This publication provides deep insight into issues on policing and homosexuality in Zambia which can inform police policies and practices to reduce HIV risk among vulnerable groups.
Exploring discourses and actions of ‘othering’ homosexual citizens by officers of the Zambia Police service in Lusaka, Zambia.
A research project submitted to Van-Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Management of Development specialization Rural Development and HIV/AIDS.
By Sefuka Pierre
September 2013
Wageningen, The Netherlands
Read the full publication here.
Abstract
This study investigated the relationship between the law enforcement activities of police officers against the socially marginalised groups and the ensuing social exclusion mechanisms. The argument that formed the basis of the study is the current debate which is pertaining in Zambia about homosexuality that seeks to classify homosexual persons against the conservative perspectives of sexuality. These perspectives have vilified homosexual persons, making them vulnerable to mechanisms of social exclusion which may deny them access to social basic needs, including health services, heightening their susceptibility to diseases and HIV.
Data collection involved a desk research of existing literature and interviews of Twenty five police officers from Lusaka, Zambia. The study explored the perceptions and actions of the officers towards homosexuality and/or homosexual persons as factors of social exclusion mechanisms.
Police officers were found to be prejudicial when dealing with cases bordering on homosexuality or homosexual persons. The study further reviewed that some police officers are homophobic and consider homosexuality as a sinful, deliberate act by citizens who want to emulate the western lifestyle. No significant relationship was found between the prevalence of homosexuality as a crime in the Zambian society and the unprecedented media publicity and police response it receives.