Ethiopia

Demographics

Estimated Total Population:

109.2 million

World Bank, 2018

Estimated SGM Population:

N/A

N/A

Estimated Total SGM Adult Population:

N/A

N/A

Estimated % of SGM Adults (18+):

N/A

N/A

Though laws are in place to imprison one who “performs with another person of the same sex a homosexual act, or any other indecent act,” Ethiopian human rights lawyer Abebe Hailu, asserts that no one has been charged or convicted under the new criminal provisions since they were introduced in 2004. That said, SGM populations of Ethiopia are still subject to incessant demonization by religious groups as well as general negative public sentiment towards LGBT+ individuals. Because of this, LGBT+ communities often find community in online groups such as Facebook. Activists have previously had to flee the country for their lives and thus, advocacy work in Ethiopia is often covert. Despite this, collectives like the DANA social club and Uhai Eashri (which does work in seven East African countries, including Ethiopia) serve the SGM populations of Ethiopia, overturning anti-LGBT laws and providing support and information to community members.

Ethiopia's Laws and Policies from ILGA World Report (2019)

RECOGNITION
Marriage for Same-Sex Couples
No
Civil Unions
No
Joint Adoption
No
Second Parent Adoption
No
PROTECTION
Employment Nondiscrimination Laws
No
Broad Protections
No
Criminalization of Violence
No
Ban of Conversion Therapy
No
CRIMINALIZATION
Consensual Same-Sex Acts are Legal?
No
Gender
Any Gender
Max Penalty (Yrs in Prison)
3

Selected Published Studies, Reports, and Other Documents

Balcha, I. (2009). Homosexuality in Ethiopia. https://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/search/publication/1411536

Betelhem Ephrem & Aaronette M. White(2011)Agency and Expression Despite Repression: A Comparative Study of Five Ethiopian Lesbians, Journal of Lesbian Studies,15:2,226-246, DOI:10.1080/10894160.2011.527765

Jobson, E. (2014) Human rights and wrongs: Demonising homosexuality in Ethiopia. https://www.pambazuka.org/governance/human-rights-and-wrongs-demonising-homosexuality-ethiopia

Odoyo, R. (2015). Outsider Citizen: A Landscape Analysis of the Human Rights of Sex Workers and LGBT People in Ethiopia, 2014-2015. UHAI EASHRI. https://globalphilanthropyproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Outsider-Citizen.pdf

Overs, C. (2015). BOOSHTEE! Survival and Resilience in Ethiopia (No. IDS Evidence Report; 129). IDS. https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/handle/20.500.12413/6011

Serawit B. Debele; Of Taming Carnal Desire: Imperial Roots of Legislating Sexual Practices in Contemporary Ethiopia. History of the Present 1 April 2020; 10 (1): 84–100. https://read.dukeupress.edu/history-of-the-present/article/10/1/84/163923/Of-Taming-Carnal-DesireImperial-Roots-of

Tadele, G., Amde, W.K. Health needs, health care seeking behaviour, and utilization of health services among lesbians, gays and bisexuals in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Int J Equity Health 18, 86 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-019-0991-5

Tesfaye, M. A. (2012). Perspectives on Life and Health: A qualitative study among same-sex attracted men in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (Master's thesis). https://www.duo.uio.no/handle/10852/34244