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rfmcdonaldVia Towleroad I came across Ari Shaw and Mauricio Albarracín's Global Post article talking about foreign aid and gay rights make some worthwhile points about strengthening local institutions instead.
I don't think that it gets the quite real differences between Latin America and Africa, not least of which is the much greater extent of grassroots support for gay rights in the first region as compared to the second. Homophobia does exist in Latin America, but not nearly to the same extent as in Africa. Is Africa is uniquely and homogeneously homophobic? No, as Marc Epprecht noted at CNN. It is a world region where, for a variety of reasons, homophobia is especially well-entenched at this point. Different strategies may have to be applied, perhaps including more precisely targeted foreign aid programs.
I don't think that it gets the quite real differences between Latin America and Africa, not least of which is the much greater extent of grassroots support for gay rights in the first region as compared to the second. Homophobia does exist in Latin America, but not nearly to the same extent as in Africa. Is Africa is uniquely and homogeneously homophobic? No, as Marc Epprecht noted at CNN. It is a world region where, for a variety of reasons, homophobia is especially well-entenched at this point. Different strategies may have to be applied, perhaps including more precisely targeted foreign aid programs.
Foreign governments and international donors seeking to help should, instead, increase financial and technical support for African LGBT rights organizations and human rights institutions.
LGBT activists in many African states face highly restrictive and dangerous conditions that limit their ability advocate for reforms. In many cases, these laws not only discriminate against LGBT individuals but also criminalize or severely restrict public dissent and association around LGBT issues.
The burgeoning African system of human rights courts and commissions should be strengthened to provide an important and necessary tool for enhancing LGBT rights and activism in the region.
The experience of LGBT rights activism in another developing region — Latin America — offers insight into the roles regional human rights bodies can play.
In the past several years, advances in gay rights in Latin America have outpaced those in the United States and some European nations. Argentina and Uruguay, for instance, have full marriage equality, while Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia offer some form of legal protection for same-sex couples and families.
Violence and inequality persist, but in many national debates around LGBT rights, the Inter-American human rights system has been an important resource for gay rights activists.
