contact the legal aid centre:
(020) 4400525
Kenya, like other East African countries, currently criminalizes intimate expressions of same gender love by consenting adults: both in public and in private. The effects of these laws are often felt in the daily lives of many LGBTIQ individuals across Kenya resulting in stigma, discrimination and sometimes violence.
Current laws also result in:
- reduced civic agency of LGBTIQ individuals in Kenya
- LGBTIQ individuals being reduced to a level of un-apprehended felons who have little trust in law enforcement or state agents
- unreported violations by victims of crimes or follow up on reported crimes
- low uptake of investigations and follow ups by law enforcement when sexual orientation and gender identity based crimes and violations are reported
NGLHRC's legal aid centre has been providing daily free legal aid to LGBTIQ persons in Kenya since 2013. We have responded to over 1,700 cases since we began the program, establishing ourselves as the go-to organisation for LGBTIQ legal aid.
Through our legal aid program, we are able to:
- offer support to LGBTIQ individuals across Kenya who are victims of discrimination or crimes because of their real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity
- record such violations and show the harm caused by existing criminal sanctions
- undertake steps towards remedying recorded violations, including: consultation, mediation, assistance with administrative procedures, referral to practicing advocates to file suits, and direct legal representation in court
- use evidence collected in court to show that current laws do not serve the aims of criminal justice—and in fact help justify discrimination and violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity—in direct conflict with Kenya's constitution which expressly provides for equality and freedom of association and expression