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Such abuse and violence may be stoked by sensationalist and demeaning media coverage, an ACI official said, citing the example of a newspaper misrepresenting a gay rights group as promoting homosexuality, and using photos of LGBTI activists.It drew immediate nationwide controversy - and had teachers like Paula Stephens worried. “Most people are reluctant to publicly display their sexuality exactly because of the difficulties associated with the daily lives of persons,” said Alexis Ouattara, president of the civil society group Lesbian Life Association. embassy in Abidjan posted a photo of them at an event for victims of a nightclub shooting in Florida and identified them as members of the “LGBTI community”. Last year, several gay men were abused, beaten, and forced to flee their homes after the U.S. In 2014, a mob of nearly 200 people ransacked and looted the headquarters of Alternative Cote d’Ivoire (ACI) - a prominent gay rights group in Abidjan - after days of anti-gay protests. “They don’t consider a big deal there.”ĭespite its tolerant reputation, sexual minorities and even LGBTI organizations in Abidjan are prey to abuse, harassment and violence, with little legal protection, several activists said. “At least it (Abidjan) is a big city,” Abdoul said. Home to gay bars, gay rights groups, and even an annual cross-dressing beauty pageant, Abidjan is considered a refuge for LGBTI people, both within the country and across the region.įor Yann and Abdoul, who plan to move there soon, the city offers their best hope of having a normal life as a gay couple. and mine is already tainted,” said Yann, who worked as a security guard before his arrest. “When you look or a job, they ask for your police record. While Yann and Abdoul were released from prison in January many freedoms still elude the men, who are now openly a couple.
However much more needs to be done to change Ivorians’ attitudes - with some still suspicious of or hostile toward sexual minorities, campaigners say.
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Rights activists say Ministry of Justice officials are considering changing the public indecency law so that it no longer singles out homosexual acts or relations. Yann, 31, and Abdoul, 19, were arrested in the southwestern city of San Pedro in October after rumors spread about the nature of their relationship, leading Abdoul’s uncle to file a police complaint as he believed Yann was abusing his nephew. Yet the recent jailing of two gay men for three months - under a public indecency law that carries a harsher prison sentence for “an indecent or unnatural act with a person of the same sex” - has sent shivers through the LGBTI community. Ivory Coast is one of a minority of African countries - around 20 of the 54 nations on the continent - which do not explicitly criminalize homosexuality or same-sex acts. The bar is one of many gay venues in Abidjan, a relatively tolerant city for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people in a region where homosexuality is mostly illegal, and sexual minorities face persecution, discrimination and violence. “Others are just fine being themselves in their neighborhoods,” he added, his voice barely eclipsing the music.
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“Some of the guys who come here don’t feel comfortable displaying their sexuality outside of these walls,” 34-year-old Michel, the owner of Sass Bar, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in Abidjan. Inside the bar, a young man caressed his companion’s chin in the corner, while a transgender woman greeted everyone before strutting and shaking to the music under the strobe lights. ABIDJAN (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Relaxing on the terrace of a gay bar in Ivory Coast’s commercial capital Abidjan, a group of men embraced and laughed as people walked past without even glancing their way.