Amnesty says Uganda LGBTQ community faces rising online abuse

A Ugandan lawmaker wears clothes with an anti-LGBTQ message as he enters the Parliament building to vote on a harsh new anti-gay bill, in Kampala, March 21, 2023. [iStockPhoto]

Uganda's LGBTQ community is enduring increased online abuse, and the authorities are waging a "witch-hunt" against anyone perceived to be promoting homosexuality, Amnesty International warned on Wednesday.

The East African nation last year adopted anti-gay legislation considered to be some of the harshest in the world, and has been widely condemned by rights groups, the United Nations and Western powers.

The Anti-Homosexuality Act of 2023 imposes penalties of up to life in prison for consensual same-sex relations and contains provisions that make "aggravated homosexuality" an offence punishable by death.

Online attacks against members of the LGBTQ community have surged since the law was introduced, Amnesty said in a new report, citing cases of doxing, outing, threats of violence, blackmail, impersonation, hacking and disinformation.

Online abuse has "devastating consequences" for LGBTQ people, said Shreshtha Das, Amnesty's gender researcher and adviser.

It can result in "arbitrary arrests, torture and other ill-treatment, forced evictions, dismissal from work, exposure to offline violence, as well as stress, anxiety and depression", Das said.

Amnesty said it conducted research across six Ugandan cities and neighbouring areas, with 64 interviews with LGBTQ individuals and organisations.

Harassment has shrunk the online space for LGBTQ people and hindered the outreach efforts of many organisations, it said, particularly those offering health services which fear losing their accreditation.

The Ugandan authorities have also cracked down on rights campaigners, according to the report.

"Their acts amount to a witch-hunt against those perceived as 'promoting homosexuality', creating a chilling effect on the rights to freedom of expression and association," said Marco Perolini, Amnesty's civic space policy adviser.

Blackmail was prevalent, and both police and private individuals have outed LGBTQ people, exposing them to severe consequences and ensuring that victims are reluctant to report abuse.

Amnesty added that the use of derogatory language against LGBTQ people was pervasive online, while disinformation campaigns depicted members of the community in harmful ways, including as "sexual predators".

The rights group called for the Ugandan parliament to repeal the controversial law and for the authorities to conduct independent investigations into online abuse.