Kenya’s Kakuma camp, which houses over 200,000 asylum seekers and refugees, including hundreds of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people, continues to be a hotbed of hate crimes and violence against the community. According to a new report from the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (NGLHRC) and Amnesty International, LGBTI refugees and asylum seekers residing in the camp face discrimination and physical abuse due to their sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, as well as their personal characteristics, with perpetrators acting with almost total impunity. Responding to these disclosures, the two groups called for the Kenyan administration to take responsibility for the safety of all LGBTI asylum seekers and refugees in Kakuma and recommended that officials change the camp’s encampment policies to foster the wellbeing of LGBTI individuals. In African countries, 32 of 54 countries criminalize same-sex relations, with penalties ranging from lengthy jail terms to the death sentence. In Kenya, same-sex acts are punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
