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Leone News & Reports 1 Sierra Leone activist Fannyann Eddy killed--African lesbian activist is raped and murdered 11/04 2 Sierra Leone activist FannyAnn Eddy's killer caught 1/05 3 Police say no hate crime in gay activist murder 1/05 4 Alleged Fannyann Eddy Murderer Reportedly Escapes Police Detention in Sierra Leone 7/05 5 African lesbian conference demands equal rights 2/08 6 Lesbian Immigrant Florence Saved 3/08 The
Hirschfeld-Eddy Foundation (Hirschfeld-Eddy-Stiftung) was founded
in Berlin in June 2007. It is a Foundation for the Human Rights of
Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals and Transgender people. 1 "Yet, despite all of the difficulties we face, I have faith that acknowledging the inherent dignity and respect due us can lead to greater respect for our human rights.… Silence creates vulnerability. I urge you, members of the Commission on Human Rights, to break the silence. You can help us achieve our full rights and freedoms, in every society, including my beloved Sierra Leone." -Delivered to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights by Fannyann Eddy, Sierra Leone Lesbian and Gay Association, April 2004 on behalf of MADRE. Statement by International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights
Commission Fannyann Eddy broke the silence for us all. She courageously brought the struggle for freedom and dignity in her own country to the world stage. In early October, that voice was silenced forever. As Fannyann worked late in her office in Freetown, several men broke in, raped and brutally murdered her. To all of us who knew her and shared the great privilege of her wit, sense of the absurd, steely determination, intelligence, and unwillingness to let bureaucracy and lies stand in the way of justice, our loss is incomprehensibly great. Fannyann was the fearless leader of the Sierra Leone Lesbian and Gay Association. She understood that freedom for women, in particular lesbians, was related to their ability to provide for themselves economically. As a result, her approach to human rights advocacy included putting her own money into buying materials for young lesbians to make clothing and other items that they could sell for income. She understood that human rights is not only a legal principle to be enforced but a measure of human dignity to be demanded. As a result, she dedicated much of her time to getting into schools to teach children about their own self worth. And she understood that standing up for our rights is a process of both large and small acts. When she encountered difficulty getting a visa to travel to Geneva to tell her story to the United Nations Human Rights Commission, Fannyann sat vigil until it was approved. The staff and board of IGLHRC (International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission) deeply mourn her loss. She was a member of the historic delegation that IGLHRC and Human Rights Watch brought to the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva last spring to advocate for the Resolution on Sexual Orientation and Human Rights. Fannyann worked doggedly to track down her government's representatives and pushed them to support the resolution. With her testimony to the entire Commission, she boldly presented the personal embodiment of the existence of lesbians in Africa that many African leaders sought to deny. She shared with us both hilarious stories about her experiences as an organizer in Sierra Leone, along with serious strategies for change. Fannyann brought a level of courage, boldness and tenacity to her work that is rare even among human rights activists known for all three. Fannyann Viola Eddy was 30 years old. Her nine-year old son has lost a doting and loving mother. Sierra Leone has lost a brave and visible leader. The global LGBT movement has lost a daring and fierce human rights defender. Our best tribute to Fannyann is now to speak out. IGLHRC and our colleagues are actively investigating the details of her death and the level of responsiveness from the government and police. Once that is done, an Action Alert will be posted to our website, www.iglhrc.org, and sent to our Emergency Response Network asking people to respond to this senseless murder. In the meantime, Behind the Mask is collecting donations to support Fannyann's son and the Sierra Leone Lesbian and Gay Association. Details may be obtained by writing to Daniel@m.... Paula Ettelbrick, Executive Director and Susana Fried, Program Director, IGLHRC
January 3, 2005 2 6 January, 2005 3 July 15, 2005 4 “This is an extremely disheartening turn of events and a blow to our efforts to pursue justice and accountability for human rights atrocities committed against gay men, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people,” Paula Ettelbrick, Executive Director of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission said. “We feel most terribly for Fannyann’s family and friends who have endured so much as a result of her murder.” Fearful that Fannyann’s murder may have been motivated by anti-LGBT bias, IGLHRC worked with a range of allies in the weeks after her death, including members of SLLGA and Corinne Dufka of the Africa Division of Human Rights Watch, to stay in touch with police investigators in Freetown and to urge vigilance in solving the case. IGLHRC was extremely grateful for the full cooperation of the police investigators who identified and arrested Mr. Sankoh late last year. Within the last few months, IGLHRC became increasingly concerned about consistent postponements of the legal proceedings against Mr. Sankoh. Working with local human rights advocates, IGLHRC engaged the services of a leading human rights attorney to monitor the preliminary investigation that was examining prima facie evidence for the matter to be sent up to the High Court for trial. IGLHRC has also been concerned that it appears that Sankoh did not act alone in the killing of Fannyann but no other suspects have been arrested. It was the monitor who alerted IGLHRC of the defendant’s apparent escape a few days ago. “While we understand that the Sierra Leonean judicial and penal systems are being rebuilt after eight years of civil war,” said Cary Alan Johnson, IGLHRC’s Senior Specialist for Africa, “there is no excuse for letting a potentially violent suspect, on trial for a brutal murder, escape from police custody.” It is still unclear whether Fannyann’s killing was a hate crime. The fact that the murder was committed in the offices of a lesbian and gay organization sent shock waves throughout Africa’s burgeoning LGBT community. IGLHRC had hoped that testimony during the trial would have made clear any biases of the perpetrators. “Once it is confirmed that Mr. Sankoh has escaped, we will work with police investigators to take all appropriate and legal policing measures to bring him back into custody and to arrest any other suspects,” said Ettelbrick. “We want a free and fair trial, not only for Fannyann but for all LGBT people in Sierra Leone.”
27th February 2008 5 by PinkNews.co.uk staff writer Women from 14 African countries gathered in Namibia's capital Windhoek in August 2004 to develop the Coalition of African Lesbians. Lesbian organisations and a number of individual women from Sierra Leone, Ghana, Nigeria, Liberia, Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, South Africa, Mozambique and Namibia are members of the organisation. "Our main goal is that lesbian and homosexuality can no longer be seen as a criminal offence," the group's director and conference spokeswoman Fikile Vilakazi told Reuters. "You should not be arrested and charged for how you use your own body." The coalition lobbies for political, legal social, sexual, cultural and economic rights of African lesbians by engaging strategically with African and international structures and allies and to eradicate stigma and discrimination against lesbians. South Africa, one of the few countries on the continent where gay men and lesbians are allowed to marry and legally protected from discrimination, has been rocked by several murders of prominent lesbian activists. Sizakele Sigasa, 34, an activist for HIV/AIDS and LGBT rights, and Salome Masooa, 24, were discovered dead at field in Soweto, Johannesburg, on July 8th. They had both been shot and, it is suspected, raped. On 22nd July Thokozane Qwabe, 23, was found in a field in Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal with multiple head wounds. She was naked and it is thought she was also raped.
March 25, 2008 6 by Mask Admin Karen McCarthy from the Lesbian Community Project told Pink Paper: “When Florence turned to the police for help they turned her away, saying it was a family matter. She tried to find a safe place to stay but could not and was forced to return home to face more abuse and violence including being threatened with female genital mutilation to 'cure' her.” Lisa Buklovskis, also from the Lesbian Community Project commented: “Florence came to us with her story and as a member of our community, we wanted to support her in whatever way we could. ”When the news came that Florence and Michael had been granted indefinite leave to remain in the UK, we were absolutely elated! All the hard work and tireless campaigning had finally paid off. It means that Florence and Michael can now look forward to a future free from fear of persecution. In a country like Sierra Leone, where it is illegal to be gay, the persecution that Florence would have faced had she have been deported, is difficult for us to contemplate here in the UK where our relative freedoms as lesbians and gay men are a world apart.” For more information about Florence’s story please contact Lisa at the Lesbian Community Project on 0161 273 7128 or e-mail lesbiancommunityproject@hotmail.com |
