New blog targets French-speaking nations’ anti-LGBTI laws

Colin Stewart is a 45-year journalism veteran living in Southern…

French-speaking African countries. Countries in dark grey are members of the International Francophone Organization (Map courtesy of Wikipedia) — French-speaking African countries. Countries in dark grey have only a small minority of French speakers, but are are members of the International Francophone Organization (Map courtesy of Wikipedia)

This week marks the first official week of publication of the French-language affiliate of the “Erasing 76 Crimes” this blog.

“76 Crimes en français,” which has been published in beta version for months, provides coverage in French of an under-served part of the world — the 13 francophone countries, including 12 in Africa, where LGBTI relations are against the law. It also publishes French-language versions of this blog’s coverage of other countries about the 76-plus with anti-gay laws.

If you can read French, please visit 76 Crimes en français. If you like it, sign up to receive emails when new articles are published, follow it on an RSS reader and/or follow it on Facebook or Twitter. French-speaking volunteers are needed to improve its coverage; for more information, write to 76crimes (at) gmail.com. Our current staff is listed here: “À propos de nous.”

LGBTI-related news and health information, especially about sexually transmitted diseases, are relatively scare in Francophone Africa, compared to English-speaking African countries.

Yet African countries with substantial French-speaking populations comprise about a third of the total with such laws (12 of the 37 African countries with anti-gay laws, or 32 percent).

In addition, coverage of LGBTI advocacy and anti-LGBTI discrimination, harassment and violence is needed in French-speaking African countries such as Ivory Coast, although those countries have no laws criminalizing homosexual acts.

Readers of the beta version of the blog have come from France, Cameroon, the United States, Belgium and Canada. Its parent site, Erasing 76 Crimes, was launched three years ago and has already reached 1 million unique visitors.

Below are two lists of Francophone countries where LGBTI people are penalized by criminal laws — a total of 13 countries worldwide, 12 of which are in Africa.

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Des représentants des médias Ariane Télévision, Equinoxe Télévision et Afrique Média ont observés et rapportés sur la marche. (Photo de CAMFAIDS) — March in support of human rights defenders, organized last month by the LGBTI rights group Camfaids (the Cameroonian Foundation for Aids). (Photo courtesy of Camfaids)

First, in alphabetical order:

Africa

Algeria — 37 million French-speaking population; 18 million French-speaking population (48%).
Burundi — 8 million total population; 0.6 million French-speaking population ( 8%)
Cameroon — 20 million total population; 7 million French-speaking population (36%)
Egypt — 84 million total population; 2 million French-speaking population (3%), or perhaps as few as 50,000, many of them in the tourism industry.
Guinea — 9 million total population; 6 million French-speaking population (63%)
Mauritania — 3 million total population; 400,000 French-speaking population (13%)
Mauritius — 1.2 million total population; 700,000 French-speaking population (73%)
Morocco — 30 million total population; 10 million French-speaking population (33%)
Senegal — 12 million total population; 4 million French-speaking population (31%)
Seychelles — 80,000 total population; 48,000 French-speaking population (60%)
Togo — 6.7 million total population; 2.3 million French-speaking population ( 33%)
Tunisia — 10 million total population; 6 million French-speaking population (63%)

Middle East

Lebanon (anti-gay law held invalid by one court of law) — 4 million total population; 1.5 million French-speaking population (38%)

Second, the same 13 countries, listed in order of their approximate French-speaking population:

Algeria — 37 million French-speaking population; 18 million French-speaking population (48%)
Morocco — 30 million total population; 10 million French-speaking population (33%)
Cameroon — 20 million total population; 7 million French-speaking population (36%)
Tunisia — 10 million total population; 6 million French-speaking population (60%)
Guinea — 9 million total population; 6 million French-speaking population (67%)
Senegal — 12 million total population; 4 million French-speaking population (31%)
Togo — 6.7 million total population; 2.3 million French-speaking population ( 33%)
Lebanon (anti-gay law held invalid by one court of law) — 4 million total population; 1.5 million French-speaking population (38%)
Egypt — 84 million total population; 2 million French-speaking population (3%), or perhaps as few as 50,000, many of them in the tourism industry.
Mauritius — 1.2 million total population; 700,000 French-speaking population (73%)
Burundi — 8 million total population; 600,000 French-speaking population (8%)
Mauritania — 3 million total population; 400,000 French-speaking population (13%)
Seychelles — 80,000 total population; 48,000 French-speaking population (60%)