October 29, 2009
Kenya Plans Census of Gay Men
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 2 MIN.
In a bid to intensify its fight against HIV/AIDS, the African nation Kenya is readying a census of gay men. However, since the law punishes gays with nearly a decade and a half of prison time, health officials doubt an accurate survey can be made.
An Oct. 29 BBC News article reported that even the head of Nascop, the Kenyan program to stem HIV infections, doesn't think that the census will be successful. Nicholas Muraguri held out hope that a census could help efforts to educate the public, carry out HIV testing, and distribute condoms, but the anti-gay laws in that nation are expected to hinder the new initiative. "Kenyans cannot actually afford to say that the gay community are isolated somewhere in the corner--they are part of our lives," Muraguri told the BBC News. "This group must be reached with information and services so they know how to protect themselves from getting infected."
The country has had some success in fighting the AIDS epidemic, the article said, with the nation's population once hitting a peak 10% rate of HIV infections. In the last decade, that rate has fallen four percent, the article said. One of the main weapons in the fight against AIDS--which in Africa is widespread among the heterosexual population--is circumcision, an Associated Press article from May 26, 2008 reported.
Gay equality advocate Peter Njane pointed out that the public had little idea about safer sex. "Most of the gay community think that having sex with men is safe. There's no information here about safety measures," Njane told the BBC.
But the survey will only be of use if gay Kenyans own up; the article noted that some expressed reluctance unless they could be guaranteed anonymity for the census. A Wikipedia article on life in Kenya for LGBTs says that although the anti-gay law is seldom enforced as such, gays face social and legal persecution, including being held for long periods of without being charged, being harassed and blackmailed by the police, or being put on trial on bogus charges.
Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.
