LGBTQ rights in South Sudan

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LGBTQ rights in South Sudan
Military
No
Discrimination protectionsNone
Family rights
Recognition of relationshipsNo recognition of same-sex unions
RestrictionsConstitutional ban since 2011
AdoptionNo

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in South Sudan face legal and societal challenges not experienced by non-

stigmatisation
among the broader population.

History

Government of Southern Sudan adopted its own penal code, which prohibits "carnal intercourse against the order of nature" and prescribes a sentence of ten years' imprisonment.[2]

The Penal Code (2008) criminalises same-sex sexual conduct as "unnatural offences". These are defined in Article 248 as "carnal intercourse against the order of nature"; a maximum ten-year prison sentence or a fine, or both, are prescribed. This preexisting legislation continued as the country's criminal code once independence was fully established in 2011.[3] The US State Department's annual human rights reports have noted that there were no reported instances of enforcement of this provision for the entirety of the country's existence as of 2022.[4][5][6]

The law also criminalises cross dressing by men with a provision stating "any male person who dresses or is attired in the fashion of a woman" in public, with a punishment of up to three months' imprisonment if convicted.[4]

Same-sex couples have no legal recognition. Same-sex marriage is constitutionally banned, since the country adopted its Constitution in 2011.

Discrimination and harassment

The

U.S. Department of State's 2022 Human Rights Report found that "most openly LGBTQI+ citizens" had fled from South Sudan "because of actively hostile government rhetoric and action",[4] while their reports from 2018 to 2022 found "there were reports", or "some reports", of incidents of discrimination and abuse: "LGBTQI+ persons reported security forces routinely harassed and sometimes arrested, detained, tortured, and beat them".[5] In comparison, the State Department's report for 2011, the first year of South Sudan's independent existence, found "widespread" societal discrimination against gay men and lesbians.[7]

The country has no known LGBT-support organisations.[4] The Non-Governmental Organisations Act (2016) regulates organisations such as NGOs. It contains a provision that these may not contravene the country's "sovereignty, ... its institutions and laws". As same-sex sexual activity remains illegal, civic organisations that support gender diversity or LGBTQ rights may not be permitted to operate in South Sudan.[3] A community-based organisation supportive of LGBTQ rights, Access for All, was reportedly intimidated into closing its doors in 2017. It was raided by security forces; some staff were detained for several months, but released without charge, according to the organisation's executive director, who later left the country.[8]

Political and leader stances

In September 2017 the government minister for Labour, Public Service, and Human Resource Development, Gathoth Gatkuoth Hothnyang stated the government would order security forces to arrest LGBTI persons and detain them until they procreate. There were no reports of such arrests by year's end.

Episcopal Church of Sudan for what he regarded as a failure by the church leadership to condemn homosexuality sufficiently strongly.[11]

Summary table

Same-sex sexual activity legal No (Penalty: Imprisonment for up to 10 years, not enforced)
Equal age of consent No
Anti-discrimination laws in employment only No
Anti-discrimination laws in the provision of goods and services No
Anti-discrimination laws in all other areas (Incl. indirect discrimination, hate speech) No
Same-sex marriages No (Constitutional ban since 2011)
Recognition of same-sex couples No
Step-child adoption by same-sex couples No
Joint adoption by same-sex couples No
Conversion therapy made illegal No
Gays and lesbians allowed to serve openly in the military No
Right to change legal gender No Crossdressing is illegal.
Access to IVF for lesbians No
Commercial surrogacy for gay male couples No
MSMs allowed to donate blood No

See also

References

  1. ^ "Where is it illegal to be gay?". BBC News. February 10, 2014.
  2. ^ "The Penal Code Act, 2008" (PDF). Government of Southern Sudan. 10 February 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 September 2013. Retrieved 10 July 2011.
  3. ^ a b ILGA World; Lucas Ramon Mendos; Kellyn Botha; Rafael Carrano Lelis; Enrique López de la Peña; Ilia Savelev; Daron Tan (14 December 2020). State-Sponsored Homophobia report: 2020 global legislation overview update (PDF) (Report) (14th ed.). Geneva: ILGA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 December 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d
  5. ^ a b
  6. ^ Earlier US Department of State Human Rights Practices reports:
  7. ^ 2011 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: South Sudan, U.S. Department of State, retrieved 20 July 2012
  8. ^ Botha, Kellyn; ILGA World (December 2021). "South Sudan". In Lucas Ramón Mendos (ed.). Our identities under arrest: A global overview on the enforcement of laws criminalising consensual same-sex sexual acts between adults and diverse gender expressions (PDF) (Report) (in English and Spanish) (First ed.). Geneva: ILGA. pp. 102–103. Archived from the original on 8 June 2023.
  9. ^ Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (2018). "Section 6. Discrimination and Societal Abuses". 2017 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: South Sudan (Report). United States Department of State.
  10. ^ "'Referendum on South Sudan's secession will be held'". Radio Netherlands Worldwide. 30 July 2010. Archived from the original on 17 October 2012. Retrieved 10 July 2011.
  11. ^ Manyang Mayom, "South Sudan Anglican Church rejects tribalism and homosexuality" Archived 2018-08-27 at the Wayback Machine, Sudan Tribune, 17 October 2006.

Further reading

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