union health ministers is being held this week in Addis Ababa to discuss ways to combat the continent’s diseases. The pressing issue of LGBT people and HIV in Africa is not in their agenda.

It’s not because the foreign governments don’t know what’s going on. HIV activists and LGBT human right workers continually report incidents of social justice and human rights abuses to the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor and to the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The hope is that international organizations such as those will investigate and work with the Ethiopian government to address the issue.

For more information visit our website:

http://www.rainbow-ethiopia.org/

Ethiopian LGBTs need help to halt abuses

Posted on April 27, 2013 by Rainbow Ethiopia

Ethiopia has one of the world’s most restrictive laws governing attempts to protect the rights and health of women, children, LGBT people, the sick and the disabled.

As a result, those people’s rights and health are endangered, and too little is being done to change that.

A law called the Charities and Societies Proclamation (CSP) 621/2009 bans any advocacy and human rights work seeking to end violence against women and children or to promote the rights of people with disabilities, people living with HIV, or other marginalized populations.

Further, grassroots organizations and front-line activists working for the rights and sexual health of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Ethiopia are in danger both because of CSP 621/2009 and because of anti-homosexuality Proclamation No. 414/2004.2012, which provides for prison sentences of up to 15 years for consensual same-sex sexual activity.

As a result, little progress has been made in suppressing violence against LGBT individuals, which is inflicted both by police and by mobs. LGBT people tend to keep their sexual orientation a secret to avoid arrest and social stigma. LGBT activists fear for their safety, because a number of them have been detained, interrogated and tortured.

The U.S. and other countries don’t do enough to push for an end to such violations. Although they know that change is needed, they don’t make it a priority. Every year the U.S. State Department copies and pastes the same two paragraphs in its Ethiopian Human Rights Report under the heading “Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.” This is the wording from the newly released 2012 report:

Consensual same-sex sexual activity is illegal and punishable by imprisonment under the law. There were some reports of violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals; reporting was limited due to fear of retribution, discrimination, or stigmatization. Persons did not identify themselves as LGBT persons due to severe societal stigma and the illegality of consensual same-sex sexual activity. Activists in the LGBT community stated they were followed and at times feared for their safety. There were periodic detainments of some in the LGBT community, combined with interrogation and alleged physical abuse.

The AIDS Resource Center in Addis Ababa reported the majority of self-identified gay and lesbian callers, the majority of whom were male, requested assistance in changing their behavior to avoid discrimination. Many gay men reported anxiety, confusion, identity crises, depression, self-ostracism, religious conflict, and suicide attempts.


Ethiopia’s location in East Africa

A first step toward would be for the U.S. embassy and U.S. human rights missions in the country to work closely with local LGBT activists and community leaders to flesh out the 2013 report. It’s important to record the specifics about the degrading and so-far-unreported human rights violations that Ethiopian people experience on the basis of their sexual identity and gender orientation.

A similar shortcoming applies to the U.K.’s 2012 Human Rights and Democracy Report, which mentions nothing about the human rights abuses targeted at LGBT people in Ethiopia.

Along the same lines, a conference of African Union health ministers is being held this week in Addis Ababa to discuss ways to combat the continent’s diseases. The pressing issue of LGBT people and HIV in Africa is not in their agenda.

It’s not because the foreign governments don’t know what’s going on. HIV activists and LGBT human right workers continually report incidents of social justice and human rights abuses to the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor and to the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The hope is that international organizations such as those will investigate and work with the Ethiopian government to address the issue.

For more information visit our website:

http://www.rainbow-ethiopia.org/

Today, gay people in France can get married in law. On the other hand, gay people in South Korea can't even make boyfriends in the army due to having just passed the gay-ban law Today! What an ironic country I'm living in. What a worse thing is that the prohibition law on gay discrimination has been cancelled by left party yielded under pressure of Korean christians and homophobic people. Please, help my homophobic country. ps. sorry for my English grammar in advance.

the following is my friend Tom's story, in his own words

I committed statutory rape with a 15-year old male when I was 51. He was my student. I loved and love him whole-heartedly and completely, and promised him unconditional love, long before any sex took place. Human behavior is complicated and has many varieties. This is an unusual story. The government told a cartoon story with broad strokes of black and white.

I was imprisoned without bond, and had my freedom of speech taken away before I had been convicted of any crime. Newspapers printed government press releases without any checking of any facts. If necessary, I will submit to a polygraph on any statement I make, from any independent administrator. Ask those who contradict my statements if they will do the same. If a statement was proved by evidence or the victim's statements, I will put (P). I have discovered that the police falsify information, and distort and manipulate facts and testimony. My belief in the United States has been shaken.

The young man, a South American adopted into an Orthodox Jewish family, was cutting himself in September of 2009 when we met. He told me it was from the frustration with his home life, and not being allowed to be Latino or social, and being forced to observe a religion he found oppressive. He said one sister attacked him physically several times. He is a remarkable, bright, witty, and kind human being, with a fierce urge for freedom. I found him to be extraordinary. He came to see me most days, even more often after he was warned by his parents that I was homosexual, I found out later.(P) He brought a chess board in for lunches when he found out I played chess. We talked about history, religion, politics, psychology. He eventually he told me about the cutting.

I called his father, talked to the rabbis, called a psychologist, put him in touch with a former student with whom I thought he might click (heterosexual), gave him a copy of The Road Less Travelled, the best book I thought on how one gets happy. He kept cutting. I was frantic to help. I promised to love him unconditionally, forever. We loved talking, and I hoped I could make up whatever he lacked. I promised to do anything in my power to help him be happy. I sent him affirmation texts. (Know you are loved, you are great as you are, say "I am a wonderful person," etc.)

Some months later, on the phone, he said we should have sex. I told him that was a "really bad idea."

Some time later, he said he was playing tennis next to my building, and he would come by to work on a project. He came up, and said he was not there to work on the project, but to have sex. I tried to talk him out of it. (P) I said I could love him without sex. (P) He said I didn't have to. I said he did not owe me sex for love. He said he knew he did not owe, he wanted it, and he said I did too. I said sex was not that important, that he should not ask such a thing just for sex. He said it was for true love, that we were soul mates, we would be together forever. I said if we were soul mates then, we would be so in a few years. He said, true, but since we were we did not have to wait. Many times, he said he needed it to live. He confirmed at trial that he believed that. (P) He believed he loved me and that I loved him. (P) I said he should be with someone his age. He said he was attracted to older men. (P) I said everyone would assume it was my fault when it came out (even years later if we were together). He said he would tell them he picked me, and besides, we would be together. He said he had known what he wanted for a long time. He said such things happened all the time. Nothing happened that day (Feb,. 13 2010) We agreed to work it out. The conversation continued the next day with many more reasons for no on my part. He finally said if it was not me, it would be some other older white guy. (P) I agreed on February 14.

I have tried to be a good person my whole life. I try not to manipulate people. I love people without sex; sex and love are not the same thing. I do not even like to have sex with someone drunk, even a boyfriend because of the consent issue. I have always tried to tell the truth. Even in teaching, I would tell students the reason I was doing something (quizzes are designed to force you to read, etc.) I have tried to help the outcasts, with chess and theater. Many students said I saved lives, saved souls.

No combination of things could have made me give in like those. I had to save the life of someone I loved, a soul mate with love so true that 35 years made no difference, and if I didn't do it he would go do it somewhere else. I justified it by saving his life, not denying true love, and protecting him from those who did not love him. It was clearly wrong, but has anyone been subject to such arguments in such a situation? He said, trust me, believe me.

I thought that rejection just might kill him. I thought he wanted to be trusted and believed. I rationalized that the release of sex with someone he loved might stop the cutting. I let myself believe. He said in a statement later he did it for power and control. (P) The cutting stopped for four months until another fight with his sister.

Once I agreed I did whatever I could to make him happy. He was very advanced sexually. He claimed that I was the first, but close examination of his statement excluded from trial makes that claim dubious. He wanted to try light bondage and spanking. I always did what he asked. The prosecutor loved to say "penetrated with objects." I was the far more often penetrated. Everything done was done mutually. He was very happy, almost giddy. Only he could arrange meeting times. I came when he called, and did what he asked. He estimated 50 to 60 times in 5 months. The frequency with which he chose should have been proof of a loving if wrong relationship; I had no ability to arrange to see him. The schedule was his. He repeatedly texted and told me "You saved my life."

I had to move to Virginia to make more money. He said he wanted us to be together, so I remained faithful. I saw him that Christmas break, once, and it was clear he was no longer interested. He had been sleeping with a number of other older men. (P This is factual from his statements, not speculation.) I did not know that until my arrest. He called me to officially end the relationship in January. I was heart-broken, but I never raised his vow of eternal love. I tried to continue loving him as a friend. We soon emailed, and I never asked to renew the sexual relationship. I offered to be a best friend (my choice) or never talk to him if that was what he needed. (P) His emails say things like "Thank you...for everything," and "Not worry about you? Not possible." The emails are available.

He broke contact in early June of 2011. I heard by email from someone claiming to be him in October of that year, but it was not him. I denied the sex, thinking it was his family. I promised to do anything to help him if HE asked, and ended contact with the impostor. It was a Florida law enforcement agent. That was my first offer to turn myself in.

He got in trouble for his sexual contact with men. He refused to cooperate with police. (P) He was locked in psychological facilities for a year. He was brainwashed into changing the facts of what happened, (P) and his attitude was reversed. As far as I can tell, he was locked up for being actively gay. He was 17 for most of that time. In May 2012 he cooperated with police, and contacted me. When he called, I said I was ready to come tell the truth if that was what he needed. My second offer. He said he wanted me to come see him (reversed by police) and that he could not wait until he was 18. (P) I was confused by his previous rejection and now reversal. The policeman, as the young man, sent me sexually suggestive texts and emails, begging for me to renew the relationship, and made me promise to say something on the phone. It was the young man on the phone. I promised, and the young man initiated phone sex at the behest of the police. (P) I tried to decline; he said he had "needs." (P) I came to Florida and was arrested, after telling him twice more on the phone I would come and tell the truth. He was three months away from his 18th birthday at this point. The federal age of consent is 16, but they charged me under the Florida age of 18, but using a federal charge that carried a sentence of 10 to life.

The young man's police statement on which the indictment was based was largely disproved at trial. (P) The federal government charged me under an internet predator law, convinced that there were other victims. The police directed or suggested the false testimony. (P) They said I showed him child porn, which makes no sense. This was dismissed on sentencing, but they used it twice in trial to disgust the jury. They kept hinting at trial and sentencing about other victims, who do not exist, in spite of running a hotline number that was carried in the US and England. I find men from the age of maturity to 30ish more attractive sexually than older men, though not exclusively. Do heterosexuals do this as well? Does a 50 year old heterosexual fantasize about 50 year-ld women? I tried NOT to see students outside of school. I would never seduce anyone; the greatest attraction for me is someone's desire for me.

When the other victims did not appear, they brought in the FBI grooming expert to say I groomed him, since the evidence of persuading, enticing, inducing or coercing was slim. No grooming scenario exists in which the "groomer" waits for the "victim" to ask for sex, and then tries to dissuade the "victim." As unlikely as my story sounds, at trial he admitted that he, not I, proposed sex, that I tried to talk him out of it (and thus he talked me into it), that he BELIEVED he needed it to live, that I said I could love him without sex, and that he said he would find another older white guy if I said no. He AFFIRMED these at trial.

The interpretation of the law for induce as "cause" is to "allow to happen," when it should mean force. Under this absurd reading, this law has a LOWER threshold of guilt than statutory rape; a text message saying "OK, I will pick you up," would convict, without any contact. If every gay teen who texted an older lover were to be found in South Florida, there would be an army in prison. Statutory rape under federal guidelines carries a 41-51 month sentence. I was given 200 months under the persuasion statute. I had offered to plead guilty to statutory rape and it was rejected; they blamed me at sentencing for putting him through the trial.

Most heterosexual women in the same situation are sentenced to probation to two years. The application of this statute was arbitrary and unequal. The prosecutor announced to the jury that he granted that the "sex was consensual." The age of consent in Israel is 15, so in that civilized a country I would not even have committed a crime at all. The rich are sued for this. Where is the moral fairness?

Why was I prosecuted this way? Conservative politics and homosexuality. The family is Orthodox Jewish, the investigator who fashioned the testimony is Catholic, the prosecutor is Republican, and the judge voted for Rick Santorum.

I believed saving his life, or both of us believing it, would mitigate the statutory rape charge. I believed telling the truth and offering to turn myself in would mitigate. Telling the truth was the worst thing I could have done. Had I denied him when he called, and lied, nothing would have happened. I tried to be honest; rejecting him seemed to violate my vow of love.

I do not "blame" him for sleeping with other men. I do not love him less. I would have done anything for his happiness. I would have gladly NOT slept with him. I rationalized that I was being courageous to save his life and risk my own. I felt he was testing to see if my vow of eternal, unconditional love was real. He convinced me we were breaking convention for our mutual happiness. I thought I could serve some years to save him. If it truly saved his life, I wish I could say that knowing what I do now, I would still have been loyal enough to say yes. I would not have had the courage. I am sorry it happened either way.

Does love matter? Does fairness matter? Does the truth matter? When does a person have sexual and religious freedom? Can a conservative family change those by locking someone in psychological units, to change attitudes and alter facts? Does gay sex justify any level of charges, and any lying by the government?

I hope the young will save my life some day.

Please tell my story.

Thomas Patrick Keelan 98219-004
FDC Miami

I am a gay.but I have no right in this country.i am so poor.please help me.i want to go canada and live long time in this nice world..please help me.i have no way to live this country.i feel so lonly.please help me and give a new life.zaroonali220@yahoo.com

Hi everybody, i dont know how to explain da situation here ,day after day i feel losing hope in life and feeling really destroyed.
I present myself, my name is EMy "nickname", born in 1985 and I live in Morocco, a Muslim country where there is no gay rights at all, we are now in 2012 and there is any homosexual law reform expected !!
Since i was teenager i always felt that my choices and my way of thinking is like a girl, I dressed as a woman (in privacy) and so far I shaved all my body parts regularly .. in recent years I did my eyebrows and I tried to wear feminine clothes .. but i was firmly confronted by my family and entourage and I lost my job and all my friends just because i tryed to be me.
I avoided having homosexual relationship just because the law is not tolerant;
My life is wasted; prisoner in men clothes I find no taste to continue this life, get outside my room and see the world, nobody understands me, it's taboo to talk about homosexuality here coz of religion beliefs !! I lost hope to live and I swear i start to think about suicide.
I tryed several times to contact many gay rights comitee in several countries but in vain, they all told me that i have to be in that country in ordre to deal with me, i was seeking for a humain asylum.
My relationship with my surroundings have become worse especially with my family, and one day I'll leave home without knowing where to go.
i need some one to help me to live my life in a country where there is gay rights, I want to live and work in peace, get dressed with respect and freely.
my email: bi.cool@live.com -sincerly-

ILGA is an education in homofascism. ILGA discriminates against people based on sexual orientation - the ultimate hypocrisy. ILGA sucks.

Report of illegal detention of two staff members of Parwaz Society

This report is compiled in response to the un-lawful and un-ethical detention of the 2 staff members of Parwaz Society on November 2, 2012 at Aziz Bhatti police station, Gulshan-e-Iqbal. Karachi. This turn out to be a quite serious situation. Below are the facts:

· The complained lodged by Ali Omer Tahir ails Sarah Gill and Riffi Khan is totally baseless and uncalled for. In their claim they mentioned that at illegal activities are going in Parwaz Society office, and misinformed the police. The complaint include the names of Kamran Anwar Choudhry, Drop In Center coordinator and Syed AkberRizvi, Monitoring and Evaluation Officer of Parwaz Society.

· The police investigation officers visited the Parwaz Society on November 1, 2012. During their visit the police persons informed that they were told that there is free sex room in the office and when they will entered the office, they will find a sign board of free sex room. The Local Project Manager and Field Supervisor of Parwaz Society give detail information about the services deliver and prevention about HIV / AIDS, and working in close collaboration with Sindh AIDS Control Program (SACP), Government of Sindh.

· The police personal informed us that due to the Kamran Anwar and Abker Rizvi have to visit Police Station to clarify the matter, and we agreed to bring them to police station on November 2, 2012.

· Around at 3:30 pm, Local Project Manager and Field Supervisor went to the Aziz Bhatti Police Station to clarify the baseless allegation of Sarah Gill and Riffi Khan. We started the proceeding in front of the investigation officer Additional SHO Mr.Farooq. LPM and FS while discussion with Sarah informed that what we are doing is for the betterment of community and should keep our personal grudges out of the services deliver of CBO and NGO.

· Sarah Gill started black mailing and use unethical practices of disclosing the identities of CBO staff and demanded in frot of the police personals, disclose the sexuality of CBO staff are they MSM or TGs, in response to her demands, LPM & FS told her that you are also rights activist of sexual minorities and attended so many international and national conferences / seminars / workshops and know the norms of disclosing the identity of sexual minorities. But instead of listening to our suggestions, she continues insisting of disclosure the sexual identities of the CBO staff. Sarah also bought the printout of the facebook page of GIA where different members of NMHA family posted their comments. Sarah and Riff both pointing out different staff posting and claim that they admitted being MSM, so they will file case against Pakistani law.

· Local project manager (LPM) and field supervisor (FS) tried with to diffuse their unethical demand of disclosing the sexuality, but both Sarah and Riffi used their pressure tactics to disclose the same. Just to close the arguments it was decided to bring the Kamran Anwar Choudhry and AkberRizvi to police station for clarification.

· The Other complain they were highlighting that Kami was sent as TG to attend the international conference, LPM and FS showed police the email sent by the organizer of the Youth Voice Count (YVC) which clearly states that kami was invite to represent the sexual minorities and it was not invited as TG represented.

· When Kami and Akber reached Police station, Sarah and Riffi, along with other TGs presents (Anjo, Natasha, Zeeni, Rani, Naseebo and Sapna) in the police station tried to provoked kami to get angry and do something harsh which will go in their favour but both Kami and Akber showed their professional attitude and remain calm and respond to their queries calmly.

· During the discussion, Kami told Sarah that think of community we are giving, and all those delivering services are saving through advocacy and behavioural change communication (BCC) in prevention of the HIV / AIDS, and also think about those HIV positive clients who are getting medications and allied services to them, instead of listening to kami’s comments, she replied she don’t care how many more people get positive and don’t care If HIV positive peoples will die. This showed that Sarah has its own personal agenda and don’t care for the right so TGs and also other sexual minorities.

· Due to the pressure of police personals and emotional and mental torcher, Kami and Akber were force to write apology to Sarah Gill and Riffi otherwise they will put Parwaz staff in lockup.

· Kami was also abused and beaten by the police personals in the police station.

· This is also the violation of basic human rights to forcefully get the disclosure of sexuality and apology.

Conclusion
After more than 5 hours of mental and emotional ordeal at Aziz Bhatti Police Station, all the Parwaz staff members were back to the office. The Staff members after the assessment of the traumatised incidence came to the conclusion that how some TGs are in the name of community creating stigma and discrimination and labelling the sexual minorities and promoting their own personal agenda. They are also crossing all civilised limits and using unethical practices and violating the basic human rights. They are also creating hurdles to achieve MDG 6: combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases.

Prepared by
Kamran Anwar Choudhry, DIC Coordinator, Parwaz Society
Syed Muhammad Akber Rizvi, M&E; Officer, Parwaz Society
akber_rizvi@yahoo.com

Hi, my name... it is not important. I am gipsy from Bulgaria. one country who is in eurpean comunity, but not every thing is "European". My parrents are muslim. when I was 23 started to impose on me verbal abuse. in religious communities such as Muslims or among Gypsy ethno what people say and relatives is important. one year later, my father tried to marry me strength. left me no choice other then to leave home and try to rebuild my life from scratch. and so alone, with only 10 euros in my pocket arrived in Belgium. year and a half has passed since then. often cry because miss me my mom. I think about suicide. but then I loose the bad thoughts and say, one day it will be over.

SOS NEED URGENT HELP!!!
Everyone has the right to happiness and to be free to live their own lives. But for every moment of happiness there is a price to be paid. We are Anna and Anya, a gay couple, one of us was born in the UK + the other from Russia. In July of this year, we fell deeply in love, when we met in Athens, Greece. We decided from that moment we will always be together, but we were not prepared for what lies ahead. Since one of our nationalities is British, we decided we would apply for a UK visa and go back together to England to start a family. But the UK visa was denied. It was a terrible blow and shock to us. In ordet to make a new application for a UK visa, we have to wait after 6 months from date of refusal. In Greece, we could not stay because Anyas visa in Greece was due to expire. Since Anna ( who'd from UK) has dual citizenship by birth and family is Greek Cypriot from Cyprus, we decided to go there. In Cyprus, we are faced with new challenges related to the fact that only one of us is European. Cyprus is in a very homophobic Country where Gays face persecution beatings and being killed. Also the Global crisis has hit badly here and the Cypriots are losing their jobs every day, shops offices and factories closing every minute. We tried many different ways past few months, but in vain asthere is no work here for locals let alone foreigners. According to the law of Cyprus, to have a job you need to have a work permit. A work permit can only be obtained from the employer, another vicious circle. However, if we were a heterosexual couple, or had gay rights marraige and equality here then this problem, would not have arisen for us. We could get married, and Anna and I would have the opportunity to live and work in Cyprus. To date, we morally, psychologically and financially exhausted. Because of the inequality of rights, to be together, we are forced to move from country to country, as if we are outcasts. We now have only 6 days left in Cyprus. After 6 days, the visa expires (for Russians visa-free entry is for 3 months). We are now desperate and an urgently need to leave this country. We cannot go to England, because Anya didn't get a UK visa. We cannot go to Russia, because there is the terrible laws for gays and human rights there, which are viruslly non-existent. We recently learned that Argentina is the only country where marriages between foreigners and Gays are allowed. This is our only chance now! So we decided to go to Brazil as it's next door and we have friend there and then to marry in Argentina, to increase our chances for a UK visa in March as they cannot refuse us if we are married as they do have some equal rights there. If we don't leave Cyprus on 20th December, Anya will be blacklisted and this will affect all future European visa applications especially the one we need to eventually live in the UK! But sadly we now have no funds to leave this country, as we have 2 Euros left. Friends and family have helped as much as they could, but we are not out to everyone we know being Russian and Greek Orthodox being Gay is the worst sin against our religion! We have tried everything we can to raise funds to leave here and have now realized it is time to tell the world and the public about our situation. As we desperately need help! We have both helped so many people in our past and are owed monies we cannot collect, we wanted to borrow it but have been let down, so now we are on our knees and need all the help we can get! We really need money to buy tickets to Brazil and the means of life for the first time. This is not such a big amount, but it affects our future. As Christmas is the season of good we are praying for an act or acts of kindness and a miracle so we can spend this Christmas and the rest of our lives together! We hope that in this big wide world there is someone for whom the two people, (women) who love each other and want to be together mean something. It's time to find out if anyone really cares and if anyone is prepared to help us!!! Please... Please... please... Support us!
We are grateful for any help and support!!!
contact us
Tel:00357 96491327
Email: annamkyr@gmail.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sosgayrights
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SOSGayRights

Hi, my name is adi(not my real name) and i'm from indonesia.(sorry if my english sounds weird and bad grammar) Well this is my life story.
i live in a democratic country, indonesia. most of foreign people said that indonesia is a friendly gay country, but that's not true, i know there is no laws against gay in here but we have community law which our society looks don't care about gay people in indonesia but they keep away from gays and talking quietly behind, they think that gay is disease and disgusting, even worse.

how can i became gay?? it's all about my past, when i was kid, about 5 years old, a man who i think i can trust abuse me sexually, i don't know that's a wrong thing to do because i was just a kid( but i still remember about the incident, when he locked me in a room in the kindergarten school, and he did that. and when i was 12, my older cousin rape me, he threatened me, my heart can still feel the pain. i never tell anyone about this humiliating secret.

i live in a muslim conservative family, i never told anyone about my sexual orientation especially my father, if he knew about it, he wouldn't hesitate to kill me because being gay is the worst thing, so sinful, so it's obligatory to kill gay people like me. feel sad, but there's nothing i can do.

I will never be able to feel love and be loved. many people think that gay just need penis,sex. but we should deserve love too, if i have a choice: i can love and have him, but we both must cut off our penis, then i'll choose it, love is blind, but sex isn't.


i've last thing to do in my life, i will coming out to my family, i don't care if they hate me or want to kill me, though after it i'll end my life
because i can't live without love, "pefedict?" yes, but you don't know what pain i have, all this time.

Constant abuse of the rights and privileges of the LGBTI community has been historically high in Uganda. Many interventions have been made by various LGBTI activist groups in Uganda to reduce this but still a lot needs to be done to try and change the lives of members of the LGBTI community. As members, we noted a number of years back that many members of the LGBTI community were undergoing humiliation at workplaces and home villages by fellow workers and village mates due to their sexuality and to make matters worse, it’s been noted that there is rampant exploitation of members of the LGBTI community by friends who because of their good financial status often sexually use and abuse the poorer and not well to do members of the LGBTI community in order to “help” them acquire the basic needs of life, that’s, food, shelter and clothing. A case in point here is when one of our members had to be sexually used against his will by a so called “friends” in a quest to avail him shelter at their home after he was chased away from his parents home for being Gay and staying in a bush near their village water well for about 4 days before it dawned on him that he better seeks help from friends whom he knew for shelter, not knowing they were going to take advantage of his situation to conditionally, house him only if, he could give them sexual favours. This may sound painful but true! All because we had no safe space where members could safely meet to air out the pain they were going through in order to seek a solution! And to make matters worse cometh the looming anti gay bill that seeks to see all gays jailed for their orientation.

http://klug.cfsites.org/custom.php?pageid=38064

Speaker Kadaga promises to revive shelved gay Bill

The Speaker’s promise follows her experience in Canada, where foreign officials asked her to block the bill.


Entebbe

Days after her defence against a Canadian minister’s attacks on Uganda over homosexuality, Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga has promised to expedite the debate on the Anti-Homosexuality Bill.

Ms Kadaga made the assurance while addressing religious leaders and journalists at Entebbe International Airport on Monday. “They said I should stop the debate on the Anti-Homosexuality Bill but I assured them there is no way I can block a private members Bill,” she said.

At the Inter-Parliamentary Union meeting in Quebec, Canada, Ms Kadaga was involved in an altercation with that country’s Foreign Affairs minister, Mr John Baird, after the latter accused Uganda of trampling on human rights.

The accusation saw Ms Kadaga tell the minister to stick to the day’s theme and respect Uganda’s sovereignty. “I will not accept to be intimidated or directed by any government in the world on matters of homosexuality,” she said, adding that she was not aware she was speaking for many people in the world, some of whom were in the conference.

“I was surprised when colleagues came and thanked me saying that’s what they have always wanted to say but they had never gotten the courage to. That when it came to me that I had spoken for the whole of Africa, for the Arab world and Asians,” she said.

The welcome ceremony and press briefing was organised by religious leaders, former Ethics and Integrity Minister Nsaba Buturo and the mover of the Bill, Mr David Bahati, all of whom are pushing for the enactment of the anti-homosexuality Bill.

A large procession comprising members of different Pentecostal churches, Makerere University students and boda boda cyclists camped at the airport from 10am to after midnight when Ms Kadaga emerged to greet them as they ululated and waved placards appreciating her boldness in Canada.

“You are our saviour, we want the bill now,” one of the placards read.
Pastor Michael Were, who spoke on behalf of the religious leaders, called on other national leaders to follow Ms Kadaga’s footsteps for the sake of the country’s culture and traditions.

Asked whether she was not mindful of Uganda being denied aid and her being denied entry visas to pro-gay countries, Ms Kadaga said such countries were welcome to keep their aid and visas.

BREAKING FREE is a landmark film project that attempts to bring in change for the LGBT community in India by highlighting the pain & trauma as well as hope & happiness.

With more than 100 interviews across India of LGBTQH persons as well as activists, advocates, changemakers, etc; the film weaves poignant personal stories with the landmark events and huge changes in the community space.

Post production is now in progress and we NOW NEED YOUR SUPPORT MORE THAN EVER to complete the project.

WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT. Every small bit help. And there are fabulous incentives.

Please contribute to our project through below links. EVERY CONTRIBUTION IS VALUABLE and greatly helpful.

International Supporters: http://www.indiegogo.com/breakingfreeindia

Contributions can be ANONYMOUS too. There is also facility for paying by CASH OR CHEQUE through GharPay option. See right hand top on the site.

Get regular updates about the film at www.facebook.com/breakingfreeindia

WATCH TRAILER:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3uRelpzJIM

i wish that the LGBT community come to our country (Kuwait) bec. we really need help and we need some people to understand us bec. we're being hated by our friends and family and goverment and everyone when we tell them the truth and we can't show our love relationship to the people that's why we're keep hiding our true feeling so we can live a nice life with people around us !

I just want to know how to get married with my boy (?)
We both want badly to get married with each other, but we are in Morocco, and this is totally illegal...
I want your advices, your opinions. It's not only an impulsion or a crazy dream; we seriously want to marry. It's a life decision.

I can move to europe without problems, I work on cinĂŠma theater and music, I will be in Belgium (Wallonie) from october 10th for a project, so if somebody can help us realizing this or just leading us to an association specialized on this, contact me on pynhassjill@gmail.com

Thank you

I moved to London 7 years ago, only 6 months after moving here I came out to myself and others as a lesbian. Now being here and feeling free about who I am, I now look back in horror of how closeted Latvian LGBTI community has to be to survive. I remember Gay pride in Latvia couple years ago when I was visiting. Protestors would throw eggs at pride’rs, not to mention gay bars being monitored by straight no-lifers ready to unleash their anger and confusion onto people who just want to be themselves. There is no mention of LGBTI in school systems and most of grownups see being gay as lifestyle choice, as some kind of perverted lifestyle; if anything kids there might live most of their lives feeling that there is something wrong with them for years, simply because there is no guidance. Exploring your sexuality is considered as something perverted even with straight couples. I think Latvia needs a big massive rainbow slap :) I think it is getting better as Latvia now is more and more influenced by Europe and it is getting more and more diverse. So there is sunshine behind that rainy cloud which hopefully then creates an amazing rainbow :)

Hi, I'm Turkish and a lesbian and it really bothers me to see others of my ethnicity act like this towards the LGBT community. I have to wait at least 2 more years until I can even tell my parents about my sexuality...my girlfriend's mom already knows about her sexuality and all of my friends know that we're together, except for my parents. It's just not right when you can't go to your parents for help. They're your PARENTS. They're supposed to have your back no matter what you're like. Your parents are supposed to love you no matter what...what if that prosecutor had a gay child? Would he arrest his own child or beat him or something of the like? It's just unbelievable how homophobic someone can be...I recently watched a Turkish movie called Zenne Dancer that was made as a tribute to a gay man who was killed by his own father for being gay. We need to get some in the closet homosexuals into the Turkish government...

My name is Yangfa, & I've put together a collection of real-life stories from LGBT people in Singapore.

It's called "I Will Survive: Personal gay, lesbian, bisexual & transgender stories in Singapore".

I'd like to invite you to know a bit more about Singapore and the stories of some of the LGBT communities here, through the website:

http://iwillsurvivesg.wordpress.com/

Take care,
LEOW Yangfa
Editor, I Will Survive
Singapore

“WE” TOO ARE THE EARTH
When shall we be freed totally?
Will the freedom ever come to express our feelings without discrimination?
Who is going to free us from this societal bondage?
What a cruel world full of cruel people!

We live our everyday lives under fear and discrimination
Walking on the street in broad day light is a curse
Not to talk of the fear of the unknown at night
Abuse, mobbing and killing are order of the day
All in the name of societal beliefs, values and norms

I wonder if we are part of the earth
Since we cannot express our sexual feelings just like any other person on the planet
Society relied mostly on the biblical explanation of creation and approval of men and women unions
Some people often make jest of us and say God created “Adam and Eve” not “Adam and Steve”
Who says intimate unions/marriage should be between only men and women?
Who says such relationships is better than same-sex intimate relationships?
Some often say our sexual expression is a trend caused by westernisation and modernisation
They forget that this has been in existence since the time immemorial
Even past great men and women were attracted to same gender
Whether biblical or not biblical, what I know is that, this is who we are and society must accept us

We are treated like outcasts in our own land where there is freedom,
Freedom and equality irrespective of your sexual orientations
I wonder if this freedom will happen in reality
Due to continuous discrimination against our sexuality
I wonder if we are part of the social order of the earth
All I know is that, irrespective of how society sees us
We too are the earth

ILGA is fascist.

I am with you all the way. Try in there and good things will happen . Love for all and all for love;-) cheesy I know.

I'm a gay men. I stay home and take care of my home and husband and a Small farm. I went to court for having pot and the judge said I was lazy. My household makes 250g a year. I worked off shore for a cruise liner. I got sick two weeks in. They would not let me stay on shore for a week to get better . So I HAD TO quit. I've worded coast to coast. What should do? I'm very sorry I know the world is bad.i wrote this before I read the storys I want to help. The court wanted tyo put me in jail for five year but I know now that the worlds a hole lot worst. I love you !!! Stick in there and maybe the WILL GET BETTER before you know it. Our power together WILL fix the world . We just have to stick in there no matter what. Love for all!!

Dear ILGA:

The history of male homosexuality is intertwined with pederasty, age disparity in relationships, and the artistic and literary appreciation of younger males, from the Ancient Greeks to the Cinequecento italians, to the Uranian Poets - none of which have any connection with abuse. The early LGBT rights activists, like Harry Hay Jr. and author Larry Kramer - men who arguably made the ILGA coalition possible - had no qualms about accepting organizations like NAMBLA in their movement, despite their differences. Meanwhile, you account only for the comparison of heterosexual and homosexual ages of consent, while completely disregarding their intrinsic value. You have responded to conservatives' ridiculous accusations of homosexuality as a hotbed of pedophilia by pandering to them and joining in the chorus of their moralist rhetoric, and making it one of your political pillars (I'm guessing this was politically expedient). Just as heteronormativity exists, there is in the 'gay rights' movement that you sponsor the normativity of androphilia. A whole rich past and a relevant present have been swept under the rug.

As a 19 year old - someone who, according you, has barely left childhood - I feel I am patronized, not defended, by you, when you claim that youth rights amount to protection from abuse, then say nothing about the sexual freedom of post-pubescent legal minors, which, as anyone with real life amd knowledge of LGBT people knows, is often expressed with adults to the harm of no party involved.

I'd like to know why it is I should consider you to be defenders of my rights, when you are selective in the tolerance you preach. I am irked by hypocrisy.

Ethiopia is one of the 38 African countries where Homosexuality is illegal. According to the 2007 Global attitude research done by Pew Research Center Project, 97percent of Ethiopians strongly consider Homosexuality as a serious of violation of morality. According to article 629 of the criminal code

"whoever perform with another person of the same sex a homosexuality act or any other indecent act, is punishable with simple imprisonment".

According to this article homosexuality is punishable even it is done by two parties with consent or agreement.The penalties for being engaged in homosexual act ranges from 3 years up to 15 years imprisonment.







Beside our criminal law that bans us, we always face stigma and discrimination from the society and often discouraged and being marginalized from getting different services. As a result we are vulnerable than other part of society because of discouragement we face from health workers and society to get health services and existence of conservative social values.





In Ethiopia the fundamental human rights that are inherent, universal and acquired by virtue of humanity are being violated because of our sexual orientation that was personal. Right to access health services, right to speech, work, association and basic human rights are still denied.





Their is no single organization that is engaged to provide human right and HIV prevention information to us. Different governmental and non governmental organizations are trying to create awareness on HIV and STI but none of them are working to the very at risk and vulnerable community of LGTB. They are extremely or totally ignoring us from any health services.





Why we hide it?



Stigma : Social stigma and discrimination driven homosexuality in to virtue of hiding. For fear of social discrimination and arrest, members avoid who they are. They hide their sexual orientation even to their parents in fear of exclusions from their family and neighborhood. Most of the time, older gays have large families, to be perceived as a straight in the view of the rest society.



Homosexuality is a taboo and most of the citizens perceived it as un existed. Coming out and expressing our selves as LGTB has its own social consequences, from a little threat and discrimination to death.





On January 27/2009, there was a call from religious leaders, including Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Catholic Church, Protestants and Islam, to force the government to adopt a more strong law against LGTB’s. They are seeking to ban and end homosexuality, which they think “an evil of westerns” and “immoral/ abnormal act”, by amending harsh rule.





On the meeting Abuna Paulos-The head for Orthodox Church of Ethiopia as well as the world-said"This is something very strange in Ethiopia, the Bible condemns this very strongly. For people to act in this manner they have to be dumb, stupid like animals," he continued "We strongly condemn this behavior. They have to be disciplined and their acts must be discriminated, they have to be given a lesson."





There was a high public violence against the 16th ICASA conference held in Ethiopia. AMSHeR meetings were disrupted when a group of religious leaders called for a press conference to denounce the purported ‘gay meetings’ that was planned at Jupiter hotel. The AMSHeR meeting is altered from Jupiter hotel to the UN conference hall as a result of the public violence happened in Addis Ababa.





Fear of LAW: - as stated earlier the criminal law of Ethiopia bans homosexuality. The criminalization of homosexuality by the law of the land prohibits the community from getting different health services which increases their vulnerability to HIV/AIDS and other STI. Peoples are leading bleak indeed life.

Hi, I was just being a normal gay when this guy +91 9126034652 gt into my life nd made a hell out it. continuously mkin fun of my orientation nd harassing me in public. he's gttin me tocommit suicide.

Once arrested because of that... thrown out of home and many more brutal experiences... the biggest problem is amidst that, the world seems not to care. Am still followed and threatened by an unknown person because he thinks i introduced him to bisexialism..

Hi.. good day
I'am Brian 20 y/0 gay male i reside in Philippines iam a college student taking up the course nursing actually iam a graduating this coming march. my mom is a plain housewife and my dad is a seaman…. And because my dad is a seaman most of the time he is not at home and we used to met once a year I have my little brother he is 10 year younger to me. When I was still a child I spent most of my time with our relatives and because of the absence of a fathers figure my mom is always there to fulfill all the attention that my dad didn’t gave to me because he is too far from us because of his work. Until at my age of 7 y/o I’ve discovered already myself That I’am a gay and because of my fear to be discriminated or abused I’ve decided to hide my gender to my family but my mom already knows that I’ am a gay because when I was still a baby I suffered from the disease known as hemorrhagic disease of the newborn where in the baby has a low platelet count and because of that condition the baby will star to vomit a blood and have a nosebleed until the baby dies. The only thing to manage this disease is to have a blood transfusion. I was a type B positive that time a B positive is very very difficult to find because of that problem My god mother took the floor she offered her blood because she was a B positive blood type and after the transfusion the doctor talk to my mom and she explained to my mom that your son may have a possibility to be a gay when he grown up because of the blood that we transfused is a blood of a woman and not from a man and after that conversation may mom explained my situation to my daddy and my daddy accepted and understand my situation deeply in to his heart. As time goes by after I graduated my high school and I’ve entered college when I’ve become a 17 y/o my mom and my dad approved me and its ok to them that I become a gay. You know what the feeling of being free and accepted of your family and relatives is one of the most happiest feeling in your life that is the reason why iam so blessed because in behalf of my choosen gender god gave me the opportunity to be loved by my family. And I hope that all of the LGBT who will read my story of my life will be inspired and I hope that they will not surrender because I belive as a LGBT we are all have the rights to be loved, accepted by our family, community and by the world that we are standing in so I hope that we are all fight for our rights especially the approval of same sex marriage we must unite for our future LGBT for them to have a good future without discrimination but having and equalization…

Very truly yours

Brian Don R. Perez

Dear All,

In the ILGA website it states that male-to-male relationships are "illegal" which in fact is wrong. Homosexual relationships have been decriminalized in PerĂş since 1921 and the law makes no distinction on the legality of a homosexual relationship between males and females. No consensual relationship between adults is illegal. There is a total absence of any legally-recognized union aside from the 'traditional' marriage between one man and one woman, where a long way still needs to be walked, but a "relationship" per se is LEGAL.I would appreciate it f you could correct the data accordingly in the website. Moreover, the laws regarding service in the armed forces were revised in 2009.

Lastly there are laws which prohibit ALL forms of discrimination for sexual orientation and transexual individuals can change their names and gender on legal documents through a legal process and application. While it may be true that the laws regarding discrimination for sexual orientation may just be de jure as opposed to de facto, the fact is that they exist. Consequently, this would need to be updated as well in the ILGA map.

Many thanks!

Good day,
My name is Stanislaw. I am a representative of the LGBTQ’s site in Kazakhstan - Gay.kz (www.gay.kz). The theme of this letter is about: “How to improve the life quality of the LGBTQ in Kazakhstan and in Asia in general”.

First of all I want to give some information about Gay.kz. We are an informational source that provides useful informationto all LGBTQ people in Kazakhstan, including: news, health articles, relations, LGBTQ art and etc. Also we provide consulting service to advertise events which are connected with LGBTQ. But unfortunately we are the one LGBTQ site in the Kazakhstan, and this why we really need in side support.

It means that our informational resources are pour. Also you can find some negative comments of the people who against LGBTQ society, including politicians and government.

I want to ask for the help. Gay.kz needs in some useful information, such as: different educational programs, the health-protection information, how we can teach people protect themselves (including mental health), art – entertainment programs, LGBTQ culture (films, music, literature, fashion, art), volunteer programs. Also we need increase the number of visitors in our site. Could Your suggest please, some free ways to advertise Gay.kz or help to promote it in the Internet.

Unfortunately we do not have any finance to pay for the help, because all information and resources of the Gay.kz are free for users.

Thank You for Your attention,
I hope that You will answer soon

Best wishes, Stanislaw
27 January, 2012

Contact information: stanislaw@gay.kz

SORRY. TRY THIS ONE:


Cast the Last Stone
or
I Got Your Civil Union Hangin’

Do you take this man and this woman
Do you take this woman and man
To love and to honor and cherish
The way only a good Christian can

Will you throw a few stones at the heathens
Will you tell ‘em all where they can go
Will you hate everyone who’s not like you
For the Bible tells you it’s so

Or will you listen to that old hippy Jesus
Who said Leave all the bullshit behind
And let two dear sweet lesbian lovers
Enjoy all the love they can find

{chorus}

I’ve always loved you
And you’ve always loved me
You’d think love would be easy
In the land of the free
In a world full of bitterness
Hatred
And stone
Why don’t you leave all the lovers alone?

The love police say we can’t marry
The thought police say we can’t think
While the lawmakers locked in the closet
Say we can’t watch them buy the boys drinks

I love you like your soul is my soul
I’ll stay till the end of the world
But the minister ran from the altar
When he found we’re a couple of girls

Tradition can be a real mother
Those weren’t cruise ships in the triangle trade
And the two dear sweet lesbian lovers
Know it’s time to make history fade

{chorus}

Money is nice if it’s decent
And handy when push comes to shove
But the two dear sweet lesbian lovers
Know everything’s lost without love

They say Jesus he died for the sinners
And he fought so that true love will win
But the two dear sweet lesbian lovers
Were told they should read the small print


Charlie Manson can legally marry
Any woman that’ll give him the time
But the two dear sweet lesbian lovers
Were told that their love is a crime

{chorus}

Yeah, Charlie Manson can legally marry
Any woman that’ll give him the time
But the two dear sweet lesbian lovers
THEY KNOW THAT THEIR LOVE IS SUBLIME

hank ezralily@ca.rr.com 714 915 5814

Being a homosexual in Pakistan means being a criminal, a person who is in complete violation of laws and culture. Gay people get killed just by being gay, our friends abandon us, families disown us, all because we choose to like a certain person. People wouldn't even talk about this topic. This is how bad we are considered in our own country. I wish i could have a way to change this. I wish i could give people hope and freedom. I wish i could save people from hiding their identities and their love for someone. The situation in Pakistan is especially sad because of the religious extremism. Islam is a beautiful religion and people are corrupting it by saying it forbids homosexuality. There is no such thing like that and i want people to know. We need a change and its time we started working on it.

...Hi My name is Naseer Ahmed Khan...I am gay and want a same sex marriage...but very unfortunately here in my country...its never allowed and its considered like a huge sin...If i will take any step in front of all..I may be killed by relatives or religious people....somebody please give me an advice...I shall be very thankful to you for this act of kindness..

Best Regards,
Naseer

LGBTI in Malaysia is not treated well. They have to face ridicule and are bullied. To make things worst, there are LGBTI who sexually harassed or raped younger straight people and trying to seduced other people to became LGBTI causing LGBTI to be shunned from the society even more. But they can also be the nicest people on earth (especially the trans). I pity them. But I believe LGBTI can be normal. I can. I always wish Im a boy since Im a little kid. I nearly turned into a lesbian but I choose not to. I pray and fast and keep myself away from other girls. Im cured. Love is not those you saw in movies, love grows, so its your choice if you want to pamper that crush you had into something else. Our body (that includes your feeling and stuff) is under our control. It is our responsibility. So, take control. Stop the madness. Its your right.

I would like to point out the contradictory statements found in the ILGA 2008 and 2010 reports entitled "State-Sponsored Homophobia: A world survey of laws prohibiting same sex activity between consenting adults."

In their 2008 report the ILGA states on page 10: "Penal Code of 1996: Article 88: 'Anyone who commits an indecent act or an act against nature with an individual of the same sex will be punished with 1 to 3 years prison and a fine of 100,000 to 500,000 francs.'"

Whereas in the 2010 ILGA report we find on page 44: "Note that same-sex activities never have been criminalised in Benin...."

I am a currently serving US Peace Corps Volunteer in Benin and my supervisors go by the same information found in the ILGA's 2008 report. However, an acquaintance at the US Embassy in Benin seems to believe the law against homosexuality has been repealed as is evidenced by Benin's approval of his and his husband's visas to serve at the US Embassy here as diplomats; their visas were denied by the Cameroonian government when they applied as a married couple to work at the US embassy there. Additionally, an American lesbian diplomat couple's visas were recently approved by the Beninese government and the women will be arriving in the coming weeks. This is progress and indicative of a change in an official change in stance on homosexuality on the part of Benin (and the US State Dept. who fought for these two couples).

Regardless of what is codified, homosexuality here is very unacceptable. The respect for the rule of law in Benin is weak (and weaker the more rural you endeavor) and people cling to traditional customs and often fear strong changes like an acceptance of homosexuality, even though such changes are towards a recognition of basic human rights. Just as in most African countries, Beninese find homosexuality to be a Western phenomenon that might be infiltrating the country but is nonetheless un-African, un-Beninese. However, most Beninese are extremely undereducated and do not know what critical thinking is--let alone how to implement it in their daily lives. Thus, there is hope for homosexuality in Benin, but not until the institution of secular education is strengthened and made free and made as mandatory as for children in the West.

I might add that here in Africa in general but Benin in particular (and Zambia, as my experience there allows me to comment) some men will engage in same sex acts but will not define their acts or themselves as homosexuals. I have even heard of some men seeing only anal penetration as characteristic of homosexuality, but actions less "invasive" are not. Furthermore, Westerners like to attach labels to what they observe. An American who just stepped off the Brussels Air flight will look around and might see a bunch of queer men: men here hold hands as a sign of friendship and will even be quick to call another man beautiful/handsome. The continuum on which an American perceives a person's actions as heterosexual, questionably homosexual, or blatantly homosexual will be different from that of a Beninese continuum with respect to the area in between the two extremes (heteronormative behavior and blatantly homosexual activity).

Regardless of being able to hold hands with another man, hold his waste, and embrace him (here, assuming he is my boyfriend), openly expressing that we are a gay couple would put his and my personal safety at risk; violent reprisal is a real danger.

Benin is in high need of strong willed, well educated, tactful citizens to form an organization without Western leadership (so as to be viewed as more organic) that will conduct outreach to raise awareness about the existence of homosexuals--and their right to exist--and how such a change in cultural views will not entail an eroding of personal values or morals. As I like to say: homophobia exists in Benin, but homophobia does not make a Beninese a Beninese.

Ah, Jordan, homophobia to its fullest. Allow me to introduce myself, my name is anonmous, and Im a 14 year old straight boy living in Amman, capital of Jordan. Now lately ive been interested in guys so i guess Im Bi-Curious? Anyway, Ive been living here all my life, except for a couple of years I lived in the states for. And being gay, lesbian, trans, inter, is not anything to be in Amman. There is no law about it, so yes its not illegal, but if you are found out to be any of the above, expect to possibly be: Hated on, harrassed, physically hurt, maybe killed. In Jordan, an islamic country, being gay is forbidden in there religeon, so its not gonna be cool for the people is it? Th funny thing is, if you are caught with your girlfriend dating somewhere public, you will be mocked, but Ive seen guys hold hands, embrace and even kiss on the cheek randomly and no one says anything about that.... Help me.

Dear Oscar,
Suicide is never the answer! Please don't hurt yourself it's not worth it. I'm sure that would hurt your parents more than finding out that you are having these feelings. These is nothing wrong with you, you don't need to act like nothing happened. If your not into women then that is how it is. You can't help how you feel and who you are attracted to. It's no ones business but your own. You don't have to be ashamed of it. If you tell your parents and they are not accepting of it then there is nothing more you can do. Move on with your life. It sounds like you are very close to your mom and you love her alot. She sounds like she would be ok with it. I don't know how things are in Belize with Gay Rights and Homosexuality. But things aren't any better here in the United States. Your biggest allies will be your family. Good luck to you! I hope all goes well and you make it out ok.

well I'm 21 year old,and my life is the worst.from since i was like 14 years old i notice i was different from other guys in school then i start to notice i don't like girls.then from since that i couldn't live happy any more as i knew my parents would accept that no way.so i started to make like nothing happens,but so many thing where going on my mine.from since i was like 18 i started to think allot in suicide.but i think allot in my mom at the same time for she would suffer allot.and i love her so much.here at the place were i live i don't hear about any other gay men,well maybe exists but it's just like me too.sometime some friends have ask me if I'm gay but i just say no.for they have notice i don't have any girlfriend.up to now i haven't revile this secret to no one,only me and god!but i just cant understand why people hate gay and lesbians so much.being gay we don't hurt no one.we have the right to live too,i know we are not perfect but there's no perfect person in this world as i know.some time i cant even sleep thinking about the day when people know about this.but up to now the only solution i have find for me is suicide.i just cant live with this any more my life is so miserable. And there is allot more horrible things i have lived.please write me at my email and tell me any comment about my story.
love_everyone33@yahoo.com

As an American girl in her college years, I meet people from all over the world and of all different religions. Although America tends to have some horrendous issues on the subject of gay marriage, they are, overall, quite accepting. Since one of my majors in college is religious studies, I have made a lot of Muslim friends and have learned a lot about Arabic countries. It saddens me to hear of countries where you can be put in jail for life or even put to death for being gay. I simply cannot, whatsoever, understand such ignorance and hatred towards a person simply due to a basic part of their personnage that does not harm anyone else! I'm glad to say though, that everyone single one of these Islamic friends, who come from countries such as Morocco, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia, are all open-minded! Whatever their typical religious or cultural beliefs, they all believe in freedom of expression and a person being aloud to be who they are as long as they don't harm others. This, to me, sounds like a major step. Not only are they spreading Arab and Muslim culture that will spread Gay Tolerance here in America, but most of them even hope to do so in mother countries. I can only wish them the best of luck as they attempt to do so, hoping that I too can do something to aid the situations of those countries where gays are put to death simply for being themselves. I've begun to learn a lot about the Qur'an (Koran) and have learned to speak Arabic. I hope to start various online and in-person groups to continue the spread of positive LGBT outlook from the Muslim/Arab community.

Velvet Milestones:

2008- Conceptualization of Velvet to create a safe space for LBT community which was absent in kolkata specially. People needed a friendly environment with privacy and security where they can discuss their day to day life and ask for help if needed.
2009- Velvet Facebook group launched. Base shifted to Delhi. More than 300 members joined. Regular nteraction, discussion and exchange of ideas started actively on facebook.
2009- Took part in Delhi Queer Pride 2009
Organized community based programs
Active participation in queer scenario of Delhi
2010- Took part in Delhi Queer pride 2010
2011- Networked with Mumbai queer community actively
Back to kolkata to focus dedicatedly on VELVET along with Alka Kedwal
Actively participated in KOLKATA RAINBOW PRIDE FESTIVAL 2011
Introduced LBT participation in Kolkata Pride walk 2011, 17th july for the
first time.
Velvet Became support group for LGBT
Velvet became recognized by ILGA
Started personalized counseling for LBT community
Started close interaction with Sangini to have them as Mentor to Velvet
Sonali and Alka came out in FEMINA ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 14th October
2011 as lesbian couple
Took part in IBN7 Zindegi Live talk show as Lesbian couple- to be aired on
November 2011
More than a dozen individual ongoing cases handled and still getting requests
everyday.
Creating Network between LGBT community in Kolkata to fight loneliness
among queer population
FUTURE PLANS:
To register Velvet as a trust by January 2012.
To start mainstream activities to build and spread awareness and eliminate Homophobia

employed in gay/lesbian/transexual movement and pride organization in Sicily.

I don't think it's correct to say that Male to male relationship's are not legal in the country. There's no law making them illegal, so I don't know where that came from. This country merely has no provision made for LGBT people. There are however only laws that protect the people, and they count for ALL people in Namibia. Being LGBT in Namibia is not legal, or illegal. There's just no enforcement in it at the moment.

PRESS RELEASE 03/10/2011


Subject: The Red Universitaria de la Diversidad Sexual (University Network of Sexual Diversity of the University of Guadalajara, Mexico) promotes local manifestation in the local Congress in opposition to the popular initiative to "shield" the family. The demonstration will take place peacefully, giving its arguments and positions.



The Red Universitaria de la Diversidad Sexual of the University of Guadalajara, in the Mexican State of Jalisco, invites media, NGOs, human rights activists and the general public to rally against the citizen initiative promoted by the neoconservative organization "Mexicanos por la vida de todos" chaired paradoxically by a citizen minister of the Commission on Human Rights of Jalisco, Norma Edith Martinez Guzman.

We believe that such citizen initiatives contravene the general principles of law and the essence of the legal framework for the extension of civil liberties and human rights recognition. The proposed amendments to the Civil Code of Jalisco, far from ensuring the prevalence of a traditional family model, provide the basis for the law to exclude and inhibit the different expressions of human relations that exist today.

The Red Universitaria de la Diversidad Sexual will held that peaceful and orderly manifestation in the Legislative Palace during the presentation of the initiative to the local House of Congress at its regular meeting on Wednesday October 5 at 11:00 am. It will inform the development of the manifestation and the session in the accounts on Twitter @RedUdeG and in the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/233889565232/



Contact: Karina Michel Velasco, President of the University Lesbian Collective
Twitter: @ karina_michel

Contact: Nahum Hernรกndez Gallegos, Public Relations of the Red
Twitter: @ NapsterX4

J'ai beaucoup aimĂŠ comme vous le dit votre histoire!

Somewhere in kisii-kenya....life fealt confusing all along, not knowing what to do and what not to do, loving girls was the in-thing for my peers but unfortunately i dint have a feeling for them.I found an excuse and scape goat xristianity...so i passed the test and the whole village knew mw as the virgin boy.
But deep inside it fealt different....then boys became appeling. but how could i tell yet it was a abomination,....till this one time when i had this neighbour friend whom i was so close with and since our parents trusted in us so much, they always left us on our own.. then at the age of 13 this guy beying older than me by two years, brouhgt it on. he was exposed in highschool and wken what this unusual feeling was..then i discovered ny self...lol at the age of 13.

VULNERABILITY SPECTRUM

BACKGROUND: A systematic review of responses from 30,000 spaces was carried out in 10 regions of Uganda.
OBJECTIVE: A systematic review of responses from 30,000 spaces where inquiry into who MARPs are, what MARPs need, who provides services, what is demanded, what are the behavioural characteristics unique to MARPs and other contexts influencing issues of MARPs that was conducted between July 2010-August 2011.
DESIGN: Conduct Review of literature, Interviews, structured conversation and focus group discussions. Respondents were drawn from; 150 farmer groups, 220 hair salons, 27 landing sites, 27 police posts, 110 cattle/village markets/social spaces, 225 major RH/FP/MH/CS/Health Services organisations, with leaders and members of 100 FBOs/2200 CBOs/CSOs/Community Groups, 2,550 lower level governments and communities, with members of 3,000 men/Women groups/settings, in 19,174 trading and urban spaces (Artisanry marts, car dealerships, repair garages, washing bays, food vending kiosks, video kiosks, shopping malls, recreational spaces) along 6 major trunk roads and 25 other roads leading to rural districts, 250 educational institutes (higher institutions of learning, colleges, senior/primary schools), 100 minorities’ spaces, 72 fresh foods markets, 200 hotels/lodges, 25 housing estate areas ( e.g. Jinja industrial area, Kampala, Gulu, Mbarara, Kasese, Tororo, Mbale), 170 ludo/snooker points, 1,700 storage and parking bays/car-park/boda/lorry/bus-parks in urban settings.
SETTING: Uganda was divided into operational regions: Central, Northern, Eastern, North Eastern, Mid-Western and south-Western where 30,000 were identified and these included: Lower level governments, urban centers, municipalities, towns, market areas, boarder points, social-meeting places, recreational spaces, food vending areas, film kiosks, shopping malls, parks, washing bays, road stop spots, educational institutions and CSOs. 5 lakes were visited to generate understanding of fisher folk communities.
RESPONDENTS: We used groups and individual key informants that way 30,000 Key informants were mobilised to include; leaders, community members, PLHIV, MSM, Substance users, sex-workers, fisher folk, key persons at road stop spot, bar-owners, informal sector, car-parks, bus-parks, work-place-exit points, school leaders, out-door games’ organizers, and uniformed services.
INTERVENTIONS: The police and criminal justice system are points for violence redress. Other forms of Violence/stigma counselling centers exist in major towns/municipals; public and private health facilities provide treatment and management of HIV/STIs; CSOs and government social services’ departments have planned programmes targeting MARPs.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENT: MARPs character and vulnerability spectrum in Uganda.
RESULTS: At community of residence level right through the Criminal justice system, substance users, MSM, Sex-workers and PLHIV still face stigma and violence. Sex-work (female, male and child sex-work) is rampant along all major road trunks and in major destination towns towards Uganda’s boarders. Education and housing areas have high prevalence of male/female sex-work, same sex practices and substance use. Violence/stigma counselling centers exist in major towns/municipals; public and private health facilities provide treatment and management of HIV/STIs; CSOs and government social services’ departments have planned programmes targeting MARPs. Key affected populations such as MSM and substance users being criminalized still lack focused programmes targeting them. Communities still do discriminate and stigmatize Key affected populations such as PLHIV, MSM and substance users. There is a tendency to box MARPs issues into HIV Programmes and this has influenced the approach to most programming. Messaging to eradicate risks to HIV should factor in fact that substance use, unprotected anal sex, female sex-work, male sex-work, child sex-work are interconnections in sexual networks
VULNERABILITY:
CENTRAL REGION: These included; Buganda, Busoga sub-region, Bugwere and Bugisu. The MARPs characteristics range from substance use, child sex-work, fisher folk, MSM, LGBTIQQ, male/female sex-work, PLHIV, young people who are sexually active, long distance drivers, and uniformed services. Vulnerability was around; quick mobility, fear of consequences of visibility, stigma, sexual practices, gendered sexual beliefs and the gap between haves and have nots.
NORTH-EASTERN REGION: These included; Karamoja sub-region. The MARPs characteristics range from substance use, child sex-work, PLHIV, young people who are sexually active. Vulnerability was around; quick mobility, displacements arising from searching for pasture and child neglect
MID-WESTERN REGION: These included; Kasese, Hoima, Buliisa and Fort Portal. The MARPs characteristics range from substance use, child sex-work, fisher folk, MSM, Indigenous Tribes, male/female sex-work around mining and cement industry, PLHIV, young people who are sexually active, long distance drivers, and uniformed services. Vulnerability was around; perceptions of men about mid-Western Uganda females, quick mobility, fear of consequences of visibility, stigma, gap between haves and have nots.
SOUTH-WESTERN REGION: These included; Kabale and Ankole Sub-region. The MARPs characteristics range from substance use, child sex-work, fisher folk, MSM, LGBTIQQ, male/female sex-work, PLHIV, young people who are sexually active, long distance drivers, and uniformed services. Vulnerability was around; quick mobility, fear of consequences of visibility, stigma, cultural perceptions around sexuality and sexual intercourse acts.
WEST-NILE REGION: These included; Arua and Madi Sub-region. The MARPs characteristics range from substance use, child sex-work, fisher folk, male/female sex-work, PLHIV, young people who are sexually active, long distance drivers, and uniformed services. Vulnerability was around; quick mobility, fear of consequences of visibility, stigma, cultural perceptions around sexuality and sexual intercourse acts, and inter-cultural social experiences.
NORTHERN SUB REGION: These included; Acholi and Lango Sub-region. The MARPs characteristics range from substance use, child sex-work, fisher folk, MSM, male/female sex-work, PLHIV, young people who are sexually active, long distance drivers, and uniformed services. Vulnerability was around; quick mobility, fear of consequences of visibility, stigma, cultural perceptions around sexuality and sexual intercourse acts.
IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS:
“As a town dweller, I do know of substance use, anal sex, female sex-work, male sex-work and child sex-work in this town and many others. The clients include professional persons, odd-jobs workers, artisans, students and non-school young people”. Ashraf (Wandegeya), Florence (Nansana), Grace (Kawempe), Jerome (Migyeera), Cosma (Nimule) and Rashid (Mbale).
“Am a male sex-worker since 2007, my kind of clients have my phone contacts and book in different hotels in different towns of Uganda. They send me a text message and we meet for sex. Most times they also ask me to bring other friends when they are many. Some of our clients do use substances, especially they smoke marijuana”. Crystal (Kampala).
“We want to be trained in skills to start up alternative businesses besides depending on Fishing”. Bukenya (Kyamuswa, Mazinga, Kalangala Islands of Lake Victoria), Arthur (Lake Albert), Ogwer (Lake Kioga).
“Yes, there are programmes on HIV and Human Rights as part of the prison services, hopefully this will be a big step in improving prevention practices”. (Key informant).
“Am interested in two things now that we have met. How your organisation can help us “handle” MARPs since we are increasingly working in that area” . (Key informant from a leading health organisation).
“ What is that nonsense? Every one is a MARP!” ( Key informant and district official).
“ The issues such as stigma, dialogue around discrimination and their relation to HIV are points to start with in starting and driving conversation around MARPs issues”. (Key informant and Community Development Officer).
“Am a trans-woman and I feel so insecure. I have to keep in-doors and only get out at night or make sure I put on long coats and a cap if am to conduct outreach services for other trans-women in Uganda”. (Leader of Trans-Women Bureau Uganda).
“ I am a transgendered male to female person and my parents are aware of my sexuality and gender identity. I wonder why we do not have seminars targeting parents and families. Our families are the first points of insecurity for many of the gay people.” (Leader of Young MSM Club in Uganda).
“ We are ready to conduct community campaigns against “mob-justice” as this is one very unjust way communities deal with what they disagree with. Communities should learn to use the justice system and believe in it. Other reported complaints are evictions, black-mail, extortion and deliberate hostility actions”. (Key informant from law and order section).
LIMITATION: This exercise was conducted to generate vulnerability before testing and it explored issues around visibility of various MARPs.
CONCLUSION: Contexts ranging from Policy, programmes, public and private settings form and influence actions targeting MARPs issues. HIV risk is one major issue most organisations target. However, before testing or accessing an HCT service MARPs need to be looked at as vulnerable and that vulnerability is disproportionate. Criminalization, Stigma and violence form a barrier that silences MSM, Sex-workers and substance users and it may cause them to go underground. This may not be the case for fisher folk, Long distance truckers or uniformed services. MARPs issues include demand for skills training to access anti-poverty programmes such as social grants. Public and private settings have all the basics in place to provide redress to all issues of MARPs. However, they are also points of violence to some MARPs.