By Musa Ngubane
(BTM Reporter)

February 22, 2007: Off the Map, which is a book that explores susceptibility of homosexual people, was launched by the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) on Tuesday this week.

With the précis, How HIV/AIDS Programming is failing same- sex practicing people in Africa, Off the Map again underlines the impact of lack of housing to same-sex practicing people on the African continent.

“If someone is denied this (housing), they end up having unsafe sex because they will be having it in odd places”, said Cary Johnson, IGLHRC Senior Programmes Specialist for Africa.

While the book bridges the gaps by presenting different experiences in the continent and within South Africa where the realities are inconsistent with the law, it helped bringing different LGBTI individuals, groups and foreign institutions together to debate the issues around homosexuality.

Off the Map also highlights the issues of denied service delivery to homosexuals.

Johnson explained that 66% of the infections are in Africa, and that 35% of these infections are dispassionately excluded “because same-sex practicing behaviors are erased and criminalized with an exception of South Africa.”

According to Johnson, denial of freedom of association and assembly and the refusal for organizations to be registered leads to no funding and no office space and no space for information.

He continued that mostly in Africa gays are being brutally tortured giving reference to the Yaoundé 11 case. “Gay men are placed in the cells with hardened criminals where they fall victims of rape.” Johnson explained.

Melanie Judge of OUT LGBT Well – Being said the resistance by policymakers not to acknowledge the existence of LGBT people should be eradicated and challenged.

Jonathan Burger of the Aids Law Project was concerned; “It’s shame that some initiatives have great recommendations but often these are left at the back of the book and not implemented anywhere.”

However, Juliet Victor Mukasa from Uganda wished that the book would have also highlighted the successes made so far in addressing the issue of HIV/ADS.

“If there was a positive side revealed in the book it was going to make other policymakers want to have such programmes as well”, she elaborated.

Off the Map’s launch was co-sponsored by OUT LGBT Well – Being, Behind The Mask, The Gay and Lesbian Equality Project, Aids Law Project and IGLHRC.

The book is being sent to African Ministers of Health, AIDS Control programmes, as well as to LGBTI organisations throughout the continent.