"Let Posterity Judge": Violence and Discrimination Against LGBT People in Malawi
- ISBN-10
- 1623136687
- ISBN-13
- 9781623136680
- Pages
- 61
- Language
- English
- Published
- 2018
- Publisher
- Human Rights Watch
- Author
- Wendy Isaack
Description
Criminalization of consensual same-sex conduct in Malawi contributes to an environment in which lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals in Malawi face routine violence and discrimination in almost all aspects of their lives. The government pledged in 2012 to decriminalize same-sex conduct, but has not yet done so. The challenges facing LGBT people in the country have been further exacerbated by the lack of clarity and divergent opinions regarding the legality of a moratorium on arrests and prosecutions for consensual homosexual acts, issued in 2012 by the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs. Based on interviews with 45 LGBT individuals in Lilongwe and Blantyre, ?Let Posterity Judge,? documents the human rights impact of criminalization of adult consensual same-sex conduct on the lives of LGBT people in Malawi and finds that police often arbitrarily arrest and detain transgender people, and in some cases, physically assault them. Private individuals take advantage of the uncertain legal status of LGBT people to attack them with impunity, while health care providers frequently discriminate against them on the grounds of sexual orientation. Human Rights Watch calls on the government of Malawi to abide by its 2012 commitment to decriminalize consensual same-sex conduct, and on parliament to repeal all the anti-homosexuality provisions in the penal code.
