8.3 Threats to LGBTI Persons
Displacement
4%
TOTAL DISTRIBUTION OF VIOLATIONS
Blackmail
13%
Threat
Unfair Labour Practice
2%
Hate Speech
1%
Intersex
0%
Assault
18%
Discrimination
7%
Threat
15%
Detention
7%
Police Harrassment
8%
Bi-Sexual
0%
Transgender
24%
Disownment
7%
Outed
11%
Lesbian
20%
2016
2015
Threat
2014
Gay
56%
Invasion of Privacy
7%
Threat
2017
2013
2012
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Threats to LGBTI persons came in many forms. Threat in the context of the analysis
refers to situations where some form of punitive action is promised for non-compliance
to a request. The range of threats against LGBTI persons spans almost across all the
other violations. Individuals and groups of LGBTI persons have been threatened with
being outed, arrest, detention, disownment, displacement as well as assault. There is a
discernable link between the other forms of violations and the threats that were identified
from the recorded cases. Specifically, blackmail as a violation hinged on threats of
one form or another. Individuals would either be threatened with outing, assault,
arrest etc, if they did not comply with the perpetrator’s request, usually for money.
Year on year figures of recorded cases of threats show a steady rise between 2012 and
2014 and slump in the succeeding two years, 2015 to 201717. Gay men fell victim the
most to threats, though however this is also proportionate to their larger numbers of
recorded cases relative to other gender identities. On the other hand, transgender men
and women - though with fewer recorded cases in the period under review - were victim
to the second highest number on threats.
Threats recorded over the period have emanated mainly from close family
members and law enforcement authorities, serving mainly to sustain blackmail or
extortion or trying to force a conversion to a hetero normative identity. The most
striking kinds of threats were found in cases of LGBTI person threatening another
mainly with outing. These cases were generally associated with a motive for
blackmail or extortion.
An analysis of the state of human rights violations against
LGBTI persons in Zimbabwe (2011-2017)
20
Select target paragraph3
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