Examination of LGBT people’s lived experiences and public perceptions of sexual and gender minorities in Rwanda

Despite the existence of laws and policies that protect human rights, sexual and gender minorities (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender [LGBT] people) across sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are socially excluded from full participation in society. While LGBT rights are gaining momentum and increasingly being highlighted in the global agenda, many SSA countries have formulated punitive laws against sexual and gender minorities.

Rwanda is one of the few African countries that has assented to international conventions and continental frameworks that protect the human rights of LGBT people (1, 2). For example, Rwanda signed the United Nations statement condemning violence against LGBT people in 2011 and joined nine other African countries to support LGBT rights (3).

Following an inquiry from the international human rights community and Rwanda’s civil society organizations (CSOs) in 2009, the Government of Rwanda opened debates on decriminalization of specific areas of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), including same-sex sexual relationships and adolescent sexual and reproductive health (4, 5). Rwanda’s civil society organized into a consortium in 2009 and started an advocacy campaign to revise the penal code and decriminalize same-sex relationships. The decade-long civil society advocacy efforts culminated in the 2018 revised penal code, which completely removed articles criminalizing same-sex relationships (6).

The 2003 Constitution of Rwanda (revised in 2015) protects all citizens against discrimination based on any form of difference (7). Article 16 of the Constitution indicates that all Rwandans are born and remain equal in terms of rights and freedom from discrimination (7). Generally, some sectors in Rwanda have done a great job addressing LGBT issues, while others still lag behind. For example, the country’s health sector has made efforts to improve the health and rights of everyone, including LGBT individuals, by increasing access to affordable and equitable services, particularly SRHR services for adolescents and young people in Rwanda (8). Rwanda ratified various international and regional human rights laws and policies relevant to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the International Covenant of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) (9). Rwanda also ratified the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (10), the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, known as the Maputo Protocol (11), and the African Youth Charter (1).

However, LGBT people continue to face discrimination and arbitrary arrests based on individual and communal moral and cultural convictions (6). In 2016, the president of Rwanda delivered an address stating that living as an LGBT citizen in Rwanda “…hasn’t been our problem, and we don’t intend to make it our problem” (12). His statement has been interpreted in different ways by those favoring and opposed to LGBT rights (13). Nonetheless, the literature points to evidence that same-sex relationships were present even in the pre-colonial Kingdom of Rwanda dating from the 15th century, through the colonial years to independence in 1962 (14, 15).

The ambiguity on the legality of same-sex relations opens LGBT people’s rights to contestation (16). Sexual orientation remains a taboo subject. In 2017, a prominent female television journalist’s public proposal to a longtime female partner stirred debate about same-sex relations which eventually turned hostile (17). The Rwandan law does not criminalize LGBT people, however, their rights are open to interpretation based on the moral inclinations of members of the public and those in positions of power. This compromises their full access to rights, including health and other fundamental needs.

Given the prevailing interpretation of the rights of LGBT people in Rwanda, it is important to understand their everyday lived realities and experiences in the country. For example, how and where do LGBT persons experience social exclusion? How do institutional and societal structures enable individual and collective practices of inclusion/exclusion? How is social exclusion devised and practiced at the structural, social, and individual levels? Some studies have attempted to explore the experiences of individuals with diverse sexual orientations and gender identities (SOGI) but have primarily focused on HIV among men who have sex with men (18-21).

We examined the lived experiences of LGBT people and the public’s acceptance and perceptions of LGBT people. We provide insights into the current situation for LGBT people in Rwanda, including an examination of the factors contributing to their social exclusion. We also explored the nature and forms of social exclusion for LGBT people, including daily experiences of stigma, discrimination, and human rights abuses. In addition, we examined public perceptions on the well-being of and the legal context for LGBT people in Rwanda.