Ethiopian Government’s Anti-Gay Rhetoric Spurs Online Attacks
August 14, 2023An advocacy group in Ethiopia has sharply criticized government institutions for homophobic statements they say have spurred online attacks against LGBTQ+ people.
The Addis Ababa Culture, Arts and Tourism Bureau on August 5 released a statement that condemned acts of same-sex relations.
According to ‘Washington Blade’, the statement cited reports of people engaging in same-sex relations, including public displays of affection, at restaurants and hotels in Addis Ababa, the country’s capital. The Addis Ababa Culture, Arts and Tourism Bureau reiterated consensual same-sex sexual relations violate the country’s cultural values and the majority of Ethiopians find them disrespectful. Ethiopian police also urged members of the public to report anyone who engages in same-sex relations, citing they go against social values.
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House of Guramayle, an Ethiopian LGBTQ+ rights group that operates outside the country, said LGBTQ+ Ethiopians have been attacked on TikTok and other social media platforms since the police and the Addis Ababa Culture, Arts and Tourism Bureau made their comments.
House of Guramayle has documented more than a dozen TikTok videos with pictures of people who are identified as LGBTQ+. These videos have emerged against the backdrop of those who encourage Ethiopians to beat, burn and kill LGBTQ+ people.
“In a dramatic expansion of the threat of violence; there have also been calls to kill, burn, and beat up families of those of who are openly LGBTQIA+ and live abroad in order to make their families understand the deep shame and wound that Ethiopian homophobes in the diaspora feel due to the outspokenness of those openly LGBTQIA+ individuals,” reads a statement that House of Guramayle issued this week. “While similar increases in attacks against LGBTQIA+ communities are being reported by human rights organizations in other parts of the African continent, the escalation in Ethiopia is especially concerning due to the country’s religious history, current worsening socio-political climate and growing nationalism. The topic of LGBTQIA+ rights has recently been sensationalized, with vitriolic opposition and scapegoating spreading around the country and the diaspora at an alarming rate.”
The Africa Queer Network, another LGBTQ+ rights organisation, echoed House of Guramayle and urged the Ethiopian government to protect LGBTQ+ people from mob attacks.
The Ethiopian Constitution guarantees the right to equality and recognises the importance of protecting human rights. It clearly states all people shall be equal under the law and are entitled to equal protection without distinction of any kind related to race, nation, nationality, colour, sex, language, religion, political or social origin, property, birth or any other status. The country, however, continues to stigmatise, discriminate against and criminalise LGBTQ+ people.
Ethiopia’s criminal code defines marriage as a legal contract or as an engagement between a man and a woman and sees other forms of relations as illegal. Consensual same-sex sexual relations under this law are punishable by up to 15 years in prison — up to 25 years incarceration if an offender use violence, intimidation or coercion, fraud or takes advantage of a person who is unable to resist.
A recent study found 97 percent of Ethiopians believe homosexuality is a “very harmful way of life that society should not accept” and anyone in a same-sex relationship should be punished. Many LGBTQ+ Ethiopians are therefore forced to live in hiding because even talking about who they are is dangerous.
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