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African Academics Answer Myths About Homosexuality in Groundbreaking Report

Our first article appeared yesterday reporting on ASSAf's ground breaking report which has implications for policy on homosexuality and human rights in Africa, hopefully to be used to lobby African politicians to refrain from further criminalization of LGBTI people as well as to influence the repeal of draconian penal codes, remnants of the Colonial era.

Here are some of the crucial myths addressed by the report which underpin the laws that serve to persecute LGBTI Africa:

1. What is the evidence that biological factors contribute to sexual and gender diversity? To what degree is the wide diversity of human sexualities explained by biological factors?

2. Do environmental factors such as upbringing and socialisation explain the diversity of human sexuality?

3. Is there any evidence for same-sex orientation being ‘acquired’ through contact with others, i.e. through ‘social contagion’?

4. What evidence is there that any form of therapy or ‘treatment’ can change sexual orientation?

5. What evidence is there that same-sex orientations pose a threat of harm to individuals, communities, or vulnerable populations such as children?

6. What are the public health consequences of criminalising same-sex sexual orienta- tions and attempting to regulate the behaviour/relationships related to some sexuali- ties?

7. What are the most critical unanswered scientific research questions regarding the di- versity of human sexualities and sexual orientations in Africa?

Commentary and link to report can be found HERE.

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