In many places, love is persecuted: 65 countries criminalize same-sex relationships.
Lesbians are particularly the target of cruelty: they are often hated both for being women and for being gay. Fearing torture, internment, and even death, many seek freedom elsewhere, leaving their lives and communities behind in hopes of finding safety. Refugee camps are meant to protect individuals who fear persecution in their home country. But for lesbians forced to flee, they can be places of renewed fear and violence.
With the rise of anti-LGBTQIA+ laws in East Africa, queer people have increasingly sought refuge within Kenya’s refugee camps. LGBTQIA+ refugees in Kenya’s Kakuma camp are often segregated from the broader refugee population, placed in special zones like Kakuma’s Block 13. While this is sometimes framed as a protective measure, it frequently has the opposite effect—it marks LGBTQIA+ refugees as visible targets for harassment and violence. Many lesbian refugees report being the target of sexual violence, with no police intervention.
In one devastating instance, a homophobic arson attack on Block 13 left several injured; one person later died from his wounds. Despite international outcry, safety for LGBTQIA+ refugees remains out of reach.
These events point to a broader failure to protect LGBTQIA+ lives in displacement settings. Queer refugees face abuse not only from fellow refugees but also from camp staff and security forces. Deep-seated cultural stigma, coupled with a lack of training and accountability, worsens the danger, especially for lesbian refugees. At the intersection of gender and queerness, they face an additional layer of invisibility and risk, often excluded from protection frameworks, advocacy narratives, and even asylum systems.
In the Kakuma camp, lesbian women are targeted because of their sexuality. They are attacked, called homophobic slurs, and humiliated—sometimes coerced into kissing someone of the same sex under threat of violence. Some are accused of being a “curse” on the camp, blamed for bringing misfortune.
In a patriarchal society where men hold power over women, lesbian identity is often viewed as a threat to the institution of family. One lesbian refugee told researchers that an attacker groped her daughter and said he would rape her “so that she doesn’t become a lesbian like her mom.” Cultural norms that erase or deny female sexuality only exacerbate the problem.
For many lesbian refugees, visibility can be a source of empowerment—but also of danger. In a country where same-sex relations are still criminalized, some women fleeing persecution and death are forced to choose invisibility within Kenya’s refugee camps, not only to protect themselves, but to shield their children and loved ones.
As we mark Lesbian Visibility Week, we must remember that visibility without safety is not refuge. True visibility means being seen, believed, and protected—not just in principle, but in practice.
USCRI, founded in 1911, is a non-governmental, not-for-profit international organization committed to working on behalf of refugees and immigrants and their transition to a dignified life.
For press inquiries, please contact: [email protected]
