Sexuality experiences of LGBTIQ college students in their African home and host countries

M.Ed. (Educational Psychology)Abstract: Historically, African culture has retained contrasting opinions about the presence of Homosexual, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex and Queer (LGBTIQ) individuals. In the context of the complex nature of African cultures and communities, the reality and life of LGBTIQ people has traditionally remained marginalized and oppressed. Discrimination against LGBTIQ citizens in Africa has spanned decades, based on the assumption that homosexuality is “Un-African”. To date, more than 30 countries in Africa have criminalized homosexual acts and expressions. Punishment for same-sex offences include jail sentences of up to 10 years, violence and banishment from communities. These acts sparked state-sanctioned homophobia, which led to arbitrary policing and arrests, violence and discrimination against LGBTIQ people in Africa, and forced many to flee their homelands in fear of such retaliations. Even though there has been substantial research undertaken on sexuality in Africa, it has been mainly due to the political fears regarding the sexual activities of individuals as well as the rapid rise in sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The HIV outbreak in Africa has been a major factor in the development of discriminatory attitudes towards individuals who identify as LGBTIQ, a community that is especially impacted by HIV and AIDS, resulting in homophobic attitudes. Other considerations, such as religion, have had an influence on how religion was used to undo African identities and sexual expressions. Sexual expression has been limited to the objective of procreativity, and this contradicts alternate ways of expression, such as same-sex desire and pleasure. Coercion of faith demonized non-heterosexual expressions and colonial laws imported banned or criminalized non-heterosexuality in Africa. This study firstly explored the sexuality experiences of LGBTIQ college students in their African home and host countries. These college students are six people from various African countries namely Kenya, Lesotho and Tunisia, who reside and are enrolled in a two-year diploma programme in South Africa. Secondly, the study aimed to identify the needs of LGBTIQ college students when navigating between their African home and host countries. This study was underpinned by the compulsory heteronormativity framework in line with the qualitative research design, and was influenced by the notion of phenomenology as a research paradigm. Individual face-to-face interviews were used as the data collection method. Discourse analysis was used to extrapolate themes from data. The findings highlighted the institutionalisation of compulsory heteronormativity within the laws,.