African country is one of the few to not explicitly ban homosexuality, but that could all change with the introduction of new legislation
National Assembly member Steve Mbikayi wants to ban gay sex from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Gay sex could be banned in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
National Assembly member Steve Mbikayi, who has drafted the bill, said the DRC must ban homosexuality in order to ‘preserve African values.
Same-sex sexual activity is legal in the DRC, one of the 13 African countries where there are no laws banning homosexuality.
But being gay is still taboo. And Mbikayi wants to keep it that way.
He said the legislation was important in order to avoid ‘moral depravity’ and protect the Congolese youth from ‘western morals’.
‘Given the wind blowing in the world, and given that most African countries prohibit homosexuality, there is a legal vacuum screaming [for attention],’ he said.
‘As it were, that silence implies consent.
‘To protect Congolese youth and our people against [homosexuality], I initiated this bill after consulting social groups, pressure, churches, youth, women, to ban this practice in our country.’
What’s worse, it appears Mbikayi is hoping to ban homosexuality from all media including TV, theaters, and cinemals.
‘You will not see anywhere where Westerners copy our culture, our attitudes. And we should not blindly copy what is done there.’
In the DRC, very few LGBTI people are out and open about their sexuality.
This is believed to be the reason why the US Department of State’s 2010 Human Rights Report found ‘while harassment by state security forces continued, there were no reports during the year of police harassing gays and lesbians or perpetrating or condoning violence against them.’
by Joe Morgan
Source – Gay Star News
