LGBT rights in Angola

LGBTQ rights in Angola
Angola
Status	Illegal
Discrimination protections	No

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in Angola face legal issues not experienced by non-LGBT citizens. Both male and female homosexual acts are illegal in Angola. In 2010, the Angolan government refused to receive openly gay Isi Yanouka as the new Israeli ambassador, due to his sexual orientation.

Constitutional Rights

LGBT citizens are not expressly mentioned in the Constitution, ratified in 1992, but several provisions may impact the legal right of LGBT Angolians [1].

• Article 08 – Separation between Church and State
• Article 20 – Right to the, "free development of his or her personality..."
• Article 29 – Protection of marriage and family by the State.
• Article 32(3) – Prohibits free expression that is contrary to the law.
• Article 35 – Freedom of the press.
• Article 47 – Right to health care.

Criminal laws

Articles 70 and 71 prohibit private, adult and consensual homosexual acts as, "an offense against public morality". Criminal laws against homosexuality were first introduced during Portuguese colonial rule and have remained after independence. The law stipulates that repeat offenders can be sentenced to labor camps [2]

Discrimination & Harassment

It is unknown what specific policies or proposals the National Front for the Liberation of Angola, Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola or the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola had for LGBT citizens. Democratization efforts began to develop in the 1990s, alongside the peace treaty, which provided an opportunity for the first social organization for LGBT Angolans. Yet, the, Australian based Mokalu Foundation was unable to get an organization established in Luanda [3].

In 2008, the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) won a majority of legislative seats. While it is a member of the Socialist International, which supports LGBT-rights, the ruling party has avoided LGBT-rights issues

Likewise, the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNIT) and the National Front for the Liberation of Angola (FNLA) have avoided the subject of LGBT-rights.

As of 2010, no laws exist to prohibit discrimination or harassment on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. No political party or candidate has expressed support for LGBT rights.

Society

In the 1920s, a German Anthropologist named Kurt Falk published his research African tribes, which included some acceptance of bisexuality [4]. Yet, this is not the norm within contemporary Angola, where attitudes about sexual orientation and gender identity are heavily influenced by religious teachings.

Most Angolan citizens affiliate with a traditionalist Protestant or Catholic sect that supports traditional gender roles and views homosexuality and cross-dressing as immoral. The second largest religion would be indigenous religious beliefs, whose views on LGBT people are unknown, and the third largest religion in Angola is Islam, which traditionally condemns homosexuality and cross-dressing.

Angolan LGBT citizens have no protection from discrimination and often report being verbally and physical harassmed by people who believe that they are immoral [5].

Family

The religious values of some Angolans are not consistent with the support of same-sex marriage or LGBT adopting or having custody of children. In general, significant social pressure is put on people to marry a suitable partner of the opposite sex and have children [6].

As of 2010, no legal recognition exists for same-sex couples. In 2005, the unofficial commitment ceremony of a gay couple, was treated as, "shameless" and "abonimable" in the national news magazines. [7]

HIV/AIDS

Main article: HIV/AIDS in Angola

Officially, transmission of AIDS-HIV is through primarily through heterosexual conduct. The criminal laws and social stigma make it difficult to target AIDS-HIV education programs for LGBT people. The high level of poverty means that many people who are infected find it difficult to access medical care and other necessities of life. Employment protection and access to health care for people living with the disease exists since 2004.

Efforts to develop educational program specifically for LGBT people have struggled to receive funding from NGO's. The first association, Acção Humana (Human Action), was launched in 2006 but has been unable to receive funding. In 2007, a study on AIDS-HIV estimated that roughly five percent of HIV infections are from men who have sex with other men [8].

National legislation to criminalize people who intentionally infect another person with AIDS-HIV has been debated in 2004 and 2007, but failed to pass.

See also

• Human rights in Angola
• Politics of Angola
• LGBT rights in Africa

External links

• Asylumlaw.org: Sexual Minorities & HIV Status (Angola) — various information packets used for asylum purposes
• Angola travel advice: Local laws and customs — UK government