Tortured to "prove" you are gay. It's happening right now here in Tunisia.
If you're arrested under my country's anti-gay law, authorities can force you to undergo "anal testing." They claim it’s an examination to find "evidence" of your sexual orientation.
It's actually a traumatising sexual assault that proves absolutely nothing.
A few days ago, the National Council of the Medical Order in Tunisia called for ending this horrible practice when used against people without their consent. This is a step in the right direction, but it's not enough. Police can coerce people into forced "consent."
That's why my organisation, Shams, is partnering with All Out. If thousands of us speak out now, we can help end these abhorrent practices once and for all.
Tell Tunisian authorities to ban these horrible abuses completely and punish those who practice them.
Here's what one victim had to say about being forced to endure this inhumane abuse:
"I felt like I was an animal. I felt I wasn’t human... When I got dressed they put handcuffs on me and I went out, feeling completely in shock... The two police were standing and watching what the doctor was doing. I felt violated."
Medical and forensic specialists around the world have discredited this horrific practice. Even Tunisian authorities know they are just a way to torture and traumatise people they assume are gay.
Last month, a young couple from the city of Sousse was forced to undergo this horrific practice to prove they were gay. Doctors found no "evidence," of course, but the couple was still sentenced to eight months in jail.
It's time to put an end to medically sanctioned sexual abuse. Tell Tunisian authorities to completely ban "anal testing" today.
Thanks for going All Out,
Mounir Baatour
President of Shams – Pour la dépénalisation de l'homosexualité en Tunisie
SOURCES:
● Shams – Pour la dépénalisation de l'homosexualité en Tunisie
● Tunisia: Doctors Oppose 'Anal Test' for Homosexuality – Human Rights Watch, 12 April 2017
● Document: An anal test performed by a physician – Kapitalis, 10 April 2017 (in French)
● Despite a negative anal test, Achref and Sabri are sentenced to 8 months for homosexuality – Kapitalis, 10 March 2017 (in French)
● Dignity Debased. Forced Anal Examinations in Homosexuality Prosecutions – Human Rights Watch, 12 July 2016
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