LGBTQ activists in Ivory Coast raised alarms on Thursday regarding a surge in verbal and physical attacks against gay and transgender individuals, exacerbated by social media.
This backlash began last month following rumours of child abuse allegedly linked to a gay person. “Since early August, approximately 30 physical homophobic attacks have been documented,” stated Brice Donald Dibahi, founder of the NGO Gromo, to AFP.
While Ivory Coast does not criminalize gay sex like many other African nations, Dibahi, 32, noted that “homophobia has always existed, but I have never witnessed such an uprising.”
Louna, a transgender woman and head of the NGO Right To Be Different, echoed this sentiment, saying she has had to close her organization’s headquarters due to the situation. “I’ve never seen a movement of this magnitude,” she reflected.
Dibahi reported five legal complaints this month regarding “assault and battery” or “insults,” primarily occurring in popular neighbourhoods of Abidjan. “We’re afraid to go to the market or eat out because we never know when an attack might happen,” he added.
In late 2021, a heated parliamentary debate about removing sexual orientation as a discriminatory basis in the penal code ignited public discourse. About 30 African countries outlaw homosexuality, with some, like Uganda and Ghana, recently tightening their laws.