It’s been five years since Dr. Frank Mugisha has visited the William Way LGBT Community Center to discuss the plight of LGBT Ugandans.
He will again address the local community from 5-7 p.m. Nov. 10 at William Way, 1315 Spruce St. The event is free and open to the public, and donations will be taken for Sexual Minorities of Uganda, of which Mugisha is executive director.
Mugisha said fundraising will go to support SMUG’s new program to assist victims of anti-LGBT violence in the country.
“Because of the treatment people receive, my organization came up with a program directly supporting victims of violence [targeted] because of their sexual orientation and gender identity,” he told PGN this week. “The donations that come in will mainly support individuals who are at risk or have had violations [of their rights].”
Mugisha’s 2011 visit to Philadelphia in part focused on the Ugandan legislation to outlaw homosexuality, dubbed the “Kill the Gays” bill for its original provision to allow the death penalty for offenders. Lawmakers approved the bill in 2014, yet replaced the death-penalty provision with a sentence of life imprisonment. The legislation was later overturned by a court on procedural grounds; however, there has been discussion of reviving it.
Mugisha said the worldwide backlash from the anti-LGBT legislation increased global attention to the struggle of LGBT Ugandans, yet also inflamed homophobia in the country.
“At that time, we were discussing the antigay bill that isn’t there anymore but there also was less visibility and dialogue and thought about LGBT people in Uganda,” Mugisha told PGN about his visit to Philadelphia five years ago. “There’s more talk and dialogue so that’s a little bit of progress but that comes with so much more violations of our LGBT people. It triggered a lot of media attention and increased hostilities.”
Mugisha plans to address that evolution, as well as provide an update on efforts to fight against systemic homophobia, during his Philadelphia event.
“As recently as August of this year, we had a raid on our parade, followed by police brutality and then my arrest,” he said. “So I’ll be giving an update on what’s happening, the progress that’s happened and the efforts in Uganda.”
William Way executive director Chris Bartlett said the center has remained connected to SMUG and Mugisha through center donor Peter Lien, who helped facilitate next week’s event.
“We thought it’s important for the local community to be aware of the treatment of sexual minorities in other nations and to do our best to support the leadership of those efforts, and Frank is one of those leaders,” Bartlett said.
For more information, call 215-732-2220 or visit https://www.facebook.com/events/1142410682519072/.