We are involved in numerous projects Responding to LGBTQ+ Victims Needs.
Provide a platform and a voice for LGBTQ+ compassion and concern that is seen and heard around the world. We are changing the way the world sees us. The visibility that we provide shows an LGBTQ+ community that is engaged, committed, effective, and helpful. Our work counters prejudice and raises awareness and support for LGBTQ+ rights, sorely needed the world over. It allows us to show the world who we really are, and what we care about.
our mission
Helping our LGBTQ+ Brothers and Sisters in Uganda
For more than a decade, Uganda was a model of effective HIV education, treatment, and research. The country’s HIV death rate was slashed by nearly 90% between 1990 and 2019, and Uganda set a goal of zero new infections by 2030.
But in those same years, Uganda’s Parliament and President, with the active encouragement of American evangelicals, debated and passed anti-LGBTQ+ laws that were among the world’s harshest, culminating in the Anti-Homosexuality Act of 2023. The consequences over the years have been dire, and only worsened with the 2023 law. LGBTQ+ Ugandans have been subject to an alarming increase in harassment, abuse, arrest, and attack. Medical clinics, LGBTQ+ support organizations, and human rights groups have been shut down. The number of Ugandans presenting for HIV testing or treatment has dropped dramatically, in large part because the law requires doctors to report any patient suspected of homosexuality. Uganda’s progress against HIV is threatened.
A coalition of Ugandan human rights activists, journalists, religious leaders, academics, and lawyers has launched an appeal of the law to the Constitutional Court of Uganda on the grounds that it violates both Uganda’s Constitution and international agreements signed by Uganda.
Arguments before the Court have been concluded, and a final decision by the court is imminent.
We have been supporting the LGBTQ+ community in Uganda since 2014. We fund shelter, safe passage, and medical care for people in imminent danger, and fund individuals and groups who promote the human rights of the Ugandan LGBTQ+ community.
The BILL
The 2023 Anti-Homosexuality Bill.
Although same-sex acts were already illegal in Uganda, the new law, passed by Parliament on May 2, 2023, and signed into law by President Yoweri Museveni on May 26, goes much further. Under the new law:
The maximum penalty for homosexual acts is life imprisonment, while the maximum penalty for attempted homosexual acts is imprisonment for 10 years. Furthermore, people convicted of homosexuality or attempted homosexuality cannot be employed in childcare facilities even after release.
The maximum penalty for “aggravated homosexuality” is death, while the maximum penalty for attempted “aggravated homosexuality” is imprisonment for 14 years.
Furthermore, people convicted of aggravated homosexuality or attempted aggravated homosexuality cannot cannot be employed in childcare facilities even after release.
Aggravated homosexuality is defined as sexual intercourse with a person older than 75 or younger than 18, a person not consenting or unable to consent, or a disabled or mentally ill person. Serial offenders (meaning those who were convicted of homosexuality multiple times) are also defined as “aggravated homosexuals”.
The maximum penalty for minors convicted of homosexuality is imprisonment for 3 years.
The maximum penalty for knowingly renting premises to people who wish to engage in homosexual acts on such a premise is imprisonment for 10 years.
The maximum penalty for promoting homosexuality is imprisonment for 20 years.
The maximum penalty for sharing homosexual pornography with a minor is imprisonment for 20 years.
The maximum penalty for recruitment or transportation of a child to facilitate homosexual sex is imprisonment for life.
The maximum penalty for “purporting to contract a same-sex marriage”, as well as for knowingly attending a purpoted same-sex marriage ceremony is imprisonment for 10 years.
The maximum penalty for failing to report a witnessed homosexual act is imprisonment for 5 years. Lawyers acting in their official capacity are exempt from this provision.
The maximum penalty for falsely accusing another person of homosexuality is imprisonment for 1 year.