Living Conditions
According to a report submitted to the United Nations Human Rights Committee by Global Rights and the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, the criminalization of consensual homosexual sex in Zambia "has a devastating impact on same-sex practicing people in Zambia". The report asserts that LGBT people are subject to arbitrary arrest and detention, "discrimination in education, employment, housing, and access to services", and extortion–often with the knowledge or participation of law enforcement authorities.
According to a report by Behind the Mask, a non-profit organisation organisation dedicated to LGBT affairs in Africa, most LGBT people in Zambia are closeted due to fear of targeting and victimisation. Lesbians are especially vulnerable, according to the report, due to the patriarchal structure of Zambian society.
The U.S. Department of State's 2010 Human Rights Report found that “the government enforced the law that criminalizes homosexual conduct and did not respond to societal discrimination" and that "societal violence against homosexual persons occurred, as did societal discrimination in employment, housing, and access to education or health care."
Read more about this topic: LGBT Rights In Zambia
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