Category: Uganda

Protection Briefing

Published to coincide with International Human Solidarity Day 2025

Protection Briefing: Protection Challenges and Advocacy Engagement for LGBTQ Refugees in Gorom Refugee Settlement, South Sudan

Prepared by: Trans Initiative Gorom

Period Covered: May 2025 – Present

Purpose: To highlight protection concerns, advocacy engagement, and priority needs of LGBTQ refugees

1. Executive Summary

Since May 2025, LGBTQ refugees in Gorom Refugee Settlement have experienced increased protection concerns linked to changes in settlement arrangements and heightened community tensions. These developments have contributed to fear, instability, and uncertainty regarding safety and access to protection. Through advocacy, documentation, and engagement with UNHCR and international partners, LGBTQ refugees and community advocates have sought protection-oriented responses and durable solutions. While engagement has helped reduce some immediate risks, significant protection gaps remain.

2. Background and Context

LGBTQ refugees in Gorom Refugee Settlement have faced long-standing vulnerabilities related to discrimination, visibility, and social exclusion across refugee settings over several years. These challenges have affected access to services, safety, and overall well-being.

Following arrival in Gorom, proposals were made to relocate LGBTQ refugees to alternative locations, including remote camp settings. Community members raised concerns regarding isolation, limited access to information, and potential protection risks in such environments. Advocacy and dialogue with UNHCR and other relevant actors emphasized the importance of protection-sensitive approaches and individual risk assessments.

As a result of this engagement, relocation to remote settings was paused, and individual-level processes were initiated. While challenges persisted in Gorom, these efforts reduced immediate exposure to heightened protection risks.

3. Engagement on Durable Solutions

Given the prolonged protection challenges faced by LGBTQ refugees, community advocates engaged UNHCR to explore durable solutions. Many LGBTQ refugees have experienced repeated insecurity across multiple displacement contexts, highlighting the need for long-term protection pathways.

In 2024, some cases were referred for resettlement consideration through established UNHCR processes. However, during the Trump administration, the United States refugee resettlement program was suspended, resulting in the interruption of these resettlement pathways and increased uncertainty for individuals already facing heightened protection risks.

4. Recent Developments and Protection Impact

In early 2025, new settlement-level directives affecting LGBTQ refugees contributed to increased fear, instability, and concerns about safety. These developments resulted in disruptions to daily life, increased movement, and heightened anxiety among LGBTQ refugees.

The situation underscored the need for:

  • Protection-sensitive programming
  • Non-discriminatory access to services
  • Individualized protection assessments
  • Continued engagement between UNHCR and affected communities

    • 5. Advocacy and Community Engagement

    LGBTQ refugees and community advocates prioritized advocacy, documentation, and engagement with UNHCR, international partners, and humanitarian actors to raise awareness of protection needs. These efforts focused on constructive dialogue, visibility of protection concerns, and strengthening community-based protection mechanisms.

    Advocacy contributed to increased attention from international actors and reinforced the importance of inclusive and protection-centered approaches within the broader refugee response.

    6. Ongoing Protection Gaps

    Despite continued engagement, key challenges remain:

  • Limited availability of durable solutions for LGBTQ refugees at heightened risk
  • Persistent fear and uncertainty regarding safety
  • Insufficient access to safe and inclusive shelter options
  • Limited availability of specialized psychosocial and protection support

    • 7. Priority Recommendations

    We respectfully encourage UNHCR, donor governments, and humanitarian partners to:

    • Expand resettlement opportunities for LGBTQ refugees facing heightened protection risks
    • Increase protection-focused funding for inclusive shelter, psychosocial support, and community-based protection
    • Ensure non-discriminatory protection practices across all refugee assistance and services
    • Strengthen protection monitoring and community engagement mechanisms
    • Continue dialogue with LGBTQ refugee-led groups to inform protection responses

    8. Positive Developments

    We acknowledge and appreciate the engagement of resettlement countries, including Canada, in providing protection pathways to some LGBTQ refugees from Gorom. These examples demonstrate the life-saving impact of targeted protection interventions and the importance of expanding such opportunities.

    9. Conclusion: A Shared Responsibility

    The situation of LGBTQ refugees in Gorom highlights both ongoing protection challenges and the value of sustained advocacy and engagement with UNHCR and international partners. Continued support is essential to ensure safety, dignity and access to durable solutions for LGBTQ refugees facing heightening risks.

    Donor governments supporting the humanitarian response in Gorom play a vital role and can further strengthen protection by expanding resettlement slots for LGBTQI refugees most at risk. UNHCR remains central to coordinating protection responses and advancing durable solutions through continued engagement with affected communities.

    Donors and humanitarian partners can support flexible, protection-focused funding that prioritizes safety, shelter, and psychosocial support. Activists and civil society can continue to raise awareness responsibly, amplify refugee voices, and advocate for inclusive protection pathways. Together, these actions can help ensure that LGBTQI refugees are not left without options for safety and dignity.

    See Also:

    Geoff Allshorn and others, 1 June 2025. “When I Needed A Neighbour, Were You There?”, Humanist World blog.

    Daniel Itai, 28 May 2024. “South Sudan refugee camp is ‘not a safe haven’ for LGBTQ residents”, Washington Blade.

    Joto La Jiwe, 8 August 2025. “LGBTQI+ refugees in South Sudan trapped between a rock and a hard place”, 76 Crimes.

    Abraham Junior, 20 June 2025. “The forgotten struggle: LGBTQ refugees and asylum seekers in South Sudan”, Washington Blade.

    Abraham Junior, 2 September 2025. “We Exist, We Resist, We Are Not Invisible: Queer, Atheist, and Humanist Refugees in South Sudan”, The Humanist magazine.

    Paula Caro Rojas, 25 October 2024. “Surviving in the Gorom refugee camp in South Sudan”, Melting Pot Europa.

    Staff Writer, 21 June 2025. “LGBTQ+ Refugees in Gorom Denied Medical and Legal Help”, Radioyei.

    This blog ©2025 Geoff Allshorn. All rights hereby returned to the authors of this report, who can be contacted through me.
    I show my respect for Elders past and present and acknowledge the Wurundjeri-Willam people, the Traditional Custodians of the Land on which this blog was prepared.

    World AIDS Day 2025

    Memory is not enough. Attention is not guaranteed. Justice must be demanded.

    World AIDS Day is not just a memorial. It is a challenge.

    This post is a challenge between the past and the present silence that endangers lives. It honours those lost, confronts ongoing injustice, and insists that we remember not only what happened, but what continues to unfold. From Melbourne to Kampala, from memory to moral action, our imperative to care must be honoured.


    Early badge from VAAC (Victorian AIDS Action Council – later VAC and now Thorne-Harbour Health)

    In a recent social media post, people were asked for their recollection of the 1980s and 1990s. Most of them happily recalled musicians or musical groups, movies, videotapes, the arrival of home computers, or generally reminisced about “the good old days” before the arrival of modern-day stresses.

    My recollections are somewhat different.

    The 1980s marked my arrival into young adulthood. Work. Freedom. Autonomy. Meeting others and developing my first extended family outside of my biological one (like Mary Anne Singleton and Mouse from “Tales of the City”). But the times also featured the insidious arrival of a terrible epidemic that started attacking and killing many of my friends.

    The next fifteen years were frantic, full of illnesses and deaths, of stigma and discrimination, of angst and activism. There were days and months full of pain and fear and people living in a double closet: homosexuality and HIV.

    Very few people nowadays seem to either know about (or recall) those days when a whole generation of young men (and others) was effectively decimated. How quickly we forget, especially because there are lessons we can learn a generation later. It seems the stigma of AIDS lingers a generation later.

    This is not just an academic exercise. I recently learnt of the death from HIV/AIDS of an African Facebook friend. The dangers and outcomes are still very real.

    Over forty years later, the virus still claims lives; not in the same neighbourhoods, perhaps, but in communities across Africa and Asia where silence and stigma persist. The difference now is not ignorance, but indifference. We know what works. We know what saves lives. And yet, we ignore.

    In Uganda and Kenya, millions live under laws and social norms that stigmatise or criminalize their existence: laws shaped not by local tradition, but by imported hate. In 2023, Uganda passed one of the world’s harshest anti-LGBTQ+ laws, introducing the death penalty for so-called “aggravated homosexuality.” These laws were seeded by decades of lobbying from U.S. evangelical groups, exporting their hate under the hypocritical guise of “pro-life” and “pro-family” agendas.

    The consequences are devastating: queer Ugandans are hunted, HIV-positive individuals fear seeking treatment, and human rights groups are silenced. In Kenya, similar pressures have led to rising violence and legal crackdowns. This is not just a moral failure, it’s a public health catastrophe. It’s part of a Third-World War.

    In July 2025, the U.S. Congress passed the Rescissions Act, slashing $7.9 billion in foreign aid. PEPFAR was spared, but only narrowly. The broader rollback has disrupted HIV care in over 70,000 programs across 50 countries. A Lancet-backed study warns that nearly 500,000 children in sub-Saharan Africa could die from AIDS-related causes in the next five years if PEPFAR funding collapses.

    “Silence = Death.” — ACT UP
    “The opposite of forgetting is justice.” — Geoff Allshorn
    “We are not post-AIDS. We are post-attention.” — UNAIDS advocate

    World AIDS Day is not just a memorial. It is a challenge. If we forget the past, we risk repeating it; not in San Francisco or Sydney, but in Kampala, Nairobi, Dhaka. The virus is still here. So must we be.


    Related Posts from my Humanist blog:


    These posts remind us of memory, justice, and care, all worthy and noble considerations for World AIDS Day 2025.

    ©2025 Geoff Allshorn with editorial and layout assistance from Copilot AI. I show my respect for Elders past and present and acknowledge the Wurundjeri-Willam people, the Traditional Custodians of the Land on which this blog was prepared.

    Crossing Borders for Survival

    Crossing Borders for Survival:
    The Silent War Against LGBTQIA+ Community in Africa
    By Nick*

    (Remembering LGBT+ refugees whose voice is often silenced)

    “When home becomes a battlefield, survival itself becomes an act of defiance.”

    INTRODUCTION: Living a Life on the Run.

    My name is Nick*, a proud LGBTQIA+ representative and leader. I survived Uganda, fled persecution in 2021, lived through the horrors of Kenya’s Kakuma refugee camp, and now reside in South Sudan as an onward mover. This journey is not unique—thousands like me are trapped in a cycle of violence and displacement simply because of who they are.

    This article is a testimony, a cry for justice, and a call to action. It tells the real stories of LGBTQIA+ refugees across East Africa—especially those from Uganda—and the vital role of Queer solidarity(globally) has played in keeping hope alive where the world has failed.

    The Ugandan Nightmare: Where Identity Is a Crime

    Uganda remains one of the most hostile places in the world for LGBTQIA+ people. State-sponsored homophobia has normalized unspeakable violence:
    – Women and lesbians face collective rape under the guise of “correction.”
    – Transgender individuals are burned alive, lynched, or forced into hiding.
    – Nonbinary and bisexual people are subjected to constant threats, including blackmail and arrest.

    To be openly LGBTQIA+ in Uganda is to carry a target on your back. For many, the only option is escape.

    Kenya’s Broken Refuge: When Safety Is a Lie

    Kenya’s refugee camps, like Kakuma, are marketed as safe havens—but for LGBTQIA+ refugees, they are often sites of renewed trauma. In Kakuma:
    – Queer refugees are harassed by both other refugees and host communities.
    – Physical and sexual assaults are common and rarely addressed.
    – Jobs are virtually non-existent for LGBTQIA+ individuals due to stigma.

    I witnessed the murder of queer refugees and lived in fear daily. For some, the only path forward was to flee again, often to South Sudan—where life is unstable but offers a flicker of visibility.

    The Role of Queer solidarity outside Africa : Hope in the Shadows

    Amidst this suffering, one truth stands tall: “solidarity saves lives”.

    Queer solidarity (allies and supporters, led by people like Geoff Allshorn, Natasha, Suubi, and others, have been a beacon of hope. Their support has made the difference between life and death for many of us.

    They don’t just give handouts—they listen, they respond, and they organize:
    – Mr.Geoff Allshorn and his network provide food, medical assistance, emotional support, sustainable initiatives and projects: “Thank you Geoff Allshorn”.
    – Natasha and Suubi lends unwavering moral and practical support, funding safe house for LGBTQ+refugees,food and giving many of us a voice we didn’t have.

    Their mutual aid model goes beyond charity — it’s about dignity and empowerment. In these grassroots circles, queer refugees support each other with whatever little they have. That’s what makes it revolutionary: “it’s survival with solidarity”

    Bearing Witness: Real Lives, Real Voices

    This article is not academic. It’s personal. I speak not from research papers, but from lived experience. Every word here is rooted in the voices of LGBTQIA+ refugees I’ve walked beside, cried with, and buried.

    Their stories aren’t just statistics. They are memories of people who once dreamed of safety. People whose only “crime” was to live authentically.

    The Cruelty of Exile: A New Chapter of Oppression

    Refugees are supposed to find protection after fleeing persecution. But for queer people, exile itself becomes another chapter of trauma:
    – Hostile immigration policies delay or deny asylum.
    – Inadequate housing forces people into dangerous areas.
    – Lack of medical care, especially for HIV-positive and trans individuals, causes deep suffering.

    It’s not just that the system is broken—it was never built for us in the first place.

    A Call to the World: Stand With Us

    What we need is not pity — we need action.
    – Advocate for inclusive refugee policies that protect LGBTQIA+ rights.
    – Fund grassroots organizations led by refugees themselves.
    – Support the tireless work of LGBTQ+ community supporters and allies like Mr. Geoff Allshorn, Natasha, Suubi and others .

    We must stop treating LGBTQIA+ refugees as disposable. We deserve to live, thrive, and love—just like anyone else.

    Looking Ahead: Reclaiming Our Future

    In the face of unimaginable hardship, LGBTQIA+ refugees are organizing. From building underground shelters to forming self-led support groups, we are finding strength in each other. With the help of Queer supporters and allies, we are not only surviving—we are reclaiming our right to exist.

    The global LGBTQIA+ community must continue to amplify these efforts. Because no one should have to cross a border just to stay alive.

    If you’ve read this far, you’re already part of the change. Now, take it further. Share. Support. Stand up.

    *For safety reasons, the name Nick is a pseudonym.

    Nick is a passionate humanist, atheist, and queer rights advocate based in the Gorom Refugee Settlement Camp, South Sudan. As a community leader and representative, Nick works tirelessly to support LGBTQIA+ individuals, humanists, and other marginalized people living in the camp, providing them with solidarity, resources, and a voice in the face of discrimination, violence, and displacement.

    With lived experience as both a refugee and a queer activist, Nick has organized grassroots networks, created safe spaces, and sought partnerships with international organizations to advance human rights and protect vulnerable groups. Despite facing personal threats, poverty, and the risk of eviction, Nick remains committed to advocating for dignity, equality, and freedom for all.

    POSTSCRIPT: The South Sudanese government has moved to evict LGBT+ refugees in Gorom this week, forcing them to self-relocate to the capital city of Juba, which may expose them to homelessness, violence and discrimination in a homophobic nation. They lack funds for accommodation (safe housing) and survival means. THIS IS AN EMERGENCY.

    Anyone wanting to help financially or emotionally support their LGBT+ family in Africa is invited to contact Geoff (via this website or online) and register their interest.

    This material used with permission. This blog ©2025 Geoff Allshorn. All rights for this article returned to the author.

    I show my respect for Elders past and present and acknowledge the Wurundjeri-Willam people, the Traditional Custodians of the Land on which this blog was prepared.