With the recent spate of homosexual suicides in the United States, what is the status of gay rights across the world - from the US to Nigeria, Senegal to our own back yard? And how does it affect societies and public health? Melanie Scagliarini reports...

As Obama stood, overlooking the Capitol building and gave his inaugural speech in January 2009, he said that “The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit, to choose our better history, to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.”  That same month in Senegal nine members of AIDES Senegal, an HIV/AIDS association, were sentenced to eight years prison for "indecent conduct and unnatural acts” - three years of that was for "being members of a criminal group". The sentence was the highest ever handed down in Senegal for a homosexuality conviction and sparked outrage from international gay rights groups.

"People live in constant fear of losing their jobs, their families, their livelihoods, their freedom, and their very lives because they are seen as different"

"Senegal's law criminalising consensual sexual conduct is deeply destructive for many communities, particularly gay men," said Dipika Nath, researcher in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights program at Human Rights Watch on the organisation’s website. "People live in constant fear of losing their jobs, their families, their livelihoods, their freedom, and their very lives because they are seen as different."
 
Despite being party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political rights, which guarantees the right to liberty, freedom of expression, equality and non-discrimination, anti-gay violence has risen in Senegal over the past two years, according to a report by the Human Rights Watch. The publication, published by the New York based organisation, explains how Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) peoples are ostracised from society, their own families and even from healthcare, such as access to HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment programs.
 
But the country is not alone in this stance by any stretch of the imagination. There are still many countries that institute the death penalty for homosexual behaviour, and several more that impose severe prison sentences. In Nigeria, an 'Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act' has just been passed. But LGBT peoples are not just criminalised by some state governments; they are often marginalised by society, tradition, culture and religion, as they are verbally and physically attacked for opposing typical gender stereotypes.
 
"There can be no justification for allowing institutionalized violence against some members of society simply on the grounds of prejudice," Nath said. "Failing to act while people live in fear and constant danger is a threat to both the rights of individuals and to public health."

"There can be no justification for allowing institutionalized violence against some members of society simply on the grounds of prejudice... Failing to act while people live in fear and constant danger is a threat to both the rights of individuals and to public health"

Homophobia extends far and wide over the world, and not just within developing countries. The recent spate of suicides in the US of young homosexual teenagers and the murder of David Morley - the survivor of the homophobic Soho nail bombing in 1999 - in the UK just six years ago, has reaffirmed the need for greater understanding and perseverance against homophobic bullying in our own front yard. It is only after the Gay British Crime Survey, published in 2008 by the UK-based LGBT organisation, Stonewall, that the UK has acknowledged homophobic-related abuse as a crime. 
 
The “It Gets Better” campaign in the US that was born as a result of the five teenagers who killed themselves has sparked a renewed social awareness of gay equality issues, and many urban music stars, including Alicia Keys, have spoken out against anti-gay language in pop and rap music.
 
Now, it is nearly two years since the world watched President Obama speak of equality for all. With some places, such as Nigeria, that seem to be moving in one direction and other areas, such as the European Union (who recently found Russia’s ban on Gay Pride as unlawful), seem to be stepping in the other, it is hard to tell how much progress has been made...
 
Words: Melanie Scagliarini

Photo: Flickr user dose.daily