Digital Security Tools and Tactics for the LGBTI community in sub-Saharan Africa is the second in our series of Security in-a-box Community Focus guides, which aim to further integrate digital security into the context of particular communities and human rights defenders.
Who the guide was created for
This guide was created specifically for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans* and Intersex individuals and human rights defenders in the sub-Saharan region in Africa, and was written in collaboration with human rights defenders from the community.
Context and background
The guide was written and published in the context of continuous and determined legal, religious, social, economic and digital marginalisation and harassment of the LGBTI community in most of the region.
In this context, the internet has emerged as a viable option for LGBTI persons to gain visibility, communicate, network, and express what they cannot express in public. Social networks, blogging platforms and forums have become, in most African countries, the only spaces where LGBTI persons can have a voice, organise themselves, formulate their discourses around their issues and fight for recognition.
Despite the opportunities they offer activists, however, these platforms remain fraught with potential threats to the LGBTI community.
What the Guide covers
This guide explores common threats, such as entrapment, extortion, harassment, and unauthorised access to devices. It then links to the tools and tactics which can help LGBTI persons to stay safe.
The guide includes:
- all the existing chapters of our Security in-a-Box toolkit (created in collaboration with Frontline Defenders)
- testimonies of human rights defenders from the community
- examples and accounts of attacks
- Risk Analysis
- Safer Use of Internet Cafes and LGBTI dating sites.
Read the Guide online here: https://securityinabox.org/communities/02
Download the Guide as a PDF here: https://securityinabox.org/sbox/pdfs/cf-lgbti-africa.pdf
