LGBT rights in Zambia

LGBT rights in Zambia are governed by the penal code of Zambia. Homosexuality is illegal in Zambia [cite web
url = http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travelling-and-living-overseas/travel-advice-by-country/sub-saharan-africa/zambia
title = Zambia
accessdate = 2008-08-04
publisher = Foreign and Commonwealth Office ] cite web
url = http://www.mask.org.za/index.php?page=zambia
title = Zambia
accessdate = 2008-06-01
last = Numwa
first = Regina
publisher = Behind The Mask ] and there is no recognition of legal rights for same-sex couples.

Historical background

Zambia, formerly a colony of the British Empire, inherited the laws and legal system of its colonial master upon independence in 1964. Laws concerning homosexuality have largely remained unchanged since then, and homosexuality is covered by sodomy laws that also proscribe bestiality.

Legal status of homosexuality

Homosexuality is proscribed by Cap. 87, Sections 155 through 157 of Zambia's penal code.cite web
url = http://huachen.org/english/bodies/hrc/docs/ngos/LGBTShadow_Zambia.pdf
title = The Violations of the Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Persons in Zambia
accessdate = 2008-06-01
author = Fabeni, Stefano, Cary Alan Johnson, and Joel Nana
date = July 2007
publisher = Global Rights and International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission ]

Section 155 ("Unnatural Offences") classifies homosexual sex (in the vague description "carnal knowledge of any person against the order of nature") as a felony punishable by imprisonment for 14 years.

Section 156 imposes imprisonment for seven years for any "attempt to commit unnatural offences". Finally, Section 157 applies to "any act of gross indecency" committed between males, "whether in public or in private", and classifies such acts as felonies punishable by imprisonment for five years. The provision also extends to "attempts to procure the commission of any such act [of gross indecency] ".

Although Zambia's penal code contains no explicit reference to consensual sex between females, Cap. 87, Section 155 legally covers lesbianism.

Protection based on sexual orientation

There is no explicit legal protection against discrimination based on sexual orientation in Zambia. The Constitution of 1991, as amended by Act no. 17 of 1996, contains an anti-discrimination clause, present in Article 23 of the document. According to Article 23(1), "no law shall make any provision that is discriminatory either of itself or in its effect". Article 23(2) further prohibits discrimination "by any person acting by virtue of any written law or in the performance of the functions of any public office or any public authority", and Article 23(3) defines discrimination as extending to differential treatment of persons on the basis of "race, tribe, sex, place of origin, marital status, political opinions, color or creed".

LGBT life in Zambia

According to a report submitted to the United Nations Human Rights Committee by Global Rights and the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, the criminalization of consensual homosexual sex in Zambia "has a devastating impact on same-sex practicing people in Zambia". The report asserts that LGBT people are subject to arbitrary arrest and detention, "discrimination in education, employment, housing, and access to services", and extortion–often with the knowledge or participation of law enforcement authorities.

According to a report by "Behind the Mask", a non-profit organisation dedicated to LGBT affairs in Africa, [cite web
url = http://www.mask.org.za/index.php?page=whoweare
title = Who we are
accessdate = 2008-06-01
publisher = Behind The Mask ] most LGBT people in Zambia are closeted due to fear of targeting and victimisation. Lesbians are especially vulnerable, according to the report, due to the patriarchal structure of Zambian society.

ocial attitudes toward LGBT people

In Zambia, social attitudes toward LGBT people are mostly negative and coloured by perceptions that homosexuality is immoral and a form of insanity.

In 1999, the non-governmental organisation Zambia Against People with Abnormal Sexual Acts (ZAPASA) formed to combat homosexuality and homosexuals in Zambia.

Government attitudes toward LGBT people

The government of Zambia offers no legal protection to LGBT people and does not permit advocacy of LGBT rights.

In 1998, in a statement to the National Assembly of Zambia, Vice President Christon Tembo called for the arrest of individuals who promote gay rights, citing a need to "protect public morality". President Frederick Chiluba described homosexuality as "unbiblical" and "against human nature". [cite web
url = http://www.hrw.org/worldreport99/special/gay.html
title = Special Issues and Campaigns: Lesbian And Gay Rights
accessdate = 2008-08-06
year = 1999
work = World Report 1999
publisher = Human Rights Watch ] Later, Home Affairs Minister Peter Machungwa ordered the arrest of any individual or group attempting to formally register a gay rights advocacy group. Herbert Nyendwa, the Registrar of Societies, stated that he would refuse to register any LGBT organisation or civic group.

In 2006, Home Affairs Minister Ronnie Shikapwasha stated that Zambia would never legalise same-sex marriage, claiming that homosexual marriage is a sin that goes against the country's Christian status ("see Religion in Zambia"). [cite news
title = Zambia will never legalise gay marriages-gov’t
url = http://www.africanveil.org/zambia009.htm
work = African Veil
date = 2006-12-10
accessdate = 2008-06-01 ]

HIV-related counselling

As of July 2007, no public or private programmes provide HIV-related counselling to homosexual men in Zambia, where the HIV seroprevalence rate among adults is approximately 17%. [cite web
url = https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/za.html
title = Zambia
accessdate = 2008-06-01
date = 2008-05-15
work = The World Factbook 2008
publisher = Central Intelligence Agency ] Although men involved in same-sex sexual relationships have a higher risk of HIV transmission, the government-operated National AIDS Control Program does not address same-sex relationships.

In June 2007, the Zambian Ministry of Health agreed to conduct, together with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Family Health International, an assessment to evaluate HIV and AIDS prevalence and transmission among gay men. [cite news
first = Nthateng
last = Mhlambiso
title = Hope for Zambian MSM
url = http://www.mask.org.za/article.php?cat=zambia&id=1637
work = Behind The Mask
date = 2007-07-26
accessdate = 2008-06-01 ]

ee also

* Homosexuality laws of the world
* LGBT rights by country

References