News
September 16, 2019
Tino explains the situation of the LGBTIQ+ community and sex workers in Zambia
Tino is a human rights defender from Zambia who fights for the rights of the LGBTIQ+ community and sex workers of his country. During his relocation to Shelter City he gave a presentation to Dutch diplomats on his human rights work.
On the 29th August 2019, Tino participated as a speaker in a training session for newly recruited Dutch diplomats at the Clingendael Institute. Tino’s aim was to spread awareness of his cause.
During his presentation, Tino described the situation of the LGBTIQ+ community and sex workers in Zambia. The country constitutionally abides to Christian values and for this reason, rejects homosexuality, which is punished with imprisonment. This, in combination with patriarchal views on gender roles and sexual orientation, creates a hostile environment for the LGBTIQ+ community and sex workers.
Tino also shared his personal experience. He grew up in Zambia as a gay man and he experienced the constant discrimination, harassment, and violence that the LGBTIQ+ community and sex workers have to endure.
Tino discussed the results of his research and activism and his hope to give the community more visibility and legal recognition in the future.
The participants of the event empathised with Tino’s mission and he invited them to create international visibility on the challenges of the LGBTIQ+ community in Zambia and in the rest of the world.
