A bubble of freedom in a country where harsh legal sanctions and heavy social stigma are the daily lot of LGBT people.

Projection of films “PRIDE” and “Prayers for Bobby” (ph courtesy of AAC’s FB page)

Allies boldly show support in Gay-Straight football match.

Organisations ADEFHO, SID’ADO and  COFENHO developed a series of activities in Capital city Douala

May 16 : a panel discussion on the topic: the exclusion of lesbians and bisexual women from African national soccer teams : How to create a favorable environment for LGBT sport? With the participation of Ms. Alice Nkom, lawyer and Human Rights Activist, and patron of the event  and a former Cameroon international and former professional footballer Sylvain Nkom

Sunday, May 17: friendly match between the combined ADEFHO – SID’ADO team and ” Edutainment Veterans Club Bali”

This activity have been made possible thanks tp the support football versus homophobia and @farenet small grants programme.

In Cameroon, despite laws criminalising same sex relationships and a recent uptick in violent hate crimes against LGBTI communities, various actions were held in commemoration of the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia 2014.

Sexual, gender and human rights communities came together to coordinate a meeting which brought together religious and political leaders to discuss homosexuality. An exhibition on human rights violations was organised, featuring paintings of recently deceased Cameroonian LGBT activists; other works included representations of recent cases of abuse, including the collective rape of a Lesbian woman, the arbitrary arrest of 6 men and the expelling of female students from secondary school on suspicion of homosexuality.

Portraits of deceased LGBT activists

The international focus issue around ‘freedom of expression’ was marked by a specific outreach to journalists, to raise their awareness on the current coverage of LGBT issues by the media and provide recommendations for improvement, including on how journalists can resist social and peer pressure to put up a homophobic facade even if their personal views are much more progressive.

Activists also offered media and legal affairs training specifically for lesbian communities, to empower them more in the LGBT community.

A community evening for 200 people was also held on May 17th which included information on HIV testing and treatment, resulting in 56 tests being done during the event. The programme also featured the raising of a Gay flag, the election of Miss and Mister IDAHO, music and danse.

On May 18th, the IDAHOT program met the Candle light memorial day. The programme featured for the first time a dialogue between LGBT activists and religious leaders

Candlelight memorial

For security reasons, we cannot give details of organisers or locations of events.

Rainbow Flashmob – Cameroon Style. Source.

The commemorations featured:

• A series of thematic film screenings, followed by debates on the role of religion and the determinants of coming out in the Cameroonian context.
• A football match opposing a team of MSM (men who have sex with men) to a team of heteroseuxal men. The MSM team wore T-shirts bearing the slogan ‘Everyone has rights. So do we” and the IDAHO logo. The game was followed by speeches from both team captains on the role of sports in fighting homophobia.
• A thematic conference on LGBT discrimination. The debates focused on the issues of Human Rights violations against LGBTI people, but also on the positive contribution of Sexual and Gender minorities to society.
• A festive evening, including the elections of ‘Miss and Mister IDAHO’ ! The 300-strong party was joined by the members of the heterosexual football team which had played against the MSM team. For the first time, the police agreed to ensure the security of the event and were present during the entire time of the event, which was held in a private home in a residential suburb. The evening was also an opportunity to reinforce the community by awarding prices for the best peer-educator, best community leader, best academic performance, best professional achievement, most gay-friendly space, etc…
• A Flashmob, as part of the Global IDAHO 2013 initiative. This activity was organised to close the thematic conference. Participants gathered on a main traffic crossing and staged a choreography before releasing balloons with anti-homophobia messages written on them. The event was not announced publicly and went on without incident.

Eric O. Lembembe reports on the blog 76 Crimes:

‘Time: around 6 p.m., May 17. Location: The Bastos Roundabout residential area of Yaounde, where most embassies are located, within walking distance of the Presidential Palace.

Dressed in many colors, a group of young men and young women get out of a minibus. Excited and happy, they dance, shout and run in all directions, waving a rainbow flag made especially for the occasion. Cameras flash. After a few minutes of dancing, the small group vanishes, leaving behind some balloons with LGBT-friendly messages written on them. This unusual scene arouses the curiosity of some passersby, one of whom takes a few snapshots. Many other observers have little idea what’s going on.

“In a Cameroonian society that is increasingly hostile to the gay issue, we fear what would have happened if they had understood what it was about,” says one of the protesters, who is pleased that the event came and went without unpleasantness.

This was probably the first “Rainbow Flag Flash Mob” in the history of the LGBT movement in Cameroon. It was organized to mark International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO) by three advocacy groups that promote the rights of sexual minorities — Humanity First Cameroon, the Cameroonian Foundation For Aids (Camfaids) and Affirmative Action.’

For more information please see:

• 76 Crimes: ‘Peaceful celebration in Cameroon a year after mob attack‘

A Press Release from Cameroon LGBT group, Alternatives-Cameroon, now follows:

Press Release 09/07/2013

Homosexuality in Cameroon: maximum penalty for Benoit K.

Benoit K. was given a sentence of five (05) years of suspended and a fine of 140,000 CFA ($ 280) during the trial of Tuesday the 09th of July 2013 at the Court of Kribi-Cameroon.

Background

On Monday the 13th May 2013, Benoit K. 27 years old and an employee in a hotel in Kribi, was victim of an ambush by the family of a young man of 21 year old who accused him to encourage their son in homosexuality. After being Tortured and beaten by this family, Benoit K. was taken to the Police Station of Kribi where he was imprisoned for homosexuality. After two weeks in custody, Benoit K. was finally taken to the prosecutor who agreed to give him a bail through a signature of a guarantor. Last 25th June 2013, the judge accepted to postpone the trial on Tuesday 09th of July 2013 due to the lack of legal assistance.

This Tuesday 09th of July 2013, the judge him a sentenced him of 05 five years of suspended and a fine of 140,000 FCFA ($280). 40,000 FCFA ($80) to be pay immediately before being release and the rest payable during the 04 others years (25 000 FCFA-$50-per year).

Alternatives-Cameroon:

– Condemns a sentence based on a lack of evidence.
– Regrets that Cameroonians are still being sentenced on the basis of denunciation.
– Finally calls Cameroonian authorities to repeal Article the 347 bis which penalizes sex between people of the same sex in Cameroon

Persons to Contact:

Yves Yomb: +237 98 48 26 14
Simon Biatch: +237 74 64 51 12

For further information see:

http://76crimes.com/2013/07/10/cameroons-latest-lgbt-sentence-5-years-suspended/
http://76crimes.com/2003/07/10/homosexualite-au-cameroun-verdict-de-5-ans-avec-sursis/