Ugandan LGBTQ+ Clinic Battles Repression, Propaganda Amidst Rising Threats
Under pressure, the clinic has removed health information leaflets tailored for gay community and is unable to engage in the open, honest conversations necessary for comprehensive healthcare
Brian Aliganyira’s tranquil morning drive took a chilling turn last summer when he found himself swerving his car into a ditch to escape a group of motorcyclists closing in on him. The unsettling encounter left him bruised and still dealing with nagging shoulder pain.
Shortly after, a text message delivered a disturbing revelation: Aliganyira had been targeted because of his involvement in running a health clinic that serves the LGBTQ+ community in Kampala, Uganda. The message, claiming a mission to “protect children,” exposed the grim reality of targeted violence against individuals like Aliganyira.
In speaking out about the incident, Aliganyira highlights the prevailing narrative in Uganda, where establishments like his clinic and activists are unfairly branded as promoters of alleged child recruitment into homosexuality.
This incident sheds light on the precarious situation faced by LGBTQ+ advocates in regions where prejudice and discrimination persist, despite global advancements towards equality.
Operating within an increasingly hostile environment, Ark Wellness Hub, founded by 36-year-old Aliganyira in 2019, confronts significant challenges. Last year, Uganda enacted a law, partially revised after a legal challenge, imposing harsh penalties for consensual same-sex relations. Termed “aggravated homosexuality,” the law threatens life imprisonment for individuals involved, while “promotion of homosexuality” carries a potential 20-year jail term.
Aliganyira pragmatically outlines the repercussions of this law on health workers providing essential care to the LGBTQ+ community. He points out how offering basic support and services, such as distributing lubricants, condoms, and tailored sexual health information, can lead to accusations of promoting homosexuality.
This legal framework not only violates the fundamental rights of LGBTQ+ individuals but also hampers crucial healthcare initiatives aimed at addressing their specific needs. Ark Wellness Hub’s mission to offer inclusive and compassionate care is hindered by draconian legislation that criminalizes essential support services.
Aliganyira candidly discusses the challenges faced by health workers under this law. “Simply providing services like distributing lubricants, condoms, and tailored sexual health information for the LGBTQ+ community can result in accusations of promoting their sexuality,” he told the Guardian.
The clinic has been forced to remove health information leaflets tailored for the LGBTQ+ community and is unable to engage in open, honest conversations crucial for comprehensive healthcare, Aliganyira reveals.
Moreover, the oppressive atmosphere has fueled anxiety among staff regarding new patients, Aliganyira discloses. He describes how misinformation spread on social media falsely accuses the clinic of engaging in human trafficking and recruiting children into homosexuality.
Aliganyira further explains that “spies” frequently visit the clinic in an attempt to deceive staff into supporting these unfounded allegations.
Last summer, the national NGO regulator conducted a comprehensive inquiry at the clinic, scrutinizing its legal status and primary objectives, Aliganyira recalls. He describes the regulator’s investigation as an effort to find potential loopholes in the clinic’s legal standing.
Simultaneously, as the law limits the scope of services the clinic can provide, the hostile anti-LGBTQ+ environment exacerbates health challenges, Aliganyira emphasizes. He elaborates on the dire consequences individuals face, including job loss, eviction, or termination of education due to withdrawal of family support prompted by the law. Consequently, some turn to transactional sex for survival, while others become dependent on potentially abusive partners.
Aliganyira recounts a distressing incident involving a young man seeking PrEP, a medication known to prevent HIV infection when taken regularly. Despite regularly collecting the medication, he tested positive for HIV on his fourth visit.
“After a moment of silence, he confessed that he never actually took the PrEP,” Aliganyira reveals. He had been dissuaded from using it after being convinced by friends that the medication was intended to change his gender identity.
He explained, “I went back home and told my friend about it. They convinced me it’s a lie. They even showed me a video online claiming that these medications are meant to change me from a man into a woman, that they’re deceiving us.”
This heartbreaking scenario highlights the dangerous impact of misinformation and stigma surrounding HIV prevention and LGBTQ+ healthcare, compounded by societal prejudice and false narratives.
Aliganyira recounts a disturbing incident involving a transgender woman who was attacked and brutally beaten late last year, resulting in her being rushed to a hospital emergency department. Shockingly, upon realizing her transgender identity, the hospital staff chose to alert the media instead of providing the urgent medical attention she required.
It was only after eight agonizing hours when the patient had slipped into a coma with a swollen brain, that a compassionate doctor at the hospital finally reached out to the clinic for assistance.
“Our clinic lacks the capacity to handle such cases,” said Aliganyira. “But we were able to coordinate treatment at a private facility.”
This harrowing account exposes not only the grave risks faced by transgender individuals in accessing healthcare but also the urgent need for greater sensitivity and understanding within medical institutions.
The clinic operates with a core staff of eight individuals. However, Aliganyira reveals that last year, three staff members resigned due to the hostile environment surrounding their work.
“They faced numerous threats from external sources,” Aliganyira explains. “Moreover, some of their families urged them to leave their positions, citing the illegality of their work. Our society places great importance on family, tradition, and religion. Consequently, three of our doctors departed last year due to this pressure.”
Many patients assumed the clinic would be forced to cease operations altogether.
“The pervasive propaganda and debate resulted in a decline in clients accessing our services,” Aliganyira states. “They were filled with fear — fear of coming to the clinic, fear of even attending follow-up appointments.”
Aliganyira emphasizes the vital role of international support in providing some degree of protection for the clinic, stressing, “We need more of it.”
Expressing concern for the future, he fears that rates of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections will escalate. Already, the repression of LGBTQ+ individuals is contributing to a rise in mental health issues, he observes.
“I foresee numerous challenges ahead, and I see them unfolding before us,” Aliganyira concludes, underscoring the urgent need for continued advocacy and support to address the pressing healthcare needs of marginalized communities.
