Adrian Jjuuko: Strategic Litigation and the Struggle for Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Equality in Africa

Adrian Jjuuko (2020)
Daraja Press

There has been a rise in the use of strategic litigation related to seeking equality for lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) persons. Such developments are taking place against the backdrop of active homophobia in Africa. The law and the general public should, argues the author, treat LGB persons in the same way that heterosexuals are treated. In the past two decades,30 strategic cases have been fi led by LGB activists in the Common Law African countries, namely in Botswana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, and Uganda. While the majority of the cases have been successful, they have not resulted in significant social change in any of the countries. On the contrary, there have been active backlashes, counter-mobilisations, and violence against LGB persons, as well as the further criminalisation of same-sex relations and constitutional prohibitions on same-sex marriages in some of the jurisdictions. The author argues that activists in Common Law Africa have to design LGB strategic litigation in such a way as to fi t within the actual social and political conditions in their countries if strategic litigation is to spur social change.

Adrian Jjuuko is an exceptional scholar. A rare combination of intellectual brilliance, commitment and hard work. The book is born of this. It reflects his incisive analytical skills, anchored in solid knowledge of the law and jurisprudential developments in the field. His ventures into political theory, philosophy, and the social sciences give the analysis additional clarity and empirical grounding. – Siri Gloppen, Professor of Comparative Politics at the University of Bergen and Director of LawTransform.

Adrian Jjuuko is an Ugandan human rights lawyer and advocate. Dr. Jjuuko holds an LLD from the University of Pretoria. He is the founder and Executive Director of Human Rights Awareness and Promotion Forum (HRAPF). He is the current Chair of the Legal Committee and former coordinator of the Civil Society Coalition on Human Rights and Constitutional Law.

Book is an output of LawTransform project Political determinants of sexual and reproductive health: Criminalisation, health impacts and game changers.

You can access the book, here.

Photo: darajapress.com

https://darajapress.com/publication/strategic-litigation-and-the-struggle-for-lesbian-gay-and-bisexual-equality-in-africa