Persecution of LGBTQ+ People as an Authoritarian Practice: Russia and Kenya.

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Discussion, online and in person

Mon 13 May 202413 May 2024

06:00—07:30 PM

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Description

A conversation between Gigi Louisa, Anna-Maria Tesfaye and Sergey Katsuba.

Over the past decade a distressing pattern has emerged: the persecution of LGBTQ+ individuals, paralleled by the rise of authoritarian regimes. The blend of conservatism and authoritarianism seems to systematically target otherness, and especially queer communities, all over the world. This issue is even more challenging in war-torn regions. What does it mean for local communities, new generations and changing global contexts?

In the decades following the collapse of the Soviet Union, a wave of neo-colonialism has swept across the region, perpetuating a systemic suppression of LGBTQ+ rights. In Russia, discriminatory legislation, culminating in a recent Supreme Court ruling branding LGBTQ+ individuals as "extremists", marks a devastating regression three decades after the decriminalisation of homosexuality in 1993. The strategic deployment of anti-gay rhetoric by the Russian regime serves multiple purposes: distracting from pressing socio-economic issues, fostering anti-Western sentiment, and consolidating power through the marginalisation of minority groups. This systemic oppression has led to a stark increase in hate crimes against LGBTQ+ individuals, detrimentally affecting the lives of ordinary people who seek to live authentically and freely. In light of these developments, this event will explore the past thirty years of LGBTQ+ history in Russia – from the landmark decriminalisation to the present-day "extremist" designation.

In the African continent, the struggle to cast off colonial narratives has collided with ingrained concepts of “normal”, scapegoating and prejudice. In Kenya, the post-colonial “Section 162”, which mandates punishment for queer sexual contact by up to twenty one years' imprisonment, was upheld by the Constitutional Court in 2019. Kenyan society is highly conservative, and a large majority of people hold negative views of LGBTQ+ people. Despite this, public support has slowly grown, and various organisations are working to protect and improve LGBTQ+ rights. The politics surrounding what is generally described as "sexual orientation and gender identity" (SOGI) have received an astounding degree of public and international attention in recent years. To complicate matters further, much of the homo/bi/transphobia is institutionally embedded by colonising powers.

This conversation, moderated by Denis Maksimov, will focus on the intersection of authoritarianism, colonial legacies, and LGBTQ+ persecution in a comparative context.

Speakers

Gigi Louisa

Gigi Louisa is a dynamic and progressive leader in the field of sexual health and rights in Africa. Currently, Gigi is the Programmes Officer at Jinsiangu Kenya, a Kenyan-based organization that works towards increasing safe spaces for and advancing the well-being of Intersex, Transgender and Gender non-conforming (ITGNC) people. Gigi is heavily engaged and active in LGBTQ+ rights advocacy, linking international mechanisms for human rights advocacy and implementation to national policy levels and at the grassroots level in her work as a human rights activist. With ten years of experience working in this field, in a wide capacity, she has been a key leader in the human rights movement for LGBTQ+ persons in Kenya and Africa. Gigi Louisa is an alumnus of the CREA Sexual, Gender and Rights Initiative, Human Rights Advocacy Program at Columbia University and is currently a Commonwealth Fellow at University College London on Sexuality and Gender with a focus on Public Health Care.

Anna-Maria Tesfaye

Anna-Maria Tesfaye is a Black Queer decolonial activist, co-founder of Queer Svit, a charity that helps Queer people and BAME affected by war in Ukraine and/or Russia's political regime. She is also a multimedia journalist and producer, and her professional interests include Human Rights, Black Culture and the Black diaspora in Eastern European countries.

Sergey Katsuba

Sergey Katsuba is a socio-legal scholar and PhD candidate at UCD’s Sutherland School of Law. His research focuses on political homophobia, authoritarian lawmaking, and institutional discrimination in Russia. He co-authored "Homophobic Legislative Politics in Russia and Its Consequences" with the Memorial Human Rights Centre and co-created the art project Places of Interest based on its findings. In 2025, the research project was awarded the OVD-Info prize in recognition of outstanding academic work on repression, surveillance and censorship in contemporary Russia.

Location

5A Bloomsbury square London WC1A 2TA

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